Topic: Creativity

Lina Ghotmeh

Architect Lina Ghotmeh is the founder of the Paris-based studio Lina Ghotmeh – Architecture. Evoking her past life in Beirut, she sees her practice as an “archaeology of the future”: each project evolves from her research, in symbiosis with nature, as an expression of the essence of the raw material from which it is crafted. Her work includes the Estonian National Museum (designed in partnership Dorell.Ghotmeh.Tane); the “Stone Garden” tower in Beirut, winner of the Dezeen 2021 project of the Year award and distinguished for its hand-carved surface; “Réalimenter Masséna”, her winning design in response to a call for innovative projects by the City of Paris; and the new Ateliers Hermès, a passive, low-carbon building under construction in Normandy.

Lina Ghotmeh was the Fall 2021 “Louis I Khan” Visiting Professor of Architectural Design at the Yale School of Architecture. She held the 2021-22 Frank Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design at the University of Toronto, and is a professor and member of the International Academy of Architecture. In 2020, she received the Schelling Architecture Award and the Tamayouz Woman of Outstanding Achievement award. She is a winner of the Prix Cardin (2019, awarded by the Académie des Beaux-Arts, France), the Prix Dejean (2016, from the Académie d’Architecture), and the Grand Prix AFEX (2016). In 2022, Lina Ghotmeh is appointed as the Architect of the 22nd Serpentine Pavilion in London. The pavilion will be celebrated in June 2023.

Her work has been exhibited at the MAXXI in Rome, at the Cooper-Hewitt, the Smithsonian Design Museum in New-York, the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, the Building Centre at the V&A in London, and the Danish Architecture Centre in Copenhagen.

Jez Rose

Jez Rose is a Behavior Insight Advisor with 20 years experience. Sought-after for his memorable, credible content, and audience engagement as a live and virtual motivational speaker, Jez applies behavioural psychology to improve sales, lower attrition and enhance innovation across a diverse range of people-led topics.

If he looks familiar, you may recognise him from television, Instagram or YouTube, or a conference; one of his books or articles, or from a brand campaign or podcast. A passion for asking questions led him to research the impact of nature on human health, wellbeing and behaviour, and purchase a decommissioned farm in England. It became the world’s first certified Carbon Neutral honey farm, rearing and reintroducing the native British honeybee. The farm developed into an award-winning and Soil Association certified organic site, where much of the research was conducted.

Recognised as one of the leading global keynote speakers, he is renowned for delivering impact and long-lasting results. Now spending his time between England and the USA, for 20 years he has worked with more than 800 clients worldwide to engage, inspire and train their teams, helping to better understand why we do the things we do, and how to change behaviours for the better.

He has authored six books (two for children) and hundreds of articles for the likes of CNN.com, The Daily Telegraph, and The Evening Standard. His latest book, "Flip the Switch" is published by Capstone/Wiley and spent two weeks in the WHSmith Top 10 Best Seller List, where it reached number 1, and won the Beverly Hills Book Award.

As an experienced broadcaster and after several years presenting television in England he hosted his own show for ITV1, was a co-host on BBC1 and special guest on ITV and QVC. Now he creates shareable, engaging content for YouTube and regularly works on international media campaigns for brands including TK Maxx, Crowne Plaza Hotels, Volkswagen, and Philips.

Jez Rose is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts; an Associate Member of the Inner Magic Circle (with silver star), London, and magician member of The Academy of Magical Arts, Hollywood.

Yong Zhao

Yong Zhao currently serves as the Presidential Chair and Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he is also a Professor in the Department of Educational Measurement, Policy, and Leadership. He is also a professorial fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Health and Education Policy, Victoria University.

Until December, 2010, Yong Zhao was University Distinguished Professor at the College of Education, Michigan State University, where he also served as the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Technology, executive director of the Confucius Institute, as well as the US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence.

His research interests include educational policy, computer gaming and education, diffusion of innovations, teacher adoption of technology, computer-assisted language learning, and globalization and education.

Zhao has extensive international experiences. He has consulted with government and educational agencies and spoken on educational issues in many countries on six continents. His current work focuses on designing 21st Century Schools in the context of globalization and the digital revolution.

Zhao has published over 20 books and 100 articles. His most recent books include Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization and the Handbook of Asian Education. He has also developed computer software, including the award-winning ZON, the world’s first massively multi-player online role-playing game for studying Chinese.

