Day 1
8:30-10:00 – Opening Plenary: Leadership for a Sustainable America

Matt Barnard is the co-founder and CEO of Plenty, which grows clean, delicious fruits and vegetables year-round in indoor farms located just outside major urban centres without pesticides, herbicides, or GMOs. Matt previously served as President and COO of Whalen & Company, founder of Search Fund Capital, Managing Operating Partner for 523 Capital, and VP of Deployment at SmartSynch. The teams he led designed and deployed over $1B of sophisticated technology infrastructure in the telecommunications and cellular smart grid industries. A 6th generation farmer, Matt earned an MS from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and both a BA and BM from Northwestern University.