Juan Enriquez – Keynote Speaker

Juan Enriquez is one of those unique individuals who lives in the future and works on the cutting edge of discovery. He is an active investor in early-stage private companies in the life sciences sector, and is one of the world’s leading authorities on the uses and benefits of genomic research.

Juan has recently co-authored, with Steve Gullans, an electronic book titled, Homo Evolutis: A Short Tour of Our New Species. The book takes you into a world where humans increasingly shape their environment, their own selves, and other species.

His newest book, also with Steve Gullans, is Evolving Ourselves: How Unnatural Selection and Nonrandom Mutation are Changing Life on Earth. In Evolving Ourselves, Juan and Steve Gullans conduct a sweeping tour of how humans are changing the course of evolution — sometimes intentionally, sometimes not.Bio-science is beginning to affect the way we live, work, and do business, and Juan is an articulate and effective advocate of its promise. Synthetic Genomics, which he co-founded, is a company developing breakthrough genomic-driven solutions for major global issues. They are focused on energy and chemical solutions first but researching a wide range of business solutions in human health (vaccines) and food and water production and the environment. Synthetic Genomics was a partner and major funder of the J. Craig Venter Institute’s recent breakthrough — the creation of the first synthetic bacterial cell.

In addition to his entrepreneurial work in the life sciences, Juan writes and speaks engagingly about the profound changes that genomics and other life sciences will cause in business, technology, politics and society. He is a sought-after speaker, and his highly-anticipated appearances at TED and other venues are dynamic, funny, insightful, and illuminating. He was named one of two guest curators — both global thinkers (the other is Bill Gates) for the 2011 TED conference. His work has appeared in the Harvard Business Review, Foreign Policy, Science, and The New York Times.