Keynotes

DIGIDAY:SOCIAL | SEPTEMBER 14, 2010 | NYC

Charlene Li, Founder, Altimeter Group

Charlene Li is founder of the Altimeter Group and the author of the New York Times bestseller, Open Leadership. She is also the coauthor of the critically acclaimed, bestselling book Groundswell, which was named one of the best business books in 2008.

She is one of the foremost experts on social media and technologies and a consultant and independent thought leader on leadership, strategy, social technologies, interactive media and marketing. Formerly Li was vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research and a consultant with Monitor Group. She was named one of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company in 2010 and one of the most influential women in technology 2009.

Charlene is a frequently-quoted expert and has appeared on 60 Minutes, The McNeil NewsHour, ABC News, CNN, and CNBC. She is also frequently quoted by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, Businessweek, USAToday, Reuters, and The Associated Press. She is a much-sought after public speaker and will be appearing at the World Business Forum in Radio City Music hall in October 2010. She has also presented frequently at top conferences such the American Society of Association Executives, SXSW, Web 2.0 Expo, and Search Engine Strategies.

Charlene is a graduate of Harvard Business School and received a magna cum laude degree from Harvard College. You can follow her blog at charleneli.com/blog or at twitter.com/charleneli

Kate Everett Thorp, CEO, Real Girls Media, Inc.

Pioneering. Crusading. Building something from nothing. That's what fuels the original Real Girl, Kate. Whether it's signing on with a nascent publisher called CNET, starting one of the first interactive ad agencies or masterminding a media network for women, Kate thrives at the vanguard, stirring up thought and unearthing opportunities.

Most recently, Kate was President, Digital Worldwide of AKQA. During her tenure, AKQA's client list expanded to include ESPN, The Gap, MSN and Coca-Cola's global account. Before joining AKQA, Kate was Chairman and CMO of Carat Interactive, the media giant that acquired Lot21, the agency she had founded. She got her start at the top-tier agencies of McCann Erickson and J. Walter Thompson.

Kate's perspective comes from seeing it from all sides – as an executive, advertiser, publisher and as a co-founder of the influential Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB). She and her companies have earned numerous accolades; Kate was named one of the Top 25 Women to Watch by Advertising Age and a 2005 Media All Star by OMMA. She was also inducted into the AAF Hall of Achievement for execs under 40. And, under her command, both Lot21 and AKQA have been named Agency of the Year.

Finally, this Real Girl is also a Real mother – of a nine-year old daughter and twin seven-year old boys. Phew!