Patrick Terrien  

Director of the Columbus Council on World Affairs (CCWA) 

Mr. Terrien leads all aspects of programming and strategy for the Columbus Council on World Affairs including revenue generation, community partnerships, staffing, and strategic planning. To widespread acclaim and under Terrien’s leadership, the Council pioneered the nation’s first Global Report, a research publication cataloguing the Central Ohio region’s global assets; the Global Scholars Diploma, a high school credential for global competence; and the Global Fluency Institute, a social enterprise that trains professionals in cross cultural communication. He is responsible for securing high profile national advisors and funders such as Harvard, Asia Society, ASCD, Procter and Gamble, Gallup, Cardinal Health and Honda. Mr. Terrien often speaks for organizations such as Harvard University’s “Think Tank on Global Education” and Ohio State University Fisher College of Business on topics ranging from social enterprise to globalization to educational access and equity. 

With a degree in International Politics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Mr. Terrien worked in Washington D.C. for the U.S. Agency for International Development facilitating U.S. environmental exports to Asia. During his three years at USAID, Patrick traveled to Indonesia, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. Prior to becoming President & CEO, Mr. Terrien was the Director for Corporate Relations at COSI Columbus where we directed the science museum’s corporate fundraising program. Terrien also led from start-up to execution a global sustainability initiative for Right Management, an international company with 300 locations worldwide. 

Mr. Terrien recently served on the Ohio Department of Education’s International Education Advisory Committee and as guest advisor to EF Education First’s Global Student Leader Summits in Costa Rica and Davos, Switzerland. He currently serves on the national board of the World Affairs Councils of America, chair for its Global Education Task Force, and was recently selected for a leadership delegation to China. Though rusty, Mr. Terrien is conversational in Bahasa Indonesian and French, and has studied Spanish and American Sign Language. He is a 2013 recipient of Columbus Business First’s Forty Under 40 Award. 

Robert Heise  

Executive Vice President and General Manager of Display Solutions, Inc. 

Robert Heise is Executive Vice President and General Manager for Global Display Solutions, an Italian company based near Vicenza, specializing in the design and manufacturing of custom digital signage displays for indoor and outdoor applications worldwide. 

With over 35 years in the display electronics industry, Robert has witnessed and contributed to the evolution of digital signage in both technology and application. A technologist at heart, he is passionate about innovative solutions to industry challenges and the advancing technologies that enable them. His international experience includes studying at the University of Bologna for one year, followed by two years working in Italy, and an additional two years working across France, Germany, and The Netherlands. This diverse background has given him a deep appreciation for global markets, cultural nuances in technology deployment, and cross-border collaboration in the signage sector. 

As a public speaker, Robert has presented both technical and non-technical topics related to the signage industry across various platforms and stages. He was recently part of a panel at a digital signage symposium discussing the future of display technology.