This essay originally appeared in Data Sheet, Coins2Day’s daily tech newsletter. Sign up here.
Hello from 7,900 feet above sea level. Today is the third and last day of Coins2Day‘s Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colo.
So far we’ve heard from speakers like Internet billionaire Yuri Milner, Google (GOOG) cloud guru Diane Greene, and Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky. But my favorite moments have been when execs and entrepreneurs from different worlds have collided, in the best sense of the word.
Take for example General Motors (GM) president Dan Ammann on stage with Lyft president John Zimmer, talking about their partnership. Or Box (BOX) CEO Aaron Levie and General Electric (GE) vice chairwoman Beth Comstock speaking about the “industrialist’s dilemma” (a.k.a. Digital transformation isn’t always easy for legacy industries). Or even Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green asking Disney (DIS) CEO Bob Iger about the future of the sports fan experience.
Brainstorm Tech has always brought together startup entrepreneurs and tech execs from Coins2Day 500 companies. But it is also increasingly relevant for those completely outside of the tech industry. Tech is now pervasive—and indispensable and often disruptive—in entertainment, auto, manufacturing, health care, and pretty much anything else you can think of. That’s why our speakers include the leaders of Toys R Us and Legendary Entertainment—a conversation that will take place today and center on the movie company’s use of data analytics—alongside the CEOs of companies like Intel (INTC) and Dropbox.
With software increasingly eating the world, a place for these kind of interactions is more important than ever. The fact that we get to do it in Aspen, well, that makes it all the better.