Jim Collins June 4, 2007 8:15-9:30 a.m.

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of enduring great companies -- how they grow, how they attain superior performance, and how good companies can become great companies. Having invested over a decade of research into the topic, Jim has authored or co-authored four books, including the classic BUILT TO LAST, a fixture on the Business Week best seller list for more than six years, and has been translated into 25 languages. His work has been featured in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Harvard Business Review, and Fast Company.

Jim’s most recent book, GOOD TO GREAT: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … And Others Don’t attained long-running positions on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Business Week best seller lists, has sold 2.5 million hardcover copies since publication and has been translated into 32 languages.

Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and teaching career on the faculty at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. In 1995, he founded a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, where he now conducts research and teaches executives from the corporate and social sectors.

Jim has served as a teacher to senior executives and CEOs at over a hundred corporations. He has also worked with social sector organizations, such as: Johns Hopkins Medical School, the Girl Scouts of the USA, the Leadership Network of Churches, the American Association of K-12 School Superintendents, and the United States Marine Corps. In 2005 he published a monograph: Good to Great and the Social Sectors.

Keith Ferrazzi CEO, Ferrazzi Greenlight June 5, 2007 8:15-9:30 a.m.

Keith Ferrazzi is one of the rare individuals to discover the essential formula for making his way to the top through a powerful, balanced combination of marketing acumen and networking savvy. Both Forbes and Inc Magazines have designated him one of the world's most "connected" individuals. Now, as Founder & CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight, he provides market leaders with advanced strategic consulting and training services to increase company sales, and enhance personal careers. Ferrazzi Greenlight applies experiences gleaned from the careers of its executives spent in the highest echelons of corporate America, as well as principles from Ferrazzi's book, 'NEVER EAT ALONE And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time.'

Ferrazzi has been widely recognized by his peers, is a frequent contributor to CNN and CNBC, and has authored numerous articles for leading business publications, including Forbes, Inc, the Wall Street Journal and the Harvard Business Review. Ferrazzi was an early leader in the quality movement as the youngest examiner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. He has been named a "Global Leader of Tomorrow" by the World Economic Forum, one of the top "40 Under 40" business leaders by Crain's Business, one of the most distinguished young Californians by the Jaycees, and one of the most creative Americans in Richard Wurman's "Who's Really Who". Ferrazzi's extraordinary rise to prominence, which includes a stint as the youngest Chief Marketing Officer for a Fortune 500 company while at Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, has even inspired a Stanford Business School case study.

Tom Rath June 6, 2007 3:15-4:30 p.m.

Tom Rath is coauthor of the #1 New York Times and #1 BusinessWeek bestseller How Full Is Your Bucket? - a book that draws on decades of research to explore the differences between leading an enthusiastic life and a miserable one. With more than 500,000 copies in print within its first year of publication, this international bestseller is now available in more than 10 languages.

Rath has been with The Gallup Organization for 12 years and currently leads Gallup's workplace and leadership consulting worldwide. He also serves on the board of VHL.org, an organization dedicated to cancer research and patient support.

Rath earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Michigan, a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and is currently pursuing a degree at Johns Hopkins University. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Rath's second book, Vital Friends: The People You Can't Afford to Live Without, an examination of the friendships that make work and home life more positive and productive, was published in August 2006.