Chief Executive Officer at Pearson & Non-Executive Director of Autodesk, Inc.
London, England, United Kingdom
44K followers
500+ connections
44K followers
500+ connections
About
I have the privilege of leading Pearson, the world’s lifelong learning company. We help millions of people around the world realise the life they imagine through learning.
Why learning? Humans are born to learn. From our very first breath, we never stop learning. It’s a vital force that fuels – and transforms – our lives. This belief sits at the heart of who Pearson is and it’s why I’m here.
We have important work ahead of us. We’ve entered an era where AI is changing how we live and work. There’s a major skills gap growing in our world. AI can make us dumber or smarter, depending on how we use it. But I’m an optimist, and I believe we can harness the power of tech and the power of people to help us develop the skills we need to thrive in this new world.
I’m excited to use my leadership and technology experience to make that happen. I hope that my skills can do a bit to contribute to a future where the power of AI can help us be better - as learners and as people.
If this energises you, like it energises me, drop me an InMail. It would be my pleasure to hear from you.
Articles by Omar
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44K followers
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Omar Abbosh shared this#AI is already reshaping industries, occupations and ways of working. The gap between the skills organisations have and the skills they need risks becoming a real challenge. The companies that thrive will be those that can clearly understand their actual capabilities, invest in learning, and adapt quickly. That’s why I’m delighted that Pearson has agreed to acquire Workera. https://lnkd.in/ezyC5tZX Workera has built an impressive AI-native platform that helps organisations understand what their people can actually do, not just what is written on a résumé. By combining agentic AI, psychometrics, and adaptive assessment, it provides a more accurate view of workforce capabilities and helps leaders make better decisions about talent, skilling, and transformation. Together, Pearson and Workera are uniquely positioned to help enterprises diagnose skills gaps, build targeted learning pathways, and equip people with the capabilities they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world. As technology evolves faster than ever, learning how to learn is becoming one of the most important skills any of us can develop. My congratulations to Kian Katanforoosh and the entire Workera team. They have built something truly innovative at the intersection of AI, assessment, and skills, and we look forward to building on that momentum together. I am very excited to see how, together, we can help people progress with opportunities for organisations and learners around the world. #Pearson #Workera #FutureOfWork #Skills #AI #Learning Vishaal Gupta Simon Robson Thomas ap Simon Allison Peek Bebo Tony Prentice Ginny Cartwright Ziegler Sharon Hague Sue Kolloru Barger Cinthia Nespoli Arthur Valentine David Treat Havana Abid Merrie Williamson
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Omar Abbosh shared thisAt 15, Zaki was struggling in the classroom. People did not expect him to achieve much, and he knew the traditional route was not working for him. What he could not yet see was an alternative. Then he took a leap. Through an apprenticeship, learning suddenly made sense. What he learned one day, he could apply the next. That hands-on pathway helped him build a successful career and became, in his own words, “one of the opportunities we took that changed everything.” Watching Zaki’s story made me reflect on one of the biggest jumps in my own life: becoming CEO of Pearson. I had spent most of my career in professional services and technology industries, so stepping into this role was a significant decision. What gave me confidence was those years of my own apprenticeship in tech alongside Pearson’s beautiful purpose: “to help people realise the life they imagine through learning”. I care about that a lot. Joining Pearson meant listening carefully, learning from our customers and Pearson people, and leaning into the responsibility of helping this wonderful company realise its full potential. I continue to feel incredibly privileged to be here. What I love about Zaki’s story is that he refused to let other people’s expectations limit his future. He found the pathway that worked for him, then kept learning and growing. At a time when technology is changing both our world and the skills we need, that curiosity, courage and adaptability will be super important. At the end of the day, the purpose of AI and tech should be just to help humans. And humans are born to learn. Sometimes, the biggest step forward begins with the courage to take a different path. Have you ever taken a leap that changed your life? Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e5sjSMSp #LearnMoreLiveMore #SeeYourselfBigger #Pearson Simon Robson Thomas ap Simon Allison Peek Bebo Tony Prentice Ginny Cartwright Ziegler Sharon Hague Sue Kolloru Barger Cinthia Nespoli Arthur Valentine David Treat Vishaal Gupta Havana Abid Merrie Williamson Robin Vince Lila Snyder Leena Nair Alejandro Reynal Jennifer Parmentier Enrique Lores Bill Ready Roy Jakobs Bracken Darrell
