As a former President of Poland, Alexsander Kwasniewski provides a powerful example of effective global leadership. Whether shepherding a country in transition from communism, negotiating complex international agreements, navigating political relationships with controversial world leaders, or chairing the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, he has faced a myriad of leadership dilemmas, opportunities, and challenges. This interview with Page member Margery Kraus, founder and executive chairman of APCO Worldwide,  will include a discussion of current geopolitical events and provide illuminating  insights garnered from President Kwasniewski’s vast experience and wisdom, including what he learned from transforming a communist country to a modern society integrated into the world. You will leave this session with a better understanding of how to build an environment where people who have greatly differing motives and objectives can come together to create extraordinary results.

The SDGs will not be achieved if we do not radically change our behaviors – as professionals and citizens. WEF and COP have demonstrated again: Our global challenges can only be overcome if business becomes part of the solution. In our global market economy, corporates must be rewarded for their efforts – a prerequisite is a standardized measurement framework to make the sustainable value creation of companies comparable. The not-for-profit Value Balancing Alliance brings together multinational companies and partners. Together, they develop and test methodologies to integrate natural, human, and social capital performance data into accounting and statements next to traditional financial information. By demonstrating the total value created by business models in a table which is easy to digest, report, and communicate, the relevant information will be disclosed to the market to change decision making towards an impact-based economy. Measuring total sustainable value creation allows CCOS to quantify the value of stakeholder relationships thus monetizing the impact of building and protecting the corporate reputation.

Christian Heller, CEO of the Value Balancing Alliance and Co-chair of the Sustainable Finance Advisory Committee to the Federal Government of Germany, will explain their approach in a Fireside Chat and explore what has already been achieved, what barriers  need to be overcome, and how companies can benefit from the VBA approach.

Christopher Storck, Partner at FGS Global and Professor of Strategy and Communication Management at Quadriga University Berlin will guide through the conversation.

The rapid adoption of AI is an unstoppable force in modern society. The question is, how do we use, develop, and channel it responsibly and effectively?   Jon Iwata, a Page Member and the Founding Executive Director of The Data & Trust Alliance and our panel will delve into the business, governance, and regulatory implications of AI and how it is transforming media and the relationship between CCOs and journalists. They will also explore the role of the CCO in leading discussions around transparency, ethics and efficacy and include practical insights about the use of generative AI for communication applications such as listening, creating, predicting and guiding stakeholder engagement.

In her recent report on disinformation, UN Special Rapporteur Irene Kahn came to an important conclusion: “Multi-faceted, multi-stakeholder responses, grounded in international human rights law, are the most effective way of building resilience against disinformation.” Page Member and author Bob Pearson’s research and teaching focus on how bad actors use media tools, techniques and platforms to disinform, censor and interfere with society. Together, Khan and Pearson will engage in a compelling conversation about disinformation and how CCOs, with their deep expertise in multi-stakeholder engagement, can address this existential challenge that is not only a threat to organizations, but also a global threat to civil society.

A recent Fortune commentary noted that the significant presence of businesses at COP28 signaled a new era in public-private cooperation in facing global challenges and that “even the China-based Asian Investment Infrastructure Bank (AIIB) urged closer public-private cooperation to close the climate funding gap.” As the balance of power in the world shifts, CCOs and other leaders must be cognizant of the facts surrounding China’s crucial leadership role and the evolution of its approach to global business and governance. The challenge is to move beyond the Party line to understand how China views this power shift and the implications for the rest of the world. Our speakers will provide new insights into what CCOs need to know. This session will be conducted under the Chatham House Rule.

Our fresh approach to this year’s Hot Topics session begins with your input as to what you see as the most pertinent, up-to-the-minute topics that merit discussion with your peers. Given the pace of change and disruption in the world, we will likely discuss something that may have occurred very recently. The session is designed to maximize peer sharing by guiding you through a series of conversations in very small groups as well as share your voices with the full room. Last year’s Hot Topics session was highly rated and we expect this one will be a conference highlight as well.

Mourad Merzouki, is the official choreographer for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games and he will be responsible for a large portion of the Olympic “dance parade.” His creation of the “danse des Jeux” combines classical music, break dancing, sports and advanced technology as inspiration.

We will hear from him about his notion of the concept of “leadership” as it relates to choreography and learn how he manages to “lead” disparate artists as he weaves an artistic, emotional experience that combines differing perspectives in new ways. This illuminating conversation will provide insights into how CCOs can help leaders build bridges between diverse stakeholders both inside and outside their organizations.

In a highly complex geopolitical context, how should communication executives structure, scale, and lead their communication organizations? Successfully engaging vast numbers of internal and external stakeholders is increasingly challenging in a world that’s exploding with information that’s not only accelerating in volume but also experiencing a deafening noise-to-signal ratio. Michaël Nathan will talk about his experience in not only leading the SIG for France but also how his current work is informed by his previous work as a corporate communicator. You will leave this session with key insights on how his work in transforming communication in the French government relates directly to the challenges you face in communicating in corporations in the same global context - regardless of where you are located and what type of communication organization you lead.

Over the past two decades living in Paris, popular columnist and author Simon Kuper has seen it globalize, gentrify, and be shocked into realizing its role as the crucible of civilizational conflict. Sometimes it's a multicultural paradise, and sometimes it isn't. Paris is providing a new center of gravity for European leadership and is acutely experiencing the effects of changes in the global media landscape and financial, social, and foreign policy. Kuper will move between the personal and the political in this conversation with Brian Lott as he shares stories about his worldview as well as his authentic experiences with a unique city that has glittered in the imaginations of people from all over the world for centuries.

As a former French elite athlete who participated in the 1996 Olympics, Mr. Thobois brings tremendous credibility to his role of CEO of the Paris Olympics. He is no stranger to managing the multi-stakeholder and international leadership demands of the position. With a degree from ESCP Europe Business School, and having held leadership positions within numerous major international sporting event organizations, Thobois’ leadership perspective is infused with a strong belief in the societal value of sport, the importance of inclusivity, and the imperative to address sustainability in business endeavors. Whether in sports or in business, Thobois understands how to encourage and optimize high performance. In this conversation, we’ll learn how he manages to bring together a global network of thousands of stakeholders to accomplish the gargantuan task of envisioning and executing the sporting event non pareil.

Join your peers for a group tour of the Louvre Museum that will visit major highlights of this massive maze of some of the world’s greatest art treasures. English translations will be available on headphones, or you can practice your French with the museum guides who will lead two groups of 20 Spring Seminar participants on this smashing tour of an iconic art experience.

The total of 40 participants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Groups will assemble in the hotel lobby at 2:00 p.m. to walk over to the Louvre.

First tour 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Second tour 2:45 - 3:45 p.m.