MainEvent™ is the unique day of provocative, highly dynamic conversations among the world’s leading business and thought leaders. This annual multimedia program delivers the world’s greatest leaders to top businesses and colleges at hundreds of sites in multiple countries, on all five major continents. MainEvent™ participants don’t just learn about " them" – the world’s top leaders and influential thinkers who are showcased. Participants themselves actively engage in shaping life-enhancing dialogue so they’ll have the tools they need to act on the ideas discussed. And they don’t have to travel to take part…we bring the conversation via satellite to wherever they are and facilitate interaction with fax and email

MainEvent™ is a "glocal" conversation.

Think of MainEvent™ 2004’s Global Conversationalists as guides, even provocateurs, whose role is to begin discussion of each MainEvent™ topic for you to develop and expand. Following each of the Global Conversationalists’ discussions (during which you may feel free to submit questions and comments), the topic will be turned over to you to add your own perspective. We hope you’ll take advantage of this opportunity to share your views with those around you, as well as with the MainEvent™ audience around the world.

What you say can put in motion a force that has impact everywhere.
MainEvent's™ unique format creates an unprecedented level of interactivity for a program of this scale and scope. Each MainEvent™ topic is addressed in a "three act" conversation in which attendees:

Act 1: Hear from the world’s top leaders
Act 2: Discuss locally reactions to the Global Conversationalists comments
Act 3: Share comments or questions with the Global Conversationalists and global audience

When: April 15, 2004, 10:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. EST

MainEvent 2004 Confirmed Global Conversationalists
As of March 9, 2004:


• Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah (Jordan) – Queen of The Royal Hashemite Court of Jordan, Queen Rania is an accomplished business executive and board director; As stated in Vanity Fair magazine, "as her power and influence grow, the world’s youngest queen is becoming a leader throughout the Arab world – and beyond"

• Kedrick Adkins – Chief Diversity Officer of Accenture, his award-winning consulting and practical approach to diversity significantly impact Accenture's bottom line and strengthen its global position as a Great Place to Work

• Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi (United Arab Emirates) – CEO of Tejari, the UAE's most significant e-portal, Sheika Lubna is on top of her game in the IT world and is leading Arab women to a new phase of development

• Patricia Barbizet (France) – Chairman of Pinault-Printemps-Redoute Supervisory Board and Directeur Général of Artémis; cited by Fortune magazine as one of the 50 most powerful international women in business, Barbizet leads the private holding company called Group Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, the European leader in non-food distribution and owner of auction house Christie’s, the vineyard of Chateau Latour and a variety of other companies.

• Nancy Barry – President of Women's World Banking, a global financial institution devoted to increasing economic access for women, Nancy is recognized as a global leader in building micro financial systems for underprivileged men and women

• Margot Cairnes (Australia) – Chairman of The Change Dynamic: her insightful commentary on the world of work wowed audiences at MainEvent 2003 and she's back to share her inspirational and thought-provoking stories on leadership, as published in her newest book "Staying Sane in a Changing World"

• Catherine Crier – Broadcast journalist, state judge, trial lawyer, professor, and currently the host of Catherine Crier Live on Court TV, she is the former anchor of The Crier Report on Fox News and an Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC's World News Tonight, Nightline, and 20/20 and brings justice to the world of reporting

• Michael Crooke – President and CEO, Patagonia, Inc.; an avid outdoorsman and former U.S. Navy SEAL, Michael is at the helm of the company that for many people is the model success story of an organization committed to product quality and environmental responsibility taken to the max. Even Patagonia’s main distribution center in Reno, Nevada, was built using recycled materials!

• Efrem Dlugacz – Vice President of Worldwide Benefits & Health Resources at Johnson & Johnson; cited perennially by Working Mother Magazine as one of the best places to work in the United States, Johnson & Johnson offers flexible work/life balance programs in each of its locations and Efrem is responsible for J&J’s benefits strategy for over 100,000 employees in 54 countries around the world, as well as for the development, implementation, and administration of comprehensive benefit services for all 50,000 employees.

• Nick Donofrio – Senior Vice President of Technology, IBM Corporation; besides being "Mr. Tech," leading the strategy for developing and commercializing advanced technology across IBM's global operations and recognized globally as a technology giant, Nick is a champion for education and career opportunities for minorities and women.

• Fernando Espuelas (Uruguay) – Chairman and CEO of VOY; lauded by Time Magazine as one of the "Leaders of the Millennium," and by the World Economic Forum as one its "Global Leaders of Tomorrow," Fernando Espuelas has a long history of building globally-recognized brands and is a strong advocate of empowering and connecting Latins. His company VOY builds cultural bridges between Latinos and the U.S. mainstream through media platforms.

• Niall FitzGerald (Ireland) – Chairman & CEO, Unilever; he’s credited with leading this FTSE 100 global conglomerate into the future. As the youngest ever Chairman of this Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant, overseeing some of the best-known consumer brands in the world (Dove, Flora, Knorr) he instituted the "Path to Growth" strategy which culled over 1,200 brands, and set up the merger with Unilever’s U.S. rival, Bestfoods. An Irish citizen, he was awarded a knighthood in 2002, and is considered by many the quintessential model for corporate and personal global citizenship.

• The Honorable Henrietta Holsman Fore – As Director of the United States Mint, Ms. Fore heads the world's largest manufacturer of coins, medals and numismatic products. The United States Mint is a Federal Government agency that applies world-class business practices in making, selling, and protecting our Nation's coinage and assets. Since the President appointed Ms. Fore as Director in 2001, the United States Mint has delivered over $1.5 billion in revenues to the United States Treasury.

