Power Within Leadership

Barbara Walters

Barbara Walters has arguably interviewed more statesmen and stars than any other journalist in history. Through the years she has interviewed such world figures as Russia’s Boris Yeltsin, China’s Premier Jiang Zemin, Great Britain’s former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Iraq’s President Sadaam Hussein. She was also the first American journalist to interview Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and the first interview with President and Mrs. Bush following September 11. In September 2004, after 25 years as co-host and chief correspondent of ABC News’ “20/20,” Ms. Walters left the show to begin a new phase in her career at the network. She remains an active member of the news division and network, substantially increasing the number of primetime ABC News specials, in addition to her “Barbara Walters Specials.” Ms. Walters’ is also co-owner, co-executive producer and co-host of “The View,” recipient of the 2003 Daytime Emmy award for “Outstanding Talk Show.” Over the years Ms. Walters has received national recognition for her work and has been the recipient of numerous prestigious honors and awards.

Management

Patrick Lencioni

Pat Lencioni is the founder and president of The Table Group, a firm dedicated to providing organizations with ideas, products and services that improve teamwork, clarity and employee engagement. The wide-spread appeal of Lencioni’s leadership models have yielded a diverse base of speaking and consulting clients, including a mix of Fortune 500 companies, professional sports organizations, the military, non-profits, schools and churches. Lencioni is the author of eight best-selling books with over 2.5 million copies sold. After six years in print, his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team continues to be a fixture on national best-seller lists. His recent work, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job (2007), became an instant best-seller in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and BusinessWeek. Pat has appeared as a featured guest on The Today Show, NBC, CNBC, Fox News and ESPN. In addition he’s been recognized in the Wall Street Journal, INC Magazine, USA TODAY and Harvard Business Review. Prior to founding his firm, Pat worked as a corporate executive for Sybase, Oracle and Bain & Company. He also served on the National Board of Directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America from 2000-2003.

Leadership

Garry Kasparov

In a listing of top chess champions formed in 1988, Casablanca, Karpov and Fischer were named; however above all sat twenty-five year old Russian, Garry Kasparov. A World Champion until his retirement in 2005, Garry went on to open The Kasparov Chess Academy near the campus of Tel Aviv University. Also since retirement, he has devoted his time to politics and writing. In 2007, he entered the Russian Presidential race receiving 379 of 498 votes at a congress held in Moscow. In addition Kasparov has authored several books on chess and is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, TIME Magazine and Forbes.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Dr. Muhammad Yunus

Professor Muhammad Yunus - Born in 1940 in the seaport city of Chittagong, Professor Yunus studied at Dhaka University in Bangladesh, then received a Fulbright scholarship to study economics at Vanderbilt University. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Vanderbilt in 1969 and the following year became an assistant professor of economics at Middle Tennessee State University. Returning to Bangladesh, Yunus headed the economics department at Chittagong University. He established the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in 1983, fueled by the belief that credit is a fundamental human right. His objective was to help poor people escape from poverty by providing loans on terms suitable to them and by teaching them a few sound financial principles so they could help themselves. From Dr. Yunus’ personal loan of small amounts of money to destitute craftspeople in Bangladesh in the mid-70s, the Grameen Bank has advanced to the forefront of a burgeoning world movement toward eradicating poverty through micro-lending. Replicas of the Grameen Bank model operate in more than 100 countries worldwide. In October 2006, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced its decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Dr. Yunus and Grameen Bank “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.” The Committee said, “Lasting peace can not be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Microcredit is one such means.”

Motivation

Jeffrey Zaslow

Jeffrey Zaslow is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and co-author of the current international bestseller “The Last Lecture.” His column, "Moving On," focuses on life transitions and often attracts wide media interest. That was certainly the case in September 2007, after Zaslow attended the final lecture of dying Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch. Zaslow’s column about the talk sparked a worldwide phenomenon. Tens of millions of people have since viewed footage of the lecture on the Internet and on TV. The new book by Pausch and Zaslow, now being translated into 27 languages, is a #1 New York Times best-seller and has topped best-seller lists around the world. Intense media coverage of the book included “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and an ABC prime-time special hosted by Diane Sawyer. In his entertaining presentations, Zaslow delves into the recesses of our cultural psyche, with results that are surprising, funny and often extremely moving. Zaslow brings audiences unforgettable insights into a story that has captivated people worldwide.

Marketing

Peter Sheahan

Peter Sheahan has established a globally recognized brand as a leading expert in workforce trends and generational change. In the space of three years he has built a multi-million dollar consulting practice attracting clients such as Newscorp, Google, Coca-Cola, L’Oreal and Ernst & Young. Peter is a highly energetic entrepreneur with a respected reputation for transforming traditional business practices - bringing them into the present and launching them into the future. His outstanding achievements were first officially recognized in 2003 when Peter had the honor of being named New South Wales Young Entrepreneur of the Year. The author of 4 books, including the bestseller Generation Y: Thriving (and Surviving) with Generation Y at Work, he clearly understands what it takes to be successful in the rapidly changing business world. His new book, FL!P (Random House, September 2007), focuses on how the power of creative and lateral thinking can be harnessed to revolutionize innovation in businesses. Don’t miss your chance to engage with the leading edge of innovative and entrepreneurial thinking.

Financial

Phil Town

With the exception of his brilliant trading successes in the stock market, you’ll be hard pressed to find anything “Wall Street” about investment pro Phil Town. After saving the lives of a group of trustees from Outward Bound on the Colorado River rapids, one grateful client returned the favour by offering to guide Phil to investment success in the stock market. Phil then learned Warren Buffett’s cardinal rule of trading - don’t lose money. With an initial investment of 1000 dollars, Phil employed his mentor’s lessons and built a multi-million dollar stock portfolio. Coupled with his New York Times best seller, “Rule #1”, Phil Town has become America’s freshest and most exciting authority on self-directed investing.