Business

Fireside chat with Microsoft GM Dave Mendlen and Lifograph CEO Dea Wilson coming to Palo Alto

Dave Mendlen, Microsoft General Manager and Executive Producer of the Decoded Show (Hosted by John Shewchuck), will be flying in to Palo Alto for a fireside chat with Dea Wilson, CEO at Lifograph.

Microsoft Decoded Show Executive Producer Dave Mendlen at the season 2 premiere. Image courtesy of Sasha Photography

Mendlen will fly in from Seattle just to share his stories with the Lifograph community on Wednesday, May 16 at 5:45PM at Procopio in Palo Alto, California.

The Microsoft general manager has built and managed multi-billion dollar software businesses and is a sought-after speaker and commentator on TV and media, as well as a contributor to various startup accelerators and publications, including The Next Web.

Due to his great ability for engaging communication, Mendlen was chosen as a speechwriter for Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, composing landmark speeches featured in the media, including Bill Gates’ last speech and Steve Ballmer’s first speech as CEO of Microsoft.

Lifograph Founder and CEO Dea Wilson at the Decoded Show season 2 premiere. Image courtesy of Sasha Photography

He will be chatting with the “Wiki of People” founder, Dea Wilson. Dubbed “Ms. Silicon Valley,” Dea is what people call a “super-connector,” her expansive network including the “Who’s Who” in startups, venture capital, technology, and entertainment.

She is a serial entrepreneur and Managing Director at Silicon Valley Incubator. She is also an Angel Investor at the Wharton Alumni Angels and Tech Angels, her investment interest being in consumer, mobile and SaaS startups.

Wilson is a big supporter of female founders and investors and currently leads a community of almost 1,000 women leaders and entrepreneurs.

Ms. Silicon Valley has been a guest speaker at numerous events and conferences and she has also been featured and interviewed in many media publications.

The Sociable caught up with Mendlen a year ago for an hour-long webinar on Digital Transformation.

One thing that Dave believes in strongly, echoing the words of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, is that conversations will be the new platform. Instead of typing on a computer keyboard or swiping your finger on a mobile device, interactive conversations between you the user and bots will be the platform of the future.

“We think conversations are going to be the new platform.”

“This idea that you’ll be able to have conversations back-and-forth with a piece of software that will be able to help make decisions for you and with you will be a critical component of the next generation of computing,” says Mendlen.

Sometimes the conversation is between you and technology and sometimes the conversation is just between technologies as when bots communicate with each other or a back-end service.

One of the technologies that Mr. Dave Mendlen was most excited about when we chatted was Mixed Reality — something that he believed would become more mainstream on the not-too-distant horizon.

“The problem with Virtual Reality,” according to Mendlen, “is that it doesn’t know about your physical reality, so it’s very easy for you to wander around and walk into walls or to trip or hurt yourself.”

That is a problem Microsoft is trying to fix with Mixed Reality and one that should be on display at Microsoft Build 2017  — how to make the experience safer with technology that understands proximity by making Virtual Reality look like your real world.

For the fireside chat, drinks and Chinese food dinner will be provided.

Tim Hinchliffe

The Sociable editor Tim Hinchliffe covers tech and society, with perspectives on public and private policies proposed by governments, unelected globalists, think tanks, big tech companies, defense departments, and intelligence agencies. Previously, Tim was a reporter for the Ghanaian Chronicle in West Africa and an editor at Colombia Reports in South America. These days, he is only responsible for articles he writes and publishes in his own name. tim@sociable.co

View Comments

  • Due to Mendlen great ability for engaging communication, Bill Gate has haven landmark speeches featured in the media
    BG just earn money, mendlen will do everything with media :))

Recent Posts

Securing the future of healthy code: “Make it simple, scalable & a no-brainer for teams of all sizes”

A dream is often born when things get tough and tedious. While DevSecOps is a…

8 minutes ago

G20 South Africa commits to advancing digital public infrastructure globally

DPI involves giving everybody electricity & internet, making them sign up for digital ID, and…

1 day ago

Nisum, Applied AI Consulting partner-up to turn the promise of AI into tangible results

Across industries, AI has been promised as the magic bullet, poised to solve different business…

2 days ago

WEF blog calls for an ‘International Cybercrime Coordination Authority’ to impose collective penalties on uncooperative nations

How long until online misinformation and disinformation are considered cybercrimes? perspective The World Economic Forum…

2 days ago

With surge in AI-generated code creates security concerns, DeepSources launches trio of autonomous AI agents for DevSecOps 

Autonomous, AI-powered employees are set to begin roaming corporate networks sooner than expected, marking the…

5 days ago

As carcinogenic chemicals from cleaning products hit the headlines, Viking Pure Solutions is protecting employees from harm

Despite the ongoing fight to reduce, reuse and recycle plastics, when it comes to environmental…

5 days ago