Signal and Cipher

Signal and Cipher is the Future Decoded. We are an innovation and change management firm dedicated to helping the most impactful companies in the world navigate, operationalize, and monetize the impact of AI to drive the future of work.

From Hollywood studios to tech darlings and CPG, our clients are looking for ways to build the future today.

Keynote Speaker

I speak frequently on the future of work and the impact of rapid change on enterprises, employees, consumers, and the global economy.

Keynote Platforms: 
Billion Dollar Teams: The Future of an AI-Powered Workforce
Future Forward: Navigating Exponential Change
Creative Machines: AI and the Future of Creativity

Recent keynotes include Deloitte, Microsoft, Synchrony, Puig, SXSW, Adobe, Febraban, Icatu, Totvs, and Itau.

I have also given guest lectures on leadership and AI at several universities, including the University of Chicago, Northwestern, Loyola, DePaul, UIC, and IIT.

International Keynote Speaker

DeFiance Media

I write and produce the Future Report segment as a part of Defiance Daily on the Defiance Media Network, using Hour One's powerful synthetic media platform. Each news segment is delivered by an AI version of me - a Deepfake.
You can catch the segment at https://defiance.media or streaming on over 100MM devices and smart TVs worldwide.

AI Correspondent - Synthetic Host of "Future Report"

Coastal Spritz

Interim Fractional CMO

Update Beverage

Caffeine is obsolete. It’s time for an Update. Crush procrastination with a smart energy drink that's more advanced than caffeine. Now available at www.drinkupdate.com

* Rebuilt the brand from the ground up after two prior agencies failed to design a distinctive brand for this new beverage category
* Built a nimble team of freelancers to establish a visual identity, brand guidelines and design system, including an extensive library of 3D assets, and feature animations
* Defined core value propositions and key demographics for launch
* Lead launch strategy and execution 
* Worked with bleeding-edge tech platforms like Unreal Engine 5 and LightTwist to develop immersive brand experiences

Head Of Brand + Futurist in Residence

Cocktails For Hope

•  Successfully lobbied for the legalized sale of Cocktails-to-go in Illinois - providing bars and 
    restaurants a revenue lifeline during Covid
•  Built a team of 50+ volunteers, including some of the world's biggest names in hospitality
•  Co-wrote legislation that received overwhelming bi-partisan support 

Cocktails For Hope is an initiative that advocates for the temporary sale of pre-mixed cocktails in containers sealed by on-premise license holding establishments in the State of Illinois. Cocktails For Hope is committed to creating necessary cash flow to bars and restaurants throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic to allow them to remain in business. The initiative also seeks to create an open line of communication with lawmakers for continued conversations as the hospitality landscape evolves over time.               Visit us at: www.cocktailsforhope.org

Co-Founder

SWAPP PROTOCOL (NFT Marketplace, Decentralized Exchange, Data Monetization)

Advising Swapp on 
- Implementation of structure and process needed to scale effectively
- Marketing and communications strategy

NFT Marketing and Operations Advisor

XR Founders

We are a collective of over 15,000+ interdisciplinary voices sharing ideas to shape the future of XR. Together we explore new capabilities, diversity, ethical design, accessibility, sustainability, and social impact within the industry. 

Join us on Clubhouse every Thursday and Sunday at  5PM ET.

Cohost

Hawkeye

Epsilon agency is now part of Hawkeye!

We’re a one-of-a-kind human experience agency.

We orchestrate experiences for people across their customer journey— leveraging human insight, the world’s best data, empathic creativity and the most powerful technology available. We do all this to deliver business results for our clients and to create more meaningful connections between humans and brands.

We call these Connections Designed to Matter™.

VP, Group Director: Digital Strategy + Innovation

Epsilon

Established the Creative Technology group to explore, prototype, and deploy new technologies in service of solving client business challenges.

Digital Strategy Practice Lead
Executive Development Program Graduate

Vice President, Digital Strategy

Decoding the future of work with the technologies of tomorrow | Futurist | Speaker

I help executives (including C-Suite and NEDs), and marketing teams understand the impact of AI on their organizations and augment the power of their teams with AI and reimagined workflows. 

For over a decade I've helped companies do mind-bending things with new and emerging technologies by showing them how to create, monetize and scale with bleeding-edge tech when few best practices and instruction manuals exist. At Signal and Cipher, we're focused on decoding the future of work for our clients.

My mission as a futurist and speaker is to inspire people to take ownership of their role in shaping the future, participate in building the world they want to see, be the wrong person asking the right questions, and approach the future with wonder, curiosity, and hope, not fear and confusion. The future is ours to shape, but you don't win by being as a spectator. 


_____

Considered one of the top voices in AI and the future of work, Ian is a trusted advisor to the world's most innovative companies. His firm Signal and Cipher transforms companies into AI-ready organizations with training, workforce reengineering, design, and development, resulting in meaningful routes to innovation that impact the bottom line, inspire cultural change, and create new products and ways of working.

Previously responsible for P&Ls and innovation departments at the largest agencies in the world, Ian is known for making bleeding-edge technology understandable and monetizable. Brands he has advised over the last decade include Samsung, Intel, Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft, Nike, and dozens more.

