Business Events

<p>As one of the leaders behind the fast-casual bakery and cafe concept, Ron Shaich has transformed the way America dines with his finger-on-the-pulse insights on the restaurant business and instinctive ability to know what the customer wants.</p><p>In 1981, Shaich co-founded Au Bon Pain Co., Inc. and Panera Bread, the two most successful bakery-cafe brands in the country. For more than 20 years, Shaich, now Executive Chairman of the Board of Panera Bread, served as Chief Executive Officer.

<p>Luke Williams is one of the world’s leading business thinkers on disruptive innovation. He fires up audiences as he shares his strategy to ignite innovation.</p><p>Williams pulls audiences in with a bold idea: at some point, someone, somewhere, is going to disrupt your entire industry – why shouldn’t it be you?

<p>Ben co-founded <em>The Buried Life</em> movement and his message of radical possibility has been featured on <em>The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show,</em> and networks like CNN, FOX, and CBS. </p><p>A decade ago, Ben was knocked off his feet by a heavy depression. To help him feel more alive, he and his three best friends created the world’s greatest bucket list, borrowed a rickety old RV, and crisscrossed North America, achieving the unthinkable.

<p>Martha Raddatz is one of America&#39;s most respected international and political journalists. Widely praised for her command in moderating high-profile debates, she is well-suited to cover the unprecedented 2024 Presidential elections. </p><p>Prior to her current role at ABC News, Raddatz served as Senior Foreign Affairs correspondent and before that, White House correspondent.

<p>Fearless leadership is the key to your team’s ability to reach peak performance – that’s the fundamental truth taught by Carey Lohrenz, the first female F-14 Tomcat fighter pilot. Drawing from her experiences making naval aviation history in the high-pressure environment of a U.S.

<p>Dr. Michio Kaku is an internationally recognized authority on theoretical physics and the environment and is co-founder of String Field Theory. Dr. Kaku’s engaging speaking style makes him one of the world’s foremost STEM advocates and science popularizers.</p>

<p>A renowned science expert, Dr. Kaku speaks passionately about topics ranging from teleportation, telepathy, and global climate change to alternative energy, psychokinesis, perpetual motion machines, and a binary star located 8,000 light years away.</p>

<p>Dubbed "America’s 24-hour point person on terrorism" by National Journal, Michael Leiter served as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) during two administrations.</p>

<p>Peter Zeihan combines a deep understanding of geography, demography, energy and trade to help his clients make sense of a complicated world. Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, policy makers and government agencies at all levels regularly rely on his expertise. </p><p>In 2012, Peter launched his own firm, Zeihan on Geopolitics, in order to specialize in customized executive briefings for his clients. Zeihan applies over a decade of intelligence experience and a geopolitical perspective to the specific needs of his clients.

<p>A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Vanderbilt University, Jeff Havens began his career as a high school English teacher before following his father Rex Havens into the world of stand-up comedy, where he worked with some of the brightest lights in American comedy and honed the art of engaging audiences through laughter. But his impulse to teach never faded, and soon he began looking for an avenue to combine both of his passions into entertaining and meaningful presentations.</p>

<p>The real-life inspiration behind ABC&#39;s hit political thriller series "Scandal" starring Kerry Washington, Judy Smith is the US&#39;s premier crisis management expert. As the founder and president of Smith & Company -- a leading strategic and crisis communications firm with offices in Los Angeles and Washington, DC -- she uniquely combines her communication skills, media savvy, and legal and political acumen to serve clients around the world.</p>