Keynote Speakers

Brian Uzzi, PhD, is the Richard L. Thomas Distinguished Chair in Leadership at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, where his research uses social network analysis and complexity theory to understand outstanding human achievement in finance, consulting science and the arts. He is the author of Athena Unbound, a book on gender differences in science, and his research has appeared in leading scientific journals. Uzzi has taught around the world and served on the faculties of Harvard, INSEAD, University of Chicago and Berkeley. He lectures on leadership, persuasion and change and has won 12 teaching awards.

Presentation Title: Build a Better Leadership Network: Raise What You Know to the Power of Who You Know

In today's complex business environment, leaders need a diverse set of skills and knowledge to manage the challenges they face every day. In this session, Uzzi will share how leadership is gained by creating a network that provides access to people with a diverse set of skills and resources. Learn how to develop a better network to improve creativity, influence, silo hopping, client development and team and personal success using scientific research and empirically validated principles.

Rob Cross, PhD, is a professor of commerce at University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, where his research focuses on how relationships and informal networks in organizations can provide competitive advantage in knowledge-intensive work. He has worked with more than 300 organizations in a wide variety of fields to assess and develop strategically important networks. Cross is the author of Driving Results Through Social Networks and The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations, and has written eight book chapters and 42 articles, some of which have won awards at the Academy of Management.

Presentation Title: Leading in a Connected World: Driving Results through Networks

Now more than ever, organizations create value and drive innovation through networks. This session will share how successful leaders boost performance by managing and leveraging different parts of networks and how networks play a critical role in personal success and well-being. Cross also will illustrate how rising stars can undermine the effectiveness of networks by falling into one of six common network traps.