The Leading Speakers Bureau

Privacy Economist

Alessandro Acquisti is a Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy at the Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and an Andrew Carnegie Fellow (inaugural class). He is the Director of the Peex (Privacy Economics Experiments) lab at CMU and the co-director of CMU CBDR (Center for Behavioral and Decision Research). He investigates the economics of privacy. His studies have spearheaded the investigation of privacy and disclosure behavior in online social networks, and the application of behavioral economics to the study of privacy and information security decision making.

“A pioneer in the emerging field of the behavioral economics of privacy in social networks”

[expand title=”In detail”] Alessandro’s studies have been published in journals across several disciplines, as well as edited books, conference proceedings, and numerous keynotes. Alessandro has been the recipient of the PET Award for Outstanding Research in Privacy Enhancing Technologies, the IBM Best Academic Privacy Faculty Award, the Heinz College School of Information’s Teaching Excellence Award, and multiple Best Paper awards. Alessandro holds a PhD from UC Berkeley, and Master degrees from UC Berkeley, the London School of Economics, and Trinity College Dublin. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]The line between public and private has blurred in the past decade, both online and in real life. In his presentations Alessandro Acquisti explains what this means and why it matters. He shares details of recent and ongoing research, including a project that shows how easy it is to match a photograph of a stranger with their sensitive personal information.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]In his thought-provoking, slightly chilling talk, Alessandro engages his audiences as he explores new landscapes of research. [/expand]

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Finance and Banking Expert

Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through the Finanser and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club, which he founded in 2004. The Financial Services Club is a network for financial professionals. He is also an expert on technology trends. He shows how the rapid pace of change and tomorrow’s technology must inform today’s business strategy. He is the Chief Executive of Balatro Ltd, a research company and the co-founder of the website Shaping Tomorrow.

“Chris is a visionary with a real command of the factors which shape our future”

[expand title=”In detail”] Chris is a regular commentator on Sky News, BBC News, and Bloomberg concerning banking issues. Prior to founding Balatro, Chris was Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for Unisys Global Financial Services and he was the Strategy Director with NCR Financial Services. These roles helped spark Chris’s specialisation in the future of financial services after he created the Global Future Forum in Unisys and the Knowledge Lab in NCR. He serves as a Judge on many awards programs including the Card Awards and the Asian Banker’s Retail Excellence Awards. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society, a Fellow of the Institute of Management Services, an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and a Chartered Insurance Practitioner.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Chris Skinner is known to be an exceptional speaker which is why he is regularly requested to keynote at many of the financial market’s most prestigious events. He also regularly opens as keynote at many private industry events. His keynote addresses focus upon the key current trends and future scenarios for all areas of financial services, across retail and investment markets and payments.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Chris is a visionary, committed and highly knowledgeable about tomorrow’s trends. His energy, drive and enthusiasm for innovation and change impresses his audiences. His insights into financial services and his contribution to this industry will continue to pay dividends over many years.[/expand]

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Expert on Global Trends & Economics & Author

Richard Florida is one of the world’s leading public intellectuals on economic competitiveness, demographic trends and cultural and technological innovation. He is founder and director of The Creativity Group, an innovative communications and media company and Catalytix, a strategy consulting firm. Richard has written several award winning, global best-sellers including ‘The Rise of the Creative Class’. His ideas on the “creative class,” commercial innovation and regional development are being used globally to change the way regions and nations do business and transform their economies.

Richard has recently been named European Ambassador for Creativity and Innovation.

[expand title=”In detail”] He is currently Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute and Professor of Business and Creativity at the University of Toronto. Previously Richard has held professorships at George Mason University and Carnegie Mellon University and taught as a visiting professor at Harvard and MIT. Richard writes regularly for various publications, is a regular columnist for The Globe and Mail and has been featured as an expert in the media all over the globe.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Richard explains how to create sustained economic growth through high-tech business and innovative ideas. He provides audiences with critical insights into the social, economic and demographic factors that drive 21st-century organisations in the emerging economy. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Combining in-depth analysis, cutting-edge trends, a fascinating personal story, and just a touch of self-deprecating humour, Richard’s presentations are meticulously researched and specifically designed to show businesses how to make the changes necessary to attract and retain creative class employees.[/expand]

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Executive Director of Social Progress Imperative

Michael Green is Executive Director of the Social Progress Imperative. Michael is the co-author of ‘Philanthrocapitalism: How Giving Can Save the World’ and ‘The Road from Ruin: A New Capitalism for a Big Society’.Michael has worked in aid and development for nearly twenty years. He was a senior official in the British Government where he worked on international finance, managed UK aid to Russia and Ukraine, served three Secretaries of State as head of the communications department at the Department for International Development, and oversaw £100 million annual funding to non-profits.