Zhao was born in China’s Sichuan Province. He received his B.A. in English Language Education from Sichuan Institute of Foreign Languages in Chongqing, China in 1986. After teaching English in China for six years, he came to Linfield College as a visiting scholar in 1992. He then began his graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1993. He received his A.M. in Education in 1994 and Ph.D. in 1996. He joined the faculty at MSU in 1996 after working as the Language Center Coordinator at Willamette University and a language specialist at Hamilton College.

He is a recipient of the Early Career Award from the American Educational Research Association and was named one of the 2012 10 most influential people in educational technology by the Tech & Learn Magazine. He is an elected fellow of the International Academy for Education. His latest book World Class Learners has won several awards including the Society of Professors of Education Book Award (2013), Association of Education Publishers’ (AEP) Judges’ Award and Distinguished Achievement Award in Education Leadership (2013).

Peter Shankman

An author, entrepreneur, speaker, and worldwide connector, Peter is recognized worldwide for radically new ways of thinking about Customer Service, Social Media, PR, marketing and advertising.

PR Week Magazine has described Peter Shankman as “redefining the art of networking,” and Investor’s Business Daily has called him “crazy, but effective.” Peter Shankman is a spectacular example of what happens when you harness the power of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and put it to work for you. Peter Shankman is recognized nationally and globally for doing PR (and everything else) differently—not only to get attention, produce great results, and create great companies, but also to have a lot of fun while at it every day.

Peter Shankman is the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., boutique marketing and PR Strategy firm located in New York City, with clients worldwide. His blog, PR Differently, which he launched in 2004, both comments on and generates industry-related news and conversation. Peter Shankman founded AirTroductions, the world’s first social network for business travelers after a particularly brutal inter-continental flight. Launched in 2005 to instant media attention and growth, AirTroductions was acquired in mid-2007 and relaunched in January of 2008 as TripLife, (www.triplife.com) the largest social networking and connections website for all travelers.

In 2008 Peter Shankman launched Help A Reporter Out (HARO) which connects journalists with the sources they require using a social media platform. HARO is already over 250,000 members. Peter Shankman‘s PR and Marketing clients have included the Snapple Beverage Group, Walt Disney World, Vantage Point Venture Partners, American Express, Discovery Networks, New Frontier Media, OpSec Security, Napster, Juno, GenuOne, Dream Catcher Destinations Club, Prstore, Weblo, and many others, and he sits on the board of both Scott-e-Vest, the world’s first technologically enabled clothing line, as well as TripLife.

Peter is the author of four books: Zombie Loyalists: Using Great Service to Create Rabid Fans (2015) Nice Companies Finish First: Why Cutthroat Management is Over, and Collaboration is in, (2013,) Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work--And Why Your Company Needs Them (2006,) and Customer Service: New Rules for a Social Media World (2010) and a frequent keynote speaker and workshop presenter at conferences, shows, marketing summits, corporate events, and public relations and marketing industry meetings, including Saatchi and Saatchi, Home Town Suites Hotels, NAB, Comdex, CTIA, CTAM, CES, PMA, The Next Gen Asia Advertising Conference, Mobile Marketing Asia 2007, Advertising Week, and the Direct Marketing Association.

Peter is an adjunct professor of Marketing at New York University, and sits on the advisory boards of several companies, all visible on the Advising/Investing page, and is honored to sit on the NASA Civilian Advisory Council, appointed to his position by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. He’s also an angel investor, specializing mostly in very early stage tech and social media companies.

To punctuate his full-throttle schedule, Peter Shankman is a marketing pundit for the Fox News Channel Program The O’Reilly Factor and he has been a guest on many other major US and International news channels. He was featured in Men’s Journal, MSNBC, and The New York Times, and he is frequently quoted in major media and trade publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Associated Press, Reuters, CNN, and USA Today.

A proud Boston University graduate, Peter started his career at America Online as a Senior News Editor, helping found the AOL Newsroom and spearheading coverage of the Democratic and Republican 1996 conventions, which marked the first time an online news service covered any major political event.
Born and raised in New York City, Peter Shankman still lives there with his wife and daughter. In the few hours of spare time Peter Shankman has per month, he’s a frequent runner, with 13 completed marathons and an Olympic distance triathlon to his credit, an amateur boxer, and a “B” licensed skydiver.

