Big Data & Sensors: Blowing Up Transportation

#sxsw #BigData

“In 2008, for the first time, half the world's population is living in towns and cities. By 2030, the urban population will reach 5 billion – 60% of the world's population” (UN Population Division.) Nearly all global population growth will occur in cities—particularly in the developing world. With finite budgets and a growing urgency on limiting energy usage and pollution, transportation is rapidly becoming the critical issue for cities around the world. Transportation is also a primary example of the potential for big data, sensors, and social media to help cities meet modern-day challenges. From optimizing multimodal transport to managing traffic flow, the infrastructure conversation is rapidly moving from roads to data. Data enables a smarter, mobile lifestyle; however, this shift creates entirely new challenges as entrepreneurs and policymakers alike are forced to work within legacy policy frameworks for everything from funding allocation to privacy and open government.

Presenters

Blake Farenthold

US Representative

U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold is a lifelong resident of Texas, born and raised in Corpus Christi. He is currently serving his second term in Congress, representing the 27th District of Texas which includes the Texas Gulf Coast from Corpus Christi and vicinity to Madagorda County and Inland to Bastrop. It Includes Victoria, Wharton, Bay City, Luling, Edna, Yoakum, Gonzales, Refugio, Halletsville and Shiner.
Representative Farenthold is working towards a smaller, more accountable and transparent government through his service as a Subcommittee Chairman on the House Oversight Committee. He also serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Judiciary Committee.
Prior to being elected to Congress, his diverse career included working as a conservative radio commentator, seven years of law practice with the Kleberg Law Firm, and founding Farenthold Consulting LLC, a computer consulting and web design firm.

Evan Burfield

Co-Founder

1776

Evan Burfield is the cofounder of 1776, a serial entrepreneur, and community leader in the Washington, DC startup scene. Evan became an entrepreneur in 1996 when he founded netDecide, shortly after graduating from the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Before he turned 25, he built netDecide into the leading provider of enterprise wealth management solutions for top tier financial service firms. In 2006, Evan founded Synteractive, a consulting firm that builds innovative social apps for startups, corporations, and government agencies. Evan’s community leadership flows from his belief in entrepreneurship as the engine for solving the major problems facing America and the world today -- from education to energy efficiency.

Jon Zeitler

EVP

ePals

Jon came to Zipcar as part of the merger with Flexcar, where he was VP of Corporate and Strategic Business Development. After receiving a B.A. from Duke University, Jon joined Congressional staff on Capitol Hill and worked on early efforts to encourage fuel-efficient and alternative-fuel vehicles. He received a J.D. from Duke University and worked at a law firm in Washington, D.C. Jon brings to the table extensive experience in the business development, new venture, strategy, and policy arenas. His experience was honed during the ten years he spent at America Online, where he worked in a number of executive positions including Vice President for International Development, Vice President of Business Development for Web Properties, and Associate General Counsel for Strategic Transactions. Following his time at AOL, Jon served as an advisor to a number of high-growth new media companies.

Lauren Flanagan

Managing Dir

BELLE Capital USA

Ms. Flanagan is one of the Managers of the General Partner and Managing Direct of BELLE Capital USA, LP. As SCIO Corp's chief executive officer, Ms. Flanagan has more than 25 years experience in founding and operating technology companies. She is also a co-founder and managing director of the Phenomenelle Angels Fund , LP and BELLE Capital LP. Before founding SCIO Corp, Ms. Flanagan co-founded WebWare Corp, a pioneer in creating the digital asset management market, and served as WebWare's chairman and chief executive officer for seven years, where she raised approximately $20 million in equity capital. WebWare, one of the first Software as a Service (SaaS) companies, was acquired in 2003. Prior to WebWare, Ms. Flanagan co-founded four technology companies and consulted for high technology leaders including Apple, Atari, HP, IBM, Microsoft, NeXT, Texas Instruments and Xerox. Ms. Flanagan is a board member and alumna of Springboard Enterprises.