Keynotes will include:

Jeffrey Garten
Professor Yale School of Management, Business Columnist &
Former Undersecretary of Commerce

Jeffrey E. Garten's vast credentials, reputation and experience make him one of very few business experts placed firmly on the crossroads of economics and foreign policy. And as he notes with great eloquence in his best-seller, The Big Ten: Emerging Markets and How They Will Change Our Lives, that is the crossroads where businesses will thrive or perish in the 21st Century.

Prior to being named Dean of the Yale School of Management in 1995, he served as U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for international trade in the Clinton administration. Garten also spent thirteen years on Wall Street as a managing director of Lehman Brothers and the Blackstone Group. Early in his career, Garten served on the White House Council on International Policy in the Nixon administration, and on the State Department Policy Planning Staff of Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Cyrus Vance.

John Hofmeister
Founder and Chief Executive – Citizens for Affordable Energy; Former President - Shell Oil Company

John Hofmeister is the retired President of Shell Oil Company and the Founder and CEO of Citizens for Affordable Energy. This Washington, D.C. registered, public policy advocacy firm exists to promote sound U.S. energy security solutions for the nation, including a range of affordable energy supplies, efficiency improvements, essential infrastructure, sustainable environmental policy, and public education on energy issues.

Hofmeister was named President of Houston-based Shell Oil Company in March 2005, heading the U.S. Country Leadership Team, which included the leaders of all Shell businesses operating in the United States. A business leader who has observed and participated in the inner workings of general industries for more than 30 years, Hofmeister also has held key positions in General Electric, Nortel and AlliedSignal (now Honeywell International).

Hofmeister serves as the Chairman of the National Urban League and is a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee. He also serves on the boards of the Foreign Policy Association, the United States Energy Association, and the National Association of Manufacturers.

Rich Karlgaard
Publisher, Forbes and Author, Life 2.0

Entrepreneur-turned-publisher, columnist and television commentator Rich Karlgaard has a unique vantage point on the trends driving the business and investment climates. Karlgaard is the publisher of Forbes magazine, where he writes a biweekly column known for its witty and honest assessment of current business issues, a regular panelist on Forbes on Fox, and a frequent guest analyst on CNBC. He's also a successful entrepreneur and past winner of Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

More than just a business journalist, Karlgaard understands firsthand the difficulties of navigating in today's business climate and the opportunities available to those who have the courage to reach out for them. His assessment of the current business issues and trends will give attendees solid insights they can use to make better business and investment decisions.

Jack Lengyel
Distinguished Coach

On Nov. 14, 1970, a chartered airplane carrying 37 members of the Marshall University football team crashed. Also lost in the tragedy were eight coaches, 25 team boosters and five crew members. In the aftermath, there was talk that the school should drop football. However, it was decided the program would resume play the following season. The man selected to lead the team was Jack Lengyel. This dramatic story and remarkable leader where portrayed in the movie, “We Are Marshall.”

Coach Lengyel was head football coach at Marshall from 1971 to 1974, where he rebuilt both the football program and community at Marshall University after the tragic airline crash In a distinguished career, Lengyel would go on to become the athletic director at several universities including the Naval Academy. He will share some amazing stories of commitment and determination from his incredible experience at Marshall University and from the rest of his distinguished coaching career.