Ian has pioneered a digitally immersive presentation style that brings artificial intelligence and extended reality to life so audiences can understand the future of technology in actionable ways. Ian is also the co-owner of a production studio designing virtual worlds and the first person ever to host a news segment as a synthetic human, streaming to over 100 million devices around the world.

A classically trained musician, Ian understands the magnitude of AI's coming impact on human creativity. As a strategist and speaker, he strives to educate stakeholders on the real-world implications of emerging technologies so they can make informed decisions that positively shape our world and advance humanity. In a rapidly evolving world that some consider dystopian, Ian remains a steadfast optimist and offers what everyone needs now: hope.

Specialties:  AI • Machine Vision • Emerging Technology • Digital Strategy • Process Engineering • Prototyping • Systems Thinking • Team Leadership

Ian Beacraft

Unmanned Aerial Services Inc

Unmanned Aerial Services (UAS) is a catalyst for change and a center of global leadership in remote inspection of difficult-to-access sites. Our commitment to professionalism, innovation, and exceptional service has positioned us as a pioneer in the industry. 
Should you desire to safeguard lives, prevent accidents, and engineer a paradigm shift in the mining industry, our remote inspection services await your beckoning.

My role at UAS is to strategically plan the company's vision and coordinate to ensure the flawless execution of company projects within allocated budgets and timelines. Taking into account new management trends, organizing effective communications, resource allocation, risk management, and adhering to quality standards. 

🚀 Our Offerings 🚀
✨ Underground LiDAR Scanning: Specializing in scans for mines, capturing detailed data
✨ Surface Scanning and Photogrammetric Mapping: High-quality captures with LiDAR & photogrammetry
✨ Vertical and Inclined Space Scanning: Solutions for tight spaces, where LiDAR UAVs can't
✨ Long Hole Stope Scanning: UAV LiDAR for stope monitoring & planning
✨ Recurring Stope Drawpoint Scanning: Regular stope scans using UAS Mining
✨ Comprehensive Underground Mapping: Expertise in underground features, full mapping
✨ Change Detection with LiDAR Data: Using LiDAR for visualizing surface shifts
✨ Equipment & Training: Early adopters, training on advanced systems

🔗 Contact Me 🔗
📧 aleksandr@uasinc.ca
🌍 www.uasinc.ca | www.uasmining.com

Project Manager

Ready to lead your company into the future with strategic foresight and cutting-edge insights? I'm your experienced Innovation Consultant, Project Manager, and Strategist, with over a decade in digital projects, IT management, and open innovation spanning three years.

💡 Expertise for Your Success 💡
Passionate about tech and innovation, I specialize in guiding businesses with growth-focused strategies. Skilled in vision-building, open innovation, and team leadership, I'll help you tackle challenges and seize opportunities.

🚀 My Offerings 🚀
✨ Strategic Visionary: Crafting architectural strategy and analytical reports based on foresight
✨ Innovation Cultivator: Building collaborative environments that spark creativity and drive results through open innovation
✨ Tech Community Champion: Organizing and energizing technology teams, fostering a culture of shared knowledge
✨ Startup Integration: Tapping into startup and emerging tech solutions to solve your unique business challenges
✨ Team Dynamo: Creating high-performance teams, overseeing pilot projects, and fostering technology-driven growth

🚀 My experience in innovation pilot projects can help startups 🚀
✨Analyze the idea and solution for applicability in the client/corporate environment
✨Get recommendations on how to adapt solutions to create value in B2B and B2C
✨Organize proper team coordination from initial requests for proposals and contract negotiations to final delivery of products/services

📢 Let's Shape Your Future 📢
Harness the power of foresight, analytical prowess, and innovation to propel your business forward. 
Reach out and let's explore how we can work together for your success.

🔗 Contact Me 🔗
📧 kostinap1919@gmail.com

Open Innovation and Technology consultant

DTEK

●	Accelerated the implementation of open innovation and digital transformation based on Incremental, Radical, and Disruptive innovation. Reviewed 2 485 innovative solutions over 3 years, launched 47 innovation pilot projects
●	Integrated innovation management software Creatio, improved the quality of innovation portfolio management by 40%
●	Enhanced the Innovation Metrics and KPI. Increased Minimum Viable Product (MVP) implementation efficiency by 30%
●	Developed a technology map based on strategic foresight of technology trends for the next 5 years. Approved 6 new business models for further implementation as part of the energy transition 
●	Led 8-12 cross-functional teams of up to 15 people each year to implement pilot projects, including financial analysis, market research, technical feasibility, and project management
●	Conducted challenges collection activities in 20 business areas of the company. Collected up to 84 problems per year
●	Coordinated startup teams from initial requests for proposals, and contract negotiations to final delivery of products/services. Reviewed over 600 startup solutions, completed 10 projects
●	Supervised the participation of DTEK's team in SDG Innovators. 1-st place among Ukrainian companies in strategic projects in the energy sector
●	Created a technology community and Facebook group within the company (781 members). Trained 731 employees in 3D printing, AI/ML, Blockchain, Energy storage, Hydrogen, IoT/SmartHome, drones/robotics, XR (AR/MR/VR) 
●	Popularized diffusion of innovations and Digital transformation in Ukraine

