Basic Info
Richard Boly
Career Diplomat, Innovator in Risk-Averse Environments
Latest Review · All Reviews (39)
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“You had a brilliant, determined and authentic positivity to deliver the workshop on "How to Foster Innovation in Large-Scale Enterprises" at the Abu Dhabi Innovation Forum 2012. Your open-hearted, audience-led approach and gentle guidance created a space that allowed me for thinking diverse about Innovation and would help open new opportunities in our work area. Many thanks - Richard”
Samir S
General Manager
Innovation 360 Group
Abu Dhabi Innovation Forum 23-25 Jan 2012
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Bio
Richard Boly is a career U.S. diplomat and currently the Director of the Office of eDiplomacy, an applied technology think tank for the U.S. Department of State. Previously, he was a National Security Affairs Fellow the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he launched the Global Entrepreneurship Program. He recently served in U.S. Embassy, Rome, where he developed and ran a program to promote entrepreneurship in Italy. Continuing with his close ties to Italy, Richard serves on the board of the Mind the Bride Foundation, which connects the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems in Italy and Silicon Valley. Other embassy assignments include the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Paraguay. Richard is the most junior diplomat to win the Cobb Award for commercial diplomacy.
In a prior life, he was the first Presidential Management Fellow with the Inter-American Foundation, was a consultant with the Inter-American Development Bank, and founded and ran a shrimp hatchery in coastal Ecuador. In a stint with the Silicon Valley iconic PR firm, Regis McKenna, he helped launch the first Apple Macintosh. Richard is a graduate of Stanford University and the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at UCSD .
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Categories
Blogging,
Bureaucrats,
Career & Work,
Change,
Economics,
Entrepreneurs,
Government and Technology,
Keynote,
Motivational,
Online Community,
Politics and Current Issues,
Social Media,
Social Networking,
Technology and New Media,
User Experience,
Career Change Management,
Digital Mindset,
English,
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Spanish,
United States,
Washington DC
Links
- Honoring “Rising Stars” in Government Information Technology
- Director, Office of eDiplomacy, US Department of State
- Forbes: Terrorism v Entrepreneurship: The bin Laden Lesson
- eDiplomacy: The US State Department's Global Collaborative Backbone
- TRENDS: Evolutionary State
- Pivotal Plays in Business and Government
- Government Leverages the Power of the Crowd
- Australian Foreign Ministry Needs an eDiplomacy
- fedscoopradio
- Statecraft 2.0—eDiplomacy, Entrepreneurship & National Security
- Entrepreneurship as a National Security Initiative
- Using Social Media to Spawn Italian Entrepreneurship
- Huffington Post: eDiplomacy Ushers In a New Culture of Collaboration
- Gov 2.0: Transparency Begins at Home
- Social Innovation Conversations: Growing Entrepreneurship in Italy
- 2011 Computer World Honors for Emerging Technology
- Advanced New Media Strategies for Federal Government
- Social media: How less (money) can lead to more (impact)
- Radio Interviews
- State Department using Collaboration for Operational Effectiveness
- Transformational Economic Diplomacy
- Richard Boly for President (of Italy)
- Applying social software to digital diplomacy at the U.S. State Department
- Problem Analysis: Lack of Venture Capital in Italy
- LA Times: Harnessing Migrant Remittances for Development
- Birthing an Italian Angel Investor Network -- in Milwaukee
- Portlander's startup diplomacy initiative takes wing
- SXSW - DIY Diplomacy: Designing Collaborative Gov
- State Department Is Trying To Make A Thousand Ushahidis Bloom
- Oregonian: State Department and Entrepreneurship
Reviews (39)
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“You had a brilliant, determined and authentic positivity to deliver the workshop on "How to Foster Innovation in Large-Scale Enterprises" at the Abu Dhabi Innovation Forum 2012. Your open-hearted, audience-led approach and gentle guidance created a space that allowed me for thinking diverse about Innovation and would help open new opportunities in our work area. Many thanks - Richard”
Samir S
General Manager
Innovation 360 Group
Abu Dhabi Innovation Forum 23-25 Jan 2012
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Richard is a polished, thoughtful speaker with substantial background relevant to his topics. His presentation on Entrepreneurship was not only interesting, but acted as a catalyst for critical thinking and innovation for the audience. Thank you for supporting Marquette!
