Innovation has never moved faster or mattered more. From Silicon Valley to Sydney, Lagos to London, today’s most influential leaders are pushing boundaries, reshaping industries and redefining what progress looks like. And while history tends to spotlight the breakthroughs, the truth is that every transformative idea begins the same way: with someone bold enough to build what doesn’t yet exist.

That’s why this year marks a milestone for The CEO Magazine with the launch of our first Top Tech Innovators global spotlight, proudly supported by Scaling Up and INSPIRED. It celebrates the founders, CEOs and changemakers who are building what’s next across AI, cybersecurity, clean energy, finance and beyond.

Their collective impact echoes the thinking of the world’s most influential innovation leaders. In the same spirit that OpenAI’s Sam Altman urges builders to “be around smart people” and Gabby Bernstein, whose new AI offering brings her 24/7 guidance to audiences worldwide, shows what’s possible when technology amplifies human connection at scale.

These global voices remind us that innovation is never a solo act – it’s a combination of courage, clarity and relentless curiosity. And the leaders featured on our Top Tech Innovators 2025 spotlight embody that spirit in every way.

Here, we asked them one question: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to the next generation of innovation leaders? Their answers form the playbook for anyone preparing to build what’s next.

Top Tech Innovators 2025

Ben Lamm, Founder and CEO, Colossal Biosciences

“You can’t be afraid of the word ‘no’ and rejection. I built a handful of successful companies before Colossal. I got told ‘no’ a lot about Colossal. I got told ‘no’ about Colossal from investors that had invested in all my previous companies. I still get told ‘no’ about Colossal every day. You can’t be afraid to take risks and have rejection – just because it’s not right for a certain person or certain group doesn’t mean it’s not right for someone else.”

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Gabby Bernstein, Teacher, Coach and New York Times bestselling author, Dear Gabby

“The secret to innovation is to do the inner work and trust the clarity of your own inner guide. Then with that clarity lean into the technology and AI and go for it!

“That inner clarity is what inspired me to create Gabby AI for my coaching app – a new way to receive spiritual guidance and wisdom anytime, anywhere. Gabby AI is powered by twenty years of my wisdom, including my eleven spiritual self-help books, hundreds of hours of lectures, meditations, workshops and practices. My hope is that this tool supports my community in deepening their spiritual faith and feeling like they’re never alone on their journey.”

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Carla Oates, Founder, The Beauty Chef

“The biggest problem we’re solving is the outdated idea that beauty is only skin deep. Too often, people still see beauty as something you apply to your face, rather than something that begins in the gut. At The Beauty Chef, our mission is to change that conversation – to show that while topical skincare plays a role, the microbiome is central not only to healthy, radiant skin, but to whole-body health.”

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Darey Art Alade, Co-Founder, Livespot360

“Innovation isn’t just about invention, it’s about long-term relevance. The future belongs to those who create experiences that move people, solve problems and still feel like magic. Stay obsessed with culture, stay open to change and always design for impact.”

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Deola Art Alade, CEO, Livespot360

“True innovation begins with deep empathy. To lead the future, you have to listen louder than you speak, build with integrity and stay bold enough to imagine what doesn’t exist yet, then bring the right people around the table to build it with you.”

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Jeremy Bloom, Founder, Owl AI

“The path to greatness always runs through reinvention. Move faster than your competition, iterate in real time, and lean into the work that others hesitate to touch.”

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Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)

“Innovation is not just about technology, it’s about people. Build solutions that empower, not exclude. Focus on solving real problems, invest in talent and create systems that outlive you. The future belongs to leaders who innovate with empathy, inclusion and a sense of national and global purpose.”

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Fabiola Gomez, CEO, LUXIT

“Passion cannot be outsourced – no-one will carry your conviction, so expect setbacks and stay the course. Set goals so massive they feel impossible, then work backwards into bold, achievable steps. Anchor yourself in adaptability and continuous learning. Technology accelerates faster than any sector. Your responsibility is not just to keep pace, but to outpace and define the future.”

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Cliff Obrecht, Co-Founder & COO, Canva

“When we started Canva, all we had was an idea and a lot of people telling us it wouldn’t work. We were told ‘no’ more than 100 times. But we backed ourselves, stayed close to our community, and kept going. Life and business are like a jungle – they’ll try to knock you down at every turn. But every time you push through, you grow, and so does your company.”

