Skift Take
As we've said before, this is not a freakin' trade conference.
Skift Global Forum 2015 opens today.
We wanted to build something that showed the business and creative potential of the world’s largest industry. Take a day or two out, come, sit back, and listen, and we will promise you the best creative brainfood for the year.
This is year two, and we have grown exponentially since last year. The 2014 event was one day and 400 people, while today is two days and 800 people.
The people who will take the stage today and tomorrow are a showcase of the industry’s most creative, curious, and compelling voices; people who think about the future as much as we do every day. The audience is just as creative, too.
We work very hard with each speaker to get the best talk out of them — literally hours and hours are spent with each speaker. Last year there were 25 speakers and this year we have 37, spread over two days, each a rapid-fire session to keep the talk distilled to the best learnings out of it.
Where to Follow It
If you want to experience it live, we’ll see you at next year’s event. We’ll also be posting videos and excerpts of the event on Skift.com over the coming months.
For today, we will have extensive editorial coverage of the Forum sessions and social activity.
- For online coverage, go here on Skift.com. We’ll be posting highlights from each session.
- For social coverage on Twitter or Instagram, check out the hashtag of the Forum #skiftforum. We’ll also be retweeting social activity through our Twitter feed.
The full schedule for the Forum is below:
| October 14th Schedule | |||
| Session Title | Start Time | End Time | Description |
| Doors & Registration Open | 7:30 AM | ||
| Breakfast | 7:45 AM | 8:30 AM | |
| The Fault Lines of Disruption In The Global Travel Industry | 9:00 AM | 9:30 AM | Opening Introduction by Rafat Ali, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Skift |
| Reversing Your POV: A New Perspective on Hospitality | 9:30 AM | 9:50 AM | Mark Hoplamazian, President, Chief Executive Officer Hyatt Hotels Corporation |
| Future of Tourism Marketing for Iconic Tourism Brands | 9:50 AM | 10:05 AM | Fred Dixon, President, Chief Executive Officer NYC & Company |
| The Happiness Halo: The Unexpected Benefits From Applying Behavioral Science to Experience Design | 10:05 AM | 10:25 AM | Rick Wise, Chief Executive Officer Lippincott |
| Understanding the Socio-Cultural Impact of Travel on Societies | 10:25 AM | 10:45 AM | Geoffrey Kent, Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer Abercrombie & Kent Moderator: Wendy Perrin, Founder, WendyPerrin.com |
| Networking Break | 10:45 AM | 11:05 AM | Sponsored by Yahoo! |
| Special | 11:05 AM | 11:15 AM | Hate Selling: A Love Story A Sketch by Skift Comedy Troupe |
| Building a Travel Company Using Crowd Funding | 11:15 AM | 11:30 AM | Diego Saez-Gil, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder Bluesmart |
| Loudsourcing, the Inside World of Online Reviews | 11:30 AM | 11:45 AM | Camilla Vasquez, Ph.D., Discourse Analyst & Sociolinguist University of South Florida |
| Why the Right Kind of Travel Agent Survived and Thrived | 11:45 AM | 12:05 PM | Matthew Upchurch, Chief Executive Officer Virtuoso |
| Brand Talk Sponsored by: MasterCard |
12:05 PM | 12:20 PM | To Make Cities Better and To Make Better Cities Craig Vosburg, Chief Product Officer MasterCard |
| Lunch Break | 12:30 PM | 2:00 PM | Workshop sponsored by: Mindtree The Connected Traveler: How Digital is Transforming the Traveler Experience Paul Gottsegen, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, Mindtree Scott Nason, Travel, Transportation and Hospitality Consultant and Retired Vice President, American Airlines |
| Reinventing The Business of Tours For the Experiential Travel | 2:00 PM | 2:20 PM | Darrell Wade, Chief Executive Officer Intrepid Group Moderator: Jason Clampet, Co-Founder, Head of Content, Skift |
| The Future of City Branding | 2:20 PM | 2:40 PM | Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing |
| Art, Culture & the Experience Economy: Learning is the New Luxury | 2:40 PM | 2:55 PM | Craig Greenberg, President and Alice Gray Stites, VP, Museum Director 21c Museum Hotels |
| Why Visuals are the New Language of Engagement for Consumers | 2:55 PM | 3:10 PM | Jeremy Jauncey, Founder Beautiful Destinations |
| Brand Talk Sponsored by: Adobe |
3:10 PM | 3:20 PM | Creating the Next Golden Age of Travel Michael Klein, Head of Industry Strategy, Travel & Retail, Adobe |
| Networking Break | 3:20 PM | 3:40 PM | Sponsored by National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World |
| Building an Airport for the Future of Travel | 3:40 PM | 3:55 PM | Kim Day, Chief Executive Officer Denver International Airport |
| Building a Culturally Relevant Brand By Changing The Cultural Discussion | 3:55 PM | 4:20 PM | Jonathan Mildenhall, Chief Marketing Officer Airbnb Moderator: Rafat Ali, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Skift |
