Yuri Cataldo

Yuri Cataldo is a Techo-optimist working at the intersection of technology and art. He is an award-winning entrepreneur, keynote speaker, best-selling author, podcaster and emerging tech strategist who combines the mindset of an artist and a technologist. Named one of the 40 under 40 business leaders in Indiana, Yuri brings years of experience in the arts, design, entrepreneurship, marketing, innovation, and publicity, in addition to advising founders, artists and startups.

Mr. Cataldo graduated from the Yale School of Drama. He is a classically trained set and costume designer (with a BA in Communications, Theatre, and Drama from Indiana University, a degree in Set Design from The Julliard School and a Masters Degree in Production Design from Yale University), an Artistic Designer turned entrepreneur with credits on Broadway, Dance, Film, and Opera. He previously founded the highly publicized bottled water company – IndigoH2O, the only multiple award-winning bottled alkaline water in the world and the 2015 best tasting water in the world.

Yuri is a mentor at Yale Tsai City, MassChallenge, and Tech Stars. He is a Global Fellow and Advisory Board Member of Fintech4Good, a Board Member and Chair of the Outreach Committee for the Yale Club of Boston (the primary organisation connecting all Yale alumni in eastern Massachusetts).

Yuri has lectured at MIT, Yale, Tufts, Princeton, Stanford, Suffolk, Notre Dame, Emerson College, and Indiana University. He was the Director & Executive-in-Residence (Professor of Practice) for the Business of Creative Enterprises (BCE) program at Emerson College which was a unique bachelors program focused on the connection between art and creative entrepreneurship, integrating Emerson’s Foundation in communication and the arts to help students of the media arts prepare to be leaders and managers of the creative economy.

He works with and advises tech, blockchain, and creative companies on PR, marketing, product launches, and customer engagement. His efforts have resulted in 6 figure launches, 7 figures worth of free press for founders and products, and multiple awards for his clients and companies including Forbes 30 under 30, Discovery Channel, Tech Crunch, Forbes, INC, and the Boston Globe. As the host of “Advance Your Art” Podcast – Each week he sits down with successful creative entrepreneurs and asks them, the who, what, where, when, and how they made it – so listeners can learn from their journey to – Make Money From their Creative Work, Transition to a New Career or Build a Creative Company.

He is also a frequent speaker on PR/Media Relations, Blockchain, Creative Entrepreneurship, and Corporate Innovation at universities, conferences, corporate events, and with high-ranking government officials from all over the world. Currently, he is the co-founder/GP of Athenian VC and leads the fund investment strategy within construction, robotics, AI, manufacturing, and blockchain. He is also the Founder of ArtTech Media Group where he focuses on Innovation Development and Innovation Management.