With a medical, scientific, and philanthropic career that spans more than 30 years, Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann has devoted her life to improving the human condition through innovation. Most recently, she was the CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, leading the organization’s vision for a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life. She was formerly the first female chancellor of University of California at San Francisco and spent 14 years at biotech firm Genentech, leading the development of a number of breakthrough medicines. An innovator and leader in life sciences, Dr. Desmond-Hellmann’s diverse training as an oncologist, scientist, and business executive leads to her endless curiosity about the world and her desire to change it for the better. In speeches, she shares her unique insights not only on revolutionizing global health, but also on effective and innovative leadership. Using lessons-learned as a trailblazing female leader of one of the world’s largest philanthropies, Dr. Desmond-Hellmann inspires audiences with her unparalleled perspective on how to foster an environment of collaboration and relentless innovation to drive disruptive solutions that make an impact.

Michael (Mike) Steep is the founder and former executive director of Stanford Engineering School's Center for Disruptive Technology and Digital Cities and the former senior vice president of global business operations at innovation mega-hub, PARC Xerox. He draws on first-hand experience and anecdotes from time spent with the biggest names in Silicon Valley to instruct audiences on how to get ahead of disruptive innovation. Viewing new technology as opportunity, Mike highlights the importance of allowing innovation to trump company culture and legacies—and not the other way around.

Kathy Varol is an expert at driving profit with purpose. Kathy created the Global Purpose (corporate social responsibility) strategy for adidas, a 22 billion dollar global company. Now Kathy helps her clients use purpose to stand out in a competitive environment, attract the best talent, gain consumer loyalty, and fully harness the innovative brainpower of their employees (innovation that keeps them miles ahead of the competition). She shares her deep knowledge and “how-to” with clients, so they can skip the hard lessons and go straight to strategies that work. Kathy has 20 years of experience across brand marketing, strategy, and impact, working at established brands like adidas, MillerCoors, and Microsoft. Through her experience, Kathy has developed a repeatable 4-step process to become a purpose-led brand: The Brand Purpose Model. When businesses embed purpose into the heart of their strategy, they don’t just disrupt their industry. They also bring humanity into the workplace, shape the future, and impact the world.

“As Long As You’re Asking – A Conversation with Jason Alexander” is an evening of comedy, music, and conversation with the award-winning star of stage and screen in which the audience determines what they want to know the most. Alexander will present a variety of topics for the audience to pick and choose, culminating in behind the scenes stories of his life, career, and social activism. Or ask about anything you’ve always wanted to know and see if he can answer. Alexander has starred on Broadway, in hit films like Pretty Woman and Shallow Hal and, of course, Seinfeld. He is an actor, director, producer, writer, children’s book author, award-winning magician, semi-pro poker player and social/political activist. It’s all on the table and the conversation is completely in your control, making for a once in a lifetime event.

Dana Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. He is also known for playing the role of Garth Algar in the Wayne's World movies. A sidesplitting addition to any audience, Carvey is one of America's most notable comedians.

A unique sense of humor and profound dry wit separates Kevin Nealon from other performers. A likable comedian, he got his start as a department store Santa Claus. Now the longest-running cast member of Saturday Night Live, Nealon's familiar face appears in movies such as Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer.

For 28 years, comedian Kathleen Madigan has been touring 250 nights on the road and squeezing in hour-long filmed specials and performances on every late night show ever made. From 25 appearances on "The Tonight Show" and multiple appearances on Letterman and Conan to recently riding around with Jerry Seinfeld in his internet series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," Madigan is still having a blast and selling out theaters across the country. She's won the American Comedy Award for "Best Female Comedian" and the Phyllis Diller award for "Best Female Comedian." She has written and produced for Lewis Black's "Root of All Evil" on Comedy Central and done multiple USO tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

John Cleese is one of Britain's best-known actors, writers and comedians. Famous primarily for his comic efforts, such as the television series Fawlty Towers and the exploits of the Monty Python troupe, he has also become a well-respected actor in his own right and has co-written books on psychiatry entitled Families And How to Survive Them and Life And How to Survive It.

A first-generation American immigrant, turned American soldier, combat veteran, and now a professional touring stand-up comedian, Thom Tran turned a literal lifetime of war and tragedy into a successful comedy career. On 3 April 2003, his 4th day in Iraq, during a gunfight Thom was struck in the back of the head by a sniper’s bullet. On April 3, 2003, his 4th day in Iraq, during a gunfight Thom was struck in the back of the head by a sniper’s bullet. Since starting his comedy career, Thom created the GIs of Comedy tour, a group of combat veterans turned stand-up comedians.

From the Baltimore Opera to QVC shopping channel, Executive Producer and TV Host Mike Rowe has had hundreds of jobs and relished his role as a chronic freelancer. He’s best known as the “dirtiest man on TV,” a title he earned on the hit TV series Dirty Jobs, where he traversed all 50 states; completed 300 different jobs; and transformed cable television into a landscape of swamps, sewers, and coal mines. He has narrated hundreds of documentaries about space, nature, dinosaurs, and how stuff works. Mike also runs the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity that works hard to debunk myths about the skilled trades and help close the skills gap.

Gregory Treverton just completed service as chairman of the National Intelligence Council, which provides both strategic intelligence and more immediate intelligence support to the senior foreign policymakers in the U.S. government. Earlier, he directed the RAND Corporation’s Center for Global Risk and Security, and before that its Intelligence Policy Center and its International Security and Defense Policy Center.

Kevin Pollak has established himself as both a comedic and dramatic actor, having appeared in over thirty films in the past decade. His ability to portray a wide range of characters has made him one of the first stand-up comedians to have a successful dramatic film career.