| Brand Talk Sponsored by: Amadeus |
4:20 PM | 4:30 PM | A Conversation About the Future of Travel Scott Alvis, Chief Marketing Officer, Amadeus and Rafat Ali, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Skift |
| Why Conversion is the Most Important Metric in Travel | 4:30 PM | 4:55 PM | Paul Hennessy, Chief Executive Officer Priceline.com Moderator: Dennis Schaal, News Editor, Skift |
| Closing Remarks | 4:55 PM | 5:00 PM | Rafat Ali, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Jason Clampet, Co-Founder, Head of Content, Skift |
| VIP Cruise | 5:30 PM | 9:00 PM | Sponsored by Hornblower Cruises, Adobe & SapientNitro *Ticket Holders Only* |
| October 15th Schedule | |||
| Session Title | Start Time | End Time | Description |
| Doors & Registration Open | 7:30 AM | ||
| Breakfast | 7:45 AM | 8:30 AM | |
| Day One Recap and Day Two Introductions | 9:00 AM | 9:30 AM | |
| How to Build an Airline Brand by Not Participating in the Premium Rat Race | 9:30 AM | 9:50 AM | Craig Kreeger, Chief Executive Officer Virgin Atlantic Moderator: Henry Harteveldt, Founder, Atmosphere Research Group |
| Why Obsessing Over Details is the Only Way to Build a Hospitality Brand | 9:50 AM | 10:10 AM | Ivanka Trump, Executive Vice President Trump Organization Moderator: Greg Oates, Senior Editor, Skift |
| Building a Tourism Brand Around Big Events (World Cup & Olympics) | 10:10 AM | 10:30 AM | Vinicius Lummertz, President Brazilian Tourism Board (Embratur) Moderator: Jason Camplet, Co-Founder, Head of Content, Skift |
| Networking Break | 10:30 AM | 10:50 AM | |
| Reinventing Cruises Through Exclusivity and Customization | 10:50 AM | 11:05 AM | Edie Rodriguez, Chief Executive Officer, President Crystal Cruises |
| The Right Way to Talk to Different Demographics Across the Guest Journey | 11:05 AM | 11:25 AM | Eric Pearson, Chief Information Officer InterContinental Hotels Group |
| On the Importance of Middle America that Travel Brands Ignore | 11:25 AM | 11:40 AM | Josh Lesnick, Chief Marketing Officer Wyndham Hotel Group |
| Changed Nature of Travel PR & Communications in a Digital First World | 11:40 AM | 12:05 PM | Kevin Shinkle, Senior Vice President, Chief Communications Officer Delta Air Lines Nancy J. Friedman, Founder & President Nancy J. Friedman Public Relations Moderator: Rafat Ali, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Skift |
| Brand Talk Sponsored by: Travel Channel |
12:05 PM | 12:15 PM | Moving Images: Upping the Creative Game in Travel Video Ross Babbit, Senior Vice President, Programming Travel Channel |
| Lunch | 12:30 PM | 2:00 PM | Workshop sponsored by: Underline Communications Engaging Travelers with Personalized Messaging Luke Daigle, Principal & Creative Director, Underline Communications Brian Lenhart, Director, Digital Marketing, American Express Travel & Lifestyle Services |
| The Growth Hacks that Turned Startups into Giants | 2:00 PM | 2:15 PM | Sasha Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer Fuzzy Compass Gillian Morris, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer Hitlist |
| The Evolution of the Travelogue, 1950’s and Into the Future | 2:15 PM | 2:35 PM | Chris Collins, Co-Founder/Executive Producer Zero Point Zero |
| Why Dining and Food is the Next Frontier of Disruption in Travel | 2:35 PM | 2:50 PM | Greg Hong, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Reserve |
| On the Growing Global Community of Black Travelers | 2:50 PM | 3:10 PM | Zim Ugochukwu, Founder Travel Noire |
| Brand Talk Sponsored by: Criteo |
3:10 PM | 3:20 PM | How the Mobile Revolution is Disrupting the Travel Industry James Smith, Executive Vice President, Americas Criteo |
| Networking Break | 3:20 PM | 3:40 PM | Sponsored by Sabre |
| Emerging Worlds of Corporate and Leisure Travel | 3:40 PM | 4:00 PM | Ninan Chacko, Chief Executive Officer Travel Leaders Group Moderator: Andrew Sheivachman, Reporter, Skift |
| Digital Habits of Air Travelers and What Brands can Learn From Them | 4:00 PM | 4:25 PM | Michael Small, Chief Executive Officer Gogo Moderator: Henry Harteveldt, Founder, Atmosphere Research Group |
| Creative Chaos: The New Future of Travel | 4:25 PM | 4:45 PM | Nick Gray, Founder, Chief Executive Officer Museum Hack and Company |
| Closing Remarks from Skift Founders | 4:45 PM | 5:00 PM | Rafat Ali, Chief Executive Officer and Jason Clampet, Head of Content |
| Closing Reception | 5:00 PM | 6:00 PM | Sponsored by Gogo\ |
And thanks to all the sponsors that made the Skift Global Forum 2015 possible: Adobe, American Express, Boxever, Big Bus Tours, CendyneOne, Cheapoair, Criteo, Gogo, HelloGbye, Hornblower Cruises, MasterCard, Mindtree, National Geographic, NewsCred, Sabre, SiteMinder, Travel Channel, TurkeyHome, Uber, Underline, Virtuoso, and Yahoo.
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