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Greg Caleo, Co-Founder, Cybermate

“Innovation isn’t always about having the smartest tech or the perfect pitch. It’s about solving something real, for someone real. The best leaders stay curious, listen deeply and build with – not for – their users. Be willing to pivot, simplify and challenge your own assumptions. And don’t forget to pause. Even 30 minutes of space can shift your perspective, and perspective fuels progress. Momentum comes from clarity, not complexity. So keep it human, keep it honest and above all, keep moving.”

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Rosco Jewell, Owner/Driver, AmazingEV

“The technological landscape is accelerating at unprecedented speed. Every day is an opportunity to be courageous, to embrace disruption and to explore transformative innovation. My experience building a dedicated used EV marketplace from the ground up taught me that future growth requires a dual-engine approach. That means relentlessly prioritizing the customer experience while being brave with technology and choosing to lead a disruptive change rather than just react to it.”

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Patricia Droguett, Co-Founder & COO, Software@Scale

“Start with the customer, not the tech. The most successful innovations come from deeply understanding the customer problem and the value it creates for the business. Then apply the right technology to solve it – not necessarily the newest, but the most effective. Build, test and adapt fast, using target market feedback to guide every iteration. Don’t be afraid to pivot when the data tells you to. That balance between curiosity and execution is what turns ideas into results.”

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Rachael Powell, CEO, Magentus

“Innovation without purpose is just a novelty. Future leaders should solve problems that genuinely matter to people’s lives. Focus relentlessly on impact over ingenuity: solutions that improve lives naturally drive success. The world doesn’t need clever tech for its own sake; it needs meaningful innovation that meets real human needs and creates lasting change.”

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Catriona Wallace, Founder, Responsible Metaverse Alliance

“Future leaders must integrate ethics, innovation and expanded awareness. The role is no longer to only grow profits but to safeguard humanity and the planet. Anchor decisions in values, embrace technology responsibly and lead with vision that spans generations. Leadership today is planetary stewardship, not just corporate strategy.”

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Amandipp Singh, Founder, Enabled Talent

“Build for those most excluded. If your solution works for them, it will work for everyone. Inclusion isn’t a feature; it’s a foundation for better design, better impact and better business.”

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Fiorenzo Manganiello, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, LIAN Group

“Every major technological advancement needs powerful infrastructure to succeed. It needs strong foundations that help it scale and develop at pace. If you really want to be an innovation leader, don’t just think about the end result; build and invest in the innovative infrastructure that drives these advancements forward.”

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Maaz Sheikh, Co-Founder and CEO, STARZPLAY

“Watch the AI space closely – and engage with it deliberately. The leaders of tomorrow will be defined not only by their ability to adopt AI, but by how they integrate it responsibly, ethically and with a clear view of the human experience to serve. At STARZPLAY, we believe innovation starts with asking the right questions and using AI not just for scale, but for purpose.”

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Derek Peterson, CEO, ROAM Agricultural

“Do not fall in love with the technology; fall in love with the problem. If you become too attached to your technology, you risk losing the flexibility needed to pivot or adapt when circumstances change. Remaining anchored to the problem ensures you stay focused on the outcome that matters most. This approach allows for a natural process of adapting and adopting the right technologies, rather than forcing a solution, so you can deliver real-world impact that endures.”

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Jaspreet Singh, Global Vice President – Cloud Solutions, TP

“Start with problems, not platforms. And invest as much in change readiness as you do in technology. In innovation, it’s easy to get dazzled by what’s possible. But sustainable impact comes from deeply understanding the ground realities in operations and designing solutions that fit those contexts. At the same time, capability and transformation focused leaders must become change leaders – because no transformation succeeds without cultural adoption, stakeholder alignment, and trust. The future will be co-built by human ingenuity and machine intelligence. Your role is to create the bridges between them, responsibly, inclusively and with a clear sense of purpose.”

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Tim Cook, CEO, Apple

“Don’t work for money – it will wear out fast, or you’ll never make enough and you will never be happy, one or the other. You have to find the intersection of doing something you’re passionate about and at the same time, something that is in service to other people. I would argue that if you don’t find that intersection, you’re not going to be very happy in life.”

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Gian Marco Bronzato, CEO, myWorld America

“Innovate not just to simplify reality, but to stimulate and inspire the human mind. True innovation goes beyond making things easier – it challenges assumptions, sparks creativity and opens new possibilities. As future innovation leaders, focus on creating solutions that engage people’s curiosity and imagination, driving meaningful progress.”

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Lynn Miteva, Founder and CEO, Kizoku Media

“True leadership means seeing the big picture: transforming complex systems through design thinking into experiences that clients and consumers truly connect with. This connection is built through powerful storytelling, compelling visuals and emotions that resonate deeply – far beyond bland, cliche statements like ‘our mission’ or ‘our vision’. People are wired for stories; we are drawn to them no matter the industry, and innovation that ignores this misses its greatest impact.”

