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Saneel Radia
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Innovation Officer at Proto
Saneel Radia is a well-known figure in the advertising and innovation world. He has worked in various senior positions for top advertising firms such as BBH, R/GA, and VivaKi. Radia's passion for innovation led him to become the founder, CEO, and CIO of Proto, an innovation and design consultancy firm. He has also served as board member and advisor to non-profit organizations such as AAAA's Foundation and +Pool. Radia's expertise lies in bringing together multiple disciplines for practical and tangible outputs. He is a hybrid professional who identifies as CIO, CMO, CEO, or CSO depending on the environment.
Highlights
I sit on the board of + POOL, a non-profit that's been working for years to create a floating, water-filtering pool in the east river of NYC. This is a non-profit with climate, public access, and social justice at its core as it attempts to reclaim New York’s natural resources by opening our waters to all people.
Yesterday was a huge milestone that includes some very exciting news for all New Yorkers, in and beyond New York City. Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams announced a $16mil commitment to making not just one, but multiple +POOLs a reality across the state. The funding includes support for swim education for underprivileged communities because few people know that drowning remains the largest cause of death for kids 1-5 years old, and is disproportionately high for kids of color.
Watch this space for updates as we begin to apply the technology and design we've been working on since the idea was conceived. Special thanks to all my fellow Proto coworkers as well for adopting this nonprofit as a pro-bono client and helping make this multi-year dream a reality as we forge ahead.
Please consider supporting our work at pluspool.org.
What a great trip. Last month, I spoke at “Oxygen 15: Creators of the Future” in Bucharest. I had never been to Bucharest before. And although I have performed at private events, those tended to be back in my comedy days. Speaking about the history of technology leaps, the idea of human’s circular relationship with our tools, and what marketers can do looking ahead at world of AI, Blockchain, and AR/VR driving what I believe to be the 4th era of innovation (one focused on human expression), I cover a lot about the past, present, and future. I think we need to focus less on asking what technology’s impact on us is, and instead ask the more foundational question of what it is we are creating technology to do… and who really decides where and how we invest.
Special thanks to Dimitris Tranakas and Tereza Tranakas for being spectacular hosts; congrats to them and the whole Oxygen team.
