H2 is the premier global leadership network for the digital industry. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Silicon Valley with chapters globally, its membership consists of senior executives, entrepreneurs, and domain experts at leading startups and top global firms situated in key digital hubs worldwide.

MISSION

H2's mission is to support and develop the next generation of global leaders in the digital domain. In support of its mission, H2 creates invaluable opportunities for knowledge exchange throughout the year through the following unique facets of its operating model and platform:

  • Network: global member community representing senior executives at leading companies, ranging from startups to multi-nationals.
  • Programs: signature member forums and event-based activities including partner-led programs, designed to drive sharing, exchange, and actionable insights.
  • Content: focus on key domain themes and community-generated information designed to inform company and/or executive level strategies.

Over time, the organization seeks to cultivate a broader partner community including other institutions and organizations with shared interests to drive ecosystem development in the digital industry globally.

CHAPTERS

The core components of H2’s operating model and platform (its network, programs, and content) are supported through its member chapters, situated in key digital hubs worldwide. Designed as a federation of communities with a common architecture and backbone, these chapters provide support for both local as well as global H2 initiatives. H2's core operating team consists of co-leads per chapter and a global team operating from Silicon Valley responsible for the initiative's global architecture. This structure provides organizational durability, strong chapter-level identity, and valuable consistency across chapters.

Current global H2 chapters include Beijing, Berlin, India, London, New York, Sao Paulo, Silicon Valley, Singapore and Tokyo.

BACKGROUND

The far-reaching effects of globalization have transformed entire industries — broadening addressable markets, redefining competitive landscapes, and ultimately, driving economic growth and market innovation. In recent times, nowhere has the impact of these changes been felt more than in the digital domain, where emerging and established leaders -- regardless of location and market strength -- must operate with a global context to both capture addressable opportunities and defend competitive positions. In the age of online, products can now emerge from anywhere to address customers everywhere. Within this fast-evolving, truly global arena, company and executive "playbooks" will increasingly need to factor in the new and emerging dimensions of a worldwide digital landscape:

  • Markets: 2B+ worldwide Internet connected users spread across multiple developed and emerging markets on PC and mobile platforms
  • Innovation: strong startup hubs now emerging across multiple geographies with mindset to look at regional and global opportunities
  • Team Structure: organizational architecture and functions (e.g. Product Development, Marketing, Sales, Business and Corporate Development, etc.) need to be designed (and often times coordinated) with global scale in mind
  • Talent: seasoned and specialized talent relevant for supporting product development and business growth present around the world
  • Competencies: key investment areas and themes for successful digital products (e.g. social, mobile, search, data, UI/UX) now recognized on a worldwide basis

In May 2010, an initiative called Hemisphere was launched in Silicon Valley (led by Nayan Patel and Jeff Merkel), London (led by Kevin Eyres and Christian Hernandez), and Singapore (led by Mark Britt and Robbie Hills) with the goal of connecting senior executives within the digital industry with strong global context to drive valuable idea exchange and knowledge sharing. In November 2011, it was formally re-launched as H2 (alluding to the combination of atomic elements fundamental to growth) with an expanded set of formal objectives including the development of a global peer member network of senior leaders across key digital centers worldwide along with platform investments to drive valuable knowledge exchange within and across these markets. Today, H2 operates in 9 major global hubs across the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia with ongoing investments in its operating model towards achieving its longer-term mission.