IDEA Conference 2007

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We’ve got Judy Hu from GE, who developed their “Imagination at Work” and “Ecomagination” campaigns. There’s Barry Diller, head of IAC, the man behind Expedia, Lending Tree and Match.com, and once head of Fox, Paramount and QVC (though not all at the same time). Meet Lawrence Hunt, who founded Silverjet, the first all business class airline, after he grew weary of incredibly poor airline service at extortionate prices. BlendTec’s George Wright, creator and co-star of the online video series “Will it Blend?” (a big hit on YouTube), will be on hand to blend on demand. And don’t forget Robert Stephens of The Geek Squad, who started his computer and technology support service with just $200 and turned it into a mega-success with over 11,000 agents. Plus Paul Bennett of IDEO, a master of branding and design, will be back by popular demand to conduct an interactive workshop.

And that's just for starters. To see the full bios of all our speakers, select from the list below.

Paul Bennett, Principal, IDEO

Paul Bennett is IDEO's chief creative officer. He has worn many hats at IDEO, managing the San Francisco and London locations and founding and leading the company's largest global practice, Consumer Experience Design. Paul has managed key client relationships with Virgin, Numico, Vodafone, Motorola, Procter & Gamble and Pepsi.

Paul's perspectives on how design thinking builds great and enduring brands have been featured in Ad Age, Business Week and Creativity Magazines. He also speaks widely on the topic at such forums as TEDGlobal, Walpole seminars and client innovation summits.

Originally trained as a graphic designer, Paul honed his brand skills by working in many diverse facets of the design business, both agency and client-side. Projects ranged from retail and packaging design in London, where he worked on The Midland Bank, Boots and Sainsburys, to advertising in Asia and New York for clients such as Singapore Airlines, Raffles Hotel, Estee Lauder, Coach and Citibank.

Prior to joining IDEO, Paul ran his own pioneering brand design business, Nick & Paul, in New York for seven years, where his clients included Coca-Cola, Motorola and Unilever. He has had numerous other clients in fashion, fragrance, technology, consumer products and hospitality. Paul has run many large branding programs, all from the same basic premise: that great design springs from singularity of vision, courage and collaboration.

Barry Diller, Director and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, IAC

Barry Diller is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IAC, and Chairman of Expedia, Inc.
IAC operates leading and diversified businesses in sectors being transformed by the internet, online and offline…its mission is to harness the power of interactivity to make daily life easier and more productive for people all over the world. IAC consists of HSN; Cornerstone Brands, Inc.; Ticketmaster, which oversees ReserveAmerica; LendingTree, LLC; LendingTree Loans; RealEstate.com; ServiceMagic; Match.com; Entertainment Publications; Interval International; Ask.com; Citysearch; Evite; and Gifts.com. Expedia, Inc. is one of the world's leading travel services companies. With its portfolio of leading travel brands, Expedia, Inc. empowers business and leisure travelers with the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book and experience travel. The company also provides wholesale travel to offline retail travel agents. Expedia, Inc.'s main websites include: Expedia.com®, Hotels.com™, Hotwire®, Expedia® Corporate Travel, Trip Advisor™ and Classic Custom Vacations®. Expedia, Inc. also operates international sites in Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands and China through its investment in eLong™.

Since December 1992, beginning with QVC, Mr. Diller has served as chief executive for a number of predecessor companies engaged in media and interactivity prior to the formation of IAC. From October 1984 to April 1992, Mr. Diller served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox, Inc. and was responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company in addition to Fox's motion picture operations. Before joining Fox, Mr. Diller served for ten years as the Chairman and Chief Executive of Paramount Pictures Corporation. In March 1983, in addition to Paramount, Mr. Diller became President of the conglomerate's newly formed Entertainment and Communications Group, which included Simon & Schuster, Inc., Madison Square Garden Corporation and SEGA Enterprises, Inc. Prior to joining Paramount, Mr. Diller served as Vice President of Prime Time Television for ABC Entertainment.

