Village Gamer

More than 1,200 movers and shakers from the international business community will gather in Montreal at the end of May for a new breed of business conference focussed on commerce and creativity: C2-MTL. With a few weeks to go, the program and the already stellar list of speakers are being enhanced.

The first edition of C2-MTL will come out of the gate with a roar. Marc Chapman, Managing Partner, Global Strategy & Transformation Leader with IBM Global Business Services (GBS) will discuss on the night of May 22 the findings of the 2012 edition of the Global CEO Study, which will have been officially released by IBM the very same day. The Global CEO Study is a major survey of hundreds of CEOs around the world that serves as a touchstone for the global business community.

“We are very pleased that IBM has chosen to share the findings of its 2012 Global CEO survey at C2-MTL,” said Jean-François Bouchard, President of Sid Lee and the main idea-man behind the event. “The 2010 edition of the study sent shock waves through the business community. It ranked creativity as the top factor in business success: creativity was described as the most strategic management skill for CEOs in all industries. That was in fact one of the findings that prompted the organizers of C2-MTL to mount an international conference on the interconnection between commerce and creativity.”

This year, the innovative business magazine Fast Company will be celebrating its eagerly awaited “100 Most Creative People in Business” in Montreal, during C2-MTL. Thousands of CEOs of businesses involved in technology, innovation and design will be watching as several prominent personalities featured in the 2012 and 2011 editions will be reunited in Montreal for what promises to be a memorable night. Previous editions of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business” have featured figures from various horizons such as artists Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, Al Jazeera’s director general Wadah Khanfar, Apple’s senior VP of iPhone software Scott Forstall, and writers/creators Conan O’Brien and Tina Fey.

For the occasion, C2-MTL attendees will all be invited to a unique happening at the PHI Centre, Montreal’s brand new temple of culture. To be housed in a heritage building in Old Montreal that is currently being restored, the PHI Centre will be a state-of-the-art multi-purpose arts complex able to accommodate all types of activities: performing arts, multisensory exhibits, screenings, lectures, etc.

C2-MTL continues to attract innovation leaders. Four more high-profile panelists have signed on:

• Tim Barber, Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director at Odopod, a San Francisco-based Nurun company focused on creating new products and services that enable its clients to thrive in a connected world
• Social media guru Bonin Bough, Vice President of Global Digital and Consumer Engagement at Kraft Foods
• Michael Yanover, head of business development at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a renowned Los Angeles agency that represents some of the biggest names in showbiz and pro sports, including Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Sidney Crosby and David Beckham
• Shashi Caan, designer, educator, and founder of The Collective (US/UK), an international, multidisciplinary architecture and design firm. Mrs. Caan is also the current President of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI).

These four latest recruits will have to think on their feet: they will be panelists at an unconventional “Burning Questions” session. The topic will be determined by C2-MTL attendees just 24 hours in advance.

These panelists join a star-studded cast of speakers that includes former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, director Francis Ford Coppola, Google CFO Patrick Pichette, Cirque du Soleil CEO Daniel Lamarre and AOL Huffington Post Media Group Editor in Chief Arianna Huffington.