The Leading Speakers Bureau

Director Digital Product and Consumer Tech, Pearson PLC

Juan López-Valcarcel is an international digital media executive, having worked as an entrepreneur, advisor and manager of Media and Telecom companies since 1996. He currently oversees Digital Products and Consumer Technology for Pearson plc. In this newly created corporate role, Juan oversees digital product development across all business units and works with handset manufacturers and mobile operators around the world to develop innovative mobile and touchscreen experiences.. In particular, he is focused on Pearson’s activity in the mobile content and device market, educational games and digital publishing (eBooks and beyond).

“Juan is responsible for digital innovation across Pearson on emerging devices & platforms”

[expand title=”In detail”] Juan Lopez-Valcarcel holds a double degree in Corporate Law and Economics from ICADE (Spain) and received an MBA from INSEAD (France) with an exchange at Wharton (USA). Previously, Juan was VP Digital Media at NBC Universal in New York managing the leading women’s online destination iVillage.com and an Engagement Manager at strategy consulting firm Booz Allen, where he worked on more than 40 Media, Telecoms and Venture Capital projects in Europe, US and Latin America. He was the founder and Webmaster for Madrid’s first local online portal, Guiamadrid.com. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Juan Lopez-Valcarcel is a regular speaker and panellist on digital business and media convergence and he has recently been featured at prestigious digital media and VC events. An international digital executive with extensive experience as manager and advisor to Fortune 500 and start-up companies, he is in great demand at events worldwide. He openly shares his experience and gives practical advice about the huge commercial opportunity available to content providers, games publishers and developers, brands and media companies in the exciting mobile apps sector.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Juan Lopez-Valcarcel is a proven P&L manager with the ability to motivate and build effective relationships with staff and stakeholders and a highly engaging and informative speaker.[/expand]
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Founder & CEO of Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg is the CEO and founder of Facebook, a networking tool, originally used by college students to meet people, reconnect with old friends and arrange events. The company re-designed its Web site and received venture capital. Mark is responsible for setting the overall direction and product strategy for the company. He leads the design of Facebook’s service and development of its core technology and infrastructure.

“Mark Zuckerberg is an endlessly fascinating character”

[expand title=”In detail”] Founded as Thefacebook in 2004 at Harvard, the website spread across campus and, within a few weeks, over half the undergraduate population had registered. The website then expanded to allow students from Columbia, Stanford, and then other Ivy League colleges to register. It became something of a network phenomenon, spreading rapidly to other schools, despite some competition from similar, local websites. Mark attended Harvard University and studied computer science before moving the company to Palo Alto, California.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Mark Zuckerberg shows international audiences exactly what it takes to create and successfully lead a start-up company even in difficult times. He also explains how new social media is changing the way we communicate and do business.[/expand]

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Mark’s highly informative presentations are highly insightful and eloquently delivered.[/expand]
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AdMob Evangelist, Leading Practitioner & Commentator on Mobile Marketing

Russell Buckley is a leading expert on mobile marketing and is a prolific writer about all things mobile. He was instrumental in building AdMob to become world’s leading mobile advertising network, and sold AdMob to Google for for $750 million in 2010. To date, they’ve served over 200 billion ads in the first 48 months and advertisers have over 18 Billion pages available per month in 160 countries. Russell is Global Chairman Emeritus of the Mobile Marketing Association.

“Russell Buckley brings a unique perspective to analysis of the mobile telecoms industry”

[expand title=”In detail”] Russell Buckley has been in mobile marketing since 2000 and has subsequently been involved in thousands of campaigns. Before that he spent many years in marketing on both the agency and clientside. Russell is a founder of Mobile Monday in Germany. He has spent 15 years in marketing, working with some of the world’s largest brands such as Coca-Cola, Diageo, BT, Texaco and Mars. In 2008/9 he was Chair of the Mobile Marketing Association for EMEA. In 2000, he was recruited to be Director of Marketing of mobile marketing start up, ZagMe, one of the leading pioneers in mobile advertising and location based marketing.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Russell Buckley has championed the mobile channel for Google, communicating with publishers, developers and advertisers throughout the world. His wealth of experience in the commercial realities of mobile advertising and their associated deployments proves invaluable to worldwide audiences. He provides practical, hands-on tools that help decision makers develop their company’s wireless strategy. He is a regular speaker on mobile at conferences throughout the world and has published many articles, as well as a white paper on location based marketing.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]With first hand, practical experience, Russell Buckley brings audiences up to date with the range of innovative opportunities currently being tested at Google in a clear and captivating style.[/expand]
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Group Chief Investment Officer, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte. Ltd.