“A renowned Social Progress expert”

[expand title=”In detail”] It was through his role in government that he saw the rising influence of the philanthrocapitalists in the fight against poverty.An economist by training, as a graduate of the University of Oxford, Michael taught economics at Warsaw University in the early 1990s under a Soros-funded programme. During his time in Poland, Michael was also a freelance journalist working for, among others, Polish Radio and the Economist.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Michael Green is a forthright economic commentator who offers insightful knowledge and accurate predictions on how to deal with the big economic trends in the world, with a particular interest in how capitalism can better serve people and planet. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Skillfully highlighting crucial issues and trends, Michael Green’s presentations are engaging, informative and always well received.[/expand]

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Entrepreneur & CEO of Love Home Swap

Debbie Wosskow is an entrepreneur, investor and sharing economy expert. CEO of leading peer-to-peer travel club, Love Home Swap, Debbie is also the founder of the influential Collaborative Consumption Europe networkand led the UK government’s recent review of the Sharing Economy.

“A serial entrepreneur”

[expand title=”In detail”] A former management consultant, Debbie launched her first business, marketing and communications consultancy Mantra, at the age of just 25. Building Mantra over a decade, Debbie sold to the Loewy Group. In addition to her role as CEO of Love Home Swap, Debbie is an active angel investor and sits on a number of advisory boards, as well as being a trustee of Hampstead Theatre. Debbie is a regular commentator on travel, collaborative consumption and entrepreneurship on TV and in print. She graduated with an MA in Philosophy and Theology from New College, Oxford University.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Debbie shares with her audiences her research on the social and economic potential of the sharing economy (including property sharing, time and skill sharing, shared transport and personal items) and offers recommendations on how this potential can be reached. She also looks into the risks to consumers, or established businesses outside the sharing economy.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Debbie Wosskow is a charming, professional speaker whose presentations are interactive, entertaining and highly informative.[/expand]

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UK Prime Minister’s Adviser on the Digital Economy

Baroness Joanna Shields OBE is a leading technology industry executive, entrepreneur and currently serves as UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s Digital Adviser. Baroness Shields has developed and grown some of the world’s best known technology companies including holding the positions of Vice President and Managing Director of Facebook EMEA, President of Peoples Networks at AOL, CEO of Bebo and Managing Director of Google EMEA and Russia. As well as Joanna’s position in government, she is a Non-Executive Director of the London Stock Exchange and Chair of Tech City UK.

“World Leading Expert on Digital Economy”

[expand title=”In detail”] Joanna Shields was ranked number one on the Wired top 100 in 2011 and in February 2013 named to the list of the 100 most powerful women in the UK. In July of the same year Computer weekly named Joanna ‘The Most Influential Woman in UK IT’. She is an Anglo –American who moved over from the Silicon Valley of California to London at the turn of the millennium. Following senior roles within EFI, Real Networks, Google, Bebo, AOL and Facebook, she received the British Interactive Media Association’s Lifetime Achievement award in July 2013.
In 2014 she was appointed OBE for “services to digital industries and voluntary service to young people”.
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[expand title=”What she offers you”]Joanna Shields works across all her roles to promote organisations, skills and causes which improve our lives using technology. This thread unites all of her work across government and business. She firmly believes that technology companies can power economic development and by establishing a new paradigm of international cooperation and collaboration between governments, industry, NGOs and experts and creating an atmosphere of willingness; we can make real change and improve lives.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Joanna Shields sees the world with a different set of eyes and she is very practical in putting new ideas into practice. Her high content tailored presentations are always well received and delivered in her highly professional style. [/expand]

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International Consultant Economist

Dr. Ven Anantha-Nageswaran is a reputed Global Investment Strategist. Also, he is an expert in social enterprise investment in emerging economies. He has been an angel investor in several socially relevant enterprises and is a Geo-Economics Fellow at the Takshashila Institution, a networked public policy think-tank and education institution which he co-founded in 2009. He teaches International Economics and Financial markets at the Singapore Management University and at IIM, Bangalore. Since 2011, he has been an independent consultant.

