Fast Company Innovation Festival to feature Kerry Washington, Tory Bur
The fourth annual Fast Company Innovation Festival will feature newsmakers in business, the arts, and philanthropy, who will headline a week of interactive field trips, immersive workshops, and insightful panel discussions and interviews led by Fast Company journalists.
Confirmed speakers for keynote conversations include actress, director, producer, and activist Kerry Washington; Academy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer; entertainment executive and investor Scooter Braun; Ford Foundation president Darren Walker; Apple executive and former EPA chief Lisa Jackson; entrepreneur and philanthropist Diane von Furstenberg; Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd; and CEO and chief creative officer Tory Burch.
Keynote panels and interviews will be held at the 92nd Street Y, the legendary cultural and community center on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The festival will take place at various locations throughout New York City on October 22-26.
The theme of this year’s festival, “The Future Is Creative,” seeks to underscore the importance of creativity, inclusiveness, and innovation to companies and leaders as technological change promises to disrupt business as usual. Additional keynote conversations include Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian in conversation with Spanx founder and CEO Sara Blakely on culture, values, and leadership. Jason Blum, founder of Blumhouse Productions (Get Out, BlacKkKlansman) will share the stage with Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, to discuss new business models in media.
Once again, the centerpiece of the festival will be Fast Company’s trademark Fast Tracks—experiential site visits to the offices of some of the world’s most innovative companies. Dozens of companies and institutions will open their doors to festivalgoers during the week, including Nike, Shinola, Red Antler, BuzzFeed, Casper’s Dreamery, Make It Nice (the restaurant group that includes Eleven Madison Park, NoMad, and Made Nice), SYPartners, Droga5 and Second Child, Equinox, CookFox Architects, R/GA, Universal Standard, Tommy John, Upright Citizens Brigade, and more.
Additional panel conversations, workshops, and curated networking sessions will take place at the festival’s Innovation Hub at 237 Park Avenue.
The festival is sponsored by Intel, Prudential, Post-it Teamwork Tools, Dell Small Business, Intrinsic Wine Co., Johnson & Johnson, Lincoln MKC, PWC, TSX Broadway, Grant Thornton, Arbor Day Foundation, and Lippincott.
Visit the Innovation Festival website for ticket purchase information, a list of speakers, and more details on sessions and Fast Tracks. Additional speakers and sessions will be announced in the coming weeks.