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Omar Abbosh shared thisAI is reshaping work for everyone. Including in the places that are too often missing from the conversation: skilled trades, technical occupations and service roles. The scale of the challenge is profound. Across the occupations we examined, 98.5% of annual openings in the US and 99% in the UK are driven by the need to replace existing people leaving the workforce. The workforce demographic cliff is real. That creates a very practical challenge. How do we pass on hard-won expertise while helping the next generation learn how to use AI, and how to use AI in the right way? How will they learn how to question it and to apply it safely? Our latest research examines a triple capability gap and sets out practical actions for employers, educators, policymakers and industry bodies. You can explore the report and our recommendations here: https://lnkd.in/dM-jQ8b4 #FutureOfWork #EarlyCareers #Pearson Thomas ap Simon Arthur Valentine Sharon Hague Vishaal Gupta Tony Prentice Merrie Williamson Havana Abid Simon Robson Allison Peek Bebo Cinthia Nespoli Ginny Cartwright Ziegler David Treat Sue Kolloru Barger
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Omar Abbosh shared thisHow do we know what someone actually knows and can do? As technology profoundly changes learning and work, the need for trusted assessments is growing fast. People need clear, credible ways to demonstrate their skills, and organisations need confidence in the evidence behind them. That’s why I’m delighted to welcome ITS (Internet Testing Systems), and their proven assessment technology and team of experts, to Pearson. This acquisition builds on a relationship that began in 2009, and strengthens our ability to help employers, professional organisations, educators and learners assess, verify and recognise the skills that matter. This is vitally important in an era of #AI and in industries where trust and the public good are at stake. It’s also another important step in cementing Pearson as the trusted assessment and verified-skills infrastructure for organisations around the world. A very warm welcome to Pat Ward and the entire ITS team. I’m excited about what we will build together. Read more: https://lnkd.in/epPQsBG4 #Pearson #Assessment #Skills Arthur Valentine Laura Peterson Bridget Herd Lisa Ward Vishaal Gupta
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Omar Abbosh shared thisThere are a couple of things in these photos that I absolutely love: the energy in the room and the determination of these educators to keep learning. Nearly 200 teachers from Miami-Dade County Public Schools spent time recently building practical AI skills and working towards Pearson’s Foundations of AI for PK-12 Educators credential. There is a big debate about AI in the classroom. I want to recognize that there aren’t easy answers. We know that when students are given unfettered access to AI, it can undermine learning. But our early research at Pearson shows that AI can play a role in improving learning outcomes, when it is shaped by learning science and applied thoughtfully. That starts with teachers having the confidence, skills and understanding to use it in productive ways. As AI becomes part of the skills needed for the future, we need to support the teachers helping prepare students. That is precisely why proper training and AI literacy matter. This work also forms part of Pearson’s commitment to the White House’s Pledge to America’s Youth: Investing in AI Education. This effort is helping expand AI learning and certification opportunities for teachers nationwide. A huge thank you to every educator taking part. By investing in their own learning, they are helping students prepare for an increasingly AI-enabled world. More here: https://bit.ly/4AnDwyu Photo credit: Jesus Aranguren/AP Content Services for Pearson #AI #Education #Teachers #Learning Arthur Valentine Laura Peterson The White House