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Errol Brandt, Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Kiraa

“For future innovation leaders, my advice is simple: find the one problem you care so deeply about that you feel compelled to solve it. Technology is just a tool. It’s your intimate understanding of the problem and your passion that give innovation its real value.”

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Linda Du, Co-Founder & CEO, Moola Money

“Start scrappy, but stay user-obsessed. It’s easy to get caught up in flashy tech or long product road maps, but the real magic happens when you deeply understand the people you’re building for. Innovation is about empathy, iteration and clarity of purpose and creating value for other people beyond a technology product.”

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Andrew Reardon, CEO, Proactis

“Lead with purpose and focus on solving real problems. Innovation must deliver real operational value, solving actual business pain – not just chasing features. It isn’t about building what’s possible, it’s about building what’s needed, and doing it in a way that people can adopt, trust and benefit from immediately. Listen deeply to your users, define and measure outcomes from day one, and build solutions that are intuitive and deliver measurable impact. That’s how trust is earned and why customers stick with you.”

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Caitlin Stephens, Chief of Staff APAC, Eagle Eye

“Innovation without purpose is just expensive experimentation. But when you combine breakthrough technology with deep understanding of human needs, you create solutions that don’t just work – they transform entire industries. That’s the difference between building cool technology and building the future.”

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Peter Jones, Managing Director, Prological

“Choose progress over perfection. The key is waking up every day and taking one positive step in the right direction. The daily progress might feel underwhelming when you look at what you’ve accomplished in a week, but the compound effect is remarkable – in three years, you’ll be amazed at how much ground you’ve covered through consistent, incremental advancement.”

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Jaeson Evangelista, Co-Coordinator, Eastern Communications

“Instead of looking at products or solutions, we should dig deeper and understand the pain points of our customers. Innovation might be offering what’s new, but you should also put your customers at the center of what you do. Listen to them, and work with them in finding economical and effective ways to solve their problems.”

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Aileen Regio, Co-Coordinator, Eastern Communications

“Skill and grit may get you far, but compassion for your people is the true mark of a leader. Turn your ‘me’ into ‘we’ and you will earn the respect of those walking alongside you – that way, all of you will go further.”

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Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Meta

“If I had to know everything about connecting people before I started, I never would have built Facebook. Movies and pop culture just get this all wrong. The idea of a single eureka moment is a dangerous lie. It makes us feel inadequate because we feel like we haven’t had ours yet and it prevents people with seeds of good ideas from ever getting started in the first place.”

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Dempsey Sablain, Founder & Strategic Partner, DEMSAR

“As you build the future, don’t lose sight of what makes it worth building. Innovation is not just about speed, scale or disruption; it’s about creating meaningful value for real people. And in a world that’s becoming increasingly automated, digitized and impersonal, how you lead will matter just as much as what you lead. Use technology to accelerate progress, yes. But never let it replace the human values that hold organizations and societies together.”

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Victoria Reade, Co-Founder & CEO, Transformative Risk Solutions (TRS)

“Developing transformative solutions from within, as an entrepreneur, involves identifying a problem, understanding its root cause and creating a solution that addresses the core issue by reframing the problem itself. This process goes beyond simply addressing the surface-level symptoms. Successful entrepreneurs are not just problem solvers; they must be problem designers, envisioning novel solutions and pushing for radical change.”

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Ida Byrd-Hill, CEO, Automation Workz

“Observe the behavior of people around you and become an early-stage leader to implement new technology – even if it means embracing the failure that comes with future technology. It will catapult your career.”

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Chad Schnuelle, CEO, Refrigerants

“Cultivate curiosity, create safe spaces for your team to prosper without fear of failure, and reward for diversity of thought. Always keep learning, and never fear taking calculated risks.”

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Naveen Jain, Founder & CEO, Viome Life Sciences

“Default to truth seeking over trend chasing. Trends fade; purpose compounds. Above all, aim for solutions that make the world unambiguously better. Properly directed, ambition is the most renewable resource you have.”

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Adriana Rivas, COO, Bigwise Corp

“Innovation is not necessarily all about grabbing headlines; it’s about establishing trust and credibility. If something works only in a demonstration environment, it’s not innovation. However, if it can be successful for the busy customer during peak hours, for the peak-hour cashier and for the merchant watching out for the all-important margin, that is innovation.”