“Renowned expert on global economic and investment strategy”

[expand title=”In detail”] Ven obtained a doctoral degree in Finance from the University of Massachusetts in 1994 for his work on the empirical behaviour of exchange rates. His impressive career includes work experience and positions held at several top-tier international banks including UBS as a Currency Economist; Credit Suisse Private Banking as Regional Head of Investment Consulting & Global Strategy; and Bank Julius Baer initially as Head of Research for Asia in 2006, and subsequently as the group’s Chief Investment Officer in 2009. He has written extensively for financial dailies in India (MINT, Financial Express, Business Line and Economic Times). He is also a frequent guest on all the major international television networks.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Ven provides audiences with sound analysis of the dynamics of economics and finance in today’s business world. Decision makers from all industries will benefit greatly from his valuable insights and his incisive global economic outlook. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Ven’s high content tailored presentations are always well received. His messages are concise and informative delivered in his personal, yet highly professional style. [/expand]

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Renowned Economist and Expert on Shared Economy

Dr. Sung Wong Sohn is recognised as one of the most accurate global economic forecasters. He is Vice Chairman of the multinational retailer Forever 21 and a California State University Professor of Economics and Finance. He serves on the boards of numerous corporations. The Wall Street Journal named him The Most Accurate Economist in the United States – one of the most prestigious honors in economics profession.

“One of the best economic forecasters”
The Wall Street Journal

[expand title=”In detail”] Educated at the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard Business School, Dr. Sohn was a senior economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors in The White House. He was responsible for economic and legislative matters pertaining to The Federal Reserve and financial markets. In 2002, he was named to the Time Magazine’s Board of Economists. Dr. Sohn has also been a tenured college professor in Pennsylvania State University System. Over the last years, he has been named one of the best and most accurate economic forecasters.
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[expand title=”What he offers you”]In his presentations Dr. Sohn shares insightful perspectives and competent advice on the international economy and global financial issues. He particularly focuses on the topic of collaborative or shared economy being one of the keys to achieve economic growth through more efficient utilisation of existing resources.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]His high content presentations and excellent rhetoric skills make Dr. Sung Won Sohn a highly sought-after speaker at prestigious conferences around the globe.[/expand]

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Technology Analyst and Global Business Advisor

Sangeet Choudary is a widely renowned technology industry analyst, C-level advisor and former head of corporate innovation. He is founder and CEO of Platform Thinking Labs, is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD Business School and an advisor at 500Startups, the leading start-ups accelerator in Silicon Valley. Sangeet has worked with executives, entrepreneurs and innovators in fields as healthcare, defense, civic planning, agriculture, entertainment, education and many more, using the lens of Platform Thinking to reframe and reimagine solutions.

“I believe that networked platforms will reconfigure society and business forever”

[expand title=”In detail”] Sangeet was head of innovation and new ventures for Intuit Asia-Pacific, a founding member of TxtWeb and was responsible for managing Yahoo’s largest M&A investment in South Asia. He is the co-chair of the MIT Platform Strategy Summit and industry advisor to the Global Platform Data Project at Stanford University, the first large-scale effort to quantify the business impact of platforms globally. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]In the age of Airbnb, Uber and Coursera, platforms are rapidly disrupting traditional industries. In a connected world, the platform approach is increasingly more important, and yet, poorly understood. In his presentations Sangeet advises decision makers from a wide range of businesses how networks transform every industry and social systems. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Passionate about technology and networks, Sangeet’s theoretical depth and storytelling is well received by audiences around the globe.[/expand]

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Expert on Asia, Author and Commentator on Global Economy

Karel van Wolferen is an award winning writer with over 40 years experience in Japan and East Asia. He is best known for his seminal study ‘The Enigma of Japanese Power’ which is considered to be the most ground breaking work on Japan’s political and economic system. He is also an acclaimed commentator on globalisation, economic development, the political and economic future of Europe and the Future of Asia. Recently he has written on the changed role of the USA in world affairs and what that means for Europe and Asia.

“One of the most distinguished intellectuals on Asia and global affairs”

[expand title=”In detail”] An emeritus professor for Comparative Political and Economic Institutions at the University of Amsterdam, his articles and essays have appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Le Monde and Die Zeit amongst many others. In the 70th Karel joined the NRC Handelsblad as a correspondent for East Asia and covered major events in the region. In addition, he was President of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. Karel was awarded the Netherland Prize for Journalism.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Best known for his accurate analysis of global political, economic and business issues, Karel van Wolferen is also a highly accomplished facilitator and conference chair. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Karel van Wolferen is an engaging and dynamic speaker who inspires audiences with his unique analyses and thought-provoking insights. [/expand]

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