From Atari to Augmented Reality: In Conversation w/ Nolan Bushnell at Silicon Valley Forum’s 4th Annual Visionary Salon
Silicon Valley Forum is proud to welcome Nolan Bushnell as the guest of honor at their 4th annual Visionary Salon. A legend in the gaming industry and a trailblazing entrepreneur, Bushnell is perhaps best-known for founding both Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza-Time Theaters chain. His forthright vision and innovative entrepreneurial spirit have been recognized many times throughout his long and storied career, including an induction into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame, a BAFTA award, and recognition as one of Newsweek’s “50 Men Who Changed America.” He will be interviewed onstage by Gina Smith, award-winning journalist and best-selling author.
“Silicon Valley Forum’s annual Visionary Salon is always a wonderful chance to hear from Silicon Valley’s groundbreaking innovators, and this year is no exception: guest of honor Nolan Bushnell is single-handedly responsible for a huge piece of America’s modern pop culture,” said executive director Denyse Cardozo. “The videogames industry wouldn’t be what it is without the founding of Atari, Inc; Chuck E. Cheese brought joy to hundreds of thousands of childhoods, and now Virtual Reality is about to change the game once again under Nolan’s signature touch. It’s an honor and a delight to have Nolan Bushnell take the stage this year, and to have an amazing tech journalist like Gina Smith to guide the conversation.”
“At Accenture, we firmly believe that the best way to predict the future is to invent it,” said Jitendra Kavathekar, managing director of Accenture Ventures, Open Innovation. “A big part of that is engaging with and learning from other innovative leaders in the industry. That’s why we’re proud to be a Silver Sponsor of this year’s Visionary Salon featuring Nolan, and support Silicon Valley Forum’s mission to foster new relationships and inspire others.”
The Visionary Salon will be held at the University Club of Palo Alto on February 22nd, 2017. Tickets are limited to provide an intimate setting in which to hear from the guest of honor, and are available for purchase at the event page. To inquire about sponsorship opportunities, contact Denyse Cardozo at denyse@siliconvalleyforum.com. Connect with the conference on social media with #Visionary17.
About the Guest of Honor:
Nolan Kay Bushnell is an American engineer and entrepreneur who founded both Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza-Time Theaters chain. Bushnell has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame, received the BAFTA Fellowship and the Nations Restaurant News “Innovator of the Year” award, and was named one of Newsweek’s “50 Men Who Changed America.” Bushnell has started more than twenty companies and is one of the founding fathers of the video game industry.
His latest startup, Modal VR, is an end-to-end virtual reality platform that delivers large-scale and fully wireless immersion for multiple users at once. The Modal VR ecosystem delivers new possibilities and growth in the enterprise VR market. Additionally, his company Brainrush has developed video-game based learning software that incorporates adaptive learning technologies to vastly increase the speed and efficacy of learning. Nolan is credited with Bushnell’s Law, an aphorism about games “easy to learn and difficult to master” being rewarding.
About Silicon Valley Forum’s Visionary Salon:
Each year at the Visionary Salon, a former Visionary Awards honoree is invited back to the stage for a conversational interview, conducted by a leading Silicon Valley innovator or member of the media. The Salon is an intimate, exclusive evening for attendees to enjoy an illuminating discussion between the guest of honor and interviewer. The Salon provides a wonderful opportunity to hear stories, insights, and inspiration from a Silicon Valley thought leader—someone who is widely recognized for their innovative contributions to a brighter future. Previous honorees have included Ray Kurzweil, Reid Hoffman, and Tony Fadell.
About Silicon Valley Forum:
At Silicon Valley Forum, we believe in the transformative power of entrepreneurship. We’ve dedicated the last 33 years to helping people learn how to build a business the Silicon Valley way, using creativity, innovation, and technology to change and improve the world. Whether you’re trying to create a company here or build your own Silicon Valley at home, our events and online portal light the way for you to learn and grow as a 21st century entrepreneur.
We work to create successful events, programs, and conferences that inspire and connect technologists, entrepreneurs, corporates, investors, innovation and startup hubs, and students—in Silicon Valley, throughout the U.S., and globally. We organize over 90 different activities per year, connect with over 20,000 entrepreneurs, corporates, and investors, and work with over 20 countries worldwide.
Our partners include global leaders like Accenture, IBM, K&L Gates LLP, Microsoft, and SAP, as well as leading venture capital firms and service providers. Silicon Valley Forum is a fully independent 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.
For more information, visit our website at http://www.siliconvalleyforum.com/
