John Edwin Mein is a Brazilian, born in Recife Brazil. After receiving his Masters in International Business from Thunderbird School of Global Management, in Arizona, he worked in the International area of a US Bank, in business promotion for the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil, and in business development for American and Brazilian companies. He was president of the American Chamber in Brazil for 13 years, during which it became the largest American Chamber outside the US.

John Edwin Mein led the efforts to organize and is the Executive Coordinator of the Alliance for Modernization of Logistics and Foreign Trade  - PROCOMEX. The PROCOMEX Alliance is a coalition of 70 business associations with the common objective of modernizing Brazilian customs processes as a means to increase the country’s competitiveness. The operational arm of the coalition is the Instituto Aliança Procomex which is maintained by over 40 companies.

John is the president of CONSENTES – Institution Building, a consulting company to companies, associations and NGOs in the areas of planning, organizational and business development, communication, social responsibility and public policy.

John is on the board of SOBEET - The Brazilian Institute to Study Transnational Enterprises and Globalization, and was its president from 2005 to 2007.

John has been a member of the board of Transparency Brazil since its inception.

John is a member of the Private Sector Consultative Group of the World Customs Organization.

Co-author of the book Carry A Chicken in Your Lap—Or Whatever it Takes to Globalize Your Business (NY: St Martins, 2009), Mr. Johnson has worked in the international arena since the 1970s, and has run his own businesses worldwide since 1985. He has helped employers and clients to tackle international problems effectively and affordably, from selecting optimal markets to best strategies for international growth. Some past clients include Hewlett-Packard, Deloitte & Touche, Rockwell International, Rand Merchant Bank, Rainbow Farms, Eli Lilly and Company, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, the Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA), Colgate-Palmolive, Sprint International, Ciena, Armstrong, British Airways, South African Airways, and Lockheed. A dual-degreed cum laude graduate of Claremont Men’s College, Mr. Johnson has taught in several countries as adjunct professor. He has travelled in 76 countries over his career, and has lived in Europe, Turkey, and Africa. He is fluent in German, Russian, Spanish, Afrikaans, and Turkish, and conversant in French, Bulgarian, and Swahili. Aside from having served part time in the White House in 1985-88, some of his former positions include Senior Fellow of the Hudson Institute (a leading world think tank); Vice President of Worldwide Affairs for Hill & Knowlton (the world's largest public relations firm); Director of Business Development for ITT Telecommunications; Director of International Marketing & Operations for Schlumberger’s data communications division Rixon (a leading French petro-technology firm); and Manager of International Marketing for RACAL (the British electronics and telecommunications conglomerate). His writings (1350 articles and reviews in five languages over the past 35 years) have appeared in more than 78 countries, including Readers Digest, The Freeman, Telecommunications, and the Wall Street Journal. He has been a guest and keynote speaker in more than 25 countries, and on several radio and television programs in North America, Europe, and South Africa, including NBC's Today show and South Africa’s Third Degree.

Grace A. Odums, an independent strategy consultant, has a growing consultancy spanning over fifteen years.  Her impressive client list boasts Fortune 500 and Fortune Global 500 companies including: Disney ABC Media NetWorks, Waste Management (PA/WVA Area), Fairmount Southampton Resorts, Chevron-Phillips, Siemens Medical Solutions, Wells Fargo Bank.  

A much sought after international speaker, Grace welcomes the opportunity to partner with organizations and professionals in the areas of management coaching, revenue recapture, change leadership, optimum customer care, talent performance enhancement, productivity improvement, increased efficiencies, balanced scorecard architecture, and diversity strategy creation with diversity scorecard and strategy map development and system-wide implementation.

Although born in New Zealand and raised in nearby Australia, Keith Urban made his biggest splash in Nashville, where he helped rewrite the rules of contemporary country music. By embracing drum loops and elements of Top 40 pop, Urban wrote songs that appealed to a wide audience, effectively satisfying his Nashville fans without alienating those more accustomed to pop music. He also became a genuine celebrity, known for his good looks, marriage to actress Nicole Kidman, and outspoken battle with alcoholism. Even so, it was the music that maintained Urban's career, from his work with the Ranch during the late '90s to the acclaimed solo albums that followed.

Released in 1999, the self-titled "Keith Urban" spawned four hit singles and paved the way for his successful career in America. A tour in support of that album saw Urban opening for major acts like Dwight Yoakam, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw, as well as headlining his own shows. Urban found more success with 2002's "Golden Road", which sent three singles to the top of the country charts and went triple platinum in the U.S., as well as 2004's "Be Here", which bested the feats of its predecessor by selling over four million copies. Keith Urban was now a contemporary country superstar, replete with Grammy nominations and paparazzi attention, and his label capitalized on that attention by reissuing the Ranch's debut album later that year. An anthology of Urban's work, "Days Go By", followed in 2005.

The album "Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing" was released in November 2006, though it failed to produce a number one hit (the first of Urban's solo albums to do so), but "Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing" still went double platinum in the U.S., aided in part by a successful tour with Carrie Underwood. Urban returned to the top of the charts in 2008 with a re-recorded version of "You Look Good in My Shirt," which had originally appeared on 2002's Golden Road. The new version appeared on his latest compilation record, "Greatest Hits", and its success helped pave the way for Urban's next solo album. Released in 2009, "Defying Gravity" found him singing about life with Nicole Kidman on songs like "Sweet Thing" and "Only You Can Love Me This Way," both of which peaked at No. 1. Meanwhile, "Kiss a Girl" became his highest-charting single to date on the pop charts, and two additional tunes -- "'Til Summer Comes Around" and "I'm In" -- both charted well in the country market, making "Defying Gravity" a crossover success.

Urban released "Get Closer" during the final months of 2010 and returned to the charts with its lead single, "Put You in a Song."

One ticket to the Keith Urban Tuesday night show is included in your conference registration.

Dr. Kristin Charles, Ph.D., SPHR, is an Assessment Scientist at Kronos, Inc where she supports the development and validation of assessments used in the personnel selection process. Dr. Charles consults with clients in the retail, food services, and healthcare industries on selection strategy issues, including job analysis, validation, and behavioral interviewing. Additionally, she is an adjunct faculty member in the Psychology Department and School of Business Administration at Portland State University. Dr. Charles regularly presents at academic and industry conferences on her primary research areas of personnel selection, work schedules, employee turnover, and occupational safety and health. She completed her B.S. at James Madison University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in the Industrial/Organizational Psychology program at Portland State University.