The Leading Speakers blog

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Brand Management Expert

Martin Lindstrom is a world leading expert on branding.

Since defining ten revolutionary branding rules he has provided brand-building advice to a host of international organisations.

His clients include Mars, Pepsi, American Express, Mercedes-Benz, Ericsson and Yellow Pages.

He is also a member of several international boards including Wotch, Hitwise and eKit.com.

A master
on the
power of brands
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Technology Pioneer and Inventor

Ray Kurzweil is one of the leading inventors of our time. He was the principal developer of the first CCD flat-bed scanner, the first omni-font optical character recognition, the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind and the first text-to-speech synthesizer. He also designed the first music synthesizer capable of recreating the grand piano and other orchestral instruments, and the first commercially marketed large-vocabulary speech recognition.

“The ultimate thinking machine” Forbes

In detail

Among Ray’s many honours, he is the recipient of the $500,000 MIT-Lemelson Prize, the World’s largest for innovation and in 1999 he received the National Medal of Technology, the USA’s highest honour in technology, from President Clinton in a White House ceremony. Most recently he was inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame, established by the US Patent Office in recognition of his inventions.
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Expert on IT Security and eBusiness

Tim Cole is an experienced publicist, author and TV moderator in the field of eBusiness and IT security. As editor of the business magazine Net Investor he has a proven track record for journalistic objectivity, as well as the ability to critically evaluate the impact of technology on business processes and markets. His book ‘Management Challenge Security’ has become a standard textbook for non-technical managers involved in IT security decision-making.

“Tim Cole is one of the 30 most influential Internet professionals”
FOCUS Online

In detail

He is also founder and editor of Internet Report, the first German language newsletter for the online industry. Tim was responsible for several magazines including Connect, a popular telecommunications magazine. His role as head of the multimedia group also involved developing new concepts for multimedia publishing and online communication. He frequently contributes to Internet related magazines.
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Leading World Authority on Communications and Electronic Media and Commerce

Patrick Vittet-Philippe is an expert advisor on e-business; information and communication technologies; B2B and B2C; and m-commerce for the European Commission (EC). He has been responsible in the elaboration and implementation of the main European Union (EU) policy initiatives on e-business and for drafting a number of EC policy papers and reports. He also represents the EC at international negotiations and conferences.

Patrick offers privileged insight into EU policies and regulations on information and communication technologies; and e- and m-commerce. Combined with his vision for navigating the security challenges of the e-economy, he provides the vital knowledge to keep any business on top of the e-revolution.
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Former Nokia Enterprise Solutions EMEA Channel Marketing Manager

Until recently Erik Jan Koedijk was Country Manager (Netherlands) and EMEA Channel Marketing Manager at Nokia Enterprise Solutions. An expert on Web 2.0 and networking, Erik has developed strategic channel sales and marketing plans to open new channels to deliver sales growth and above all transform strategy into action. He is also an experienced branding expert and a recognised leader in the field of building strategic networks.

“Doing business nowadays is all about building communities.”

In detail

In the last 10 years Erik has built and managed local and European sales, marketing and channel teams for large companies and start-up networking organisations with a specific focus on the internet and mobile communications. One of Erik’s hobbies is social networking and he is often organising brainstorm and workshop sessions with senior managers about community building, web 2.0 and mobility eco system building.
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Authority on the Future of Management/IT, Professor of Forecasting and Innovation

James Woudhuysen is one of Europe’s best-known independent speakers and writers on the future. In the 1980s he co-directed Britain’s first major study into the future of e-commerce (’teleshopping’ in those days). He then moved to the Henley Centre, Britain’s best-known think-tank on EU markets, where he built up the firm’s forecasting on the broader future of IT and proposed, in 1992, that the Internet be delivered over TV.

In 1996 staff at Phillips nominated James as ‘Motivator of the Year’

In detail

A physicist, broadcaster and author of several books, James is a columnist for IT Week and is visiting Professor of Innovation at De Montfort University, Leicester. He is often on BBC Radio 4. James managed worldwide market intelligence for Philips consumer electronics in the Netherlands.
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Expert in Virtual Reality and Computer Engineering

Michael Zyda is Director of the USC GamePipe Laboratory, and a Professor of Engineering Practice in the USC Department of Computer Science. At USC, he created the ‘Batchelor of Science’ (BA) in Computer Science (Games) and ‘Master of Science’ (MS) in Computer Science (Game Development) cross-disciplinary degree programs and doubled the incoming undergraduate enrolment of the Computer Science Department. He was the Founding Director of The MOVES Institute, located at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California and a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at NPS as well.

“Michael Zyda opens up the world of virtual reality and 3 dimensional networks”

In detail

From 1986 until the formation of the MOVES Institute, he was the Director of the NPSNET Research Group. His research interests include computer graphics, large-scale, networked 3D virtual environments, modelling human and organisational behaviour, interactive computer-generated story, video production, and entertainment games. He holds a lifetime appointment as a National Associate of the National Academies, an appointment made by the Council of the National Academy of Sciences in November 2003. He is a member of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
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Former Member of the European Commission

During his 10 year tenure as one of Europe’s most senior Commissioners in Brussels, Dr Martin Bangemann was instrumental in shaping Europe’s telecommunications and IT policy in a world of rapid technology developments. He stepped down from this position in June 1999. From 2000 to 2005 he was a non-executive Advisory Board Member of Telefonica, Spain. He is currently writing a new book.

“Dr Bangemann has a firm grasp on the future of the information industry”

In detail

He received a doctorate in law from the University of Munich and became a practising lawyer in Germany in 1964. He entered the European Parliament in 1973 on the Budget Committee and became Chairman of the European Parliament Liberal Democratic Group in 1979. From 1984 to 1988 he was Federal Minister of Economic Affairs for Germany.
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Founder and CEO of easyJet, easyGroup, easyEverything

Born in Athens, Greece in 1967, Stelios Haji-Ioannou is the middle son of Loucas and Nedi, both of Cypriot origin.

Stelios has an older brother, Polys and a younger sister, Clelia who are both shareholders in Stelmar Tankers and easyJet.

Stelios was raised in Athens where he attended Greek High School (Doucas School) and at the same time took two A-levels in Maths and Economics.
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Editor-in-chief, Wired Magazine

As editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, Chris Anderson is one of the most knowledgeable and articulate voices at the centre of the new economy. He has written an exciting new book that defines an entirely new economic model for business. ‘The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More’ explores the tremendous business potential of the long tail—the rise of the niche as a powerful new force in our economy.

“Anderson’s insights with the Long Tail continue to influence Google’s strategic thinking in a profound way.”
Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google

In detail

Before taking the helm at Wired, Chris worked at The Economist for seven years in various positions in London, Hong Kong and New York, ranging from Technology Editor to US Business Editor. He also served as an editor at the two premier science journals, Science and Nature. Education background: physics, including research at Los Alamos.
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