(Ridgeland, Miss.) – Innovate Mississippi will host the 17th Annual Conference on Technology Innovation November 2 at the downtown Jackson Marriott, as a keystone event of November again being declared Innovation Month in Mississippi by Governor Phil Bryant.
“Each year we gather the innovation community in Mississippi together to explore ways to expand job creation and opportunities in these high-growth companies,” said Tony Jeff, president and CEO of Innovate Mississippi. “This year we are particularly excited to highlight the success story of Oxford’s FNC’s rise from startup to selling for $500 million.”
Wednesday, November 2, the conference begins with a breakfast program at 8:00 a.m. featuring U.S Congressman Gregg Harper. In addition, representatives from Base Camp Coding Academy – Mississippi’s first “high-tech vo-tech” educational program – will share how this groundbreaking collaboration of businesses and education is helping prepare under-advantaged youth to support the professional technology needs of local and regional employers, all while growing the innovation ecosystem in Mississippi. A variety of panel discussions and sessions will follow, covering topics such as tech trends; the culture of entrepreneurship on Mississippi’s university campuses; maximizing marketing and ROI; Mississippi startup success stories; and more.
Bill Rayburn, Ph.D., of Oxford is featured as the luncheon keynote speaker. As a renowned speaker and one of Mississippi’s greatest entrepreneurial success stories, this former finance professor at The University of Mississippi co-founded FNC, Inc. – an extraordinarily successful real estate collateral information technology business – and served as its chairman and CEO from inception until its profitable sale earlier this year.
“Anyone interested in entrepreneurship – or simply interested in being more innovative in whatever kind of business they are in – will definitely find the content, the networking and their experience at the conference to be extremely valuable,” said Jeff.
“I’d also like to add,” he stated, “this event is made possible due to the support from sponsors such as AT&T, Mortgage Trade, Sanderson Farms, Systems Information Technology and The University of Mississippi, as well as a significant network of other key partners from across the state – all of whom share with Innovate Mississippi the common goal of driving innovation and technology-based economic development within Mississippi.”
Tickets to the Conference on Technology Innovation are $75. Visit www.coti2016.com to view the complete agenda and to register.
Innovate Mississippi is a nonprofit organization with the mission to drive innovation and technology-based economic development for the State of Mississippi. Visit www.innovate.ms to learn more.
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