11.14.2011 Marquette University Entrepreneurship Week - Milwaukee, WI
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Yes. Richard was thought provoking and very interesting to listen to.
Marquette University e-Week, November 14, 2011 - Milwaukee Wisconsin
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Richard is one of the foremost experts on collaboration in large organizations. His presentation at our multi-company meeting on his work at the US State Department demonstrates the practical benefits of social technology and approaches to assure successful implementation in a diverse global work environment. Richard's presentation about effective collaboration was illuminating, engaging and entertaining.
Moxie Insight All Member Meeting in Boston, MA
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Richard provided a great overview on utilizing social media tools effectively by first emphasizing the need to know what your goals are. Both his presentation & facilitation of our breakout session were interesting, engaging, & informative!
November 2, 2011 WACA Leadership Conference
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Richard gave a fascinating talk about the effects of online collaborative communities within the State Department. It was heartening to learn how employees have embraced the ability to connect with each other within a very traditional and siloed culture, and the benefits this capability has brought to his organization in both subtle and ground breaking ways. Richard is an engaging speaker - this was one of my most favorite talks at this event.
Moxie Software's All Member Meeting in Boston, MA on October 25, 2012
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Richard addressed UC San Diego alumni and students at our quarterly reception in Washington DC. Richard successfully related to both college students and seasoned professionals through his articulate thoughts on eDiplomacy and his work as a diplomat. Our guests thoroughly enjoyed his talk.
Friday, Oct 14 at the UCSD event at the National Press Club
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Richard gave a keynote for a new student welcome event hosted by Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies. In line with the School's efforts at harnessing technology to be problem-solving, Richard demonstrated how his Office of eDiplomacy uses online tools to meet the specialized needs of State's many communities worldwide. The School demoed a new website and Richard spoke on how communities of people can create an online culture that works best for them.
September 10, 2011 at Georgetown University
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As a conference producer I see many government case studies being presented -- Richards presentation was one that stands out. He has a unique way of engaging the audience and making his organization's story one each conference attendee can relate to. A fifty minute speaking slot wasn't nearly long enough for Richard to share his vast knowledge of social media within the government. I look forward to working with Richard in the future and highly recommend him as a speaker.
July 13, 2011 - Social Media for Government Conference
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As a conference producer I see many government case studies being presented -- Richards presentation was one presentation that stands out. He has a unique way of engaging the audience and making his organization's story one each conference attendee can relate to. A fifty minuete speaking slot wasn't nearly long enough for Richard to share his vast knowledge of social media within the government. I look forward to working with Richard in the future and highly recommend him as a speaker.
Social Media for Government conference, July 2011
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Richard mixed humor into an excellent presentation on the evolution of his agency's internal and external communications. What State is doing with technology and social media is innovative, cutting-edge, and serves as a model for the rest of us--especially since all the work Richard is doing is internal communications and collaboration. He's an excellent, fast-thinking, quick-witted, engaging speaker who is leveraging Web 2.0 tools to improve the work of his collegues and stakeholders.
Social Media for Government Conference July 2011
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Richard's talk highlighted the efforts of the Federal Government towards transparency and communication both through the content he presented and the presentation itself. I am excited to see the State Department's efforts towards internal collaboration, and I look forward to seeing Richard speak at future events.
Personal Democracy Forum 2011
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I really appreciated how Richard's talk connected big ideas and technical details in a compelling way. At a conference obsessed with the now, I loved how his talk drew a clear historical trend line from wax-sealed diplomatic pouches to the most modern social networks and software. He also spoke with honesty about his successes and failures and pulled back the curtain on the amazing work he is trying to do at the State Department and the internal challenges he has faced. In doing so, he presenting interesting and radical ideas about how to create institutional change at any large organization. Besides his plenary talk, I was lucky enough to see him speak on a panel, and besides just talking about big ideas, he was able to dive into the weeds on any of his projects and on how to create change. Any group that with a focus on international relations, technology, entrepreneurship, government, or creating institutional change should consider getting Richard to speak.
