Archive 2007: Here are some of Rowan’s speaking engagements for 2007:

Fortum Leadership Summit, Helsinki

The timing could not have been more appropriate. On the day the EU announced bold new emission targets for the energy industry, I had the honour of addressing 120 leaders from Fortum – Finland’s leading power company – on “Rethinking the Future: Winning in the Innovation Economy”. Across the Nordic region, Fortum has already been putting huge effort into “green” energy – from renewable sources like wind power, wave power etc.– yet at the 5th annual Fortum Leadership Summit, hosted in snowy Helsinki, I got a sense from their top management that we “ain’t seen nothing yet”. After the event, which was hosted at the Hilton Kalastajatorppa hotel, I was told it was the best summit ever. In the evening, I had the great pleasure of joining Fortum CEO Mikael Lillius for dinner, which was a rare opportunity to learn from the top. My thanks to Mikael Frisk, Fortum’s Senior VP of Corporate HR for inviting me to speak at the summit, as well as to Susanna Salminen for setting up this engagement. Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Volkswagen “Leadership Challenge”, Western Cape, South Africa

It was somehow fitting to finish the year back in sunny South Africa, for my third visit in 2007. The last speech of the season: a 2-hour keynote address to 150 leaders from Volkswagen South Africa on “Winning in the Innovation Economy”. Their excellent “Leadership Challenge” event, hosted at the beautiful Fancourt golf resort in George, Western Cape, was a great chance to spend time with people who are truly passionate about their brands. Those Audi guys homed in on me and wouldn’t let go until I promised to test-drive one of their new models! The team from Ogilvy Events in Capetown – in particular Karen and Louise - delivered one of the best organized conferences I’ve experienced this year. Also a big thanks to Stuart Lee of Famous Faces for setting up this engagement.

CFO “Change Champions” event, Moscow

What a contrast! One day Johannesburg, the next day Moscow. And I’m not just talking about the temperature extremes. For a start, I certainly got a change of scenery out of the window! This time, from my room in the historic “Baltchug Kempinski” hotel near Red Square, I was looking out directly on the Kremlin. My assignment in Moscow was to address a ballroom full of Chief Financial Officers on “Strategic Innovation” (for 3 hours in total). Hosted by CFO Magazine, Russia’s answer to “The Economist”, the event drew a crowd of business leaders from industries like energy (surprise, surprise), automotive, and logistics. One highlight: the simultaneous translator seemed to get even more animated than me (arms waving everywhere!), even though he was locked in glass box at the back of the room! Special thanks to Ekaterina Cherednichenko in Moscow and Kornelia Michalowska of CSA Poland for arranging this highly memorable seminar. Click here for event brochure>>>

One-day Innovation Masterclass, Johannesburg

I was thrilled to be back in Joburg this November for a whirlwind visit. My assignment was to conduct a one-day Masterclass on “Making Innovation Happen”, organized by the excellent team at Global Leaders. Hosted at The Campus in Bryanston, the public seminar attracted a wonderful group of participants who were a pleasure to spend the day with. I especially enjoyed our lively discussions during the Q&A sessions. Here’s a sample of the audience feedback: “Excellent”, “Exceeded my expectations”, “One of the most valuable days spent out of the office”. Hats off to James Wight and Tina Schneidermann of Global Leaders for putting on a very high level event. Pity I couldn’t stick around longer. After being on stage all day, it was out of the door, into the airport transfer, and straight on to Moscow! Oh, the joys of foreign travel… Click here for feedback from the event >>> Click here for event brochure>>>

Philips “Simplicity” event, London

It was my privilege to take part in a panel discussion at the opening of the 2007 Philips “Simplicity” event, hosted at London’s Earls Court in October – a showcase for the company’s innovative new technology products. The lineup of the panel was fascinating, with me being the only non-design person on the stage. To my right sat Ilse Crawford, strategic designer and author, and to my left Stefano Marzano, CEO and Chief Creative Director of Philips Design. The discussion, which was moderated skillfully by Josephine Green, Philips Design's Director of Trends and Strategy, ranged from basic technology issues to “meaning of life” stuff and, inevitably, to the power of design. I found the whole experience very inspiring.
Click here for the Philips video on YouTube >>>
Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Business Forum at CeBIT Eurasia, Istanbul

