Chicago Ideas Week Announces Speaker Lineup

CHICAGO, Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago Ideas Week (CIW), the annual seven-day celebration of ideas, innovation, and community geared towards turning provocative ideas into action, announced its speakers for this year's program, taking place October 8-14, 2012. As of today, tickets are currently on sale and details can be found at www.chicagoideas.com or by calling (800) 247-4360.

"Chicago Ideas Week is once again bringing together some of the world's top innovators and thinkers to share their ideas and engage with our vibrant Chicago community," said Brad Keywell, founder and co-chairman of Chicago Ideas Week. "By doubling the size of the event this year, we are continuing to build a platform for provocative ideas, bold thinkers, and active members of our community, creating an ecosystem that will spark new initiatives and ventures."

CIW will host over 130 thought-provoking Talks, Labs, and other events throughout the week with the goal of inspiring new perspectives and activating new relationships and initiatives. Events and speakers vary from a discussion on sustainable design by jewelry designer Monique Péan to a demonstration of the first humanoid robot by Dennis Hong. Other confirmed speakers include:

• David Gregory, moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press"
• Eva Paterson, president of Equal Justice Society
• Kohl Crecelius, CEO & Co-Founder of Krochet Kids International
• Chris Hughes, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, The New Republic
• Tim Ferriss, Best-Selling Author of  "4-Hour Work Week"
• Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Academy Award-Winning Journalist and Filmmaker
• Brandon Boyd, Artist and Lead Singer of Incubus

These speakers are some of the 200 innovators, creators and leaders presenting on themes such as social entrepreneurship, the future of food, military, explorers, the latest personal technology, philanthropy and giving, scientific breakthroughs, and more.

Chicago Ideas Week is generously supported by several integral partners, including: TIME, JPMorgan Chase, Starcom MediaVest Group, Leo Burnett Worldwide, MSLGROUP, Illinois Office of Tourism, University of Illinois, United Airlines, Hyatt, Microsoft, McCormick Foundation, Walgreens, The Joyce Foundation, Cars.com, Ernst & Young, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Magazine, Crain's Chicago Business, NBC 5 Chicago, WBEZ91.5, Lefkofsky Family Foundation, Grosvenor Capital Management, The Pritzker Group, Accenture, Turnstone, Boeing, CBRE, DLA Piper, and Harrington College of Design.

For more information on the CIW Member Program, interested parties may contact us at [email protected].

About Chicago Ideas Week

Chicago Ideas Week is a premier annual gathering of global thought leaders created to provoke new ideas and inspire actionable results. CIW is a platform of events and interactive experiences, created for innovators, thinkers, doers and interested citizens from across Chicago, the greater Midwest, and the world. CIW's goal is to stimulate new initiatives and ventures, create new connections and collaborations, and establish a community of people who have the desire to achieve great things. For more information, please visit www.chicagoideas.com or visit us on Twitter at @ChicagoIdeas for updates.

Media Contacts:
Jessica Malkin
Executive Director, Chicago Ideas Week
312.662.7708
[email protected]

Christie Shein
MSLGROUP 
312.861.5237
[email protected]

SOURCE Chicago Ideas Week