John Hartnett is Founder and CEO of SVG Ventures a Silicon Valley investment, technology and advisory firm that works with Fortune 500 Corporations, Governments, Universities, investors and global start ups. He is also Founder of Thrive AgTech, a venture and innovation platform advancing the future of Food & Agriculture. The Thrive accelerator and venture fund invests in the best technology start ups from around the world and helps them scale through the Thrive ecosystem. He has over 25 years of executive and C -level experience in Smartphone, Software, Hardware and Cleantech sectors in companies like Claris/Apple, Handspring and Palm where he led Operations from start-up through to its $3.5 Billion IPO and subsequent merger.He has served on both private and public boards such as Aer Lingus, Ireland’s national airline, Executive Chairman of Chita a cloud platform that was recently acquired by Medidata (NYSE: MDSO) and various technology start up companies.He is founder and president of the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG), a network of global Irish technology leaders who’s main focus is to foster the links between the USA and Ireland. He has served on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Northern Ireland Economic Working Committee and is currently Chairman of the Technology Advisory Council appointed by the Northern Ireland First Minister and deputy First Minister. John is a graduate of the Marketing Institute of Ireland, holds a post graduate diploma in accounting and finance and has completed executive management programs at both Stanford and Harvard Universities.