With TEDxDetroit just one day away, we took the opportunity to check in with upcoming speaker Brian Mulloy. Brian is the VP of Products at Apigee Corporation. Apigee provides an industrial-strength API management platform that gives you visibility, protection, control, and tools for the APIs you use or offer. Learn more about what Brian thinks about the TED Conferences and Detroit.

 

Please describe your previous experience with any TED conferences.

I look forward to my first in-person TED conference in Detroit. Hearing Sir Ken Robinson’s ideas on creativity and education a few years ago were 20 of the best minutes I’ve experienced online.

Can you give us a sneak peek at your positive idea you will share at the event?

The identity of modern-day Detroiters was largely shaped by the machine age through the 1940s, Motown music in the ‘60s & ‘70s and the violence of the crack epidemic of the ‘80s & ‘90s. In a nutshell, Detroiters are known as tough industrialists with good music and bad murders. As we look to a future Detroit filled with urban farms, artisans and idealists, we have an opportunity to re-imagine our identity. Where should we look to form our new identity? How about when Detroit was just a startup? Detroiters of the 1700s, especially Chief Pontiac, have much to teach us about how to be a Detroiter in the 2000s.

What do you love most about the city of Detroit?

I stay in a loft downtown. Our neighborhood is a joyfully livable place. I walk my surfboard down Woodward to the river and paddle around. I walk and bike through our neighborhoods filled with wonderful buildings and public art. But most of all, I love our people. I love our sense of community.

In your opinion, what do you think is in store for the city of Detroit?

My hope is that the future of the city looks a lot like Centaur Bar on a Saturday night: a great mix of people from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds having fun together after a week of good work.

How do you think TEDxDetroit will impact the city of Detroit and contribute to the overall goals of TED?

I hope the ideas we share at TEDxDetroit will reach folks around the world and improve the brand of Detroit. Many of the opportunities and problems we face here are also faced by other cities. I hope we can contribute to the overall goals of TED by honestly and thoughtfully sharing our struggles and positive ideas with others.

 

To hear Brian share more about his positive ideas for the city of Detroit, as well as dozens of other fascinating speakers and artists, don’t miss this year’s TEDxDetroit conference at the Max M. Fisher Music Center on September 28.

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