Personal Democracy Forum 2011
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PdF 2011 featured 100+ of the world's leading innovators, thinkers, and doers. In a crowd like that, standing out and really connecting with an audience, particularly as one as spoiled as PdF's, is no easy task.
Despite that, Richard's presentation stood out for one simple reason: Richard is a good guy and one who is more interested in talking with you than at you, and that distinction makes a world of difference when speaking to 1,000 people or just 10.
Beyond his sincerity, the work Richard is doing at State is notable and newsworthy, whether you work in technology, diplomacy, entrepreneurship, or you're simply interested in changing institutional culture.
Having Richard speak is always a good idea. So is asking him for cigar recommendations!
Personal Democracy Forum 2011
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Richard is a wonderful speaker. He is at ease on the keynote stage and gives the attendee that comfortable feeling he's speaking to only you in a room of 1500 people.
I particularly enjoyed how he moved through fairly advanced social topics with ease, but was careful not to make the material inaccessible to beginners at every level.
If you need a speaker who can cross silos and generations, I highly recommend Richard.
Enterprise 2.0 Conference, Santa Clara, 11/8/2010
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Richard is articulate, passionate and extremely engaging about the topics he covers.
He was invited by the European Student Club of HBS to address an audience composed of Harvard Business School students, as well as many MBA students and alumni from all business schools across the USA. As a matter of facts, his talk was one of the highlights of a 2-day of events at both Harvard and MIT.
I was surprised by his ability to tailor his speech to the audience he was addressing. Knowing that most of the attendees were European, and that many belonged to NOVA (the association of Italian MBAs in the USA), he engaged us with a combination of both conceptual and real-life examples that delivered a clear framework, supported by key takeaways from his conversations with investors, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from different countries. Moreover, Richard's experience served him well in drawing parallels between the US and the European systems to drive both managerial as well as technological innovation.
He also provided insights into how the Italian system could be improved.
I was one of the organizers of the 2-day conference, and several people came to me after Richard's speech to congratulate me for having managed to have him as one of our key speakers. Definitely recommended!
Financing Innovation Conference (NOVA 2009 Meeting at HARVARD and MIT)
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Richard Boly's words flow like a waterfall of diamonds, each gem of wisdom more precious than the previous.
His stimulating insights flow in a refreshing stream of thought providing the necessary hydration for invigorating the mind.
I also met several of Richard's team members. They have a real passion fused with a deep understanding of how to use emerging technology to effectively engage with others. Richard fuels the entrepreneur spirit with thought leadership on improving diplomacy now that provides a clear path for our future diplomats around the world.
The only way not to learn world changing ideas from any of Richard's talks, is to not listen. Check his schedule and attend one of his speaking engagements.
Daniel Hudson
Emerging Technology Consultant
2010 Gov 2.0 Expo
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Excellent presentation. Richard’s talk was highly engaging and helped me understand the great opportunities ahead for improving government processes with smart software design and implementation. His broad experience as a diplomat and hands on understanding of software development projects was very credible and interesting. I appreciated his examples including Diplopedia, Ushahidi, and Random Hacks of Kindness. I particularly liked Richard’s emphasis on the importance having a clear initiative to focus requirements in designing a new software system and the how critical it is to make user interface design a top priority to assure broad adoption of the new system. Indeed, the costs of software development, licenses, hosting, and related services are insignificant compared to the cost of people not using new systems because the user interface is poor. Getting it right for the end users is a top priority to drive adoption of eDiplomacy systems (and most others systems).
Microsoft, 9/14/2010
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As a former Secretary of State,I have heard many diplomats speak, but few have had Richard Boly's passion for and innovative approach to including entrepreneurship as a foreign policy tool. Richard is a credible, thoughtful, and engaging speaker who would make a great panelist or keynote presenter.
May 2009, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
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I appreciated the frank and clear observations, the real-life anecdotes, your vision around simple solutions being used together to solve complex problems.
Spring 2010 at Nike
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