This was, without doubt, my biggest event of the year in terms of sheer scale. CeBIT is the largest trade show for the ICT sector worldwide, and is now hosted in several countries. I was proud to be invited to speak at CeBIT Eurasia in Istanbul, which hosts upward of 160,000 visitors from 60 countries. My keynote speech and concluding thoughts at the Business Forum, on the first day of the event, gave me the chance to explain how companies in Turkey and the region can expand their business in a shrinking, global world by creating a competitive advantage through innovation. A big thanks to Ahmet Turhaner and Melike Barsbey of CSA for setting up this engagement, as well as Basak Pirtini of Interpro for organizing everything so smoothly for me. Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Hay Group “Thought Leadership Forum”, Athens

Back in Athens, this time to speak at the Hay Group “Thought Leadership” forum, where I had the great pleasure of addressing 250 business leaders from the highest performing companies in Greece – including Vodafone, P&G, Mercedes and Unilever. I’ve long been a fan of Hay Group and I find their surveys (particularly in cooperation with Fortune magazine) to be of extremely high value to my work. Maria Papacosta, of Happy Creations, managed the whole event masterfully and took care of every detail concerning my stay in Athens – even acting as translator for a lengthy interview I did with the with Greek press. Yet she remained an oasis of calm at all times. Amazing. Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Baltic Management Conference, Lithuania

As I wrote after a speaking engagement in Estonia a few months back, the former soviet satellites impress me no end with their economic progress. My high regard was confirmed at this year’s Baltic Management Conference in Palange, Lithuania, where I had the honor of addressing 350 of the country’s corporate leaders on “Winning in the Innovation Economy”. The level of the delegates was as high as anything I’ve experienced in more “developed” economies, and the conference was organized with total professionalism by Kristina Lukosiute, who seemed to be capable of handling at least 20 tasks simultaneously. Great stuff! I also managed to miss the Skandinavian Airways emergency landing in Palanga by exactly one week (same route, same airline, same plane!). Click here for feedback from the event >>>

OMV Business Forum, Alpbach, Austria

I’ve spent well over a decade beating a loud drum about the need to rethink the future in view of nonlinear, discontinuous change. But my efforts truly pale into insignificance next to those of John Naisbitt – the world’s greatest future philosopher and author of numerous bestsellers from “Megatrends” to “Mindset”. I was honored to share the stage with John – a dear friend and long-time mentor – at the recent “Future Forum” event hosted by oil firm OMV in Alpbach, Austria. Congratulations to OMV for putting on an extremely good show, which also included symphony orchestra conductor Christian Gansch (who completely upstaged me with his musical excerpts!). A big thanks also to Nora Kutschera for inviting me to deliver the closing keynote speech and especially for looking after me so well before, during and after the event. Click here for feedback from the event >>> Click here for pictures >>>

Innovation Kick-off Event, Oslo

After Oslo’s worst summer for 150 years, I was delighted to arrive in Norway’s beautiful capital to two absolutely glorious days of sunshine. I had been invited by FINN.no – one of Norway’s leading internet firms – to speak to the whole company on “Winning in the Innovation Economy”. My 90-minute keynote opened FINN’s Innovation Kick-off event, where they not only created a lot of enthusiasm for their company-wide innovation effort, but also launched an internal web-based innovation tool called FINNopp. A big THANKS to Tine Reuterdahl, FINN’s director of R&D, for inviting me over and for making the event such a success. Staying at the Grand Hotel (see picture), which is on the city’s main street leading up to the royal palace, I even got time to enjoy downtown Oslo in the sun. Wonderful! Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Roche HR Knowledge Exchange, Berlin

That’s it – my last speaking engagement before the summer break, and it was great to end on a high. I thoroughly enjoyed being back in Berlin to address an international group of HR professionals from Roche Diagnostics, one of the world’s leading medical testing companies. This time, my assignment was to deliver a two hour speech on “Winning in the Innovation Economy”, with a focus on the role of HR in building a corporate-wide innovation capability. Afterward, the participants took part in an interactive workshop aimed at rethinking major HR processes – talent management, learning and development, performance management, and change management – to make them more conducive to innovation. All in all, an excellent event. Congratulations to Silvia Ayyoubi, Daniele Hille and Chris Mills at Roche Diagnostics for making this such a thought-provoking meeting of minds. Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Global Insights Conference, Gleneagles Scotland

Wow! When it comes to high quality insights, this was an event that truly lived up to its name. Hosted by Martin Currie, a leading investment management company, the “Global Insights Conference” at Gleneagles hotel in Scotland brought together some fascinating speakers to debate issues like global economics, capital markets, equity strategy, talent management and innovation. I had the honor of delivering the concluding keynote of the conference – a one-hour speech on “Innovation and rethinking the future: building a sustainable business”. Gleneagles – which was also the venue for the 2005 G8 summit - was magnificent, as ever (where else does your hotel room feature an open fireplace?). And the conference was organized equally magnificently by Martin Currie’s management team (in particular Willie Watt and Tim Hall), as well as Helen Wagstaff and Carly Bowen of the event consultancy Marketing in Partnership). Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Three back-to-back speeches, Helsinki