David Droga, Founder/Creative Chairman, Droga5

David Droga, Founder/Creative Chairman. Growing up in an Australian resort town, David couldn’t imagine anything better than being a ski instructor touring the world. Ironically it was his imagination that took him abroad, not his limited ski ability. David launched his career by winning the top Student Honors at the Australian Writers & Art Directors School. At 22, he became a partner and Executive Creative Director of OMON Sydney. Over the next five years, OMON won “Australian Agency of the Year” twice and “Ad of the Year” four times. In 1996, David moved to Singapore to become Executive Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi, Singapore and Regional Creative Director of Saatchi Asia. In 1998, Saatchi was the region’s most successful network, and Saatchi & Saatchi , Singapore was at the epicenter of this transformation. Media Marketing named Saatchi “Regional Network of the Year” and Advertising Age named the Singapore office “International Agency of the Year.” Along the way, David has also received countless personal accolades. To date, he is the single-most awarded creative at the Cannes International Advertising Festival, with 48 Cannes Lions and three Grand Prix. Meanwhile, in Australia, Creative magazine named him “Australian Creative Person of the Decade.” While David puts a strong emphasis on leadership and success, he values enjoyment, loyalty and sincerity even more. Beyond his family and building a new venture, David’s favorite topics are art, the environment, and anything Australian.

LINKS
David and his agency also created the Tap Project, where restaurants ask patrons to donate $1 each for their usually free tap water. All proceeds are donated to Unicef to help them provide clean drinking water to children around the world. For more information, go to tapproject.org

For more information on Droga and his agency, visit droga5.com

Jeffrey Hollender, President and CEO, Seventh Generation

President and CEO of Seventh Generation, Jeffrey is a well-respected leader in the socially and environmentally responsible communities.

An entrepreneur at heart, his first business ventures were rooted in adult education. He began the not-for-profit organizations Skills Exchange of Toronto, a learning exchange that offered practical and professional development classes, and Network for Learning, New York City, an adult education and audio-publishing company; both were social and financial successes.

After his tenure as president of Warner Audio Publishing, New York City, Jeffrey acquired a small mail order catalog of energy conservation products, Renew America, which eventually blossomed into Seventh Generation. Jeffrey has led Seventh Generation from its humble beginnings to its current position as the leading and fastest growing brand of natural products for the home, and the leading authority on issues related to making a positive difference in the health of the planet and its inhabitants through our everyday choices.

Judy Hu, Global Executive Director Advertising and Branding, GE

Judy L. Hu is Global Executive Director, Advertising and Brand for GE. She is responsible for GE’s brand message around the world. She oversees television, print, outdoor, and digital advertising, GE’s internal and external websites, GE’s global Olympic marketing programs, all branding initiatives, and research.

In January 2003, Hu launched a global campaign, “Imagination at Work,” designed to introduce a new vision for the company, communicate the vast range of GE’s products and services, and contemporize and humanize the corporation’s image. The campaign has surpassed its objectives in the marketplace, and has won many awards, including a Gold and Silver Effie, “Best Integrated Campaign for 2003” from B2B, a Silver Cyber Lion at Cannes, and a Golden Pencil from The One Club. In an online poll run by Advertising Week 2005, “Imagination at Work” was voted “America’s Favorite Ad Slogan” and the tagline can now be seen on the Madison Avenue Advertising Hall of Fame.

In 2004, Hu introduced a simplified global brand architecture for GE and its businesses, and new design guidelines for the company, which were implemented worldwide.

In 2005, Hu launched GE’s “ecomagination” campaign, which won the CEBA Grand Prize. “Singin’ in the Rain,” the television ad that launched the campaign was the highest scoring ad in USA TODAY’s Ad Tracking Survey in 2005.

Before joining GE, Hu spent five years with General Motors. As Executive Director, Diversity and Growth Markets, Hu was responsible for targeting GM's marketing efforts to key demographic groups critical to growth in the US automotive industry—Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, women, and youth. Prior to that she served as Executive Director in charge of GM's corporate advertising, sponsorships, and retail programs. She joined GM from DMB&B, Bloomfield Hills, where she was Senior Vice President, responsible for developing brand strategies for Cadillac, Pontiac, and GM Parts.

From 1988-1990, Hu worked in Hong Kong for Leo Burnett, managing accounts ranging from airlines to banks to telephone companies. From 1983-87 she worked at DMB&B, New York on Procter and Gamble brands. She began her career in the publishing industry in Boston, editing and designing trade books and textbooks.

Hu graduated cum laude from Harvard and received an M.B.A from Yale. She serves on the board of directors of the American Advertising Federation, the New York American Marketing Association, and the Association of National Advertisers, and she is Chairman of the Ad Council. In 2003, she received an AAF District 2 Diversity Achievement Award; in 2002, was named to the Automotive News list of "All Stars;" and in 1996, was named a “Woman to Watch” by Advertising Age.

