ARK Investment Management founder and CEO Cathie Wood believes innovation is fundamental to national, regional and local growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The impact of technology took center stage at the ARK Big Ideas Summit<\/a>, hosted Thursday by incubator spARK Labs by ARK Invest, at the ARK Innovation Center, in St. Petersburg.\u00a0<\/p>\n Artificial intelligence was a key theme.\u00a0<\/p>\n The day-long event featured multiple panel discussions, an innovation showcase and networking opportunities for local business leaders, investors and community members.<\/p>\n Wood joined Target Corporation executive chairman and former CEO Brian Cornell, Tampa General Hospital president and CEO John Couris and Palantir head of commercial Ted Mabrey for a conversation on the future of innovation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Healthcare is a particular industry that could benefit from local collaboration. The Tampa Bay area is home to systems such as BayCare, Tampa General Hospital, Orlando Health and Moffitt Cancer Center. All of these organizations have an \u201cinnovation bias,\u201d Wood explained.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could really be the leader in transforming the world from sick care to health care,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Couris emphasized the importance of innovation and how it plays a role in Tampa General Hospital\u2019s operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n The organization has partnered with software and analytics company Palantir to develop a <\/a>Care Coordination Operating System, which utilizes artificial intelligence to assist staff members. The creation of a Sepsis Hub, he said, has helped save hundreds of lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need more folks that are investors in private equity and venture capital,\u201d Couris added. \u201cWe need more entrepreneurs to help us out of this morass that we\u2019re in as an industry in the country.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Artificial intelligence platforms do not have to replace jobs, he argued. These tools can make \u201cthe people in the system better and more resilient and more highly reliable.\u201d\u00a0They improve quality, lower cost and create \u201creal value for patients and the physicians and nurses treating those patients.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mabrey explained that the TGH partnership has shown an \u201coptimistic idea of what AI is going to mean for us in our everyday lives.\u201d There\u2019s so \u201cmuch doom and gloom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Cornell, who served as Target\u2019s CEO from 2014 to 2026, is currently mentoring startup founders at spARK Labs by ARK Invest.<\/p>\n He explained that \u201cbig ideas\u201d can inspire successful and sustainable businesses. Strategies and teams are key to growth and longevity. Cornell also believes that AI can have a positive benefit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Companies that use the tool are \u201cgoing to become more productive\u201d and \u201cmore efficient.\u201d He added that leadership will be able to \u201cmake better decisions\u201d and \u201cdrive more growth.\u201d AI can also help develop \u201cnew jobs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Cornell said that he is an \u201coptimist,\u201d even with respect to the retail sector. Target employs over 400,000 people across the country. While jobs will \u201cevolve,\u201d he believes they will \u201cget better\u201d and become more \u201cenjoyable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all going to step back and become students again,\u201d Cornell explained. \u201cWe have to recognize that there\u2019s a new education in front of us and you have to embrace how those tools are going to change your lives and how you work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n There has been a \u201centrepreneurial explosion\u201d recently, Wood said. She encouraged young people who are currently seeking job opportunities to create their own companies with a focus on AI. This can not only provide invaluable experience, but also foster technological growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the top down, we want AI,\u201d Wood explained. \u201cWe know we should have a sense of urgency. We need to have the expertise that\u2019s actually coming in the door.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Wood is a partner in the ARK Ellison Horus<\/a> Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment proposal, which features incubators, research space and startup pipelines designed to encourage company growth in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n