Harnessing the energy of “thinking differently”

In 2016, Graeme Edge was in the audience when speaker, presenter, author and entrepreneur Holly Ransom hosted Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Disruptors conference, which focuses on inspiring innovation across the business sector by bringing together diverse voices. At the table.

On a flight back to Calgary from London, where Virgin Disruptors takes place, Edge, an entrepreneur and founder of several energy businesses in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, thought more about a world-class event How to realize what an energy ecosystem might look like through a multidisciplinary approach. He discussed his idea with his wife, Michelle Edge, and business partner Rachel Maxwell, according to a person familiar with the matter. calgary herald article, they agreed to launch the Energy Disruptors: UNITE (EDU) Summit. As described on the website of McLaren Dion Edge, a concurrent ESG executive search firm, EDU will bring global thought leaders from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to the stage to discuss “new shared business models, disruptive technologies and innovations, and global policy trends. , opportunities for cultural and social transformation, and the need for multi-stakeholder and unlikely collaboration.”

Edge contacted Ransom to share their bold vision and invite her to join. “He wrote me a message on LinkedIn saying, ‘I was so inspired by the collision of different minds on stage[at Virgin Disruptors]and this new energy and out-of-the-box thinking.’ The conversation ,” Ransom recalled. convene. “I think this is something Canada desperately needs and absolutely something the energy ecosystem needs,” Edge added in the message.

Ransom said she was enthusiastic about signing on as a co-founder of the event convene” because she’s “genuinely passionate about how we disrupt patterns, thinking, and conversations in a way that opens up the possibility of new answers”—and her belief that in-person events are the best conduits for these conversations. “First, how do we Bringing people together? ” she said. “To me, there is no more important conversation than around securing the future of our planet and ensuring that we can move towards a more sustainable energy future. “

Ransom said innovation in the field has been hindered in the past due to the siled nature of the energy industry. “Oil and gas will have a summit here, a solar conference there, and then the mining industry will come together here — with little cross-pollination, no production heat and tension and exploration of collaborations required.

“What we found was that, almost exclusively,” she continued, “these conversations were the energy industry talking to itself, and we rarely really heard from leaders from outside the industry who had input and expertise that could contribute. Noting that everyone in the energy industry is dealing with unprecedented change and transformation, Ransom and her event co-founders wondered: “Why aren’t we inviting people who can help us discuss how to[become]more effective?” What about the leaders?” What does it take for a culture to make this happen? “

Former NASA astronaut Ron Garan talks to Holly Ransom at EDU 2024 about the lessons he learned while living on the International Space Station.

‘Not your grandfather’s energy campaign’

The first two-day EDU Summit was held in 2018 and has since been held in Calgary in 2019, 2022 and 2024, most recently at the BMO Center shortly after its $500 million expansion. The event attracted headlines from some of the world’s most influential figures, including author Malcolm Gladwell; former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin; Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Earth Fight Prize board member; Ron Garan, retired NASA astronaut; and – complete moment – ​​Virgin Group founder Richard Brann Sen.

EDU is a solutions-focused summit featuring speakers from across the energy industry—from waste and carbon utilization companies to geothermal companies to commercial fusion energy companies—as well as compelling experts from outside the industry. These include futurists, historians and organizational psychologists such as Dr. Ali Burston, a disruptor of behavior change in individual, team and organizational settings who spoke at EDU 2024.

“You hear pain points popping up all the time in different parts of the energy ecosystem,” Ransom said at the event. EDU’s response to these recurring issues was a deliberate departure from the echo chamber approach Ransom and her co-founders found other energy conferences had been taking.

“We’d think, ‘Great, who are the best people in North America and around the world that we can bring in to help guide this conversation and add to people’s tool kits?'” Ransom said. “That’s how we think about the program every year, we have a healthy mix of industry expertise on both the main and side stages.”

EDU also does its part by allowing attendees – the majority of whom are industry workers, half at executive level or above, followed by academics, policymakers and students – to spend quality time with high-profile speakers who Provides tangible gains. In the VIP portion of the event, launching in 2024, attendees will have the opportunity to expand through one-on-one conversations with speakers such as Sanna Marin, book signings with authors who spoke at the event, an “Hour with…” and Q&A Their learning on the main stage. “Again, it’s a space and a dedicated time where they can connect with each other,” Ransom said.

“We are determined not to be your grandfather’s energy event,” she said, which included the goal of attracting a “more diverse audience” to the event. “This is a conversation that involves all of us, and a lot of times, how we convey our message, our stance and our choices about how (an incident) looks and feels will determine whether someone feels like they belong in the conversation,” Ransom said . From the beginning, one of EDU’s mottos has been that “these conversations are just as important in kitchens and classroom tables,” she said, “as they are at boardroom and leadership tables.”

“One of the great things to see is how it breaks up the pattern as people watch these performances,” Holly Ransom said of the conference’s entertainment options. “You don’t walk into a room expecting to see something like this.”

“In a heartbeat”

Although rooted in the vital challenges of energy transition and climate change, EDU injects a sense of playfulness into its programmes, which “is really at the heart of what we try to deliver in terms of content and design activities”, says Ransom. The fun and energetic atmosphere helps EDU attract young people. In 2024, there were 3,000 attendees, 700 of whom were under the age of 35. “It’s great to have such a strong voice for the younger generation,” Ransom said. About 35 percent of the people on the EDU stage are “visible minorities,” and half of the speakers are women, she said.

Part of that atmosphere comes from injecting live music and art into the summit—performances by violinists, cellists, singer-songwriters, Calgary-area dance performers and renowned circus artists are part of the 2024 attendee experience.

“One of the great things to see is the way it breaks up in its patterns when people watch these performances,” Ransom said. “You don’t expect to see something like this when you walk into a room.” She added that these art performances transport attendees to different emotional and mental states, so they may receive a different reception than they would after a “non-stop presentation.” the next paragraph. Ransom said the creative element of the event was also a good example of the “collision of ideas” concept EDU is pursuing.

The performances can also be a handy icebreaker during social breaks, she said. “What I love is that sometimes the conversation starts with, ‘Oh my gosh, can you believe what that guy did with the hula hoop?’ It’s a great entry point for a conversation between strangers,” Lead the two of you to “have a conversation about how to do business together,” she says, which otherwise might not happen. “Creativity plays these three roles for us: fostering collaboration, changing the way people interpret content, and then ultimately moving the event forward. Positioned to be more inclusive than typical energy events,” she said, “who would think they belong. “

Casey Gale is the author of “ held.

on track

In 2024, Energy Disruptors: UNITE introduces for the first time specific education tracks – the RBC Track: Financing the Energy Transition; the Pathways Track: Canada – an Energy Transition Superpower; and the Energy Disruptors Track: New Energy.

Event co-founder Holly Ransom said the positive response to the tracks had been “overwhelming”. “The meeting was very well attended, mostly standing room only,” she said. She said the track meeting space was designed to include unique features that resonate with attendees, such as making attendees feel like they’ve walked into a campfire. “You come in and there’s s’mores donuts and you can have hot chocolate. So you’re transported into the experience of that room. I think it adds to people’s experience as well because it’s unique.”

on the web

To learn more about Energy Disruptors: UNITE, visit EnergyDisruptors.com.