Susan Willett Bird
Founder & CEO, Wf360
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Entrepreneur, attorney, and mediator, Susan Bird is the visionary behind Wf360, the company based on the premise that conversation is a strategic business tool. In addition to MainEvent®, Wf360's Conversation Management System is used by a blue-chip roster of clients and strategic partners—including Accenture, IBM, Maytag, Wal-Mart, DuPont, Dow, Alcoa, Starbucks, the New York Stock Exchange, and others—to connect profitably with employees and customers anywhere in the world. Wf360's Brandversation™ product deepens the connections between marketers and the most important, high-value segment of their target audience.

Bird's company also creates and distributes content showcasing extraordinary business and thought leaders and produces Leading Questions™, a tool to help companies harness the insights of global leaders to foster innovative approaches to problem solving. Bird has served as President of American Mediation Council, and is a Founding Member and former Chair of the Committee of 200, the pre-eminent organization of women business leaders. She is a member of the International Women's Forum, as well as of the Women's Leadership Board of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University , and a sought-after speaker on the “Age of Engagement” in which enlightened companies compete on values, with which their employees and customers connect passionately.

Bird received her law degree from Stanford Law School , where she was a member of the Law Review. She is particularly proud of her role as co-producer of the Broadway Show, Jelly's Last Jam and lives in Greenwich , Connecticut .

Liz Claman
Anchor, CNBC
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Liz Claman is co-anchor of CNBC's “Morning Call” (M-F, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET), and also anchor of primetime program “Cover to Cover.” She joined CNBC in April 1998, after spending three years as an anchor/reporter for NBC affiliate WHDH-TV, Boston . During that time, she also served as contributing correspondent for the NBC-syndicated daytime show, “RealLife.” Prior to that, Claman was an anchor at WEWS-TV (ABC) in Cleveland , where she won an Emmy Award for Best Morning Anchor for her work on the two-hour morning show, “Morning Exchange.” She also gained recognition for her live coverage of Hurricane Andrew and the historic floods in Des Moines , Iowa .

Claman began her on-camera career at the ABC affiliate WSYX-TV in Columbus , Ohio – first as a reporter and then, a weekend anchor. Her first foray into television news was as a news intern, and then a news associate at KCBS-TV, Los Angeles . There, at age 23, she became the youngest person in the history of the station to win a local Emmy for Best Spot News Producer. She also won a Los Angeles Golden Mike Award for contributing to the station's coverage of the 1987 Los Angeles Earthquake.

Claman is a Big Sister in the Big Brother/Big Sister program at the Jewish Board of Family and Children's' Services of Manhattan, holds a bachelor's degree in French language from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as a Certificat Superieur from the Universite' de Paris, La Sorbonne. Claman resides in Edgewater , New Jersey .

Alastair Stewart
Journalist, Presenter, Independent Television News, London
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Back at MainEvent® by popular demand, Alastair Stewart is one of the most recognized faces in the UK , hosting the daily news and interview program Live with Alastair Stewart, as well as ITV London's flagship news program, London Tonight. In an award-winning television news career spanning more than a quarter of a century, Stewart has reported live some of the most historic news moments of the past 30 years, including the liberation of Kuwait City after the Gulf War, the Challenger disaster, and the bombing of the PanAm jet over Lockerbie.

Currently the presenter of Carlton Debates, Ask Ken (the regular Q&A program with London's Mayor Ken Livingstone), and Carlton's quiz show, King of the Castle, Stewart began his career in less illustrious company, spending six weeks in Ford Open prison to make a half-hour documentary. An active supporter of children's and mental health charities, Stewart is Vice President of both NCH Action for Children and Homestart, a Patron of the Lord Mayor Treloar College for disabled students and the medical research charity, Hope, and a Vice Patron of The Zito Trust. Stewart lives in London .

Helen Alexander
Chief Executive, The Economist Group
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Up in their 14 th floor office you'll find more of the calm authority that characterises the Economist's editorial pages. This is due to the capable, highly successful business presence, but also rigorous approach, of Helen Alexander. She was appointed Chief Executive of The Economist Group in January 1997, having joined the company in 1984. She has an MBA from INSEAD. She was Managing Director of The Economist Intelligence Unit from 1993 until the end of 1996.

Helen is a non-executive director of Centrica plc, a Trustee of the Tate Gallery, an Honorary Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford , and a governor of St Paul 's Girls' School. She was awarded a CBE for services to publishing in 2004. The Economist Group publications and services delivered under The Economist brand are The Economist newspaper, Economist.com, Economist Intelligence Unit and Economist Conferences. The Group's other global brands include CFO ( CFO, CFO Europe, CFO Asia, CFO China , CFO.com), Roll Call and European Voice (aimed at decision-makers in Capitol Hill and Brussels respectively). She lives in London .

