Apr 05 2013
Prof. Dr. Gunter Dueck – Technology Speaker
Mathematician, Philosopher, Lateral Thinker and Technology Speaker
Prof. Gunter Dueck is a philosopher, mathematician, writer, management expert and lateral thinker. Until 2011 he served at IBM as a Distinguished Engineer and he was Chief Technology Officer at IBM Germany for the most recent years. Currently, he works as a free author and business angel. He is the author of some of the most recognised satirical-philosophical books on humans, management and life. ‘Learn Brain Management – Success and more Efficiency by Zero-Intelligence’ was awarded Management Book of 2006 by Financial Times Germany.
One of the top 100 most influential persons in the IT and Communications Industry in 2011” Computerwoche Continue Reading »
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Elif Shafak was born in Strasbourg, France, in 1971. She is an award-winning novelist and the most widely read woman writer in Turkey. Critics have named her as “one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Turkish and world literature”. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages and she was awarded the honorary distinction of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. Shafak has published eleven books, eight of which are novels. She writes fiction in both Turkish and English. Shafak blends Western and Eastern traditions of storytelling, bringing out the myriad stories of women, minorities, immigrants, subcultures, youth and global souls. Her work draws on diverse cultures and literary traditions, as well as deep interest in history, philosophy, Sufism, oral culture, and cultural politics. Shafak’s writing breaks down categories, clichés, and cultural ghettoes. She also has a keen eye for black humor. Shafak’s first novel, Pinhan (The Mystic) was awarded the “Rumi Prize” in 1998, which is given to the best work in mystical literature in Turkey. Her second novel, Şehrin Aynaları (Mirrors of the City), brings together Jewish and Islamic mysticism against a historical setting in the 17th century Mediterranean.
Dr. Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge is the creator and driving force behind Quality & Equality. She founded the company in 1987 after a distinguished career in academia and in the marketplace. Her areas of expertise are organisation development, big system change, equality and diversity. In June 2008 she was voted one of the 25 most influential thinkers in HR by the HR Magazine.
Michael Gazzaniga is a Professor of Psychology and the Director for the SAGE Center for the Study of Mind at the University of California. He oversees an extensive and broad research program investigating how the brain enables the mind. He is also the Director of the Summer Institute in Cognitive Neuroscience and President of the Cognitive Neuroscience Institute.
Annie Lennox OBE is one of the world’s most renowned singer songwriters, formerly with the Eurythmics. She is celebrated as an innovator, an icon, and a symbol of enduring excellence. Annie’s music career is peerless with over 80 million record sales to date. In 2011, Annie received an OBE in the New Years Honours list. Throughout her career she has been honoured with prestigious awards in recognition for both her brilliant music and the great campaigning work she does for humanitarian causes around the world.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is courageous freedom fighter, one of the most influential and outspoken political figures of our time. A political crisis surrounding the potential stripping of her Dutch citizenship led to her resignation from the parliament, and led indirectly to the fall of the second Balkenende cabinet. She was named one of TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” of 2005, one of the Glamour Heroes of 2005 and Reader’s Digest’s European of the Year for 2005. In 2004 Ayaan gained international attention following the murder of Theo van Gogh who had directed her short film Submission.
Greg Dyke was appointed Chairman of the British Film Institute in February 2008. He was previously Director-General of the BBC. In his four years at the BBC he started four new digital television channels, five new digital radio channels, opened two new BBC regions, launched the BBC’s interactive television services and helped create Freeview. Greg reversed the trend at the BBC which took employees away from making programmes and made them into managers. In doing so he reduced administration costs dramatically from 24% of total income to 15%. In 2005, he became chairman of HIT and in 2006, he became chairman of Brentford Football Club. 
Prof. Kwame Anthony Appiah is one of America’s leading public intellectuals and an eminent philosopher. A renowned philosopher known for forging a code of ethics to fit a globalized world, he was once described as “our postmodern Socrates”. He has spent the last decade thinking about what it takes to turn moral understanding into moral behaviour. He challenges us to look beyond the boundaries — real and imagined — that divide us, and to see our common humanity. He is the Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University and the President of the PEN American Center, the internationally acclaimed literary and human rights association.
Martin Smith has had a fascinating and varied career in the world of espionage. He is one of Europe’s greatest authorities on counter-terrorism, counter-fraud and computer security. He had spent 15 years as a commissioned officer in the Royal Air Force, firstly as a fast jet pilot and then assigned to counter-espionage and counter-terrorism duties
Ranjini Manian is the founder and CEO of Global Adjustments Services Pvt Ltd, India’s 15-year-old destination and cross-cultural services company. Having worked with thousands of clients from over 75 nationalities, success is immutably bound to her commitment in promoting intercultural understanding. She is the only Indian on the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University.