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Omar Abbosh shared thisAre we preparing people to succeed in an AI-driven world? I enjoyed discussing this question on CNBC recently. Young people are rapidly becoming AI-native, but AI usage is not enough. I believe as AI continues its blistering pace of progress, we will see AIs demonstrate great capabilities even in what people like to think of as traditional human skills such as judgement, critical thinking and, yes, EQ. For me this means two major imperatives: 1. We need to develop highly educated students that can be capable one day of working effectively alongside these powerful AI tools. This is made even more alarming when you look at the recent PISA outcomes https://bit.ly/3SSoYpE Therefore, we need to use the potential of AI as true tutors, not to teleport to the answers, but to coach and help people build the knowledge base and reasoning skills to solve for themselves. 2. We need to develop an AI fluent workforce across all the vertical and horizontal domains of business. The good news is we have time (as the technology diffuses) for companies to ‘reengineer’ their workflows and roles to suit teams of AI fluent people alongside powerful AI tools. This is a CEO level job – the learning needs of the future workforce are deeply entwined with the reengineered roles, and only the CEO can act as the chief learning officer for this. It is obvious that there is no sustained RoI on AI without an investment in people and their skills. Thank you Ben Bouloss and Karen Tso for the stimulating conversation. #AI #Learning #Education #Skills #FutureOfWork #Pearson Simon Robson David Treat Vishaal Gupta Arthur Valentine Sharon Hague Thomas ap Simon Ginny Cartwright Ziegler Allison Peek Bebo Tony Prentice Sue Kolloru Barger Cinthia Nespoli Havana Abid Merrie Williamson
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Omar Abbosh reposted thisOmar Abbosh reposted thisThe debate about AI's role in education is a healthy one. But we can't afford to stand still. Pearson is working with educators around the world to better understand how AI can support learning while ensuring teachers have the knowledge and confidence to use these tools effectively and responsibly. AI-driven efficiency in the classroom is helpful, but more pressing is our shared responsibility to prepare students for a world where AI shapes how we learn and work. A great example is our collaboration with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Recently, nearly 200 educators participated in AI professional development with Pearson and began working toward our Foundations of AI for PK-12 Educators credential. The photos speak for themselves. These educators are forging ahead. 🙂 As Dr. Lupe Ferran Diaz of Miami-Dade Public Schools eloquently said: "By equipping teachers with AI knowledge and industry-recognized credentials, we are strengthening classroom instruction, fostering innovation in teaching and learning, and ensuring students develop the skills needed to thrive in a technology-driven economy." This work is part of Pearson's commitment to the White House's Pledge to America's Youth: Investing in AI Education, where we are bringing AI learning and certification opportunities for educators nationwide. We look forward to delivering similar events around the country. Learn more about the event at: https://lnkd.in/gEGvR6gi Learn more about Pearson's AI certification for PK-12 teachers at: https://lnkd.in/gM7FYqVG *Photo credit: Jesus Aranguren/AP Content Services for Pearson Omar Abbosh Ginny Cartwright Ziegler Laura Peterson Trent Workman Clay Richey Krista Ketchmark E. Wyatt Gordon, Ed.D. Jordon Clark Mindy Howa Lupe Ferran Diaz, Ph.D. Tina Eichstadt #AIinEducation #FutureOfLearning #Education #MiamiDade #Pearson
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Omar Abbosh shared thisI'm grateful to Fast Company for the opportunity to share some of our thoughts and experiences on how #AI can be used in a way that genuinely benefits students and supports learning outcomes. There has been a lot of conversation in the media and in education circles about topics like cognitive offloading and the harm of simply teleporting students to the answer, rather than giving them the roadmap. At Pearson, we believe that AI can play a role in improving learning outcomes when grounded in learning science and placed in the right learning environment. It’s entirely possible for students to gain a better understanding of tough concepts. And, educators have the chance to use AI to tailor their teaching to better support the individual needs of students. And, as you’ll see from the article, there is plenty of room for Pearson and our partners to study these, and other, benefits of carefully implemented AI. As AI continues to evolve, I think it's important that we keep our focus on student outcomes, rather than debating which AI company or model can win the race to the classroom. The tech is important, but the learning experience is much more than that. My thanks to the many Pearson product teams, researchers, and partners - especially educators - who are helping us keep learners front and center. I appreciate everything you're doing to put both humanity and technology into the experience of teaching and learning. