Get ready for the exceptional lineup of keynote speakers for the 35th Annual INCOSE International Symposium in Ottawa, Canada! Join us as these thought leaders share their insights and expertise on a range of critical topics shaping the future of systems engineering.
Monday, 28 July: Langdon Morris, World Renowned Futurist, Speaker, Author, Consultant, Executive Advisor, and Educator
Langdon Morris is an award-winning innovator, futurist, and world-renowned strategy consultant. He is Senior Partner at InnovationLabs, leading the firm's global consulting practice. His groundbreaking work is applied by corporations and universities worldwide. Recent clients include Accor, Airbus, Bayer, France Telecom/Orange, ING, Ingersoll-Rand, Kaiser Permanente, Leidos, L'Oreal, National Board of Medical Examiners, Stanford Health Care, Total Energies, UNICEF, US Navy, and US Coast Guard. He is also a founding partner of FutureLab Consulting, Co-Chair of the Innovation Council at RedTeam Engineering, and former Innovation Coordinator at SUNY's Fashion Institute of Technology.
Langdon has authored numerous acclaimed books, including "The AI Nation," "The AI Future," "Business Model Warfare," "Fourth Generation R&D," "Hello, Future! The World in 2025," and "Net Zero City." He is formerly Senior Practice Scholar at the Ackoff Center of the University of Pennsylvania and has taught at universities on four continents. He holds a Master’s Degree in Urban Studies from the London School of Economics.
Tuesday, 29 July: Jon Reijneveld, Co-Founder and Chief Engineer at The Exploration Company (TEC)
Jon Reijneveld is the Co-Founder and Chief Engineer at The Exploration Company (TEC), leading the engineering team indesigning, developing, and operating innovative space capsules. With a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Jon specializes in space systems engineering.
His career began at Airbus, where he worked on the European Data Relay System and later joined the Orion Service Module team. Driven by a passion for advancing the European space ecosystem, he co-founded TEC. Under his leadership, TEC has successfully launched its first capsule and is preparing for the launch of its second, with plans for a demonstration flight to the ISS in 2028.
Wednesday, 30 July: Robert Thirsk, Astronaut (retired) - Canadian Space Agency, Advisor
Dr. Robert Thirsk holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Medicine, and Business Administration from the University of Calgary, MIT, and McGill University. Bob has flown on two spaceflights: a mission aboard the shuttle Columbia and an expedition aboard the International Space Station. While retired from active duty, he continues to promote Canada's role in remote healthcare for astronauts on deep space missions and advocates for a national economy based on exploration, innovation, and lifelong learning.
Thursday, 31 July: William (Willy) Donaldson, Associate Professor of Management at Christopher Newport University, Director of the CNU Luter Business Institute, and Director of the Biotechnology and Management Program
Dr. William (Willy) Donaldson is an Associate Professor of Management at Christopher Newport University, Director of the CNU Luter Business Institute, and Director of the Biotechnology and Management Program. With over 35 years of experience as a board member and CEO, Willy has been President of 8 companies and helped start dozens of others. He has over 30 years of experience in higher education. He is the Founder and President of Strategic Venture Planning, a management consulting firm.
His research interests include Enterprise Management Systems, Corporate Universities, Family business issues, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Systems Thinking, and Corporate Governance. He is the author of "Simple_Complexity: A Management Book for the Rest of Us: A Guide to Systems Thinking" and "Estimated Time of Departure: How I Talked My Parents to Death: A Love Story."