Leadership Conference » Speakers
Emerging Trends in the Search for Leadership :: Speakers
Colleen C. Barrett is president and corporate secretary for Southwest Airlines,
a high-frequency, low-fare airline which prides itself on its
excellent customer service. In those roles she oversees management, leadership, and budget responsibilities for all major areas of the company. Ms. Barrett is a member of the company's Board of Directors and the Executive Planning Committee.
She has received numerous awards and honors, including being
named by Forbes as one of the world's 100 most powerful
women.
Peter Cappelli is George W. Taylor Professor of
Management and director of the Center for Human Resources at the
Wharton School, and is the
editor of Academy of Management Perspectives. He conducts
research in human resources practices, talent and performance
management, and public policy related to employment. His new book, Talent on Demand: Managing Talent
in an Age of Uncertainty, published by Harvard Business
School Press, will hit shelves in spring 2008.
Ken Chenault is chairman and chief executive officer of American Express Co. He joined American
Express in 1981, and served as president of the Consumer Card Group and of Travel Related Services before assuming
his responsibilities as head of the company only months before September 11, 2001. His leadership in the aftermath of
that tragedy and throughout his career have earned him numerous honors, including the Corporate Responsibility Award from the International
Rescue Committee and the Wall Street Rising Leadership Award. Mr. Chenault is a graduate of Harvard Law School, serves
on the boards of a number of companies including IBM, and is vice chairman of the Business Roundtable.
David Gergen is a professor of public
service and the director of the Center for Public Leadership at
the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
He is also editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report. Mr.
Gergen also regularly serves as an analyst on news shows and is
a popular lecturer on the world stage. He has served in the
White House as an adviser to four Presidents (Nixon, Ford,
Reagan, and Clinton), and is the author of Eyewitness to
Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton.
S.A. Ibrahim is chief executive officer of
Radian Group Inc., a global credit risk management company
headquartered in Philadelphia with significant operations in New
York and London. Mr. Ibrahim joined Radian from GreenPoint
Mortgage Funding, Inc., a residential mortgage lender, where he
served in a number of executive capacities including CEO, COO,
president, and executive vice president of the company's
mortgage businesses and financial corporation.
Captain Wei Jiafu is president and chief executive officer of China Ocean Shipping Company
(COSCO). Before taking charge of COSCO in 1998, he had been the senior executive in many subsidiaries of COSCO
both in China and abroad. Capt. Wei Jiafu has received numerous awards in honor of his contributions to the international
shipping industry, and he holds a doctorate in ship and ocean structural design. Among his many leadership roles, he serves as a member of the
Harvard Business School Asia-Pacific Advisory Board, chairman of the China Shipowners Association, and honorary dean of the
School of Economics and Management of Shanghai Maritime University.
Joe Nocera is a business columnist for the New York Times, contributes to the New York Times Magazine, and
serves as a regular business commentator for NPR's Weekend Edition with Scott Simon. Before joining the New York Times, Mr.
Nocera held a variety of positions at Fortune magazine and other business publications. He has won two Gerald Loeb
awards and three John Hancock awards for excellence in business journalism. His book A Piece of the Action - How the
Middle Class Joined the Money Class won the New York Public
Library's 1995 Helen Bernstein award as the best non-fiction
book of the year.
Michael Useem is William and Jacalyn Egan
Professor of Management and director of the Center for
Leadership and Change Management at the Wharton School. He has
helped build Wharton's Leadership Ventures, an experiential
learning initiative that organizes programs for MBA students and
company managers for walks on Civil War battlefields, treks in
Patagonia, and immersion in a leadership course of the U.S.
Marine Corps. He conducts research on leadership, governance,
and decision making, and his most recent book, The Go Point:
When It's Time to Decide, was published in 2006.
William C. Weldon is chairman of the Board and
chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson. He assumed his
current responsibilities in April 2002. Mr. Weldon joined
Johnson & Johnson in 1971, and throughout the years has headed
numerous areas within the company. His previous posts include
manager of ICOM Regional Development Center in Southeast Asia,
executive vice president and managing director of Korea McNeil,
Ltd., managing director of Ortho-Cilag Pharmaceutical Ltd. in
the UK, vice president of sales and marketing at Janssen
Pharmaceuticals in the US, and president of Ethicon
Endo-Surgery.