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/eGRvJ-rG #AI #Education #Learning #EdTech #Teachers #Students #Pearson Dr Philippa Hardman Ethan Mollick Azeem Azhar Dan Elron Jonathan FinkelsteinNot every AI-in-education tale is a horror story. How the world’s leading education company makes AI that’s actually useful for studentsNot every AI-in-education tale is a horror story. How the world’s leading education company makes AI that’s actually useful for students
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Omar Abbosh shared thisI’m delighted that Pearson has been recognised with the 2026 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award for the second year running. This recognition belongs to the people of Pearson who bring our culture to life every day through their support for one another and for our customers, and their deep commitment to our purpose. That culture enables us to help learners build and prove their skills, embrace the possibilities of #AI, and navigate a changing world with confidence. Thank you for making this such a special place to work. #Pearson #Culture #GallupExceptionalWorkplace Allison Peek Bebo Ginny Cartwright Ziegler Simon Robson Arthur Valentine Thomas ap Simon Sharon Hague Vishaal Gupta Cinthia Nespoli David Treat Tony Prentice Sue Kolloru Barger Havana Abid Merrie WilliamsonOmar Abbosh shared thisI'm so proud to share that Pearson has once again been recognized as a Gallup Exceptional Workplace for the second year in a row. Awards are always nice, of course, but what makes this especially meaningful is what it says about the kind of company we're building. Over the past year, we've introduced our Pearson Promise, modernized our career architecture, reimagined career progression, and created greater clarity around roles and opportunities. Just as importantly, we've spent time listening to colleagues around the world to understand what's working, what isn't, and where we can do better. I'm grateful to our leaders, managers, and team members who make all of this possible, every day. If you're curious about what makes Pearson an exceptional place to build a career, take a look: https://lnkd.in/g9MuZD6a Esin Cooper Brigid McDonnell Olivia Jarvis Omar Abbosh David Treat Ginny Cartwright Ziegler Vishaal Gupta Sharon Hague Soo Kang Thomas ap Simon Arthur Valentine Cinthia Nespoli #GEWA #GallupExceptionalWorkplace
Omar Abbosh replied to a comment
3w
Dr Philippa Hardman I think you're onto something important.
The challenge, as you point out, is how we help people build that 'managerial' expertise when many traditional entry points are evolving. The promise of AI is that it can help 'up level' entry level workers while turbo charging managers with deep domain expertise. Therefore, the answer, I believe, is to adopt much more intentional development: structured apprenticeships, mentorships, deliberate practice, rapid feedback and learning embedded in the flow of work. Traditional 'Compliance Training' oriented L&D was not built for this.
What this implies is reengineering of roles and workflows with a plan to build in learning and feedback as part of the process.
That’s why the role of the CEO must evolve to become the Chief Learning Officer. With such a profound shift, the organisations that succeed will be the ones that help their people learn faster, build skills continuously, and adapt with confidence to use AI in news ways to create value.
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Omar Abbosh liked thisOmar Abbosh liked this4.5 years ago I took a leap of faith and joined a small but oh so mighty company that barely came up in a Google search. Something about my first conversation with Kian Katanforoosh told me that pretty amazing people were building something special here. I’m so glad I trusted that feeling. I’m SO proud of everyone at Workera. Patty Yang, Mariah Medus, Kian Katanforoosh, Travis Fiore, Adam Lavezzo, Taylor Sullivan, Ph.D., Petar Radošević, Tim DaRosa and all of the truly incredibly teammates I’ve had the privilege of working alongside over all these years: thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart. You’ve made the hard moments easier, the wins sweeter, and this experience is one I’ll forever be grateful for. Today feels like an incredible milestone. I’m excited to see what this next chapter brings as Workera joins Pearson.❤️ Let's do this!
