When the world’s top companies want to understand what’s next for their businesses and how they can create the next big breakthrough in their industries, they turn to world-renowned futurist Sheryl Connelly. Connelly is a global trends and consumer expert whose mastery at identifying what’s coming around the corner and the potential influences on customer attitudes and behavioral patterns that directly impact business strategy is unparalleled. For more than two decades, she was a cornerstone presence on Ford Motor Company’s global trends and futuring team, working her way up the ranks at the automotive juggernaut and becoming the company’s chief futurist. Connelly draws upon her business foresight expertise and experiences at Ford to help organizations in any industry identify and analyze global consumer trends in order to lay the groundwork for long-term, future-focused planning and strategy across the entire company, and anticipate the ever-evolving needs and desires of the people they serve.

Helena Boschi is a psychologist who focuses on applied neuroscience in the work place. Her particular areas of interest include the brain and behaviour, our emotional and rational neural networks and how to improve our cognitive abilities in order to get the best out of our own and others’ brainpower. Helena has also researched the influence of cognitive biases and corporate psychopathy across different organisations. She has recently investigated the impact of chronic, work-induced stress on brain function and has just published a book called ‘Why we do what we do’.

Michele Gelfand is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. Gelfand uses field, experimental, computational and neuroscience methods to understand the evolution of culture and its multilevel consequences for human groups. Her work has been cited over 20,000 times and has been featured in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, National Public Radio, Voice of America, Fox News, NBC News, ABC News, and The Economist, among other outlets. Most recently, she is the author of "Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire the World"

At 22 years old, Lauren Simmons shattered the glass ceiling and made history by being the youngest and only full-time female equity trader on Wall Street for Rosenblatt Securities. Affectionately called the “Wolfette of Wall Street,” Simmons was also the second African American woman in history to hold the prestigious title. Since Lauren’s departure from the trading floor, she is now a multifaceted entrepreneur, an author, personal finance expert, global motivational speaker, producer, and director. She was also named to Harper’s Bazaar’s “Woman Who Dare” 2019 list. Currently, Simmons is executive producing a biopic of her life story with AGC studio – starring Kiersey Clemons and scheduled to release in summer 2021. Additionally, Lauren is the host of Going Public a new financial tv series on Entrepreneur.com coming out spring 2021.

Passionate about making social science relatable to real-time political events, Victoria DeFrancesco Soto is an analyst, academic, and social scientist with expertise in campaigns and elections, immigration, Latinos, women, racial and ethnic minority politics, and political psychology. A contributor to MSNBC and Telemundo, she is currently Dean of the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas – working with university leadership to cultivate and expand diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has previously provided on-air analysis for CNN, Fox, PBS, Univision, NPR and has appeared on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. Applying high-quality social science research to on-the-ground political realities, she provides a unique, outside-the-Beltway view to today’s real-world issues. Using her nuanced understanding of key electorates – including women, Latino, and youth demographics – she thoughtfully unpacks the factors shaping the political landscape and expertly analyzes the state of the nation’s politics & elections.

Jane Chen is the co-founder and CEO of Embrace, a social enterprise that aims to help the 15 million premature and low birth-weight babies born every year, through a low-cost infant warmer. The Embrace infant warmer costs about 1% of a traditional incubator and is estimated to have helped over 250,000 babies to date. Most recently, Embrace Innovations launched a new line of baby products for the US market called Little Lotus Baby, which uses NASA inspired technology to keep babies at the perfect temperature so they can sleep better. They are using buy-one, give-one model: for every product sold, a baby is helped in a developing country by the Embrace infant warmer.

A.B. Stoddard is the associate editor and columnist for RealClearPolitics and a contributor and guest host for Sirius XM's POTUS channel. She is a former associate editor and Columnist with The Hill, where her column twice won first-place Dateline Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. She has published articles in the Boston Globe, Congressional Quarterly, and The Federal Paper and is known for her commentary on the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Stoddard also regularly appears on Fox's Special Report with Bret Baier and CNN's New Day as well as other shows on Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, CNN, and MSNBC. She addresses politics and elections.

Katty Kay is the senior editor and executive producer of OZY Media, and former lead anchor of BBC World News America. She has covered the world’s biggest news stories, and has interviewed scores of political dignitaries and business leaders. She is also the co-author of two New York Times best-sellers. She brings her skills to live events with outstanding results as either a moderator or keynote speaker. Her presentations are engaging, insightful, witty, and instinctively global.

General Ann Dunwoody is the former commanding general of the U.S. Army Materiel Command, one of the largest commands in the Army with more than 69,000 employees and presence in all 50 states and 145 countries. She was also the Army’s deputy chief of staff, G-4 (logistics) and supported the largest deployment and redeployment of U.S. forces since WWII. The first female four-star general, Dunwoody led many divisions at home and abroad, commanding at every level, and she addresses leadership, peak performance, leading change, visioning, and logistics.

Candy Crowley is CNN’s former award-winning, nonpartisan chief political correspondent and anchor of the Sunday morning talk show State of the Union with Candy Crowley. The Los Angeles Times called her “no-nonsense” and a “straight shooter,” characterizing her career as “sophisticated political observation, graceful writing, and determined fairness.” She was also the first woman to moderate a presidential debate in two decades. With years of experience, insider knowledge, and access to the day’s top newsmakers, she shares insights on the current state of politics and today’s headlines.

Charlotte Blank is Chief Behavioral Officer of Maritz. She leads the company’s practice of behavioral science and innovation, through expert applications of social psychology and behavioral economics. In this effort, Charlotte is striving to forge the connection between academic theory and applied business practice, elevating the use of field research to better make sense of human behavior in the evolving marketplace. Charlotte has led programs in neuromarketing, social media, and global branding during her ten years in the media and automotive industries, in which she worked in Innovation for Turner Broadcasting and various marketing roles for General Motors.

Heather Zichal was the first deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change. She offers audiences an illuminating glimpse into the complex world of energy policy. POLITICO called her “the most effective person…on energy issues at the White House.” She helped establish historic new fuel economy standards, reduce mercury pollution, and support clean energy deployment. The president’s most senior White House energy aide, she shares insights on our nation’s energy policy, the likelihood and ramifications of energy independence, and how policy affects the economy.