Speakers

Ames Bros

Entrepreneurship and design

Growing up in the dust bowls of Montana has undoubtedly influenced every project that the Ames Bros work on. There, without money or much to do, they aquired an active imagination and a sense of humor. While fifty percent of their spare time was spent constructing faulty bike jumps and feeding farm animals, the other fifty percent was dedicated to drawing and telling jokes. Beyond farm equipment logos and the two sci-fi books in the school library, the little bit of “art” culture that leaked in was soaked up like a sponge. Whether it was the back of a Fruity Pebbles box, Mad Magazine, Marvel Comics, or Fraggle Rock, they took note. MORE ›

Mike Bonifer

Improvisation for Business in the Networked World

The author of GameChangers - Improvisation for Business in the Networked World, and the co-founder of GameChangers, LLC, Mike Bonifer has consistently been in the forefront of emergent media in the workplace. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Business and Philosophy, he has been a writer, director, producer and creative executive in entertainment and the internet for most of his career. Beginning with his work as the publicist for the motion picture TRON, and his association with Toy Story, through a stint as the Chief Storyteller for 2007’s Live Earth concerts for the environment, his work at the edges of emerging business cultures has given him tremendous insight into the creation of wealth in the Networked World. Past and present clients include The Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios, DreamWorks, Frito-Lay, Merrill Lynch Japan, Mountain Dew, Franklin-Covey, Hot Topic, Smithsonian Online, News Corporation and a host of smaller, innovative new media and marketing companies like ignition, Inc., Twelve Horses, and Astrotext. In creating GameChangers, he has produced a curriculum that helps organizations and entrepreneurs perform innovatively and successfully in the new realities of the global business economy.

Christina Harbridge

Communication with a Twist - no sugar added.

As a young woman, Christina Harbridge was so terrified at the thought of public speaking she broke out into a rash when asked to present a simple toast as best man at her friend David’s wedding. She still regrets handing the microphone to Bob instead of speaking for her best friend. MORE ›

It is not the sort of story one would expect from a woman who has received the McCarty/Ferber Award for meritorious public service; a few accommodations from members of legislature, the Hershey Award for communication; and the Larry Cassidy Legislative Award for lobbying. It is exactly the sort of memory that allows Harbridge to connect with her audience, whether it be the United States House of Representatives or a group of neighborhood mothers learning to advocate for green space. According to Harbridge, the keystone for powerful, convincing communication is the same at every level: Be yourself. It is this fundamental principle upon which Harbridge has based her life and career, transforming the rules of business along the way.

While still a college student, Harbridge faced the reality of becoming sole provider and primary care giver for her father who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She scanned the help-wanted ads and applied for a collector position, thinking the job would involve handling antiques. The error would reform and revolutionize the collections industry. After a couple of years in the business, she decided she had a mission: to change the way corporate America dealt with debt: To turn a collection call into a sales call. Harbridge created a communications protocol that led to debtors sending thank you letters, and an occasional wedding invitation, along with 3+ times the industry average in payments.

By 2006, when Harbridge sold her agency, Bridgeport Financial Inc. was listed in the top 4% of business revenue in the country and named one of the “Top 100 Fastest Growing Businesses in the Bay Area”—four years in a row—by the San Francisco Business Times.

Described in the press as “the friendly collection company” whose annual percentage collected far exceeded industry standard, Harbridge was invited as an expert to appear on The Maury Povich Show. It proved to be bad television: after an hour in the green room with Harbridge, the debtors and their heretofore adversarial creditors emerged illuminated, lighthearted, and laughing. She was not asked to return to the show, a badge she wears proudly.

As Bridgeport became ever more successful, companies across the country were motivated to mimic Harbridge’s progressive, and fundamentally human, communication protocol. Harbridge turned her attention to the medical field; teaching people how to talk to one another improved both the quality of life for patients and the bottom line for her clients. It was only a matter of time before politicians and business leaders from every field began to seek out her refreshing perspective and common sense approach to commerce and Congress. She realized this communication protocol she created could be easily translated to any person or business needing transformative relationship-oriented communication.

While heading Bridgeport Financial, Harbridge served as President of the California Association of Collectors; Public Relations Chair of ACA International; Director of the ACA International; President of the Executives Association of San Francisco; and President of CUBS West Coast Users Group. Her talent for reaching people and teaching them how to communicate far exceeded even her formidable gift for finance. In 2006, citing a much wider world in need of fail-proof communication tools, Harbridge sold Bridgeport Financial, which remains a top earner, and founded Allegory and continued her belief, “The human relationship is the true currency.”

Harbridge lives in the Bay Area with her mischievous toddler Sebastian James. In her free time, she collaborates on large-scale metal sculpture performance art and getting women into elected office. Her new training company, Allegory, is transforming communication and leadership in delightful and innovative ways.

David LaPlante

Social networks and real impact

David brings 17 years of marketing, sales, customer relationship management (CRM) and direct marketing applications development experience to Twelve Horses and its global base of customers, including Deloitte, Reynolds & Reynolds, Fifth Third Bank, Red Herring, JPMorgan Chase and other global enterprises. David was named “Marketer of the Year” by Northern Nevada’s American Marketing Association in 2004, and the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada recognized Twelve Horses as its “2005 Business of the Year.” Consistent with his passion, David was recently appointed as chairman of the State of Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology, and serves on the board of the Reno-Tahoe Entrepreneur’s Organization. To learn more about David visit his blog at www.davidlaplante.com.

Michael Osborne

Connections that shaped MOD

Michael Osborne is President and Creative Director of the San Francisco-based graphic design firm, MOD/Michael Osborne Design, Inc. Established in 1981, the firm’s work in corporate/brand identity, package design, and print collateral has been recognized by many competitions for outstanding design, including the West Coast Show, American Institute of Graphic Arts, and the Clios. MOD’s work is on display in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, and the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. MOD’s work has also been featured in Graphis, Communication Arts, The Society of Typographic Arts, American Institute of Graphic Arts, How Magazine, Print, and Step Inside Design Magazine. Michael also designed the 2002 and 2004 Love Stamps for the USPS.

Rob Wallace

Strategic partnerships outside of design

Rob will tell you that he has the world’s most engaging job. As Managing Partner of Wallace Church Inc., a Manhattan-based brand identity strategy and package design consultancy, Rob works with some of the world’s smartest and most successful consumer brand marketers inclusing P&G, Nestlé, Kraft, Unilever, Heinz, Miller Brewing, Dell, Brown-Foreman and more than a three dozen other global consumer brand corporations. Often referred to as “the thought-leader on design’s return on investment”, Rob sees his primary goal as proving that brand identity/package design is a marketer’s single most effective profit-driving tool.