David Jones, Global Chief Executive Officer, Euro RSCG Worldwide

David Jones’s career has been characterized by incredible accomplishments executed at a very young age. He was appointed to the position of Global CEO for Euro RSCG Worldwide in 2005 at the age of 38, where he leads the network’s 10,000 staff across 233 offices in 75 countries.

In addition to his global CEO responsibilities, David is a managing director of Havas, the agency’s holding company.

In his time as CEO of Euro RSCG New York, David managed an unprecedented new business and creative renaissance. In under a year, the agency became one of New York’s hottest shops, winning over $500 million in new business, including the global Jaguar car business and the North American Charles Schwab account. Under David’s leadership, Euro RSCG New York was also awarded significant assignments from Heineken, ExxonMobil, Verizon, Howard Stern on Sirius, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, and Schering-Plough.

David was previously the London-based Executive Vice President of Global Business, leading all of Euro RSCG’s 42 multinational clients. David also served as Global Brand Director for Reckitt Benckiser, after playing an integral role in winning the worldwide business in 2002.

He joined Euro RSCG Partnership Australia in 1998 as Managing Director and one year later was appointed Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, Euro RSCG Partnership Australia was named “Australia’s Agency of the Year” in 2000 and 2001. It was also named Australia’s “Interactive Agency of the Year” no fewer than four times.

David was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s “Hall of Achievement” in November of 2005 and named as one of Crain’s New York Business magazine’s “40 Under 40.”

Prior to joining Euro RSCG, David was at the time the youngest-ever board director at AMV/BBDO, Ltd., one of the United Kingdom’s leading advertising agencies. He has also worked at Lowe Europe, J. Walter Thompson, and BDH/TBWA. He possesses an extensive breadth and depth of experience working with many of the world’s premier marketers, including Unilever, Mars, Nestlé, Pizza Hut, Dell, Intel, Volvo, Orange, Cadbury, Braun, British Telecom, Siemens, and Henkel. A graduate of Middlesex Business School in London and Reutlingen Fachhochschule in Germany, David has lived and worked in the United States, France, Germany, Australia, and the U.K. and speaks fluent French and German.

Eddy Moretti, Co-founder, VBS.TV

Eddy holds an Hon. B.A. in English and Cinema Studies from the University of Toronto. In 1996 he received the Norman Jewison Fellowship Award and completed an M.A. in Cinema Studies from New York University. He is currently completing his Ph.D. at NYU.

Since 2000 he has served as director of VICE Films, co-authoring original screenplays with Shane Smith for "Dirty Bombs" and "White Lightnin'." In 2007 Mr. Moretti co-founded the broadband video network VBS.TV, where he serves as Executive Producer and as a correspondent. Additionally he co-directed Heavy Metal In Baghdad, an original documentary feature film developed from VBS.TV content, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and will see theatrical release in 2008. He has also directed television spots for the National Legacy Foundation's TRUTH anti-smoking campaign, and oversees content production for VIRTUE, the in-house marketing and creative services agency at VICE.

In his increasingly limited spare time, Mr. Moretti enjoys fine Italian wines and classic 60s cinema.

LINKS
For more information, check out vbs.tv

John Partilla, President, Time Warner Global Media Group

John Partilla was named President of Time Warner Global Media Group in June 2004. He holds the additional title of Senior Vice President, Time Warner. Reporting to Jeff Bewkes, President & COO of Time Warner, Partilla leads the Global Media Group in its mission to partner more effectively with major Time Warner advertisers, and help drive the growth of advertising and marketing revenue across all of Time Warner’s businesses.

In his tenure, Partilla has redefined the way Time Warner assets are more strategically and creatively leveraged against client partners’ strategic priorities, leading to a growth in the partner roster and significantly increased revenue per partner. Additionally, Partilla has grown advertising revenue for Time Warner’s international businesses by expanding U.S. programs globally.

Prior to overseeing the Global Media Group, Partilla was Founder & CEO of Brand Buzz, a $100mm billing creative solutions agency within the WPP Group, which he launched in January 2000. Additionally, he was EVP, Global Client Leader of Sony Electronics for Y&R (a WPP agency), and elected to the Y&R Worldwide Advertising Board in 2002.