Nurit Amdur
Founder & CEO, ALEX®
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Nurit Amdur is changing the way the world's children play. As founder and CEO of the global toy company, ALEX, Amdur has been producing toys and children's lifestyle products since 1986. A graduate of Tel Aviv University School of Law, Amdur practiced law at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York before returning to Israel to create “Amdurables,” a line of stationery folders and document holders that gained worldwide recognition before she sold the company to create high quality, brightly packaged products designed specifically for kids.

Today, Amdur's company ALEX produces over 650 items and new categories of childrens toys, sold worldwide in over 65 countries and has won numerous awards including the prestigious Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award. ALEX is a partner of LB Kids, a new imprint of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in a publishing venture including innovative book and toy formats and ALEX BOOKS will launch in 2006. Amdur received the Wonder Women in Toys award and the 2002 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. A member of the Committee of 200, the American Bar Association and the World Presidents' Organization, she serves on the boards of numerous organizations and received the Patron of the Arts award from Bezalael Academy of Art & Design in Jerusalem in 2001. She lives in New York City .

Maxine Clark
Founder & Chief Executive Bear, Build-A-Bear Workshop®
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Maxine Clark is one of the true innovators in the retail industry. During her 30-year career, her rare ability to spot emerging retail and merchandising trends and insight into the desires of the American consumer generated growth for retail leaders, including department store, discount and specialty stores. In 1997, she founded Build-A-Bear Workshop, a teddy-bear themed experience retail store. By year end 2005 there will be over 200 stores worldwide, including Canada, Australia, Denmark, France, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Maxine Clark 's newest addition to entertainment retail, friends 2B Made®, based on the simple premise that kids, especially girls, love dolls, launched in 2004. Build-A-Bear Workshop, friends 2B made and Maxine Clark are proud to be recognized in their industry.

Build-A-Bear Workshop was a 2005 iParenting Media HOT Award Winner, named one of the International Council of Shopping Centers “Hottest Retailers of 2004,” and the Retail Innovator of the Year for 2001 by The National Retail Federation. friends 2B made® received First Prize: Exterior - In-line Store Category in the Chain Store Age 2004 Retail Store of the Year Design Competition. Recently Clark was named one of the Wonder Women of Toys by Playthings magazine and Women in Toys and was also one of the National Finalist in Retail for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2004. She lives in St. Louis , Missouri .

Laurie Coots
Former First Lady of the U.S. & current U.S. Senator representing New York
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A strategic thinker at heart, Laurie Coots has spent the past 20 years leveraging her diverse talents in technology, marketing and organizational behavior at one of the world's most famous advertising agency networks. As Chief Marketing Officer at TBWA\Worldwide, Coots' time and attention are devoted to marketing the agency brand as well as operating as the network's designated change agent. She advises the agency and clients on long-lead strategic issues and consumer trends, especially in the area of convergence, communications, technologies, health and wellness, and personal and organizational change. As a participating author in the best selling business book; Beyond Disruption, Changing the Rules in the Marketplace, by Jean-Marie Dru, she interrogated the virtues of permission based marketing.

Coots regularly speaks all over the world on the topic of innovation, and continually lends her support to brands and corporations interested in the possibilities for change. She is a founding board member of the Minority Advertising Training Foundation and sits on the Board of Regents for Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles , where she is disrupting academia. TBWA\Worldwide has over 232 offices in 72 countries, and manages the marketing activities of such global clients as Mars, Absolut, adidas, Apple Computer, Nivea, Nissan and Sony PlayStation. Coots describes herself as an optimistic catalyst, dedicated to partnering with clients in generating and codifying the disruptive strategies that will drive their business successes. She resides in Los Angeles and New York City .

Jane Friedman
President & CEO, HarperCollins Publishers
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New York Times calls Jane Friedman a publishing legend. She's the President and Chief Executive Officer of HarperCollins Publishers, a subsidiary of News Corporation. She joined HarperCollins in November 1997 to oversee HarperCollins book publishing worldwide including operations in the U.S. , Canada , the U.K. , Australia , New Zealand and India . HarperCollins, with revenues of $1.3 billion, has increased profits by more than 1,000% over the last eight years. The company's growth reflects a global success story. In the last year, the company's outstanding results were driven by the blockbuster sales of titles in Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, the continuing success of Zondervan's mega-bestseller The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, and outstanding sales of YOU: The Owner's Manual by Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz; Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner; Winning by Jack Welch with Suzy Welch; ReganBooks' Juiced by Jose Canseco and HarperCollins UK's The Times Su Doku.

