Salim Ismail is a renowned entrepreneur, technology strategist, and the globally bestselling author of Exponential Organizations. He is a leading authority on how breakthrough technologies impact business and how organizations can achieve growth 10 times faster than their peers. His work provides a blueprint for innovation, leveraging insights from his experience at Google and Yahoo! and his role as the founding Executive Director of Singularity University.
Ismail's operational background in Silicon Valley is deep and varied. Prior to his current ventures, he served as a Vice President at Yahoo!, where he built and ran Brickhouse, the company’s internal incubator. His entrepreneurial history includes founding or operating seven early-stage companies, such as Ångströ (sold to Google) and PubSub Concepts (which laid the foundation for the real-time web). His experience also includes founding the New York Grant Company, which delivered over $12 million in federal grants to the local economy post-9/11.
Ismail spent seven years building Singularity University (SU) as its founding executive director and current global ambassador. Based at NASA Ames and co-founded with figures from Google and the XPRIZE Foundation, SU’s mission is to empower a new generation of leaders to apply exponential technologies—such as AI, biotechnology, and neuroscience—to address humanity’s grand challenges. This role gives him a cutting-edge perspective on disruptive innovation.
As a speaker, he travels extensively, sharing the five internal and five external characteristics common to Exponential Organizations. His book quickly became the #1 "Best-Seller in Business Management" on Amazon. Through his firm, ExO Works, he delivers the 10-week ExO Sprint program to catapult organizations into exponential thinking. His captivating and educational presentations provide executives with an understanding of emerging technology trends and a tailored action plan for growth.
