Author Malcolm Gladwell to speak at Tech Week Grand Rapids

Tech Week, Sept. 18-23, is a community-wide, multi-day event designed to showcase the region’s tech community. (Photo provided by The Right Place)

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell is set to speak at the kickoff of Tech Week GR on Sept. 18 at GLC Live at 20 Monroe.

Tickets for the event, which runs from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., are set to go on sale this month, according to a spokesperson for the event. Tech Week GR, now in its second year, is community-wide, multi-day event designed to showcase the region’s tech community. It features panel discussions, hands-on tech exhibits, networking opportunities and more.

Tech Week runs from Sept. 18-23. Gladwell is the author of five New York Times bestsellers: The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath, according to his website. He’s also the host of the podcast Revisionist History, which “reconsiders things both overlooked and misunderstood.”

“We’re excited to welcome globally-recognized speaker Malcolm Gladwell to our region to kick-off Tech Week GR,” said Andria Romkema, senior vice president of marketing and communications at The Right Place, a Grand Rapids-based economic development group focused on growing the region’s tech sector and one of Tech Week’s organizers.

“Malcolm is a master storyteller who will inspire us as we continue to drive towards our goal of becoming a leading tech hub in the Midwest.”

Gladwell has been included in the TIME 100 Most Influential People list.

Last September, Randy Thelen, president and CEO of The Right Place, announced his organization’s goal of adding 20,000 tech jobs over the next decade and transforming the area into a major Midwestern tech hub. He also said he wants the tech sector, by that time, to account for 10% of the region’s workforce, up from an estimated 6.1% now.

Here’s a full look at the events planned for Tech Week:

  • Monday 18th: Community Kick-Off event ft. Malcolm Gladwell
  • Tuesday 19th: Tech Showcase
  • Tuesday 19th: Creative Solutions that Change Minds: The Engineering and Computing Mindset
  • Wednesday 20th: GVSU Tech Talks
  • Wednesday 20th: Demo Day
  • Thursday 21st: Michigan Software Labs Drinks on the Deck
  • Thursday 21st: Tech Connect Career Networking
  • Thursday 21st: GR in XR on the Blue Bridge
  • Friday 22nd: Spartan Innovations Tech Week Event
  • Friday 22nd & Saturday 23rd: Confluence Festival

For information on Tech Week and tickets to Gladwell’s appearance, visit techweekgr.com.

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