Speakers

Anderson Cooper is the anchor of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360°, a nightly newscast that goes beyond the headlines with in-depth reporting and investigations. Since the start of his career in 1992, Cooper has covered nearly all major news events around the world, often reporting from the scene. Most recently, he has extensively covered the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Egypt; the riots in Baltimore, MD, and Ferguson, MO; Pope Francis’s U.S. visit; and the terror attack at Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
 
Cooper has also played a pivotal role in CNN’s political and election coverage. He has anchored from conventions and moderated several presidential debates and town halls.
 
Cooper helped lead CNN's Peabody Award-winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina and DuPont award-winning coverage of the 2004 tsunami. Additionally, he has been awarded numerous Emmy Awards, including two for his coverage of the earthquake in Haiti, and an Edward R Murrow award.
 

An author, entrepreneur, and acclaimed international keynote speaker, Frans Johansson has addressed audiences around the world. His debut book, The Medici Effect, available in 20 languages, was named one of the "Best Books on Innovation" by BusinessWeek and one of the top 10 best business books of the year by Amazon. His follow up book, The Click Moment was named top 10 best business book of the year by Fast Company.

Johansson has advised some of the world’s leading organizations, including The Walt Disney Company, Nike, IBM, Caterpillar, CNN, Novartis, and American Express as well as startups, investment firms, government agencies, and universities around the world.

Raised in Sweden by his African-American/ Cherokee mother and Swedish father, Johansson has lived all his life at the Intersection. He has founded a software company, an international healthcare firm, and a hedge fund. Frans holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is the CEO of The Medici Group, the innovation and strategy firm he founded to put his ideas into practice with Fortune 500 companies.

Shiza Shahid is an entrepreneur, technologist, investor, and impact leader.
Shahid co-founded the Malala Fund with Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, and led the organization as founding CEO. She focused on creating access to high-quality education for all children around the world.
 
After launching NOW Ventures in Silicon Valley, in partnership with AngelList, Shahid now invests in mission-driven technology startups that are solving the world’s most pressing challenges through technology, innovation, and high-growth business models.
 
Shahid is renowned for her work, receiving many awards as a thought leader. She was named one of TIME’s “30 Under 30 People Changing the World,” Forbes “30 Under 30 – Social Entrepreneurs” and a Tribeca Institute Disruptive Innovator. She is a member of the WEF Global Agenda Council and has been featured in multiple publications, including Forbes, Fast Company, Elle, Glamour, Town and Country, The Edit, CNN, ABC, Al Jazeera, MSNBC, and others.

Simon​ ​Sinek​ ​is​ ​an​ ​unshakable​ ​optimist. He​ ​believes​ ​in​ ​a​ ​bright​ ​future​ ​and​ ​our​ ​ability​ ​to​ ​build​ ​it​ ​together.
 
Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Sinek teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people. With a bold goal to help build a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single day feeling inspired, feel safe at work, and feel fulfilled at the end of the day, Sinek is leading a movement to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. 

A trained ethnographer, Sinek is fascinated by the people and organizations that make the greatest, lasting impact in their organizations and in the world. Over the years, he has discovered some remarkable patterns about how they think, act and communicate and the environments in which people operate at their natural best. He has devoted his life to sharing his thinking in order to help other leaders and organizations inspire action.
 
Sinek may be best known for popularizing the concept of Why in his first Ted Talk in 2009. It rose to become the third most watched talk of all time on TED.com, with over 35 million views and subtitled in 45 languages. His interview on Millennials in the Workplace broke the internet in 2016. It garnered over 80 million views in a week and is now up to more than 200 million views, inspiring conversations on the subject around the world. He is the author of many bestselling books, including Start With​ ​Why:​ ​How​ ​Great​ ​Leaders​ ​Inspire​ ​Everyone​ ​to​ ​Take​ ​Action.