The sixth annual Fast Company Innovation Festival will feature newsmakers in business, the arts, and social impact for a week of keynote conversations, panel discussions, immersive workshops, and one-on-one mentoring, led and curated by Fast Company journalists.
The festival, which will be virtual for the first time, will take place Oct. 5-9.
Confirmed keynote speakers include Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey, cofounders of Team Downey, an entertainment company that produces film, television and digital programming. Robert Downey Jr. is an award-winning actor known for his performance as Iron Man in nine Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Susan Downey’s production credits include The Brave One, Gothika and House of Wax.
Other confirmed headliners are Hans Vestberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, Nasdaq president and CEO Adena Friedman, actress and clean fragrance entrepreneur Michelle Pfeiffer, Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimhan, and writer, producer, and actor Lena Waithe.
The festival, which will be virtual for the first time in its history, will offer a mix of in-depth interviews and lively panel discussions. A series of interactive career and productivity workshops will be led by experts such as Art Markman, a professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas at Austin, and leaders such as Shellye Archambeau, a Silicon Valley executive and author of the forthcoming book Unapologetically Ambitious. This year’s festival will also include an opportunity for attendees to participate in personalized mentoring sessions, a new feature.
The theme of the festival, “Innovation for Good,” seeks to highlight the ways individuals and organizations have turned their energies to address systemic challenges that have surfaced during the pandemic and subsequent economic and social crises.
Visit the Innovation Festival website for early-rate ticket purchase information, a list of speakers, and more details on sessions and Virtual Visits. Additional speakers and sessions will be announced in the coming weeks.
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.
