Leadership Under Fire! Our leaders are currently operating in a very "hostile" leadership environment. To help you be a successful leader both today and in the future, General Halley discusses the most important leadership lessons learned from his experience at West Point, 30 years in the military, three combat commands (Vietnam, Grenada and Iraq) and his years at the vice president/general manager level at several international electronics firms, including Motorola. Leadership lessons are illustrated with compelling and entertaining military and corporate "war stories."

A Whole New Mind
Don't miss this engaging keynote session from Daniel Pink. His latest book, A Whole New Mind, charts the rise of right brain thinking in modern economies and explains the six abilities individuals and organizations must master in an outsourced and automated world. His articles on work, business, and technology appear in many newspapers and magazines—including The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Wired, where he is a Contributing Editor. Pink has provided analysis of business trends on CNN, CNBC, ABC, NPR, and other networks in the U.S. and abroad. And as an independent business consultant, he's advised start-up ventures and Fortune 100 companies on recruiting, innovation, and work practices. A free agent himself, Dan held his last real job in the White House, where he served from 1995 to 1997 as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore. He’s also worked as an aide to United States Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich, an economic policy staffer in the United States Senate, a legal researcher in India, and a latrine builder in Botswana. He received a BA, with honors in linguistics, from Northwestern University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a JD from Yale Law School.

Business Survey/Economic Outlook Presentation

Since 1998, Barry B. Bannister, CFA has been the Managing Director, Equity Research, Stifel Nicolaus (and predecessor firm Legg Mason Capital Markets) providing Investment Research on firms in the Engineering & Construction and Machinery industries, as well as providing investment strategy with a particular emphasis on the role commodities are having in industrial firm operations. Previously, beginning in 1992, he was a senior analyst providing North American Machinery industry coverage and was later co-head of U.S. Equity Research in the New York office of the European investment bank Swiss Bank/S.G. Warburg & Company (now UBS). Prior to that role, he served as a buy-side equity analyst for FTIM/Highland Capital Management (1990-92) and AmSouth Investment Management (1987-90). He holds an MBA from the Emory University School of Business Administration and a B.S. from Emory College. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst, and has been a Wall Street Journal All-Star analyst in Machinery or Forbes Starmine ranked analyst in 1993, 1995, 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. He was ranked in Institutional Investor's All Star Analyst List for Machinery in 2007.

Sustainability
Gerd Hofmann's impressive career from Daimler Benz AG to Daimler Chrysler AG and now to his current role with Hugo Boss AG has built a solid foundation for innovation and success. Don't miss this keynote to find out how Hugo Boss, a global market leader in superior fashion, has incorporated sustainability into its philosophy and corporate culture. Discover how to run human economic systems without negative impact on ecological or social systems. Hofmann addresses sustainability in procurement and the supply chain for both private and public sectors. He refers to environmental and social sustainability as the fourth dimension of decision making along with the traditional points of costs, quality and availability. Finally, Hofmann tackles how to realize sustainability demands in procurement practice as a toolset of contemporary strategic supply chain management.

Success is a Journey, NOT a Destination
Don't miss this inspiring keynote session featuring one of the Magnificent Seven from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. At the 1996 Olympic Games, Dawes and the U.S. Gymnastics team made history and stole the hearts of Americans with their team gold medal. At those same Games, "Awesome Dawesome" (as she is known by her coach and teammates) became the first African-American to win an individual gymnastics medal with her bronze on the floor. Following her triumphs at the Olympics, she appeared on the Wheaties cereal box, performed in a music video by Prince ("Betcha by Golly Wow"), and acted on a number of television shows. Dawes has also appeared on Broadway in the hit musical Grease. Dawes is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park.