In 2016, Ezra Klein joined us at Spring Seminar to discuss how the voices of an emerging generation — millennials — were gaining influence in the workforce and marketplace. At the time, he was a Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Vox. Now, Ezra joins us again — as a powerfully influential thinker among the most established at the New York Times, the literal voice of his eponymous podcast (which was named a Best Podcast in 2021 by Time, Vulture, Esquire and The Atlantic), and the author of the needle-moving book, “Why We Are Polarized.” We’ll reverse the seats on this seasoned interviewer (who regularly engages in deep dialogue with some of the world’s top artists, political thinkers, journalists, musicians and policy-makers such as Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain, acclaimed philosopher Noam Chomsky and policy expert Fiona Hill) when Spring Seminar Chair Ethan McCarty asks Ezra to share his thoughts on the nature of global influence, his own rising influence, and maybe even his secret recipe for vegan banana bread – or something. Klein influences the daily actions of millions of people and you’ll have a front row seat to this revealing conversation.

Fortune recently asserted that Artificial intelligence (AI) just had its “iPhone moment” – systems like ChatGPT and DALL-E now occupy the foreground of public consciousness. AI that’s based on “large language models” just might revolutionize the world of writers and content creators (and it’s certainly giving high school composition teachers a run for their money). In this fun and informative session, Dan and Kevin will take a not-too-technical step beyond “ChatGPT 101” to share practical examples of how to integrate ChatGPT into our work and what to watch out for.

We’ve long talked about earning a ‘seat at the table’ and many of us have done so. Now what? With Chiefs for peers (of finance, technology, human resources, marketing, operations and more) how might we make the most of these crucial relationships? The CCO as connector, strategist and business visionary is in a prime position to Influence the most influential people in an organization by forming multiparty, mutually valuable networks of relationships. Our panel will talk about how relationships with their peers, the CCO chief among them, have made a powerful difference in their own executive suites.

Our Peer Connections will invite you to reflect and connect with your colleagues on speaker insights. These meaningful conversations shift you into an active learning state, while building new relationships. Most importantly, Peer Connection moments will support your ability to translate and integrate what you learn at the conference, increasing your return on participation.

A new approach to influence — through human connection and community — has emerged among the most successful brands contending with customers savvy to automated personalization. Based on his bestselling books, “Marketing Rebellion,” and, “Belonging to the Brand,” Mark Schaefer will share the latest consumer research revealing an entirely new mindset necessary to meaningfully connect with customers, employees and investors. Communication executives are ideally positioned to “humanize” marketing, sales and customer service, and employee-focused processes based on extensive knowledge of designing live experiences, shaping culture, connecting people and developing narratives. Mark Schaefer’s session will inspire us to enable our organizations to build brilliant businesses — even when customers are in charge.

Wait, you thought you were coming to a conference… now it’s an unconference? Yep, you read that right. We’ve reserved two hours to satisfy our perennial desire for more time mixing it up with — and learning from — one another. The idea is simple — Spring Seminar participants (that includes you) provide both the topics and the content for these dynamic conversations. Unconference formats allow everyone to converse about what interests us the most. No presentations, just people with experience, curiosity and ideas about highly relevant topics. You don’t have to be an expert to pose a question and suggest a topic — simply ask peers about what you find intriguing, compelling, exciting or puzzling. There are limited time slots available and dedicated spaces where each self-selected group will meet and engage (physically and virtually). As a participant, you can suggest a topic, attend multiple topics, stay put or even invent new ways to connect. Given the remarkable combined network of Page and Page Up world-changers, the unconference promises powerful  insights and real connections with people you admire and respect.

Do you dread those deadly report outs after breakouts? We get it. That’s why we do things differently in the main room when we return from the unconference. Instead of hearing from each conversation group, our facilitator will engage the whole room in an interactive conversation to tease out surprises, wisdom and actionable ideas from the unconference.

Wouldn’t it be nice if influence were uniquely deployed for the good of all? Alas, it’s not. Bust out your hand sanitizer for a session bound to go viral – we’ll hear about the psychology behind disinformation and strategies for tackling it. From algorithms susceptible to manipulation to outright lies -- disinformation is one of the most significant problems in society, disrupting elections and costing companies billions of dollars annually. As the old saying goes, “bad news travels at light speed, good news takes the scenic route.” These expert panelists from business and academia will share research-driven insights to help us as communicators to better understand and defuse the dark side of influence.

