Gary Shapiro (2016)

I am most excited for our keynotes coming to CES 2017. We'll have Qualcomm, Carnival, Under Armour, NVIDIA, Huawei and Nissan. They represent so many new industries for us and areas of growth at the show: automotive, connectivity, wearable, sports and fitness - as the industry expands, CES does too and it's exciting!

To combine your questions together, in the next 5-10 years we will be able to relive some of the greats who have passed, such as Alan Thicke.

I think they are all great but what excites me most is how the latest generation of consoles are helping to introduce consumers to great new technologies like 4K UHD and VR/AR. I can't wait to see what's next!

President-elect Trump has changed politics, marketing and communications with his surprise win and academics will be studying it for years to come. He has also forced everyone in corporate America to examine how they hire and pay workers and I believe corporate boardrooms will be discussing how they can reach out and retrain Americans including older males, veterans and those who have lost ground compared to the rest of America. We need to reexamine how we train Americans both with STEM and technical education. I am hopeful that we will shift from a cultural demand that 4-year college degrees are required for technical education.

CES has been the launchpad for MAJOR technology breakthroughs for 50 years. We estimate some 700,000 products have been launched at CES in our history. Among the biggies we have: the VCR, CD player, Sling Box, HDTV, various gaming consoles, robotics, drones, many forms of wireless health and several different types of connected cars including self-driving. With connectivity and mobility reaching an ever-present state I can't wait to see what comes out of this year's show.

For your second question, I actually wrote a column about this which appeared this morning in Morning Consult. Please read here.

We changed our name last year from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)to most accurately reflect our vision, scope of activity and the members we represent. By replacing "electronics" with "technology" we more accurately and readily represent our expanding member base.

Virtual reality is changing the game for a variety of industries including healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing and business. Doctors are using VR to enhance traditional therapies, architects use VR to design stronger buildings and travel agencies are using it to simplify vacation planning. CES 2017 will have the largest showcase of VR technologies in history from more than 70 companies. As the technology integrates into other devices we'll see continuous uptick - see my gaming question response.

We are extremely excited presented by the Internet of Things. A more connected world offers the opportunity to expand access to information, education, ideas and each other while making our lives easier and our devices and services more personalized. CTA is working with our members to address the security challenges around connected devices and educate consumers on the basic steps they can take to secure their devices and home networks.

I should add we are producing public service announcements and using social media to educate consumers.

This is an extremely exciting alternative for the future. One concerning part is some of us like anonymity as we buy things. Another is how we help our kids learn to interact with people. This also raises the job question, please see my previous answer.

I love Eureka Park with its 600 startups! It is truly inspirational. Also check out our Marketplaces that highlight key products and trends including Drones, SleepTech (NEW), Robotics and more. And walk the show floor! One of the best parts of CES is the serendipity of discovery.

Patent trolls remain a major scourge on our industry, especially start ups and small businesses. We support reforms to reduce bogus patent lawsuits and threats. Common sense patent reform is broadly supported in Congress and we will be supporting reform legislation in the upcoming congressional session. Please join our efforts by signing up for the Innovation Movement

Both the challenge and opportunity will be in ensuring that our regulatory and legal systems are welcoming to new disruptive technologies and business models like the sharing economy, drones, AR/VR and self-driving cars. We see opportunities to work with the new administration and Congress to get this right. We also look forward to working with them on building a 21st century infrastructure and creating a pro-innovation tax and regulatory environment.

We are pleased that Elon Musk and as well as Uber's Travis Kalanik will be advising the administration. Self-driving cars and trucks offer us a profound and transformative opportunity. Every year over 30k Americans are killed on the roads and the number is rising. Most of these accidents are caused by human error. Self-driving technology can dramatically reduce these tragedies. We must deploy this new technology as rapidly as possible - but that will require smart policies and close coordination between government and the private sector.

Extremely excited about VR, robotics, implantables, deep data analysis and of course self-driving cars. Many of these fall under the general rubric of the Internet of Things.

The skills that are required for the future of jobs will be different than those from a few years ago. Technical skills are highly valued. Also, the ability to work in a team, across cultures, and across industries to partner and create innovative projects and relationships is something that moves you towards the C-suite. Having empathy, strong communication skills, knowing other languages and being a ninja problem solver are all things I look for in successful executives.

Putting on CES is a massive undertaking. It's the largest business event in the world. We want all of our guests to feel appreciated comfortable and safe, and we spend a huge amount of time thinking about their on-site experiences. This includes pre-show information, transportation and logistics, how to make the app most user-friendly, the registration experience, planning our conferences and organizing the show floor all to maximize our visitors experiences at the show.

The industry entrusts us to put on CES and we view it as a sacred mission to help expose any relevant innovation to the thousands of investors, media, retailers and others who can make a difference and whether someone's idea lives or dies. We know that everyone who comes is making a decision to spend their time and money with us and we want them to have an extremely worthwhile experience.

That's a great question. We have had several great women keynoters including Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman, Marissa Mayer, Mary Barra, Ginni Rometty. We do need more women CEOs to choose from. I am excited with Intel's Brian Krzanich CES keynote announcement that Intel will invest heavily in a workforce that reflects the American population.

We believe that the U.S. is a leader in innovation in part because of our diversity as it is an asset that allows different points of view thus creativity. We also have benefitted from highly skilled entrepreneurial people being educated and coming to the U.S. I am hopeful that President-elect Trump will be able to do what President Obama promised but did not deliver and that is have Congress enact an immigration policy which reflects the fact that we want the best and brightest to come to and stay in the U.S.