Leading Frontier Tech Innovations in Brooklyn: Interview with New Lab CEO Shaun Stewart

Shaun Stewart is currently the CEO of New Lab, a frontier tech incubator located in Brooklyn supporting over 150 startups and 600 entrepreneurs who work on innovations ranging from quantum computing to hydroponic gardening, from autonomous driving to AI in medicine… In this episode, Shaun discusses the process of incubating frontier tech innovations and supporting entrepreneurs through business development initiatives. He tells us about some of the most exciting innovations happening at New Lab, as well as his personal journey from being in the hotel management industry to the world of tech and entrepreneurship. We also dive into conversations about antitrust regulations for big tech and the intersection of technology with human lives in the modern world. Shaun was appointed the CEO of New Lab in December 2018. An “inspiring space,” as Shaun calls it, NewLab is the confluence of technological innovators, medical scientists, computer-science geniuses, and climate change combatting pioneers in Brooklyn, an area with the potential of becoming the Silicon Valley on the East Coast. Prior to heading New Lab, Shaun was the Chief Business Development Officer at Waymo, Google’s self-drive cars initiative, from 2016 to 2018. At Waymo, Shaun was a member of the executive leadership team leading the Operations, Business Development and Strategy functions. Shaun started his career in the online hotel booking sector, working at Expedia from 2002 to 2010 as a Regional Director of Market Management. He then co-founded Jetsetter, a company later acquired by TripAdvisor. He was then invited to help expand Airbnb’s business as the Global Head of Vacation Rentals from 2014 to 2016 before joining Google X. Shaun received his Bachelors in hotel management from Cornell University.