After Tallinn, Estonia (see below), I returned to Finland’s capital Helsinki, (situated just 80 km or 50 miles North across the Baltic Sea) for the second visit this year. But what an agenda! Three keynotes on three consecutive days to three very different audiences. This time I found myself delivering tailor-made speeches to IT specialists from the public sector, experts from the country’s major media companies, and senior executives from some of Finland’s leading corporations. The schedule, as you can imagine, was grueling: finish one speech, work all night on the next, and so on. But, hey - that goes with the job. Thankfully, everything was coordinated perfectly by Susanna Salminen and the team at Management Events, which kept me from going crazy. One memorable highlight: the third event was hosted at Kulosaaren Casino, (see picture above) which offers one of Helsinki’s most breathtaking sea views of the Gulf of Finland. Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Business Seminar, Tallinn, Estonia

They call it the “Miracle Republic” – and it’s not hard to see why. In less than a couple of decades, Estonia has transformed itself from a sleepy outpost of the Soviet Union into one of Europe’s fastest-growing free market economies. Tallinn, the country’s charming capital city, might look like it’s just emerged from the middle-ages, but the fact is that few cities – or nations, for that matter – could match the level of IT-enablement you find here. For a start, “e-stonia” is where Skype – the peer-to-peer Internet telephony network – was born. I was in town recently to deliver a 90-minute speech on innovation to the business community at Ulemiste City, an exciting part of Tallinn that is undergoing radical redevelopment. A big thanks to Andre Veskimeister, Chief Innovation Officer at Ulemiste City, for inviting me over, as well as for giving me an eye-opening tour of the city, and an unforgettable dinner at Troika, Tallinn’s must-see Russian Restaurant. Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Sonae Innovation Conference, Portugal

What a life! Last week in San Diego, this week in beautiful Porto - Portugal’s second largest city, and the home, of course, of rich, mellow port, the internationally renowned dessert wine from the Douro Valley. I came to deliver a 90-minute keynote address on “Winning in the Innovation Economy” to Sonae Group, a major international holding company, and Portugal’s largest private employer, with a portfolio of businesses that encompasses retail, telecommunications, real estate, software consultancy, tourism, construction, transportation, venture capital and news pubishing. After my speech, I had the pleasure of meeting former Sonae chairman, Belmiro de Azevedo, one of the most influential Portuguese businessmen and a Forbes Fortunes figure, along with Sonae’s new chairman (since one week): Belmiro’s ambitious son Paulo de Azevedo, who seems to have just what it takes to step into his father’s very big shoes. As far me, I had to follow Kjell Nordström’s tough act as keynote speaker at the previous year’s innovation forum - no easy task either! However, I still managed to find time to enjoy a glass of 10-year old tawny port in Ribeira, the historic and very picturesque center of Porto (see picture). Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Healthcare Leadership Forum, San Diego

Given the fact that roughly 100,000 people die in US hospitals every year due to medical errors (equivalent to crashing a large passenger plane every week!), it seems highly appropriate to address leaders from North America’s biggest hospitals on the subject of “Rethinking Healthcare”. I recently had the honor of doing exactly that at a major healthcare leadership forum hosted by Siemens Medical Solutions in Laguna Niguel, near San Diego, CA. Against a backdrop of Southern California’s sun, surf, and sandy beaches, we spent two days at the Ritz Carlton, Dana Point, discussing ways to radically innovate around the quality of hospital treatment and of patient care. A fellow keynote speaker at the event was Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and founder of the Center for Health Transformation. Number of books signed: 150. Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Carlson Wagonlit Customer Event, Berlin

Here is a company that truly understands my world: airplanes, hotels, airport transfers and so forth. Carlson Wagonlit Travel, of course – Earth’s second-largest travel management company. Their recent customer forum in Berlin was another opportunity for me to hold forth on rethinking and innovation, and on some of the things that are radically changing – or should be changing! – for the global business traveler. Needless to say, the whole event was planned and executed flawlessly, and as for the venue – the Ritz Carlton in Berlin – well, “nobody does it better”. I also got the chance to share a flight from Düsseldorf to Berlin with the event’s organizer, Martina Eggler, CWT’s VP of Sales, Account Management, and Marketing in Europe. What a delight!. Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Insurance Industry Forum, Austria