Friedman earned a B.A. degree in English from New York University in 1967. She is on the Board of the Publishing Division of the UJA and is a Vice-Chair of the Entertainment, Media and Communications Division of the UJA. She serves on the board of the Association of American Publishers, Literacy Partners, Yale University Press, Duke University Libraries, and Poets & Writers. She is also a member of the American Advisory Committee of the Jerusalem International Book Fair, the Advisory Committee to the MFA program in creative writing at The New School and The Committee of 200. Friedman lives in New York City .

Adam Klein
Executive Vice President, Strategy & Business Development, EMI Music
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It's the world's largest independent music company and Klein says it's leveraging the proliferation of digital music platforms by putting its music in reach of the consumer, whenever and wherever they are. He joined EMI Music in late 2004 as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, reporting to the company's Chairman and CEO. In this capacity, Klein is responsible for shaping and defining EMI Music's strategic and business relationships in existing physical markets, as well as in the emerging digital world on a global basis. Klein also leads the company's digital development, content protection and consumer research activities. Prior to joining EMI, Klein worked at MTV Networks in New York where he was Advisor to the company's Chairman, Tom Freston on overall strategy and business development.

Prior to his role at MTV, Klein served as President and COO of Internet search engine company, Ask Jeeves, and as President of Global Marketing and Corporate EVP of toy and game company, Hasbro. He has also been a strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group and he was lead partner of Booz Allen Hamilton's Media practice. Klein has both an MBA and Doctorate from the Harvard Business School and and a Bachelors degree in political science, legal theory and economics from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa . He resides in New York City and is a buff of all kinds of music.

Christine Loh
CEO, Civic Exchange ( Hong Kong )
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“An ability to listen intently to what other people are saying and read between the lines of communication in writing” is the one skill Dr. Loh values most in herself. She knows authentic conversation is a key to success in all aspects of public, business and private life. Dr. Loh is the CEO of Civic Exchange (since leaving elected politics in 2000), a Hong Kong-based non-profit public policy think tank. She is Hong Kong , Chinese and overseas educated and thought of as a western-thinking Chinese. A lawyer by training but a commodities trader by profession in the 1980s-90s, she worked for a US-multinational corporation. Appointed to the Hong Kong Legislative Council in 1992 she gave up her commercial career in 1994 becoming a full time politician for two successful elections in 1995 and 1998. As a politician she championed equal opportunities legislation, amended corruption prevention laws and successfully got passed the historic Protection of the Harbour Ordinance.

The Economist described her as 'perhaps Hong Kong 's most gifted politician'. Loh started Civic Exchange because she desired to focus more on policy solutions. She analyses Chinese politics and social development, pushing governments and companies to promote environmental sustainability. She's a prolific writer in popular and academic publications and a sought after designer and facilitator in multi-stakeholder dialogue. Dr. Loh has written a number of books, ones on Hong Kong politics and SARS. In her private life she is an art collector, has made a number of short video films and her favorite “possessions” are her two dogs. She lives in Hong Kong .

Linda LoRe
President & CEO, Frederick's of Hollywood
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For fourteen years in CEO roles, LoRe has built an impressive record of consumer brand-building and rejuvenation. Since July 1999, she has revitalized and re-launched the iconic Frederick 's of Hollywood . Brand. She oversaw Frederick 's 2000 Chapter 11 reorganization and its much-lauded 2003 emergence, securing the company's strongest growth period in over 10 years. LoRe believes strongly in the Frederick 's of Hollywood brand and its potential to propel the company into a billion-dollar fashion business. As President and CEO of Giorgio Beverly Hills, she spent eleven years building them into a world luxury brand (sales exceeding $325 million) before moving to Frederick 's of Hollywood . She made her name in the branding world successfully launching several top fragrances: Giorgio Red, Wings and Hugo by Hugo Boss.

LoRe serves on Boards of Directors for: Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, International Women's Forum Trusteeship, Frederick's of Hollywood, Inc., Board of Advisors - Fashion Institute of Design Merchandising (FIDM), the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), and the Executive Woman's Alliance (EWA). She is founding Board Member of the Youth Mentoring Connection, which serves at-risk youth in Southern California .

LoRe has been the recipient of numerous awards: 2003 Woman of Accomplishment for Bnai Zion, 2002 NAWBO Women's Hall of Fame Award, 1997 Woman of the Year Award from the Museum of Science and Industry and 1997 Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Award of Excellence. Also, she is a member of both The Committee 200, an organization comprised of female decision-makers for multi-million dollar companies, and the Trusteeship of the International Women's Forum. LoRe resides in Glendale, California.

