About the talk

After completing a PhD in computer science at the TU Wien, Dr. Charly Kleissner moved to Silicon Valley. He will briefly talk about his extraordinary career in the Valley, where he led the development of the operating system at NeXT, the company that Steve Jobs founded after he was fired from Apple. When Steve took over Apple again in the late nineties, this became Apple’s main operating system and is still the basis for all of Apple’s products. As the Chief Technology Officer at Ariba, Charly was instrumental in taking that company public. Today, SAP/Ariba is still the largest business-to-business e-commerce platform on the planet.

Success in Silicon Valley resulted in significant wealth. Charly will talk about why he and his wife Lisa became leaders in the field of impact investing and why he sees impact investing not as an intellectual exercise, but as an expression of who he really is. He will talk about why significant design flaws of the current economic and financial system are at the core of the poly-crisis that humanity is experiencing right now. And he will talk about why consciousness and awareness and our own mindfulness practices are such an integral part of changing the trajectory of these systems from an extractive nature to a regenerative one.

Finally, Charly will explore the current trajectory of artificial intelligence, which faces multiple serious challenges like privacy, energy consumption, inequality, and social injustice - threatening the future of humanity itself. He will dive deep into the topic of consciousness and creativity, and why humanity is so different than generative artificial intelligence. He ends with ideas about how to harness the power of artificial intelligence to enhance the human side of humanity.

About the speaker

Charly Kleissner is an impact investor and leader of the deep impact movement, advocating for systemic change and promoting conscious investing driven by values and mindfulness. He believes that the real meaning of wealth is to make a positive contribution to humanity and the planet. He sees impact investing not as an intellectual exercise, but as an expression of who he really is.   

Dr. Kleissner co-founded KL Felicitas Foundation, opens an external URL in a new window, Twist, opens an external URL in a new window, Social-Impact International, opens an external URL in a new window, the Central European Investment Ready Program, opens an external URL in a new window, Hawai’i Investment Ready, opens an external URL in a new window, pioneer:impact, opens an external URL in a new window, Toniic, opens an external URL in a new window, the 100% Network, opens an external URL in a new window, and the Impact Hub Tirol, opens an external URL in a new window. He serves as a full member of The Club of Rome, opens an external URL in a new window, as the chair of the supervisory board of Alia, opens an external URL in a new window, on the Board of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, opens an external URL in a new window and Proof, opens an external URL in a new window, on the Advisory Board of Chi Impact Capital, opens an external URL in a new window, Industree Foundation, opens an external URL in a new window, MCI Business School, opens an external URL in a new window, Commonland, opens an external URL in a new window, and Rainfall, opens an external URL in a new window, and as the chair of the ethical committee of tree.ly, opens an external URL in a new window. Dr. Kleissner is board chair emeritus of ImpactAssets, opens an external URL in a new window. 

Dr. Kleissner has over twenty years of experience as a senior technology executive in Silicon Valley working for companies like NeXT and Ariba. Dr. Kleissner earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Technology, Vienna. 

About the PIONEER TOMORROW: Insights Unplugged series

The PIONEER TOMORROW: Insights Unplugged, opens an external URL in a new window, organized by the Innovation Incubation Center (i²c), opens an external URL in a new window at TU Wien, enables the audience to learn firsthand from experienced founders, investors and innovators, and get inspired by their success (and failure) stories. Our guest speakers share their international experiences, dos & don’ts and lessons learned during an inspiring talk. Afterwards, the participants can ask all the burning questions during an interactive Q&A.

After the session, the attendees have the opportunity to network and mingle with like-minded people while enjoying some free drinks provided by TUW i²c.

We are looking forward to meeting you!

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Important:

*During the event, photographic and video material will be taken. Please inform the TUW i²c team at the venue in case you do not agree with appearing in this material. The photographic and video material taken at the event will be used by TUW i²c in printed and electronic media for promotional purposes.