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.

Marga Hoek is a member of Thinkers50, she is that rare combination: a true visionary on sustainable business and capital and a successful, innovative business leader who understands and applies the commercial realities of business. Operating at the highest level with ministers and presidents, Marga is a global voice for G20, G7 Climate Change and Cop 23 and a regular contributor for prestigious, global media like Forbes Magazine, Fortune and The Huffington Post. Her latest book The Trillion Dollar Shift, on the business opportunities of the Sustainable Development Goals, received an international, gold medal.

Trevor Williams served as Chief Economist at Lloyds Bank for over a decade. Now an author, academic and consultant, he analyses the key trends and policies that shape the economy and markets. From energy and climate to how companies use their data to understand the wider economy, he brings clarity and relevance to an often complex and abstract field.

“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.

With more than a decade working at the heart of the technology industry, Dex Hunter-Torricke has managed communications for some of the most-influential and admired Silicon Valley leaders and corporations of our day. In his daily work, Dex plays a critical role in writing the next chapter on science, tech, the economy, and society across the globe, and spearheads efforts to bring the stories of how the world is being moved forward to light. From 2012-2016, he led the executive communications team at Facebook and served as personal speechwriter for Mark Zuckerberg. He then went on to join SpaceX as senior director of communications. He later served as the VP Global Communications & Public Engagement for the Oversight Board for Meta, the independent body that makes decisions on Facebook and Instagram’s most challenging content issues. Dex takes audiences into Facebook’s boardroom, Musk’s open-concept cubicle, the famed Googleplex, and finally to the UN itself to share lessons on what it takes in today’s environment to build highly effective internal teams, how to use storytelling in modern communications, and what to make of the steady transition from local to global that’s unfolded over the past decade.

Alex Macqueen is an actor, best known for his roles as Julius Nicholson in the BBC’s Thick Of It and Neil’s Dad in the Channel 4 comedy The Inbetweeners. He was a member of the National Youth Theatre and President of the Cambridge University Theatre Company, before qualifying as a Barrister at the Middle Temple. In 2017, he was elected by the Inn as a Master of The Bench.

Roger Harrabin is one of the media’s most influential voices on the environment, energy and climate change. He is Energy and Environment Analyst for the BBC, where he has broadcast for more than 30 years. Roger has been a global pioneer in environment reporting. He was founder presenter of the BBC environment programme Costing the Earth and has won many awards for his work in radio and TV. His quest for impartiality led him to broadcast two three-part series on Radio 4 tackling the risks and uncertainties in climate science and technology. His reporting on new topics has often been trend-setting – he was, for instance, the first mainstream reporter to highlight the central role that energy would play in the environment. He has interviewed many influential figures including Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Ban Ki Moon, Al Gore and Sir David Attenborough.

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.

Gavin Patterson is the president and chief revenue officer of Salesforce.com, Inc., leading the CRM company's global sales organization. He previously served as Chief Executive, BT from 2013-19. During his tenure, Patterson completed the UK rollout of the superfast fibre and started the deployment ultrafast fibre. He led the £15billion acquisition of EE, launched BT Sport, expanded BT’s cyber security practice and championed BT’s social purpose agenda. He joined BT in 2004 as MD Consumer and joined the board as CEO BT Retail in 2008. Prior to BT, he spent four years at Virgin Media and nine years at Procter & Gamble. Patterson is a Non-Executive Director at British Airways plc and a Trustee of the British Museum. He graduated from Cambridge University with an MEng in Chemical Engineering.