George Karayannis is vice president of Panasonic’s CityNOW Smart District efforts in North America, since 2016. He has 25 years of emerging technology and sustainable solutions leadership experience, previously holding leadership positions at Schneider Electric, Lockheed Martin, AT&T, and several high-tech start-ups. A LEED-accredited professions, Karayannis also co-founded Energize America, a grassroots nonprofit organization developing a sustainable national energy policy, and served on an ICBM launch crew in the Air Force. He’s the author of a book on the ISO 37120 standard for Smart City indicators, and he serves on the City of San Jose’s Smart City Advisory Board.