8:45 – 9:05 a.m.  Emily Goodson, Writer, Speaker and Start-Up Advisor Emily Goodson is a remarkable entrepreneur, speaker, writer, and educator making an impact at the intersection of branding, workplace culture, diversity, and inclusion. She specializes as an advisor to major brands and start-ups and applies the lessons learned from her lived experience with disability to help people succeed and lead happy lives. Emily will reveal what it takes to develop and share your voice and identity in a world predisposed to considering you all but invisible. 9:05 – 9:25 a.m. Howard Pyle, Founder, Experience Futures  A new digital divide has emerged that creates barriers in design and content for aging users, low-income households, and users with disabilities and neurodiversity in a world where essential services are increasingly available only online. Howard Pyle has worked for more than two decades integrating design, technology, and creativity - from leading startups to running global design at Fortune 100 companies. He helps organizations align social impact and business goals by creating more personalized and inclusive digital experiences for underserved communities. As the CEO and Founder of Experience Futures, Howard will share how emerging technologies and methods can scale influence to serve stakeholders — and stand out in a sea of dark patterns, digital  haves-and-have-nots, and experiential siloes rife with friction. 9:25 – 9:45 a.m.  Jennah Blau, Publisher, Education, TikTok The democratization of social media has had many profound impacts  on corporate narratives, but perhaps one of the most profound is that influence is now synonymous with authenticity. How do you construct an effective and influential narrative when you start out with a “motive”? Jennah Blau will share tips on how to leverage social media effectively to authentically amplify your brand voice and values. She will explain the current shift from influencer driven industry to a creator culture and help us understand the new rules for working with them. Her fresh approach will help you harness the power of authentic influence effectively and ethically. 9:45 - 10:05 a.m. Facilitated Q&A Read morehas emerged that creates barriers in design and content for aging users, low-income households, and users with disabilities and neurodiversity in a world where essential services are increasingly available only online. Howard Pyle has worked for more than two decades integrating design, technology, and creativity - from leading startups to running global design at Fortune 100 companies. He helps organizations align social impact and business goals by creating more personalized and inclusive digital experiences for underserved communities. As the CEO and Founder of Experience Futures, Howard will share how emerging technologies and methods can scale influence to serve stakeholders — and stand out in a sea of dark patterns, digital  haves-and-have-nots, and experiential siloes rife with friction. 9:25 – 9:45 a.m.  Jennah Blau, Publisher, Education, TikTok The democratization of social media has had many profound impacts  on corporate narratives, but perhaps one of the most profound is that influence is now synonymous with authenticity. How do you construct an effective and influential narrative when you start out with a “motive”? Jennah Blau will share tips on how to leverage social media effectively to authentically amplify your brand voice and values. She will explain the current shift from influencer driven industry to a creator culture and help us understand the new rules for working with them. Her fresh approach will help you harness the power of authentic influence effectively and ethically. 9:45 - 10:05 a.m. Facilitated Q&A

Our Peer Connections will invite you to reflect and connect with your colleagues on speaker insights. These meaningful conversations shift you into an active learning state, while building new relationships. Most importantly, Peer Connection moments will support your ability to translate and integrate what you learn at the conference, increasing your return on participation.

Advocacy organizations represent diverse communities and issues and also represent a massive collaboration opportunity for businesses – not only to identify and pursue ESG and DEI goals, but also to understand, reach and activate stakeholders in a variety of ways. Advocacy groups with experience and expertise in consulting with companies on social issues can also benefit from these relationships in reaching their own objectives. In this fast-paced conversation, our moderator and panelists will delve into the fertile possibilities of business/advocacy partnerships and lift the curtain on actual examples that achieve significant, measurable results. 

Page Spring Seminar 2023 opened with influencer Ezra Klein and closes with an influencer of influencers, CEO Chris Foster. As CEO of Omnicom, Foster oversees a global organization comprised of many agencies whose primary purpose is to influence the ideas of others. In this conversation with Page Chair Brian Lott, they’ll explore massive changes in the way influence works in a dispersed and complex global business environment. How can agencies and clients work together more effectively as so many dimensions of reputation and brand become 1:1, relationship-driven, and personalized? What are the leadership challenges of leading a broad range of independent, specialized “sub-brands”? How do identity and influence intertwine and play out on a global stage across nations and cultures? These are just some of the questions to be explored in this compelling finale to our conference.