Thrival 2019 Announces Innovation Summit Speakers, Welcomes PNC Bank, Sheetz, Carnegie Mellon University To The Stage

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The seventh annual Thrival Festival announced their speaker and topic lineup for the Innovation Summit taking place September 18 and 19, 2019, at the Carnegie Museums in the Oakland area of Pittsburgh, PA. The Summit will feature thought leaders, executives, and entrepreneurs who will be talking about innovations and ideas centered around the theme "By Pittsburgh. For Pittsburgh. For the World."

The event showcases the emerging technologies and industries where Pittsburgh is demonstrating leadership. Attendees will experience panels, fireside chats, keynotes, and workshops to understand all of the ways Pittsburgh is thriving. For example, during the Smart Cities session, one of eight sessions, attendees will hear about self-driving vehicles, augmented reality (AR) murals, and sustainability. Other sessions include Digital Transformations in FinTech, Health Technology, and Robotics and AI in Advanced Manufacturing.

"Pittsburgh is one of the most innovative cities in the country and the culture of PNC reflects that," says PNC Head of Enterprise Innovation, Michael Degnan. "We recognize that we must innovate in order to fulfill our mission of making banking easier for our customers, today and well into the future. We look forward to presenting alongside — and learning from — fellow forward-thinking organizations at Thrival Festival 2019."

Running concurrently with the Innovation Summit is an Entrepreneurship Day on Thursday, September 19. The morning session, in partnership with Innovation Works, will focus on how entrepreneurs and corporations can foster successful partnerships. During the afternoon, TiE Pittsburgh will be running educational programs and networking meetups for local entrepreneurs. The addition of the Entrepreneur Day aligns with the many Thrival corporate sponsors and speakers who run their own internal innovation programs.

"Entrepreneurs are a big driver of innovation in Pittsburgh," says Barrie Athol, CEO of Ascender. "We are happy to provide a platform that brings entrepreneurs, universities, investors and corporations under one roof."

For more information about Thrival, visit thrivalfestival.com. Tickets on sale at Eventbrite.

About Thrival Festival
Thrival Festival will be taking place on September 18-20, 2019 in Oakland, Pittsburgh, PA. The festival will explore innovators, artists, musicians, and creators under the theme "By Pittsburgh. For Pittsburgh. For the World." Thrival Festival is presented by PNC and supported by UPMC Enterprises, Comcast, Sheetz, Dell, the Pittsburgh Innovation District, and many others.

SOURCE Thrival Festival