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Daniela Silicato, Founder & CEO, Milieu Early Education and Care

“Never lose sight of the people you are creating for while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Innovation is not just about new programs, technology or processes – it’s about solving real problems and making a tangible difference in people’s lives. For me, at Milieu Early Education and Care, innovation has always been guided by the question: ‘How does this improve the experiences and outcomes for the children and families we serve?’ I would encourage future leaders to listen deeply, be curious and embrace experimentation.”

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Alexander Shahin, CEO, Peregrine Financial

“Take bold, calculated risks with the intention of leaving a legacy, not just a product. Innovation is never born out of comfort – it comes from stepping into the unknown, testing ideas that may fail and being willing to take risks that others shy away from. But the key is calculation: grounding bold vision in thoughtful execution, surrounding yourself with the right partners and learning quickly from every misstep.”

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Mark Bernberg, Co-Founder, PRiMAX AI

“It is not simply the idea but rather the execution of that idea that lays the foundation for future success. The future leaders of tomorrow need to take action now to create a sustainable future for all.”

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Sharon Melamed, Founder & Managing Director, Matchboard

“Look for problems or frustrations you know a variety of people experience, and focus your innovation around real-world solutions.”

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Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI

“The best people always seem to be building stuff and hanging around smart people, so if you have to decide between several options, this may be a good filter. Working on something good will pull you along a path where good things keep happening to you.”

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Gavriel Schneider, Group CEO, Risk 2 Solution Group

“Learn to see risk as opportunity, not just as something to avoid. In fast-moving environments like cyber, technology and security, disruption is inevitable. The leaders who will thrive are those who can build risk intelligence, the ability to understand uncertainty, make adaptive decisions and embed that mindset into their teams and culture.”

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Craig Piggott, Founder & CEO, Halter

“Don’t give up on your dream. A lot of people will tell you you’re crazy – until your idea works. Then they’ll call you a visionary. This is unlikely to happen without a lot of blood, sweat and tears. But never let anyone tell you something can’t be done. It can – the way to do it just hasn’t been invented yet.”

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Kosha Gada, CEO, Memories Technologies

“The fundamentals of innovation are universal – identify problems, see opportunities others don’t, build new (whether brand new or incremental) solutions that solve them.”

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Marcus Zeltzer, Founder & Managing Director, Yellow Canary

“If you cannot articulate why your innovation will make the life of the customer, the CFO, the CHRO, the payroll leader, the board and so on easier, clearer and more defensible, then the solution will struggle to gain traction no matter how clever the technology. Innovation leaders who think of the customer first, solve problems that truly matter and deliver practical value will not only create products, they will also create progress.”

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Brian Tatum, Co-Founder, Outward Intelligence

“Don’t chase technology for its own sake; anchor innovation in human and planetary impact. Invest in resilience. Innovation isn’t just about ‘new’ – it’s about durable progress that can withstand uncertainty. Measure success not just in profit, but in the positive externalities your work leaves behind.”

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Emilie Couton, CEO, Accor Plus

“Develop your critical thinking – a skill that will become in high demand. The best ideas don’t come from working in silos; they come from where human experiences and different perspectives meet. The smartest solutions are the ones that balance clever thinking with genuine understanding of people’s needs. Technology should serve us, not the other way around.”

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Michael Piro, Co-CEO, Indochina Capital

“Great ideas only create impact when they are grounded in reality, supported by the right partners and executed with resilience. Stay curious, embrace change and always challenge assumptions; but also build the structures, teams and processes that can turn vision into lasting value.”

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Lydia King, VP Academics & CIO, Enderun Colleges

“Embrace continuous learning and adaptability. The technology landscape evolves rapidly, and staying ahead requires a commitment to lifelong learning and the flexibility to pivot when necessary. Encourage your teams to innovate, experiment and learn from failures to drive sustainable growth and success.”

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Timothy Cocaro, CEO & Founder, Canibuild

“Don’t chase money; chase the problem. The money comes when you solve something meaningful. Bad ideas die, no matter how well-funded they are. Great ones survive because they create undeniable value.”

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Kumar Singirikonda, Director of DevOps Engineering, Toyota

“The most meaningful innovation is often quiet, deliberate and grounded in solving real human problems with empathy, precision and long-term thinking. If there’s one piece of advice I would give to the next generation of innovation leaders, it is this: Don’t fall in love with your solution; fall in love with the problem.”

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Travis Stephenson, ANZ Managing Director, Dedalus

“Innovation thrives when people are engaged, decisions are collaborative and adoption is deliberate. Bring the right people into decision-making, enable a focused adoption process and demonstrate excellence through governance and ownership. Your people are your competitive edge for taking innovation to the next level.”