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Omar Abbosh liked thisCongrats, Fei-Fei Li!Omar Abbosh liked thisWorld Labs is joining AMD. This is a huge moment for World Labs, our team, and for me. I wanted to take a moment to share what this means and why I’m so excited for this next chapter – read more in my Substack linked below. The research and technical breakthroughs we have achieved since our founding in 2024 have given us a clear vision for AI’s potential to solve problems in the spatial and physical world. To accelerate into this future requires scaling our efforts, scaling our reach, and getting closer to the hardware. We began a deep technical partnership with AMD last year, starting with model training and inference optimization on AMD GPUs. As our teams worked together, we realized it would be a natural fit to bring together our AI ecosystem of software and hardware, foundation models, and applications. I will join AMD as an Executive Vice President and Chief Scientist, working directly with CEO Dr. Lisa Su, Justin Johnson and Ben Mildenhall to continue leading the World Labs team as it joins AMD to form a world leading frontier research organization. Together, we are committed to building out an end-to-end open AI ecosystem spanning hardware, software, platforms, and widely accessible open models. https://lnkd.in/g8gQ54aj
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Omar Abbosh liked thisOmar Abbosh liked this🏆 A proud moment for Microsoft Switzerland! We have once again been recognized as Switzerland’s most innovative international company by BILANZ Wirtschaftsmagazin and PME together with Statista The ranking looks beyond technological innovation alone, assessing products, processes and culture. What makes this recognition especially meaningful to me is the collaboration behind it. Innovation never happens in isolation. It grows when talented people explore new ideas, when customers and partners challenge our thinking, and when research, business and technology come together to create real impact. Switzerland has all the ingredients to lead in the next wave of innovation: world-class research, a strong economy, entrepreneurial talent and a culture built on trust and quality. The opportunity now is to turn these strengths into even greater impact through AI, digital skilling and continued collaboration across our innovation ecosystem. A heartfelt thank you to our colleagues across Microsoft Switzerland, and to the customers and partners who innovate alongside us every day. This recognition belongs to all of you. Read more in the link in comments. #Innovation #Switzerland #MicrosoftSwitzerland #AI
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Omar Abbosh liked thisOmar Abbosh liked thisToday at WorldSkills International Shanghai, we launched "For Every Future", Pearson’s new research exploring how AI is reshaping skilled trade, technical, and service careers. One insight stood out to me: The challenge is no longer simply filling jobs. It’s building expertise. While much of the AI conversation focuses on knowledge workers, AI is already changing how technicians troubleshoot complex systems, how frontline professionals make decisions, and how skilled workers learn and perform on the job. At the same time, demand for these roles continues to grow. Success in this new era will require more than technical know-how. It will demand a powerful combination of technical skills, AI literacy, human judgment, adaptability, and real-world experience. That’s why this conversation matters so much at #WorldSkills. Everywhere I look, I see young people with the talent, determination, and ambition to shape the future. Our responsibility, as educators, employers, and policymakers, is to ensure they have the opportunity to thrive in it. The future of work will not be defined by technology alone. It will be defined by how well we prepare people to harness it, apply it, and grow alongside it. Proud to launch this important #research and contribute to the global conversation on building a workforce that is ready for every future. #WorldSkillsShanghai2026 #PearsonWSC2026 #FutureOfWork #SkillsForSuccess #AI #WorkforceDevelopment #SkillsMatter #TechnicalEducation David Treat Arthur Valentine Vishaal Gupta Sharon Hague Elaine Yin Cao Laura Peterson Vinay Swamy Freya Thomas Monk Jane Baker Ellen Clark Duncan Roberts Bhavya Suri Tuce Z. Mark Couchman Guy Elders Ana Julia F.
