Minds Across
the Vineyard

Voices shaping applied neuroscience.

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  No. 02 · Keynote

  George Vradenburg

  Chairman of the Board · Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative

  George Vradenburg is the Chairman of the Board of the Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative, a global public-private-patient foundation focused on linking and scaling Alzheimer's and Brain Health research and delivery systems around the world. DAC was launched in Davos in 2021 by the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease (CEOi) and the World Economic Forum. George is also the Chairman and Co-Founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer's (UsA2), a U.S.-based venture philanthropy and advocacy organization committed to increasing the scale and speed of therapeutic and risk mitigation initiatives to prevent Alzheimer's.

  In 2011, the United States Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services named George to serve on the National Alzheimer's Advisory Council on Research, Care and Services for the first-of-its-kind National Alzheimer's Strategic Plan.

  George received his B.A. from Oberlin College, magna cum laude, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, cum laude.

  Visit davosalzheimerscollaborative.org→
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  No. 03 · Speaker

  Dr. R. Keerthy Sunder, MD, DFAPA, FASAM

  Founder · Karma Doctors & Karma TMS · Sunder Foundation

  Dr. Keerthy Sunder is an accomplished physician, researcher, and educator with three decades of clinical and academic work across Obstetrics & Gynecology, Psychiatry, and Addiction Medicine in the UK and the United States. Inspired by his mother's lifelong struggle with a treatment-resistant mood disorder, he has devoted his career to advancing neuromodulation and brain-health innovation.

  He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Society of Addiction Medicine, Clinical Faculty in Psychiatry at the University of California Riverside School of Medicine, and an Adjunct Professor at Southern California University of Health Sciences. The U.S. Government awarded him the EB-1A Extraordinary Ability visa and citizenship for substantial contributions to his field.

  Dr. Sunder has worked as Investigator on more than 30 research protocols, has co-authored numerous papers on TMS neuromodulation, Reward Deficiency Syndrome, PTSD and TBI, and has served veterans and active-duty service members for over two decades — including as Principal Investigator on an FDA-sponsored PTSD clinical trial. He is the co-author of Outdance the Devil and the Amazon international best-seller Face Your Addiction and Save Your Life.

  Visit karmadoctors.com→
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  No. 04 · Speaker

  Jim Poole

  CEO · NuCalm

  Jim Poole is a seasoned healthcare and technology executive with more than three decades of experience at the intersection of science, innovation, and human performance. As CEO of NuCalm, he leads the world's only patented neuroscience technology clinically proven to lower stress, balance the nervous system, improve sleep, and enhance performance — safely, naturally, and without drugs.

  Since 2009 he has guided NuCalm's evolution into a global leader in applied neuroscience, backed by 36 years of research, $52M in development, and two patents. NuCalm has been used in 2.7 million medical procedures and is adopted by the U.S. military, professional athletes, physicians, and pilots.

  A recognized thought leader in neuropsychobiology, stress physiology and human recovery, Poole has lectured at the Royal College of Physicians in London, the World Congress for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics, the Pentagon, Quantico, the NFL Combine, and CES. He is a recipient of the President's Lifetime Achievement Award for servant leadership.

  Visit nucalm.com→
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  No. 05 · Speaker

  KJ Lavan

  CEO · Brain Matrix Alliance

  KJ Lavan is a global brain health strategist, author, entrepreneur, and former senior biotechnology and pharmaceutical executive with more than two decades of experience spanning healthcare innovation, neuroscience, public policy, and international business development. Drawing from both professional expertise and personal caregiving experience, he focuses on the emerging relationship between brain health, economic resilience, workforce productivity, and human capital sustainability.

  Lavan is the founder of Brain Matrix Alliance and author of The Global Cognitive Resilience Economy: Dementia Policy, Prevention Economics, and the Infrastructure Architecture for 21st-Century Human Capital Stability. His work advances a new policy and economic framework that positions cognitive resilience, brain health, and dementia prevention as strategic infrastructure issues rather than solely healthcare concerns.

  His research explores how ageing populations, cognitive decline, artificial intelligence, workforce transformation, and longevity are converging to reshape global competitiveness, fiscal stability, and economic growth — bridging the gap between science, policy, capital, and implementation for the human capital challenges of the 21st century.

  Visit brainmatrixalliance.com→
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  No. 06 · Speaker

  Dr. Lawrence Jones

  ECOSYSTEM BUILDER · ENERGY-BRAIN NEXUS ENTREPRENEUR · FOUNDER, MINDS ACROSS THE VINEYARD · HOST, INFLUENTIAL MINDS

  Dr. Lawrence Jones is a polymathic thought leader, award-winning author, keynote speaker, and accomplished practitioner with over thirty years of global experience in the energy industry. Renowned for his interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral thinking, he brings a unique lens to complex global challenges, focusing on the intersection of energy, water, mining, brain health, brain economy, food, AI, urbanization, deep tech, and other sectors. He champions a strategic framework grounded in hindsight, insight, and foresight to harness opportunities across these domains and address emerging global challenges. A leading advocate for electricity diplomacy and mentorship for future leaders, he emphasizes the role of technology, demographics, geopolitics and geoeconomics in shaping global futures.

  He is an international ecosystem builder across critical industries, helping electric utilities, infrastructure owners and operators, investors, policymakers, and technology leaders navigate complex interdependencies between energy, health, mining, water, transport, digital infrastructure, and industrial sectors, while accounting for regional differences. Dr. Jones founded and hosts Global Circuit Exchange and Influential Minds, two global conversation series spotlighting prominent voices from across energy, finance, governments, and adjacent industries. He has welcomed Nobel Laureates, leading philanthropists, and best-selling authors as guests. Dr. Jones is also the founder and host of Minds Across the Vineyard: A Community Forum on Brain Health & the Brain Economy.

  In 2024, Dr. Jones was inducted as an International Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. He serves on the global board of the World Resources Institute, is a Senior Associate (non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and advises several organizations including Lyten Inc. and Radix Engineering LLC. From 2015 to 2025 he was Vice President and later Senior Vice President of International Programs at the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), where he significantly expanded international reach—growing membership to more than 70 electric companies with operations in over 90 countries, providing electricity to more than 3.5 billion people. Prior to joining EEI, Dr. Jones held leadership roles at Alstom USA, served as a visiting researcher at Électricité de France, and worked on special projects for ABB Power Systems in Sweden.

  In June 2014, he was appointed to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee, and in 2010 to the National Institute of Standards and Technology Smart Grid Advisory Committee. Dr. Jones is the editor of the first and second editions of “Renewable Energy Integration: Practical Management of Variability, Uncertainty and Flexibility in Power Grids.” He has received numerous awards for leadership and contributions in renewable energy technology and integration, including the 2017 Global Excellence Award in Renewable Energy from the Energy and Environment Foundation of India, the Renewable Energy World Network 2012 Excellence Award for Leadership in Technology, and the Utility Variable Generation Integration Group 2012 Achievement Award. He holds several patents for technologies enhancing situational awareness of operators in energy control centers. Born in Monrovia, Liberia, Dr. Jones earned his MSc, Licentiate and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. His recognition includes the Gen X Leaders in Energy Award (2021) and being named among Africa’s most influential power sector leaders (2020) by Africa Power and Energy Elites.

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