First five Congress 2023 speakers announced.

We are pleased to announce our first five confirmed speakers for the 45th FIPP World Media Congress in Cascais, Portugal, from 6-8 June 2023. It’s the 45th edition of Congress.

Building on the success of the first Congress since the pandemic in 2022 — a sold-out event — the conference will again bring together media, media-tech and media association executives from around the world in picturesque Cascais, Portugal, on the outskirts of Lisbon.

Speakers

Our first five confirmed speakers are:

• Bonnie Kintzer, President and CEO, TMB, a Board Member of SILVERspac and Thryv, and Chairman of the Board of Reader’s Digest Foundation, USA;
• Jens Mueffelmann, Executive Chairman of Bonnier LLC, USA;
• Lance Johnson, CEO, Recurrent, and Operating Partner, North Equity, USA;
• Natasha Christie-Miller, CEO of Ascential Intelligence and Non-Executive Director and Chairwoman, Remco, UK; and
• Rafat Ali, CEO and Founder of Skift, and a Board Member of the International Women’s Media Foundation, USA.

 

See more about them below.

 

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Connect, learn, and enjoy

Congress will:

• Give our worldwide attendees ample opportunities to connect, share ideas build professional networks and do business.
• Pack an intensive, powerful speaker programme enabling attendees to consider the most pressing issues of our time, all within two days and presented by leading speakers worldwide.
• Offer the chance to enjoy the outstanding beauty of the coastal city of Cascais on the outskirts of Lisbon, sample fabulous Portuguese cuisine, and treat themselves to the vast array of experiences the region offers.

What 2022 attendees had to say

• Attendee from India: “It was my first Congress, but I must tell you it was a very insightful and engaging experience. My key takeaway was a perspective on existing and future business strategy. Furthermore, I realised it’s a great networking event where business alliances can take shape. Last but not least, the choice of the city and venue was just excellent.”
• Attendee from the US: It was GREAT to see you and be back at Congress in person and thanks again for having our panel discussion. We appreciate it more than you know, as there is much work to be done in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in our industry. Thanks also to Di5rupt for a wonderful and seamless conference – I hope you were able to enjoy Cascais afterwards!
• Attendee from Switzerland: “Truly great conference – perfectly pitched. Loved the location – keep that forever. Congrats, Cobus, on the programme – you are the best, really. Loved the focus on business -valuing, setting up etc., and also the Enders presentation. Loved the specialist workshops you developed. Lean into them and push them even further.”
• Attendee from Spain: It was a brilliant event. Many thanks for all your support.
• Attendee from South Africa: “I can only agree with the others. We are back in Cape Town full of inspiration and ideas.”
• Attendee from the UK: Thanks, Cobus and once again, congratulations to you all – it’s our first FIPP Congress, and I think we’re both assuming it’ll be a calendar fixture for the next few years based on what you guys made happen and pulled together. Obviously, we personally had a great time and met some great people – a win regardless of any more formal reasons to go! But without a doubt, the event has been very educational and positive from a purely business standpoint, meeting different types of organisations and media owners than we might usually do and hearing their problems etc. – it gave us a lot to think about and work with.
• Attendee from the UK: “It was great all around!”
• Attendee from the US: I hope you guys stuck around for a while to unwind and chill out. You deserved it. It was terrific. Not a negative word!

Message from FIPP and di5rupt

James Hewes, President and CEO of FIPP: The FIPP Board and I look forward to welcoming you to the 2023 Congress. Following the outstanding success of the 2022 FIPP Congress, we are delighted to be returning to Cascais in June of 2023 for the 45th FIPP World Media Congress. Working with our partners, Di5rupt, again, we look forward to welcoming delegates to the fabulous Portuguese coastline for another year of world-class speakers, fantastic networking opportunities and the chance to sample Portuguese hospitality. Following last year’s sold-out event, tickets for this year are sure to go fast, so don’t delay; book yours now. See you there!

Cobus Heyl, Co-founder, Di5rupt: John (Schlaefli, Co-founder) and I are delighted to be back in Cascais for another FIPP World Media Congress edition. We are already working hard to build on the success of 2022: Connecting with speakers and partners; collaborating with service providers and the venue. In 2023, you will find a core product that remains superb, with new additions to add further value to your experience in Cascais. Bring on 6-8 June 2023. Welcome to the 45th FIPP World Media Congress in Cascais!

Get tickets

Ticket sales will open from 17 October with our special launch offer. Sign up here to save on your tickets.

GET DISCOUNTED TICKETS

 

more about our first speakers

 

Bonnie Kintzer:

In a recent The Rebooting Show podcast episode with Brian Morrissey, who will also be at Congress 2023 as one of our on-stage hosts, Bonnie listed three critical ingredients for turnarounds:

• Turnarounds can be grinding affairs, filled with their fair share of downs and ups. “You have to be a certain kind of person to like turnarounds, and you have to surround yourself with those kinds of people,” Bonnie said. Enjoy the process.
• Be decisive. Tough decisions are inevitable. Putting them off isn’t going to make them any easier.
• Over-communicate. Change is hard and understandably unsettles people. “When I first got back, people didn’t believe that we could do it,” she said. “It was about constant communication and proof points that all of a sudden people [believe] we can do it.”

Jens Mueffelmann:

Jens was Chief Digital Officer at Axel Springer from 2004 to 2014 and CEO of Axel Springer Digital Ventures from 2014 to 2018. He was at the forefront of the group’s entry into the US market at a time when notable transactions included Stepstone, Airbnb, Runtastic, N26, Group Nine, Yad2, Business Insider, Uber and eMarketer, and a Classified JV with General Atlantic. Jens has an MEng/MBA from the Berlin Institute of Technology and a PhD in Organizational Transformation from a joint research project with Columbia University. 

Lance Johnson:

Before Recurrent, Lance was Head of Corporate Development of MIH Naspers in Silicon Valley, where he focused on group M&A activities and building portfolio-company relationships in the United States. MIH Holdings was a subsidiary of Naspers, the South African company perhaps best known for its investment in China’s Tencent and, of course, as the parent company of Media24 in South Africa. His investment portfolio has included Molekule, Salt Security, Unsplash, The Athletic, Perkbox, and more. Additional experience in media includes roles with Nokia and Yahoo’s mobile media business.

Natasha Christie-Miller:

Natasha started her career in sales and led the commercial teams on consumer brands such as Elle, Red and the Emap parenting portfolio. She took on the role of Publishing Director of Drapers, the fashion industry bible at Emap B2B in 2005, steadily progressing her career at Emap B2B over subsequent years. As CEO of Ascential Intelligence, she oversees the building of core, high-growth products in scale industries to deliver high-value intelligence and connections for influential, professional audiences.

Rafat Ali:

An early entrepreneur in digital media, Rafat was the Founder, Editor and Publisher of paidContent, an online media company covering the business of digital media, entertainment and information industries. He sold the company to UK-based Guardian News & Media in 2010. Having founded Skift in December 2011, Rafat is today recognised as one of the most influential figures in travel. Skift is an intelligence platform providing media, insights and marketing to key sectors of travel. 

We will announce several more speakers in weeks and months to come. All the while, of course, not neglecting planning for the other components of a successful Congress – our exhibition, meeting and networking spaces and different experiences to make your time in Cascais as memorable and valuable as possible.

More speakers to be announced in coming weeks and months!