John Moorhouse
Convenor, Gordon Cook Conversations
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John Moorhouse stimulates future thinking as Convenor of the twice-yearly Gordon Cook Conversations bringing together small groups of tomorrow's leaders to develop scenarios of the future; and giving seminars through his own company, 2025. He's a Trustee of the Big Issue Foundation; Council Member of the Chest, Heart and Stroke Association Scotland (leading medical research charity), board member of Columba 1400 (pioneering International/Community Leadership Centre at Staffin, Isle of Skye), and a Trustee of The Columba 1400 Foundation and The Crichton Foundation, Dumfries.

His early career was as an executive of Shell UK in marketing, advertising and public affairs. 1979-1996 he was non-executive Chairman of CTF Training ( UK charity specialising in training-for-employment), and Trustee of the Scottish Business Achievement Awards Trust (SBAAT), 1986-1992. 1995-2002: founded and was Chairman of the Nobel Exhibition Trust (creators of The World's First Inventor Centre, The Big Idea, at Irvine ). 1990-1998: Chief Executive of Scottish Business in the Community promoting economic development through a network of local Enterprise Trusts and corporate social responsibility; also Chairman of Young Enterprise Scotland, which teaches entrepreneurial skills to young people through ‘learning by doing'; The Scottish Ballet 1992-1997, Edinburgh Quartet Trust 1993-1998 and Art in Partnership Scotland 1991-1995. He was a Governor of Stewart's Melville College and The Mary Erskine School 1995-1999. In 1996 he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant, City of Edinburgh . He is a Burgess of Guild, City of Aberdeen , and an Honorary Fellow of The Institute of Contemporary Scotland. He resides in Galloway, South-West Scotland .

Bill Taylor
President, Mavericks at Work
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For nearly two decades, as writer, speaker, and entrepreneur, dynamo Bill Taylor has been setting the idea agenda for business by showcasing the power of business at its best. He's the co-author of three books on strategy, leadership, and the changing logic of global competition; and he's addressed executive audiences around the world. As Fast Company's cofounder and founding editor, he launched a magazine that has earned a passionate following around the world. During his tenure, the magazine won two coveted National Magazine Awards. Bill and his cofounder Alan Webber were named Editors of the Year by AdWeek and Fast Company was named “Magazine of the Year” by Advertising Age. In 2004, in recognition of Fast Company's impact on business, Taylor was named “Champion of Workplace Learning and Performance” by the American Society of Training and Development. Past winners of this annual award: Jack Welch of General Electric, John Chambers of Cisco Systems, and Fred Smith of FedEx.

Prior to launching Fast Company, Bill was associate editor of Harvard Business Review, where he steered its coverage of technology, innovation, and the new business models emerging in Silicon Valley; he's conducted interviews with some of the world's leading CEOs. Taylor is an adjunct professor at Babson College , where he teaches an MBA course and hosts visiting CEOs in a forum called The Maverick Seminar at Babson. He's also completing his fourth book, Mavericks at Work: Restoring the Promise of Business, Transforming Your Company and Career (forthcoming, William Morrow). Taylor resides in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Thomas Vecchione
Principal, Gensler
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“He's one of the 50 most innovative entrepreneurs in business today” says Fast Company magazine who recently awarded him this recognition. Vecchione is a senior executive as northeast regional design director for Gensler: Architecture, Design & Planning Worldwide. He designed the Gensler Education initiative—a partnership with academic, philanthropic, and cultural organizations such as the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum . The goal he put forth: Use the power of design to expand the horizons of high-school students in New York City ; let students develop ideas that they represent through collages, models and storyboards. Thus, design becomes a catalyst for learning and change. His responsibilities include design oversight on major projects in Boston , New York and New Jersey . He is on the leadership team for Gensler's Workplace Practice Area, a global think-tank that researches industry trends.

Vecchione's work spans a variety of clients and services, with a focus on innovative workplace solutions for corporate headquarters. He brings a strong ability to take clients' business goals and interpret them into a sound architectural strategy. His design process is based on principals of participatory neighborhood planning. Through his visioning process, Vecchione works directly with clients, facilitating a greater understanding of design through consensus, buy-in and mutual agreement. He has been featured in Metropolis, Interior Design Magazine, Adweek and The New York Times. Vecchione is on the board of directors for the New York City-wide School to Work Alliance and co-chair of the advisory committee for the New Design High School (a New York City public high school). He lives in New York City .