For Immediate Release
Kahane to Open ASQ World Conference
Global Leader Joins Shalala, Carroll as Keynote
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 3, 2007 – Adam Kahane, one of the world’s leading problem-solvers, will deliver the opening keynote speech at the American Society for Quality’s (ASQ) 2007World Conference on Quality and Improvement, http://wcqi.asq.org, April 30-May 2, 2007, at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla. Kahane will share his perspective on global business and social responsibility during his address, scheduled for 8:30 a.m., Monday, April 30.
Kahane, founding partner of Generon Consulting and author of Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities, has received international acclaim for his ability to help business, government and spiritual leaders resolve contentious conflicts in more than 50 countries throughout the world. Nelson Mandela has endorsed Kahane’s book saying it “addresses the central challenge of our time: finding a way to work together to solve the problems we have created.”
Formerly the head of Social, Political, Economic and Technological Scenarios for Royal Dutch/Shell in London, Kahane has also held positions with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (San Francisco), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (Paris) and the universities of Toronto, British Columbia, California and the Western Cape. He has been named one of the 16 outstanding individuals featured in Fast Company magazine’s first annual “Who’s Fast” and is a member of the Commission on Globalisation, the Aspen Institute’s Business Leaders’ Dialogue and the Global Business Network.
Kahane joins an impressive roster of speakers for the World Conference. Other keynote speakers include futurist and innovation expert Jim Carroll scheduled for 8 a.m., Tuesday, May 1, and internationally respected business leader and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala, scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Tuessday, May 1.
Session Highlights
The 2007 ASQ World Conference will also highlight innovation and leadership through industry-specific sessions on topics such as change management, social responsibility, virtual societies, systems thinking and customer value. There will also be general sessions filled with humor and learning including “Shaving Strokes with Six Sigma,” which will focus on how Lean strategies can help improve your golf game; and “Zero-Defect Dating: Finding and Maintaining a Quality Relationship” which will provide a light-hearted look at how process improvement can help to improve your personal relationships.
As one of the world’s largest professional organizations – including quality management
professionals and practitioners – ASQ represents all business and economic sectors around the world. From the Society’s historic base in U.S. manufacturing, it has long since expanded its expertise to advance quality tools and technologies for application in education and student achievement, as well as service industries, healthcare, nonprofits and government.
The American Society for Quality www.asq.org has been the world's leading authority on quality for 60 years. With more than 90,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement, and knowledge exchange to improve business results, and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide. As champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools, and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners, and everyday consumers, encouraging all to Make Good Great®. ASQ has been the sole administrator of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award since 1991. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the 60-year-old organization is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator, and also produces the Quarterly Quality Report.