Gabor George Burt

Gabor is an internationally recognized expert on Blue Ocean Strategy and Value Innovation; the highly acclaimed, new approach to high-growth strategy formation and implementation conceived by INSEAD professors W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. He is also regarded as a thought leader on the cognitive perspective of Defying Conventional Wisdom. Taken together, his two spheres of expertise are especially relevant in helping organizations to create successful strategies during times of economic uncertainty.

Gabor is also the chief architect and original host of the Blue Ocean Executive Experience series, an exclusive immersion forum on Blue Ocean Strategy and Defying Conventional Wisdom. He is actively involved in shaping strategy with a diverse group of international clients spanning from Fortune 500 firms to successful start-ups, as well as in his own wide-ranging application of the Blue Ocean and DCW concepts.

An engaging and provocative presenter, Gabor aims to uncover the core concepts of Blue Ocean Strategy and the mindset of Defying Conventional Wisdom in a way that makes them immediately accessible for his audiences. He is a frequent lecturer and advisor to companies on the topic of innovation and strategies that lead to uncontested market space. 

 In addition to a BA degree in psychology from Amherst College, Gabor holds an MBA degree from INSEAD in France.

Juan Pablo Neira

Juan Pablo Neira is a detonator of emotions and one of the most renowned speakers and specialists in Latin American corporate presentations.

He specialized in George Washington University as a producer of events, later to found LIVE, one of the most prestigious companies of special events in Latin America.

More than 500 customers and WOBI, SAB Miller, Coca Cola, Pfizer, P & G, Citibank, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson and ExxonMobil have witnessed his work as live professional leadership.

Being an extraordinary speaker, Juan Pablo combines his extensive experience in the world of creativity and service to his great love of magic, presenting various concepts conference show that has managed to inspire, enlighten and energize audiences in more than 30 countries.

Garry Kasparov

Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, in the Soviet Union in 1963, Garry Kasparov became the under-18 chess champion of the USSR at the age of 12 and the world under-20 champion at 17. He came to international fame at the age of 22 as the youngest world chess champion in history in 1985. He defended his title five times, including a legendary series of matches against arch-rival Anatoly Karpov. Kasparov broke Bobby Fischer’s rating record in 1990 and his own peak rating record remained unbroken until 2013. His famous matches against the IBM super-computer Deep Blue in 1996-97 were key to bringing artificial intelligence, and chess, into the mainstream.

Kasparov’s outspoken nature did not endear him to the Soviet authorities, giving him an early taste of opposition politics. He became one of the first prominent Soviets to call for democratic and market reforms and was an early supporter of Boris Yeltsin’s push to break up the Soviet Union. In 1990, he and his family escaped ethnic violence in his native Baku as the USSR collapsed. His refusal that year to play the World Championship under the Soviet flag caused an international sensation. In 2005, Kasparov, in his 20th year as the world’s top-ranked player, abruptly retired from competitive chess to join the vanguard of the Russian pro-democracy movement. He founded the United Civil Front and organized the Marches of Dissent to protest the repressive policies of Vladimir Putin. In 2012, Kasparov was named chairman of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation, succeeding Vaclav Havel. Facing imminent arrest during Putin’s crackdown, Kasparov moved from Moscow to New York City in 2013.

The US-based Kasparov Chess Foundation non-profit promotes the teaching of chess in education systems around the world. Its program already in use in schools across the United States, KCF also has centers in Brussels, Johannesburg, Singapore, and Mexico City. Garry and his wife Daria travel frequently to promote the proven benefits of chess in education and have toured Africa extensively.

Kasparov has been a contributing editor to the Wall Street Journal since 1991 and is a regular commentator on politics and human rights. He speaks frequently to business and political audiences around the world on innovation, strategy, individual freedom, and achieving peak mental performance. He is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Oxford-Martin School with a focus on human-machine collaboration. Kasparov’s book How Life Imitates Chess on decision-making is available in over 20 languages. He is the author of two acclaimed series of chess books, My Great Predecessors and Modern Chess.

Kasparov’s new book, Winter Is Coming: Why Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped, was released by PublicAffairs in October 2015. He describes the book as a mix of “one part history of the rise and fall of Russian democracy and the West’s role in both, from Gorbachev’s retreat from Eastern Europe to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014; one part current events with an analysis of the current security crisis and how and why the countries of the free world must unite to fight back against thugs and dictators; and one part personal memoir of my life as a citizen, witness, and activist in the USSR, democratic Russia, and Putin’s Russia.”