London|5-7 May 2009

David Brennan
Chief Executive Officer
AstraZeneca

David Brennan was appointed CEO of AstraZeneca in 2006. From 2001 until his appointment to CEO, Brennan was President and CEO of AstraZeneca LP, the company’s North American subsidiary. He was appointed Executive Board Director of AstraZeneca in 2005, with responsibility for the US, the company's largest market, as well as all North American operations.

Brennan began his career in 1975 at Merck, where he rose from sales representative to general manager of Chibret International, a French subsidiary of Merck. He joined AstraMerck in 1992 and helped build its multibillion-dollar business in the US.

Brennan is an Executive Director of AstraZeneca PLC, a member of the executive board of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and a member of the executive board of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).

Ben Edwards
Publisher and Executive Vice President
Economist.com

Ben Edwards was appointed publisher of Economist.com in March 2007. As publisher, Edwards is responsible for the worldwide profit and loss of The Economist’s digital publishing activities.

Previously, Edwards was Director of New Media Programs at IBM. In this role, he pioneered social-computing applications for IBM's external communications as well as for internal enterprise transformation, and published and managed IBM’s corporate Web sites. Before joining IBM, Edwards enjoyed a 14-year career as a journalist, having spent 10 of those years with The Economist Newspaper, where he served as a finance reporter, Tokyo Bureau Chief and American Business Editor. Edwards holds a degree in English from Oxford University and a degree in economics from the University of London.

Jim Goodnight
CEO
SAS

Since he co-founded SAS in 1976, Jim Goodnight has served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. A worldwide leader in enterprise intelligence solutions and services, SAS has more than 10,000 employees in 53 countries. In 2008, the company’s 33rd consecutive year of growth and profitability, its revenue was $2.26 billion.

In 2004, Harvard Business School named Goodnight as one of the "20th Century’s Great American Business Leaders," citing his impact on "the way people have lived, worked and interacted in the 20th century."

Goodnight has a PhD in statistics and speaks internationally on leadership, education and innovation.

Rom Hendler
Vice President of Strategic Marketing
The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and The Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino

After seven years of working with Club Med in major tourist destinations around the world, Rom Hendler joined The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada (US) in March 2000 as Revenue Manager. He then became the Director of Revenue Management. In his current position, Hendler oversees the revenue management, Internet marketing, property marketing, leisure sales, suite reservations, direct marketing, and slot revenue management departments for the 4,027-suite Venetian. He works to maximize profitability by setting The Venetian’s distribution strategy, pricing the room and slot inventories, forming strategic partnerships, using state-of-the-art database analysis, optimizing the casino floor, and developing CRM and customer loyalty initiatives.

Gerard Lyons, PhD
Chief Economist and Group Head of Global Research
Standard Chartered

Gerard Lyons is an expert on the world economy, international financial system, macroeconomic policy and global markets in his role at Standard Chartered. He is also an Economic Advisor to the Board and is a member of the bank’s Executive Forum.

Lyons has 20 years of experience in senior roles with some of the world's leading financial institutions and as a highly regarded city and international economist with an excellent forecasting record. Previous positions include Chief Economist at DKB International and consultant to the Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Chief UK Economist at Swiss Bank Corporation, beginning his career with Chase Manhattan. He holds a PhD from the University of London.

Geoffrey Moore
Managing Director, TCG Advisors
Venture Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures

Geoffrey Moore is a leading business consultant to large companies facing formidable strategic challenges, an expert in market development and business investment strategies, and a best-selling author. In addition to his roles with TCG Advisors and Mohr Davidow Ventures, he is the founder of the Chasm Group.

Moore’s books, including Crossing the Chasm, Inside the Tornado and Living on the Fault Line, are required reading at leading business schools.

He holds a bachelor's degree in literature from Stanford University and a doctorate in literature from the University of Washington.

Kjell Nordström
Visionary on the "new world" of international business and co-author of the best-seller Funky Business: Talent Makes Capital Dance

Dr. Kjell A. Nordström is a guru of the new world of business. The 2007 Thinkers 50, the world's foremost ranking of management thinkers, ranked Nordström at No. 13 in the world. His international best-seller Funky Business: Talent Makes Capital Dance (co-authored with Dr. Jonas Ridderstrale) is a manifesto for what our time requires from business firms and their leaders and has been translated into 31 languages. The duo’s latest book, Karaoke Capitalism: Management for Mankind, has been published in 23 languages and teaches how to successfully compete on competencies, create capitalism with character, and have a great life while also making a living.

Nordström holds an Economic Licentiate degree and a doctoral degree from the Stockholm School of Economics and is presently an Assistant Professor at the Institute of International Business at the Stockholm School of Economics.

Dennis Turner
Chief Economist
HSBC plc

As Chief Economist of HSBC Bank plc in London, Dennis Turner advises lending bankers on economic trends not only at a national level, but also on industries and regions.

Before joining Midland Bank in 1978, he worked for four years in Whitehall for the National Economic Development Office. His first job on leaving university (Swansea and University College, London) was as an economist for a national trade union.

Joseph Quinlan
Managing Director and Chief Market Strategist,
Bank of America Global Wealth and Investment Management

Joseph Quinlan oversees the development and implementation of investment strategies and solutions for Bank of America's global wealth and investment management channels. In this role, he is in charge of developing, communicating and executing the firm’s overall investment strategy. His research is frequently cited in Barron’s, The New York Times and the Financial Times.

Rebecca Romero
The first British woman in history to win an Olympic medal in two entirely different sports

Rebecca Romero's gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics made her the first British woman in history to win an Olympic medal in two entirely different sports – cycling and rowing. Romero also was a contender for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2008 and joined her team, led by Chris Hoy, as the winners of the BBC Sports Team of the Year 2008. Romero has won world championships in both cycling and rowing and was appointed an MBE in the 2009 New Year Honours.

Lucy Woods
Chief Executive Officer
Viatel

Lucy Woods is CEO of Viatel, a pan-European business offering IP-based managed services, Ethernet, bandwidth and network infrastructure to business customers in the region. Woods has led the successful turnaround of Viatel over the past six years with the financial backing of Morgan Stanley. Before joining Viatel, she was CEO of MCI WorldCom (EMEA), a $3 billion turnover business. Prior to 1999, Woods spent 18 years at BT plc.

Jim Davis
Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
SAS

As Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Jim Davis provides worldwide marketing direction for SAS^® solutions and services. He is responsible for managing product direction, professional services, education, advertising and communications.

A respected thought leader, Davis co-authored the book Information Revolution: Using the Information Evolution Model to Grow Your Business.

Since joining SAS in 1994, Davis has pioneered many key initiatives, including global projects that incorporate customer feedback in the development process. Today, he continues to refine the model for continuous collaboration and innovation among engineers, marketers and customers, enabling SAS to meet the global demand for enterprise intelligence.

Mikael Hagström
Executive Vice President
SAS Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific

As the Executive Vice President of EMEA and Asia Pacific for SAS, Mikael Hagström is passionate about providing a culture where innovation can flourish, resulting in market leadership both for the organisation and its customers.

Hagström is responsible for optimising business performance, delivering revenue and managing operations in more than 50 countries with individual profit and loss centres. He has extensive executive sales management experience with a successful record of growing business and fostering strong leadership in local geographies.

As a member of the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU) Executive Council, Hagström is a frequent speaker on the multinational business climate.