Leadership & Management

Hemant Taneja is a managing director at General Catalyst, and has been an early investor in market-leading companies like Digit, Grammarly, Gusto, Livongo, Mindstrong, Samsara, Snap, and Stripe. His 2018 book Unscaled articulates the need for accountability, transparency, and explainability in AI technologies as they permeate deeper into daily life, and his more recent Harvard Business Review article “The Era of Move Fast and Break Things is Over” encourages entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to adopt frameworks for responsible innovation and investing.

In January 2019, Aicha Evans was named CEO of Zoox. Prior to joining Zoox, Evans served as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Intel Corporation, responsible for driving Intel’s long-term strategy to transform from a PC-centric company to a data-centric company. Prior to Intel, she spent 10 years in various engineering management positions at Rockwell Semiconductors, Conexant and Skyworks.

David Rogier is the founder and CEO of MasterClass, the streaming platform where anyone can learn from the best. Growing up, Rogier loved learning but struggled in school. Determined to reinvent the traditional learning model, he created MasterClass in 2015. MasterClass has since transformed the lifelong learning category by providing intimate access to the world’s best practitioners, from Stephen Curry (basketball) to Margaret Atwood (writing), Martin Scorcese (filmmaking), Sarah Blakely (entrepreneurship) and Serena Williams (tennis).

Your voice goes before you to announce you to the world. Let it be as strong and direct as you are. Learn about breath, relaxation, and focus; join in simple exercises to build confidence and turn stress into clear, powerful speech.

An estimated 70% of people experience impostor feelings at some point in their lives. It is widespread across academic campuses, and Stanford is no exception. A campus survey by Professor Margot Gerritsen showed that many students experience the feelings or fear of being a fake, of not having what it takes, the fear of disappointing advisors, of being "found out" to not be as smart as they were thought to be. She will share her findings and some personal experiences with the impostor syndrome, and discuss some ways to overcome it, or at least make steps toward it.

President Marc Tessier-Lavigne will be joined by Kathryn Ann “Kam” Moler, Vice Provost and Dean of Research, and Serena Rao, Senior Associate Dean for Finance and Administration, Vice Provost and Dean of Research Office.

They will discuss Stanford’s research enterprise, including responses to COVID-19, measures taken to restart research safely, exciting recent discoveries, and plans for the future.

Join us for a fireside chat with Rosalind (Roz) Brewer, COO of Starbucks. Roz leads the company’s operating businesses across the Americas and Starbucks license stores as well as the global functions of marketing, technology, supply chain, product innovation, and store development organizations.Prior to joining Starbucks, Roz served as President and CEO of Sam’s Club, the members-only warehouse channel of Walmart, and the 8th largest U.S. retailer.

Learn how to manage graduate life with a positive attitude and productive work habits from three campus experts. Whether you’re a new grad student or just want a refresher to start off the year, this fast-paced session is worth your time.

Anika Green, assistant vice provost for graduate education & director, DARE Doctoral Fellowship Program, VPGE

Read Anika's Bio

Angie Hawkins, associate director of educational programs, VPGE

In 1999, Ravi Mhatre founded Lightspeed Venture Partners, a VC firm that has focused on enterprise IT, mobile, and internet and cloud-based services and applications like Nutanix, AppDynamics and SnapChat. Recently, Mhatre has broadened his horizons to invest in consumer businesses like Cheddar and Stitch Fix.

Before entering venture capital, Mhatre ran a product management group at Silicon Graphics, worked in management consulting at Booz Allen, and spent time as a software engineer for BDIS, a Silicon Valley biotech instruments manufacturer.

Delane Parnell is the founder and CEO of PlayVS, which is building the infrastructure for high school esports. Prior to starting PlayVS, Parnell worked at IncWell Venture Capital, where he became the youngest black venture capitalist in the United States. A lifelong entrepreneur, Parnell started his first job at 13, working 40-plus hours a week during the school year. At 17, he used the money he saved to purchase three cell phone stores and joined the founding team of Executive Car Rental, which now has 16 locations across Michigan.