speaker photo

Alistair Croll (Host) (he/him)

Founder, Solve for Interesting

Alistair makes early-stage companies improve their go-to-market strategies, and works with some of the world’s largest firms on business model innovation. He also helps governments understand the impact of technology on society, ethics, and resiliency.

As an entrepreneur, Alistair co-founded Coradiant; the Year One Labs accelerator; and a variety of other startups. He has also launched and chaired some of the world’s leading conferences on emerging technology, including Startupfest, Strata, Cloud Connect, FWD50, Bitnorth, Scaletech, and more.

Alistair is the author of four books on technology and entrepreneurship, including the best-selling Lean Analytics, which has been translated into eight languages and is in its tenth printing in China. He speaks internationally on topics such as data science, innovation, scaling startups, digital government, AI, and applying critical thinking to technology. A graduate of Dalhousie University, he has also been a visiting executive on data science and critical thinking at Harvard Business School.

Sessions

Executive: Leadership (APEX)

Welcome

Jacqueline and FWD50 Chair Alistair Croll kick off a day-long series of executive talks focusing on the unique challenges digital leaders face in a tech-driven public service. See More.
Executive: Leadership (APEX)

Monkeys, Razors, and Sumo Wrestlers: New Models for Digital Leadership

In this conversation, Mark will share new, empowering models for “the often soul-shattering, frustrating, Kafkaesque nightmare we call bureaucracy.” See More.
Executive: Leadership (APEX)

Morning wrap up

Alistair and Jacqueline comment on the morning’s learnings and look ahead to the afternoon. See More.
Keynote

Welcome to FWD50!

We open the second day of FWD50 with a look at global co-operation. In partnership with the Digital Nations, which Canada is hosting for 2020, we’ll look at how progressive governments are sharing best practices and tackling some of the most promising—and controversial—technologies that can drive public sector services forward. See More.
Keynote

Digital, resilience, and on-demand government

Join Julia and FWD50 Chair Alistair Croll for a look at the lessons learned from 2020—and our newfound understanding of what’s possible. See More.
Keynote

Morning wrap up

Your hosts wrap up the morning and get you ready for an afternoon of learning and networking! See More.
Keynote

Welcome back!

Alistair and Rebecca kick off the day and highlight some of the amazing sessions we have planned. See More.
Keynote

Towards what's possible: Rebuilding public trust

In this chat with FWD50 chair Alistair Croll, Code for America CEO Amanda Renteria looks at civic tech, trust in government, and how we need to talk more about what’s working and what’s possible if we want to regain support for the public square. See More.
Keynote

Morning wrap up

Your hosts wrap up the morning and get you ready for an afternoon of learning and networking! See More.
Breakout

Closing Remarks

Keynote

Welcome back!

Alistair and Rebecca kick off the day and highlight some of the amazing sessions we have planned. See More.
Keynote

Today's Problems, Tomorrow's Toolkit: The Public Sector and the Future of Work

In this conversation with Alistair Croll, Professor Beth Simone Noveck, director of the GovLab, will discuss how, arguing that we cannot solve today’s problems with yesterday’s toolkit. See More.
Keynote

Radical Transparency: How openness changes the public sector

In this session, Red Hat Chief Strategist Todd Wilson discusses the impact an open mindset has the behaviour of teams and the impact of organizations. See More.
Keynote

Morning wrap up

Your hosts wrap up the morning and get you ready for an afternoon of learning and networking! See More.
Breakout

How do you use technology to mitigate the worst pandemic in recent history?

In this live conversation we’ll learn what worked—and what needs to be built. We’ll hear how his team took modeling from weeks to hours, giving vital near-real-time understanding of spread. See More.
Breakout

Closing remarks

Keynote

Opening remarks

Join your host for a look back at the past week and a glimpse of what the next 2 days will bring! See More.
Keynote

Morning wrap up

Your hosts wrap up the morning and get you ready for an afternoon of learning and networking! See More.
Breakout

Activating non-voters to save democracy - a deeper dive

Following his morning keynote, Farhad Mohit, joined by our hosts, will take a deeper dive into how digital-native thinking can bring voting into the 21st century—and save democracy as we know it. See More.
Breakout

Closing remarks