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Gel 2008 conference: initial speaker list
I'm happy to announce the initial speaker list for the Gel 2008 conference coming up on Thursday-Friday, April 24-25, 2008 in New York City.
Initial Gel 2008 speaker list (more to be announced):
• Alex Lee, president, Oxo International (creators of more than 500 easy-to-use kitchen tools and housewares)
• Bobby C. Martin Jr., design director, Jazz at Lincoln Center (who re-branded JALC recently and has a case study from Harlem to share)
• Bridget Duffy, chief experience officer, Cleveland Clinic (on the patient-centered efforts at this top-rated hospital)
• Chip Conley, CEO, Joie de Vivre Hospitality, and author of Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow (interview)
• Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery (whose excellent products we've included at every Gel conference)
• Lelavision - musicians, sculptors, performers (creative, resourceful, hard-to-describe artists)
• Natasha Schüll, assistant professor in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, MIT (researching addictive customer experiences)
• Phoebe Damrosch, author, "Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter" (former captain at a four-star NYC restaurant)
• Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal - comedians, musicians, filmmakers (performers of a now famous Facebook anthem, among others)
See speakers' headshots and links at Gel 2008.
Other aspects of Gel 2008
Thursday
We'll once again have a huge variety of options for your Day 1 experiences on Thursday. One change, based on attendee feedback, is that Thursday morning will offer several icebreakers for attendees to meet each other; Thursday afternoon will feature over a dozen "direct experiences" (tours, seminars, etc.) for attendees to rank.
Thursday afternoon slots are assigned by ticket-purchase date; buy early to get the best chance of being assigned to your number one choice.
Then Google will once again sponsor the Thursday night all-attendee party. Thanks, Google!
Friday
We're at a new venue this year: the TimesCenter, a newly opened theater designed by Renzo Piano in the HQ of the New York Times. It's really nice - plenty of catering space, lots of bathrooms, all in one venue (finally!).
The theater has fewer seats than our previous venue, so it's likely that Gel 2008 will sell out of theater tickets. If you're sure you want to attend, buy early. You'll also get a better price.
Room & Board will furnish our break room used for breakfast, coffee breaks, lunch, and cocktails - and will serve as a simulcast room in between: Thanks, Room & Board!
Need help convincing the boss?
• See who comes to Gel (last year's attendee titles & companies)
• Read what "Gel is..." in the words of attendees (such as "the only conference you need to attend, no matter what you do")
• Request a Gel 2007 DVD: if you plan to attend, you just have to promise to organize a group viewing of the DVD, so as to spread the word to coworkers or friends who also want to learn about Gel.
(Of course, if you buy by Dec. 12, we'll send you a Gel '07 DVD.)
• Finally, you can always watch Gel videos, including all of Gel 2005, online, any time, on the Gel videos page.