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Omar Abbosh liked thisOmar Abbosh liked thisI had the privilege of sitting down with Bob Iger for Harvard Business Review to talk about his personal experience in the role of CEO. Bob is one of the most iconic CEOs of the last few decades. He led Disney for nearly nineteen years, across two tenures, through the most disruptive period the media business has known. The defining character of Iger’s leadership was boldness. His acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Fox. His global expansion, capped by the opening of Shanghai Disneyland. His willingness to embrace streaming with Disney+ and ESPN going direct to consumers after four decades of liner programming. Each required significant resource commitments well before the outcome was knowable. But boldness on its own can just get you a portfolio of expensive bets. To protect new ventures, CEOs often wall them off from the core. The price they pay is that the company itself is never transformed by what it builds. Iger did the opposite. Every acquisition was deeply integrated from the outset into Disney’s creative engine and tasked with enriching Disney’s culture rather than conforming to it. The expanded content was routed into the monetization machine Disney had spent a century building—leveraged across its theme parks, cruises, merchandising, and streaming platform. This is why the bets paid off. You can absorb setbacks in TV and cable economics when you know your creative content will earn out somewhere else. When I was writing the chapter of my new book, on the CEO’s vital role in driving renewal, Iger’s leadership of Disney was the case I kept returning to. He exemplifies how you can engage in bold exploration that can shape your future while simultaneously exploiting the core capabilities that defined your past. https://lnkd.in/gXP8qQ6nBob Iger: Power, Succession, and Leading Disney Through UpheavalBob Iger: Power, Succession, and Leading Disney Through Upheaval
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Omar Abbosh liked thisOmar Abbosh liked thisGive employees the time to learn AI. That's one of the key conclusions from Workera's new 2026 State of Skills Intelligence Report. We surveyed 1,000 employees at large US organizations. Some things stood out: - 58% have been offered AI-specific training (up from 25% last year) - 68% use AI tools multiple times a week (up from 40%) - 56% say they have no time allocated during work hours to develop AI skills. People are already using AI. Companies are growing their investments in upskilling. But learning a new way to work takes time to experiment, make mistakes, and improve. If you’re a manager, give your team explicit permission to learn. Make room for small experiments where people can try the technology, share what works, and get others curious. I still think about one of Google's early neural network experiments that learned to recognize cats from YouTube videos. It was a memorable and low-stakes way to make an emerging technology tangible and exciting. Ultimately, enticing many Googlers to explore neural networks! I spoke about many of these topics, the report, and the future of work with Kayla Solino this week, check out her new coverage on ZDNET: https://lnkd.in/gH4dYbTUNearly 70% of workers use AI regularly now - but many get no time to upskill - ZDNETNearly 70% of workers use AI regularly now - but many get no time to upskill - ZDNET
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Omar Abbosh liked thisOmar Abbosh liked thisFlying into Redmond this week, this view from the plane caught my attention. There’s something about seeing a summit from above that gives you perspective. Reaching the top may be the goal, but getting there takes a clear destination, the right route and a lot of disciplined execution. That thought stayed with me as I spent the week meeting with customers at the Microsoft Customer Experience Center. The conversations reinforced something I’m hearing more and more: the AI conversation is shifting from possibility to execution. Leaders are asking harder questions. How do we scale AI across the enterprise? How do we build security and trust in from the start? How do we turn investment into measurable business outcomes? There’s no single path to the summit. Every organization starts from a different place. But the ones making progress are getting clear on the outcomes they want, building the right foundation and bringing their people along on the journey. Technology can accelerate the climb. Leadership and execution are what get you to the top. Grateful for the candid conversations, the partnership and, this week, a little perspective from 30,000 feet. #AI #Leadership #Transformation #Microsoft
Experience
Education
Licenses & Certifications
Skills
Publications
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5G’s Potential, and Why Businesses Should Start Preparing for It
Harvard Business Review
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How Likely Is Your Industry to Be Disrupted? This 2×2 Matrix Will Tell You
Harvard Business Review
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International Utilities and Energy Conference
Keynote Speaker
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Cyber Week Conference
YouTube
See publicationHonored to speak at Cyber Week in July, 2016. Click to watch my keynote address.
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