Preceding his WPP roles, he managed a varied roster of client portfolios over his Y&R tenure and from 1997-1999 led Y&R’s global business development efforts, resulting in over a billion dollars in topline revenue growth, and Y&R being recognized as the new business industry leader during those years.

In 1998, based on his business development achievements, Partilla was selected as one of Crain’s "Top 40 Under 40," as one of New York’s leading achievers across all industries. In 2006, he was selected as a "Young Global Leader" of the World Economic Forum.

Outside of work, Partilla sits on a number of boards including The Advertising Club of New York and the Second Stage Theatre Company. He is also actively involved with the Paley Center for Media, and the media alumni community of Columbia Business School, from which he holds an MBA.

Brett Shevack, Vice Chairman-Brand Initiatives, BBDO New York

Brett Shevack joined BBDO New York in 2002 in the newly created position of Vice Chairman, Brand Initiatives. This is a unique role to which Brett is ideally suited and a position that is unprecedented in the industry, giving BBDO a tremendous competitive advantage.

In this role, Brett focuses on generating business-building ideas that offer tremendous upside to clients and that complement the work we do. These include new product ideas, programs that strengthen core retailer relationships, strategies to gain competitive leverage against branded and non-branded products, and more. It is a "360-degree perspective" which Brett brings to the business following years as a creative director and, later, as founder of his own agency, Partners & Shevack where he worked in a broad range of categories from sports to healthcare.

Brett is the architect of a proprietary BBDO program called “BIG” (Brand Initiatives Generation™) – a new discipline designed to develop an ongoing stream of business-building thinking and ideas for every brand. The program also encourages the agency – in particular account management – to contribute to a client’s business as if it was the ‘owner’ of the brand.

He has also been a frequent contributor to industry publications, just recently writing on 'open source innovation' and the changing way companies are sourcing new ideas.

Russell Simmons, Chairman & CEO, Rush Communications and Founder, Diamond Empowerment Fund

Russell Simmons has been instrumental in bringing Hip-Hop to every facet of business and media since its inception in the late 1970s: in music with the immensely successful Def Jam Recordings; in film with Simmons Lathan Media Group; in television with MTV’s “Run’s House”, HBO’s “The Def Comedy Jam” and “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry”; on Broadway with the Tony Award winning stage production “Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam on Broadway”; in the fashion industry with several clothing lines including Baby Phat, Phat Farm and its several line extensions XV, Argyle Culture, Atman, and Run Athletics; in the financial services industry with the RushCard and Baby Phat RushCard; in luxury goods with the Simmons Jewelry Company; in the community with Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, and most recently, the Diamond Empowerment Fund™. Russell has just released a new book entitled Do You!12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success.

49-year-old Russell Simmons is a native New Yorker who attended City College of New York. His interests extend far beyond the business world, and he spends a great deal of his time and considerable energy working for social, political, and philanthropic causes, pushing hip-hop on to new plateaus of power and relevance.

Shane Smith, Co-founder, VBS.TV

Shane holds an Hon. B.A. in English Literature and Political Science from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. In 1991 he was the recipient of a Canada Council grant for his fiction. In 1994, along with Suroosh Alvi, he formed Vice magazine and has since launched the title in 22 countries with a circulation of 1.2 million copies worldwide. The magazine has been repeatedly named top trendsetting title in the USA by the Cassandra Report and lauded by Rolling Stone, CNN, and ABC. As President of VICE, Mr. Smith has overseen the expansion of the company into music (VICE Records, which releases albums from Bloc Party, The Streets, and more), publishing (VICE Books, with titles such as Dear Diary, Skinema, and The VICE Photo Book), marketing (VICE’s in-house agency VIRTUE boasts clients like Vodafone and Viacom), movies (VICE Films productions include Heavy Metal in Baghdad, Dirty Bombs, and White Lightnin’), and online (VBS.TV, VICE’s popular internet broadband network, is sounding the death knell for conventional cable television).

Shane enjoys cold white wine and long, bubbly baths — preferably in tandem.