Ng Kok Song is managing director and group chief investment officer of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. He is currently founding chairman of the Wealth Management Institute. He is also a member of the senior advisory council of the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA), and an adviser to Agency France Tresor.

“Ng Kok Song was a key member of the team that conceived and expanded the trading of gold futures to include financial futures at the Gold Exchange of Singapore”

[expand title=”In detail”] Ng Kok Song holds a physics degree from the University of Singapore and a management degree from Stanford University. Previously, he worked at the Ministry of Finance and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (including director of the international department and of the banking department), and he was the founding chairman of the Singapore International Monetary Exchange (SIMEX, now incorporated into the Singapore Exchange). He pioneered the establishment of the first financial futures exchange in Asia, SIMEX. His initiatives helped to stimulate the establishment of the larger Asian futures industry. He laid the foundation for SIMEX’s success, which has built up into SGX’s position today as the Asian Gateway for derivatives.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Responsible for global asset allocation and global currency risk management, as well as for the operations of the equities department, bond department, foreign exchange unit, economics department, and client services, Ng Kok Song’s highly informative presentations are sought-after by decision makers at prestigious events worldwide.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]A true visionary, Ng Kok Song is an eloquent and captivating speaker.[/expand]
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Campaign Manager, Obama for America

After winning the election in 2008, President Obama called his campaign manager, David Plouffe, “the unsung hero” who built the best political campaign in the history of the United States. He has an extensive campaign leadership background, having served on a variety of high profile presidential, U.S. Senate and congressional campaigns.

“David Plouffe shares his innovative insights on achieving strategic results in the 21st century”

[expand title=”In detail”] Averse to publicity himself, David Plouffe has spent much of his career working for Democratic leader Dick Gephardt, especially orchestrating Gephardt’s effort to reclaim Congress in 2000. In 1999-2000, he led a national campaign that raised a record US $ 95 million for House races across the US. He began his political career working for Senator Tom Harkin’s 1990 re-election campaign. In 1992 he successfully managed Congressman John Olver’s first re-election bid in Western Massachusetts. He also worked as campaign director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 1995. In 1996 Plouffe managed Bob Torricelli’s successful campaign for the New Jersey seat in the US Senate.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]David Plouffe provides insights into his expertise with social networking, volunteer mobilization and the sophisticated use of research to drive productivity. He shares his extensive experiences in successfully leading large teams, inspiring creativity and motivating innovative solutions that produce effective results that set new records for fund-raising and grassroots mobilization due to a bold use of technology and faith in the power of volunteers.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]With humour, passion and intelligence David Plouffe shares the inside story about how Obama was elected president, how success hinged on a fundamental belief in the candidate and the strategy. His fascinating presentations look ahead to the administration’s next steps and the movement the campaign created.[/expand]
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Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, England

Kevin Warwick, the world’s leading expert in Cybernetics, is perhaps best known for his pioneering experiments involving a neuro-surgical implantation into the median nerves of his left arm to link his nervous system directly to a computer to assess the latest technology for use with the disabled. He is also Director of the University KTP Centre which raises over £2 million each year in research income for the University.

The World’s First Cyborg

[expand title=”In detail”] Kevin Warwick received a degree from Aston University, followed by a PhD and research post at Imperial College, London. He subsequently held positions at Oxford, Newcastle and Warwick Universities before being offered the Chair at Reading. He carries out research in artificial intelligence, control, robotics and cyborgs. His most recent research involves the invention of an intelligent deep brain stimulator to counteract the effects of Parkinson Disease tremors. He was successful with the first extra-sensory (ultrasonic) input for a human and with the first purely electronic telegraphic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Prof. Warwick shares the results of his groundbreaking experiments and his extensive research into robotics and cyborg technolgy and shows examples of how this is changing the way we live and work. He explains in detail the importance of new technologies and the ways in which these will affect our lifestyles and impact on society and business.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Kevin Warwick is a captivating, powerful speaker who confidently delivers a unique perspective on our scientific future.[/expand]
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Executive Editor, The Washington Post

Marcus Walker Brauchli is the executive editor of The Washington Post as of September 2008. He is a former managing editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was part of the team that redesigned The Journal into a physically smaller newspaper, which has already saved The Journal US $ 5 million in newsprint costs. He also helped guide transition to smaller editions in Europe and Asia and helped The Journal develop its Weekend Journal section. He served for many years as a Journal foreign correspondent, has been a deputy managing editor of the paper since 2005.