Innovation Manager of the Innovation Directorate

DTEK Service LLC (DTEK Group)

●	Conducted Start-up scouting as part of the Energy Accelerator 2018 project. As a result, 182 Ukrainian startups were selected and 3 innovative projects were realized
●	Promoted incremental innovations (employees submitted 110 ideas and introduced 20 ideas)
●	Educated 1 700 company employees in the Innovativeness program
●	Managed the technical support department (317 employees, 600 sites, 25 000 pieces of computer equipment, 11 000 pieces of printing equipment)
●	Reorganized the department by adding remote technical support and user environment management direction (improved the quality of work by 15%, control level up to 35%)
●	Engineered VDI, BYOD business cases for IT 2030 strategy
●	Invented and executed projects to optimize company costs using Project management, LEAN, Agile, SCRAM, and Kanban methodologies:
   o	Optimized Microsoft Project and Visio licenses based on Microsoft SCCM 
   o	Deployed YSoft SafeQ copy-printing system for accounting and quality control of services 
   o	Enhanced IT security: eliminated obsolete PCs and office equipment 
   o	Headed the project team on SAP implementation in IT (received a certificate of the best SAP implementer)
   o	Integration of DTEK Oil&Gas with the construction of a complete IT infrastructure in 6 months 
●	Conducted successful negotiations with Liga LLC, CLG LLC to reduce software costs 
●	Planned and oversaw investment and operating budgets of more than €1M
●	Scaled up client-oriented approaches in the IT services segment based on ITIL, ITSM (SLA compliance in 5 years: 97-99%)
●	Standardized technical and process documentation in the IT area (increased efficiency of employees' work by 25%)

Deputy Head of Technical Support Department

●	Managed the technical support department of generating companies (32 employees, 8 000 pieces of computer equipment, 3 000 pieces of printing equipment) 
●	Led the project to migrate from file servers to Workspaces using BranchCache technology (created a single document storage center), BranchCache allowed remote sites to open and edit documents 40% faster, reduced the load on communication channels by 70%
●	Implemented the Microsoft SCCM system, reduced the burden on employees to install and update the software by 60%
●	Completed centralization of software complexes Smeta, Smeta-PIR, Budstandard (1000 users), reduced the number of contracts, labor costs for support, and number of servers to 2, due to redistribution and reduction of licenses
●	Integrated Zakhidenergo LLC and Dniproenergo LLC into DTEK. Launched the migration and transition to the IP plan ahead of project deadlines
●	Managed the process of technical support of PC users, troubleshooting of OS systems and timely replacement of obsolete IT equipment
●	Planned and oversaw investment and operating budgets of more than €200K

Head of the Technical Support Division of Generation Enterprises

●	Technical support for PC users, troubleshooting OS systems
●	Planning and monitoring the timely replacement of obsolete IT equipment

Leading Specialist of the General Corporate Support Department

Vostokenergo LLC (DTEK Group)

●	Setting up Windows server, and computer network configuration
●	Technical support for PC users, troubleshooting OS systems
●	Planning and monitoring the timely replacement of obsolete IT equipment

System Administration Specialist

Tehrempostavka LLC (DTEK Group)

●	Setting up Windows server, and computer network configuration
●	Technical support for PC users, troubleshooting OS systems

IT systems administrator

NEP MPE

●	IT component warehouse management, planning, and ordering of IT components
●	Computer assembly and repair
●	OS setup and troubleshooting

Purchasing technician

Welcome to my professional realm where innovation takes center stage! 
As a skilled Innovation Consultant, Project Manager, and Strategist, I bring over a decade of experience in digital projects and IT department management, coupled with more than three years of specialized open innovation expertise.

Driven by an unquenchable pass for emerging technologies and innovation, I'm good at running business growth and profitability through the strategic application of incremental, radical, and disruptive innovation principles. My forte lies in crafting architectural strategic visions, fostering open innovation cultures, unifying technology communities and teams, and harnessing cutting-edge solutions from startups and emerging technologies to solve intricate business challenges.

I've many accomplishments to my credit, including organizing high-performing teams, monitoring the effectiveness of pilot projects, and developing strategies to build technology and innovation ecosystems in organizations. A certified innovation trainer, I've imparted my insights to over 3,000 individuals, presenting at prominent industry events to catalyze innovation and digital transformation.

Recognized with such awards as the DTEK Gold Medal, SAP ERP "Best Implementer" and "Best Trainer of the Year 2015", I strive for innovation, which is reflected in productive projects. My career journey traverses problem-solving in the IT and energy sector, including trailblazing initiatives like Ukraine's inaugural Energy Accelerator and crafting transformative energy transition roadmaps.

Beyond my professional pursuits, I embrace a sports-driven lifestyle, adventurous escapades like bungee jumping, and cherishing quality moments with my family.

Let's chart a course to innovative excellence and drive our success forward through sharing expertise, foresight, and transformation.

taplio

The Battle

Ian Beacraft

Aleksandr Kostin

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