On March 17, 2009, journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling were apprehended by North Korean soldiers while filming a documentary along the China-North Korea border. The two women were charged with illegal entry for crossing into North Korea — and after several months of interrogation by North Korean officials, sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in one of North... read full bio
Dr. David Agus is one of the world’s leading cancer doctors, researcher and medical futurist. He utilizes an innovative approach to study and challenge the misperceptions of the meaning of Health. Over the past two decades, Dr. Agus has received much acclaim for his innovations and contributions to medicine. He has built a reputation for understanding the relationship of the... read full bio
James C. Dobson, Ph.D., is founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, a non-profit organization that produces his internationally syndicated radio programs, heard on more than 3,000 radio facilities in North America and in nine languages in approximately 2300 facilities in over 93 other countries. He was for 14 years an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University... read full bio
Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs is the name of the hugely acclaimed cabaret show Alan premiered at New York's legendary Cafe Carlyle. He has since toured the show extensively throughout the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK. He returned with the show to NYC and made his sold out, solo debut at Carnegie Hall, and released a live album of... read full bio
Bernard Kouchner is a world renowned humanitarian. Until November 2010, Kouchner was the French minister of foreign and European Affairs. He has played an important role in Euopean politics for several decades. His history as a minister in charge of both health and humanitarian actions have aided in Kouchner's push for a better future. Kouchner is well... read full bio
Jason Silva is a Venuzuelan-American media artist, futurist, philosopher, keynote speaker and TV personality. He is the creator of Shots of Awe, a short film series of ""trailers for the mind"" that serve as philosophical espresso shots exploring innovation, technology creativity, futurism and the metaphysics of the imagination. Shots of Awe has received more than 13 million views on YouTube.... read full bio
Ichak Adizes is one of the world's leading experts on improving the performance of business and government by making fundamental changes without chaos and destructive conflict. Over the past 35 years, Dr. Adizes has worked with some of the largest commercial organizations in the world and consulted with many heads of state. The Adizes Program for leading organizations to... read full bio
Mark Jeffries also provides a distinctive voice (and accent) to the moderator's arena. As a former British television host, economist and stockbroker, Mark brings a broad spectrum of knowledge and experience to the events he facilitates. It's also his ability to quickly master the intricacies of business within any industry coupled with a sharp wit and television presence that... read full bio
Stephen A. Smith, more commonly known as Stephen A., is a talk show host, sports television personality, and sports journalist. He gained fame for being the first major NBA journalist to predict that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh would all sign with the Miami Heat during 2010 free agency. Smith is a commentator on ESPN First Take, where... read full bio
Mark Dixon is one of Europe’s best-known entrepreneurs. He is the founder and Chief Executive of Regus Group, which he set up in 1989, and it is now the world’s largest provider of flexible workspaces. Currently at 1400 business centres in 100 countries, through constant innovation, Regus has created not just a new business model but an entirely new industry... read full bio
Founder of the social networking sites Foursquare and Dodgeball Dennis Crowley is a well-known entrepreneur in the internet world. Foursquare is a location-based social app that recommends places for users to go based on their previous browsing history or purchases, and Dodgeball was a similar app in which users would text in their locations and the service would notify them... read full bio
Rod Beckstrom is an entrepreneur and catalyst, who has successfully created new businesses and changed established ones through his creative ideas, powerful concepts and passion. He co-authored the bestselling book The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, which presents a new model for analyzing organizations, leadership styles and competitive strategy. Rod co-founded CATS Software Inc. during... read full bio
Unable to find natural personal-care products for themselves and their five children, Tom and Kate Chappell decided to make their own. They borrowed $5,000 from a friend to start Tom's of Maine and began making Clearlake, the country's first phosphate-free laundry detergent, in 1970. Five years later, Tom's of Maine premiered the country's first natural toothpaste to hit the fledgling... read full bio
Sinclair Beecham graduated from the Polytechnic of Central London in 1983 after studying Urban Estate Management, where he met Julian Metcalfe. He then joined Crest Estates, a property developer as development and marketing executive. In 2002 McDonald's reached an agreement to acquire a minority interest in Pret A Manger. Founders Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham said. In 2009 Sinclair Beecham... read full bio
The world expert on competitiveness, Stephane Garelli, is credited with developing the theory and research in this area. In addition to being Professor Emeritus of World Competitiveness at the University of Lausanne, he founded the World Competitiveness Center at the IMD (Institute of Management Development) in Lausanne. Professor Garelli has strong ties to the business community. He was also... read full bio
During his five years as the US-based Chairman/CEO of Burger King, Barry Gibbons received international acclaim for his work. Having retired from big business, he is now a successful author, speaker and is co-founder of the UK publishing business Infinite Ideas. He has written six business books, one on public speaking and one novel. He has given over 250 speeches,... read full bio
One of the longest serving and most successful leaders of a blue-chip company and a highly regarded businessman, Sir Stuart Hampson was chairman of the John Lewis Partnership for 14 years until his retirement in March 2007. A popular and likeable businessman, Sir Stuart joined the partnership in February 1982 following a twelve year career in the Civil Service. After... read full bio
Mike Harris is co-founder and Executive Chairman of online identity experts Garlik, who develop software and services to help control and protect your personal information and identity online. Mike has created three major consumer businesses: Egg plc, the UK's first online bank; Firstdirect, the world's first telephone banking operation; and Mercury Communications, the UK's second largest telecommunications operator. He turned... read full bio
Ken Hughes is the top retail shopper and consumer behavioralist of Ireland. Over the past 12 years, as the founding Director of Glacier Consulting, he has pioneered developments in shopper behavior insight, particularly in the fields of ethnography and biometric shopper research. His expertise in these fields, together with strong knowledge from his consultancy experience in Category Management and Shopper... read full bio
Nobuyuki Idei was a former Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of Sony Corporation until the 7th March 2005. He is also a director of General Motors, Accenture, Baidu, Yoshimoto Kogyo and Nestle. After a stroke sidelined former chairman Akio Morita, Sony CEO and new chairman Norio Ohga selected Idei to be the next president, a choice that raised eyebrows... read full bio