The Wachau valley is one of the most beautiful regions of Austria, where the Danube river winds its way through steep, terraced vineyards, charming old villages and endless apricot trees. This year, it was home to a power gathering of the insurance industry, hosted very professionally by Management Events (www.managementevents.com), in the historic, medieval town of Krems. Before I addressed the audience on “Winning in the Innovation Economy: Rethinking the Future of Financial Services”, I thankfully got a chance to stroll through the cobbled streets of Krems (together with Professor Dr. Walter Karten, of the University of Hamburg - a true gentleman and scholar!), which was delightful. The two of us were making a pilgrimage to Bailoni (www.bailoni.at), a tiny local distillery, to buy some of their legendary “premium-apricot brandy” (incredible stuff!). Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Microsoft Networking Summit, Athens

Just back from Athens, where I had the pleasure of addressing 250 of Microsoft’s best and brightest at a networking summit for the software giant’s Enterprise Services division. Coming from over 50 countries in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), these potential leaders were there to discuss the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing market. My speech on “Radical Rethinking and Renewal: Winning in the Innovation Economy” seemed to touch the right nerve, apparently echoing the message that is currently coming from the top of the organization. In spite of impressive growth (Ramon Demelbauer, VP for Enterprise Services in EMEA, has already quadrupled the business!) the division is keenly aware of the need to match its internal rate of change with the hyper-acceleration underway in the external market. My co-speaker at this event was "scientist-adventurer" Bertrand Piccard - the record-breaking round-the-world balloonist. Click here for feedback from the event>>>

UPM Executive Session, Helsinki

It never fails to impress me when a company that has been around for a long, long time (in one form or another) is able to embrace the future with the open-mindedness of a Silicon Valley start-up. When I spoke to the leadership team of UPM – the world's largest producer of magazine paper – at their headquarters in Helsinki, Finland, it was the team’s willingness to rethink and continually renew the business that bowled me over. And this is a firm whose oldest paper mill dates back to the end of 15th century! Then again, they know only too well that China is rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with, not to mention the potential threat from e-paper (nearly 70% percent of UPM’s turnover comes from the traditional paper business). Radical times, as I often put it, call for radical rethinking. I was honored to address CEO Jussi Pesonen and his executive committee for two hours on these critical strategic issues, followed by over an hour of Q&A. Click here for feedback from the event >>>

One-day Innovation Masterclass, Johannesburg

The last appearance in my three-engagement trip to Johannesburg this February was a one-day Innovation Masterclass for Investec - South Africa’s international, specialist banking group. All in all, the event was attended by about 80 leaders from the firm, including CEO Stephen Koseff and other members of the executive committee. Investec’s Tanya Reid did a fantastic job of coordinating the whole day’s program, which included two break-out sessions for a total of eight management teams, and the quality and quantity of ideas generated by the participants was exceptional. Tanya’s comment: “Now the pressure is on us to take this wonderful collection of ideas further. We will keep you posted on the progress.Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Executive “Business Breakfast ”, Johannesburg

On Feb 23, three cutting-edge South African firms – Giant Leap, Executrain and The Workflow Company – co-hosted a business breakfast for senior executives in Johannesburg, and asked me to come and talk for 90 minutes on innovation. I thoroughly enjoyed the event, and apparently so did the participants. One of the executives in attendance described it later as “the most eye-opening morning of my business life”. Following the event, which was hosted at a beautiful venue called “Summer Place”, my last book Rethinking the Future was sold for African charity, and I was delighted to do three interviews for the South African press. Thanks especially to Brian and Renate Klass (CEOs of Giant Leap and Executrain respectively) for inviting me to come and speak to the Johannesburg business community, and for the wonderful weekend safari experience at Exeter Game Lodge in the Sabi Sand private game reserve. Unforgettable! Click here for feedback from the event >>>

Cognis Innovation Awards, Düsseldorf

Back in Düsseldorf again, this time to speak at the Cognis Innovation Awards 2007, hosted at the impressive Finanzkaufhaus. What an honor to be in the company of some excellent innovators – three Cognis teams received awards (bronze, silver and gold respectively), with the first prize going to a really smart combination of textiles and cosmetics. Most impressive is the fact that the Innovation Awards are a permanent fixture at Cognis – now in their ninth year. This is a company that clearly takes innovation seriously. Hats off to CEO, Dr. Antonio Trius! Click here for feedback from the event >>>