• Linda Jenkinson (New Zealand)– President & CEO of Les Concierges, an expat Kiwi and "serial entrepreneur," she built a profitable dot-com business to over $200 million from scratch and survived the global tech crash to build another.

• Naina Lal Kidwai (India) – Managing Director and Vice Chairman, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets in India, she is ranked among the 50 top women in business in the world by Fortune Magazine for the past three years, and is a powerhouse in the banking industry.

• Felicia Mabuza-Suttle (South Africa) Businesswoman, talk show host, author and columnist, she was the first to introduce the talk show concept in South Africa, and has been showcased on US, UK, Australia and Dutch television; voted one of top ten role models for South Africans, along with former President Mandela, Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu and President Thabo Mbeki.

• Marina Malykhina (Russia) – President and CEO of Magram Market Research, at 24, she has quickly grown her business into one of the leading full-service, custom market research companies in Russia and the CIS countries. Under her leadership, Magram, which has one of the widest research networks in the region, has expanded into pharmaceutical and financial industry research.

• Tom Miller – Managing Director of Roper ASW, he’s taking the world’s pulse; under his leadership, Roper has become a market leader for consumer intelligence and forecasting. The highly anticipated results of Roper’s analysis of how individuals’ values impact their personal purchase decisions will be announced at MainEvent 2004.

• Lynn Powers – President Director, and CEO of North American Operations for Gaiam, the fast-growing values-based company that promotes a lifestyle of health and sustainability (LOHAS); under Lynn's leadership, the enterprise has grown by 13,000%, and was named one of Inc. Magazine’s fastest growing U.S. companies for four consecutive years.

• Professor C.K. Prahalad – Co-author of The Future of Competition: Co-Creating Unique Value with Customers, Prahalad is one of the business world's most influential consultants and thought leaders and has the ear of CEO's around the globe. A revered Professor at University of Michigan School of Business, he invested millions of dollars of his own money to prove that a company can be built around the principles he teaches other high-powered leaders, changing the world in the process.


• Bridgette Radebe (South Africa) – Founder and CEO of Mmakau Mining in South Africa, she is a pioneering entrepreneur in a formerly exclusive "man's world" of mining, using her experience and personal achievements to promote entrepreneurship and self-reliance in her native South Africa and across the globe

• Tim Sanders – Former Creator and Head of the ValueLab at Yahoo!, Tim was the mastermind behind the Victoria's Secret fashion show on the Internet, a first in the medium's history that delivered huge marketing advantages. He authored Love is the Killer App, which turns upside down the traditional mindset on how to create value. A self-proclaimed 'evangelist for bizlove', Tim urges businesspeople around the world to share, even give away, their "intangibles" cutting-edge knowledge, a wide network of contacts, and workplace compassion - to increase their business success.

• Tony Schwartz – President & Founder of The Energy Project, a company that helps individuals and organizations manage energy more skillfully in service of their mission and goals, and co-author of The Power of Full Engagement, translated into 19 languages and voted bestseller by the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

• Alastair Stewart (United Kingdom) – Journalist, Presenter, Independent Television News, London, one of the most recognized faces in the UK, and back by popular demand to moderate at MainEvent 2004, Alastair's global outlook on news and events and tactful facilitation help to "keep the MainEvent Conversation going"

• Dean Laura D'Andrea Tyson – First woman to be appointed Dean of the London Business School, this highly visible academic, former National Economic Advisor to President Clinton, recently chaired the effort that produced the widely-publicized Tyson Report on the recruitment and development of non-executive directors on corporate boards in the UK

• Robyn Waters – Founder & President of RW Trend. Former head of Trend, Design and Product Development for Target Corporation, Robyn is credited with revolutionizing what Target sells – and helping the company trounce Kmart. Robyn recently published "The Trendsetter's Guide from A to Z," disclosing her secrets for turning trends into profits

• Keith Yamashita – Co-founder and principal of Stone Yamashita Partners, Keith is one of the best kept secrets at the forefront of innovation; as Fast Company writes, "…he may be the most influential consultant you've never heard of. He's certainly one of the most creative," Keith's new ideas about strategy are powering a number of high-profile change efforts – including Carly Fiorina's campaign to transform Hewlett-Packard.

• Rodney Yee – World-Renowned Yoga, Meditation, and Fitness Guru, Yee is one of the most popular yoga instructors in the world, leading workshops and retreats worldwide, and his yoga videos are among the top selling health and fitness videos in the U.S.; he has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, CNBC, CNN, PBS and in The Washington Post and USA Today.

• Sandra Yingling, Ph.D. – Vice Chair of Wonder, Inc., she's an expert on emotional intelligence, advising major corporations such as Pfizer, WorldCom, E*Trade, AT&T, American Honda, Kaiser-Permanente on corporate-wide matters as well as on creating meaningful and impactful careers for individuals.

• Individual Core Values: Their Impact on Decisions about Work, Culture, Brands
• Hype, Heresy, History or Here to Stay.is "Values-Driven Business" an Oxymoron?
• Innovation: Snaring the Bright Ideas in a Commoditized World. What's Next; What's possible?
• The Global Paradox: Creating Community When No One's "Home"
• Yoga in the Workplace? From Work, Work, Work to Mind, Body, Bliss: Global
Trend or Wishful Thinking?