LINKS
For more information, check out vbs.tv

Robert Stephens, Founder and Chief Inspector, The Geek Squad

A native of Chicago, Robert left a scholarship at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1990 to pursue a degree in computer science at the University of Minnesota. While attending the University, he landed a job fixing computers for the Human Factors Research Laboratory. Over a three year period, he rose to become head engineer of the lab while earning scholarships from the U.S. Navy and the FAA building flight and driving simulators. It was also during this time he started a computer consulting business. In April 1994, after three years at the University, he formed The Geek Squad with $200. In 2002, The Geek Squad acquired Best Buy and opened Geek Squad precincts in all Best Buy US and Canadian stores. With over 11,000 Agents , The Geek Squad is now North America's largest technology support company offering phone, in-store, and in-home support. It also has operations in Shanghai and the UK.

Jane Fulton Suri, Managing Partner and Co-Chief Creative Officer, IDEO

As a Managing Partner and co-Chief Creative Officer for IDEO, Jane Fulton Suri places special emphasis on the contribution of human insight, creative practice, and design thinking as they relate both to IDEO's work and to client organizations worldwide.

With degrees in psychology and architecture from Manchester University and Strathclyde University in Scotland, respectively, Jane made her entry into human-centred design at ICE Ergonomics in Loughborough, England, where she worked on consumer products and transportation design. In 1989, she left the UK to join an industrial design company in San Francisco. In 1991, the company merged with three others to form IDEO.

Since that time, Jane has led IDEO's global human factors design and research group, pioneering the company's human-centred approach and evolving for clients in multiple industries the use of such empathic methods as observation and experience prototyping of products, environments, services, and media.

Jane has worked on multidisciplinary teams designing web services and appliances, electric vehicles, medical products, digital cameras, and environments for such clients as Ericsson, Shell, Kodak, Baxter, Epson, and Accenture. She continues to develop human-centred design in IDEO's now sizable international community of human factors professionals, working with other designers, engineers, and business factors specialists to provide clients with excellent design on strategic and tactical levels.

As one of IDEO's global leaders, Jane also plays a prominent role in teaching and adapting methods for use in innovation workshops with clients interested in bringing new approaches to their organizations. Dividing her time between the US and Europe, she has led workshops overseas with Tetrapak, Nestle, Nokia, and the University of Art and Design Helsinki. She is also a regular visiting lecturer at Stanford University, the Hass School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and the California College of the Arts, in addition to an occasional guest speaker at other schools in the US and in Europe.

Her work has been recognized by several design awards, including IDSA/BusinessWeek and Industrie Form Europe. Jane is the author of Thoughtless Acts, a picture book of empathic observations that invites readers to look more closely at interactions in the everyday world - a first step in design thinking.

Owen Van Natta, VP-Operations & Chief Revenue Officer, Facebook

Owen Van Natta is Vice President of Operations and Chief Revenue Officer at Facebook, where he focuses on revenue operations, business development, strategic partnerships and technical operations. Prior to Facebook, Owen was Vice President of Worldwide Business and Corporate Development at Amazon.com, where he managed global marketing programs and strategic partnerships. He was part of the founding team of A9.com, the Amazon.com search company, and was responsible for site operations and sponsored-link advertising. Owen holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Luis von Ahn, Professor-Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University

Luis von Ahn is a professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, and was named one of Popular Science Magazine's "Brilliant 10" scientists of 2006. His research interests include encouraging people to do work for free, as well as catching and thwarting cheaters in online environments.

LINKS
Luis also created the popular ESP game, which is harnessing the mass mind online to name all images on the web. Check it out at espgame.org

For more information, read Luis' interview in Wired magazine

George Wright, Director of Marketing, BlendTec

George Wright has a proven track record of delivering strategic thinking, brand awareness, literature philosophy and advertising strategy to local and international corporations to drive strategic, sustainable growth. A graduate of the Public Relations program at Brigham Young University, George has been involved in several award winning campaigns and is the recipient of PRSA’s Silver Anvil and IABC’s Golden Spike awards.

George has recently introduced cutting-edge strategies in viral marketing that experts are predicting to be the wave of the future. Called the “Viral Marketing Sensation of the Year” the Will it Blend marketing campaign has delivered tens of millions of views worldwide in under six weeks for a small blender company – and the numbers continue to build at an impressive rate.

Tapping into the online video revolution, the “Will it Blend” (willitblend.com) campaign has harnessed the power of personal video websites like YouTube, Revver to deliver unprecedented success in viral marketing for a corporation.

George and his wife Laurena live in Pleasant Grove, and are the parents of four children.

LINKS
To watch a whole bunch of crazy things get blended, go to willitblend.com.