In 2007, NewsBios.com named Marcus one of the 100 most influential business journalists in the US

[expand title=”In detail”] Marcus Brauchli graduated from Columbia University and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard from 1991 to 1992. He joined Dow Jones, publisher of The Journal, in 1984 as a copy editor and transferred to Hong Kong as a reporter for the newswire. In 1987, he joined The Journal as Scandinavia correspondent, moving the next year to The Journal’s Tokyo bureau where he covered economics and eventually became the China bureau chief. While in Asia, he was known in part for giving a big party every year that drew people from business, politics and the arts from around the world.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Marcus Brauchli now holds the most powerful position in business journalism, overseeing the editorial operations of both The Washington Post newspaper and washingtonpost.com. He is a champion of the highest quality standards, who as a foreign correspondent, has reported from more than 20 countries. His insight into the multiple media, at a time when there is constant change in the way people consume information, is invaluable to those wanting to understand today’s business climate.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Marcus Brauchli’s presentations are high in content and filled with highly respected insights into current issues.[/expand]
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Commercial Director of Virgin Galactic

Stephen Attenborough is at the forefront of space tourism. After almost 20 years in senior business and client management roles for a top London finance company, Stephen Attenborough decided that success and excitement did not necessarily go hand in hand. A chance meeting with a top Virgin executive resulted in a grand plan being hatched to create the world’s first Head of Astronaut Relations for the world’s first space tourism operator – Virgin Galactic.

“Stephen Attenborough considers himself to have the best job in the world if not the universe!”

[expand title=”In detail”] Based in London, Stephen Attenborough leads Virgin Galactic’s commercial operations with a team that covers sales, marketing, customer care, PR and communications. He also is responsible for workstreams that are developing and managing the astronaut experience as well as the liability, insurance and regulatory framework.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Stephen Attenborough explains to audiences the impact new technologies have on businesses and focuses on how to drive business innovation and growth through the right combination of innovative people and technology. Stephen Attenborough also entertains his audiences with the enthralling Virgin Galactic Story.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Immensely entertaining and highly enjoyable, Stephen’s presentations are a perfect mix of new ideas and sound business know-how.[/expand]
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Record Breaking Round the World Balloonist, President & Initiator of the Solar Impulse Project

Bertrand Piccard is the record breaking round the world balloonist, President and initiator of the Solar Impulse Project which was launched to take on a new challenge: flying round the world in an airplane propelled uniquely by solar energy, without fuel or pollution, in order to promote the immense potential of renewable energies and their new technologies. In July 2010 he achieved the first major step: the solar airplane flew through the night for the first time ever, touching down after 26 hours non stop.

“Bertrand aspires to combine his family scientific heritage with his commitment to exploring the great adventure of life”

[expand title=”In detail”] Bertrand is a psychiatrist, aeronaut and internationally renowned lecturer, president of the humanitarian foundation “Winds of Hope” and roving ambassador for the United Nations. He is also the Pioneer of free flight and ULM (Unified Life Model) in Europe, winner of the first transatlantic balloon race (Chrysler Challenge 1992), Bertrand Piccard was also the initiator of the Breitling Orbiter project.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Bertrand is a highly sought-after speaker both with the general public and the business world. He deals with his personal experience from the point of view of motivation and adventurous spirit, the psychology of communication and team-working, management of stress and the unknown. His fascinating insights into achieving the longest and highest flight ever recorded by a solar-powered plane are powerful and memorable.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Bertrand is a flamboyant speaker and his spell binding presentations captivate audiences with their dramatic images and examples from his amazing adventures[/expand]
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Former Chief Executive of Ratners Jewellery

Gerald Ratner was the millionaire chief executive of the British jewellery chain Ratners Jewellery, which he built into the world’s largest jewellery retailer business consisting of 2500 shops, making £125m, with a turnover £2billion. After some uncomplimentary remarks Gerald made at the Institute of Directors regarding product quality, the company suffered financial losses, and was renamed Signet Group in 1993. Gerald went on to re-launch his career in the jewellery sector with www.geraldonline.com in 2004.

“Mr Ratner’s gaffe has become a textbook case in business schools around the UK”

[expand title=”In detail”] After Ratners, Gerald focused on the leisure industry, opening a successful gym in Henley-on-Thames which he later sold for an impressive profit. This gave him the opportunity to launch his own on-line jewellery company Gerald Online 2004. As current CEO, Gerald is once again returning to the fore front of Britain’s jewellery trade and is proving that well known brands can recover from just about anything.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Gerald offers audiences a first hand account of the demise of his multi-million pound jewellery business and how he has managed to put this behind him and successfully re-launch his career in a highly competitive marketplace. Strong practical business messages and the execution of management strategies, combined with innovative ideas are guaranteed to show audiences how to beat the competition, delight customers and increase both sales and profits.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]An incisive and astute businessman, Gerald is also a charming and witty speaker, captivating audiences with his incredible story of both his success and failure.[/expand]
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