Lake Nona Impact Forum Draws Delegation of Health Care and Technology Innovators to Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 25, 2015) – This week, more than 250 of the nation’s top CEOs, health care innovators and thought leaders are gathered in Lake Nona, Orlando for the 2015 Lake Nona Impact Forum presented by Johnson & Johnson.

Committed to inspiring impactful health innovation, the invitation-only event fosters conversation among key leaders through interactive panels, thought-provoking presentations and rare networking opportunities. Sessions during this year’s Impact Forum range from personalized medicine and building healthy communities to the impact of wearable technology and wellness real estate.

“We set out three years ago to convene the best thinkers and innovators who can redefine the landscape for health and health care, and this year’s speakers and delegates are doing just that, with Lake Nona increasingly recognized as a place at the forefront of that change.” said Dr. Thaddeus Seymour Jr., president of the Lake Nona Institute and host of the 2015 Lake Nona Impact Forum.

The three-day symposium developed by the Lake Nona Institute was inspired by the Aspen Institute, TED Conferences and the Clinton Global Initiative platforms. This year’s cutting-edge presentations and conversations will be led by some of the nation’s foremost leaders, including the following speakers and panelists:

  • Alex Gorksy, Chairman & CEO, Johnson & Johnson
  • Arianna Huffington, Chair, President and Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post Media Group
  • Esther Dyson, Chairman, EDventure Holdings; Founder, HICCup
  • Jeff Arnold, Founder & CEO, Sharecare, Inc.
  • John Chen, CEO & Executive Chair, BlackBerry
  • Mehmet Oz, MD, Host, “The Dr. Oz Show;” Vice Chair & Professor of Surgery, Columbia University
  • Mehmood Khan, MD, Vice Chairman & Chief Scientific Officer of Global Research & Development, PepsiCo
  • Patrick Geraghty, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, GuideWell and Florida Blue
  • Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, CEO & Founder, Nantworks; Chairman, Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation; CEO, Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine
  • Paul Scialla, Founder, Delos Living
  • The Honorable Robert McDonald, US Secretary of Veterans Affairs
  • Sanjay Gupta, MD, Chief Medical Correspondent, CNN; Staff Neurosurgeon, The Emory Clinic; Associate Chief of Neurology, Grady Memorial Hospital

The event seeks to be an open forum for discussion and idea sharing among the country’s foremost health, life sciences, and technology leaders.  The 2013 wrap-up video found at https://vimeo.com/90670061 provides an overview of the inspiring and dynamic discussions held during the forum.

In the vein of improving health and healthcare technology, the 2015 Lake Nona Impact Forum is hosted in the health and life science cluster of Lake Nona Medical City, and venues include the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, SanfordBurnham Medical Research Institute at Lake Nona, Nemours Children’s Hospital, the University of Florida Research & Academic Center, and the Orlando VA Medical Center.  

The 7,000-acre master-planned community of Lake Nona is developed by Tavistock Development Company, a diversified real estate firm owned by Tavistock Group and specializing in planning, design, finance, construction and development. Recently acknowledged by FORTUNE Magazine as a model for the next great American city, Lake Nona is one of the fastest growing communities in America attracting more than $2.8 billion in construction across 7.1 million square feet with the development of two new hospitals, three college campuses, a nationally recognized medical research institute, the USTA’s ‘New Home of American Tennis’ and thousands of new homes. Focused on sustainable design and healthy living, Lake Nona is recognized by Cisco as the only designated “Iconic Smart + Connected Community” in the U.S. for its integrated gigabit network – one of only nine such communities in the world.

The 2015 Lake Nona Institute Impact Forum is presented by Johnson & Johnson, along with Founding Sponsors:  Cisco, the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation, GuideWell, Sharecare, Tavistock Foundation; Medical City Partners: Nemours Children’s Health System, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, UF Health, Orlando VA Medical Center; and Contributing Sponsors: Dr. Phillips Charities, Florida Hospital, Garmin, Insurance Office of America, MediFit, Mirati Therapeutics, Orlando Health, PepsiCo, PwC, Technogym, and the United States Tennis Association.

To learn more about the Lake Nona Impact Forum and the Lake Nona Institute, visit www.LakeNonaImpactForum.org and www.LakeNonaInstitute.org.