meet rock concerts”. That’s why the choice
of speakers is so critical to the success of
the conference. They’re looking for people
who are engaging, have a message that’s
relevant to the challenges businesses are
facing, and are able to deliver that mes-
sage in a captivating presentation.
Surprisingly, about eight out of 10 times the
keynote is not the highest rated speaker
post-event, Novais said. Though their ce-
lebrity status can be instrumental in attract-
ing attendees, the lineup for each event
is so well-planned that participants come
away with a variety of favourite speakers.
Organizing and running each event leaves
little time to enjoy all of the speakers, but
Novais takes time to watch the recorded
sessions after the conference. For Novais,
it is Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield who
stands out most among the myriad of big
names that have graced The Art Of stage.
“The fact that he was a small town boy
who decided he had some big aspirations
and was able to command a spacecraft,
escort Soviet bombers out of Canadian
airspace, live in a research vessel at the
bottom of the ocean and then parlay that
into becoming a YouTube sensation is re-
96 business elite canada
H
JULY 2015
