By James Wells

SYDNEY: A series of world-class speakers has been announced to address the 200 delegates at the Narta conference which commences on Thursday at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco.

The 42nd conference, which will be opened by Narta chairman John Wipfli, will be followed by a segment celebrating the 50th anniversary of the family-owned Bing Lee retail business.

At previous conferences, Narta has celebrated the tradition of some of its longest serving family companies including the Sinclair brothers at E&S Trading in 2005 and last year the two Johns – John Winning and John Murphy from Winning Appliances.

The first guest speaker at the conference will be Harry S Dent – the respected demographer who predicted the Japanese real estate crash. Presenting twice at the conference, Dent will set the scene around the demographics of global growth including India and China as well as the perception that real estate is over valued. Dent will also address which areas are growing and under threat and the effect of the Baby Boomers as well as the fundamentals of building personal wealth.

Jason Jennings returns to the Narta conference for the first time since the Dare to be Different conference in Phuket. Jennings will be promoting the key elements of his new book – ‘How do CEOs add value?’. Jennings is fondly remembered for his insights into business at previous conferences such as – ‘What is the good business reason for doing this?’ and ‘It is not the big that eat the small, it is the fast that eat the slow’.

Also presenting on Thursday morning is Narta managing director, Kay Spencer, who will be followed by practicising Australian cardiologist, Dr Ross Walker, will discuss new ways of managing health including the effective use of vitamins to assist people turn back time with their bodies. Using a mantra of ‘biology is your biography’, Walker will explain methods of addressing stress, balancing lifestyle and explaining what makes a healthy executive.

On the Friday morning, Canadian marketing specialist, Martha Rodgers will explain how a product alone cannot provide a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Rodgers will also examine how to keep these scarce customers and reach them without being obtrusive and examine how to extract value from customers by concentrating on aspects of the business which make the most money.

Irish technology retailer, Brian Sheehan, will then provide an entertaining insight into how to become a world class retailer.

Following Sheehan will be Dr Jim Wetherbe, a former technology director at Best Buys for 14 years, who will discuss how technology impacts the acquisition of customers in the future including online trading and the use of the internet.

Clive Peeters and Clive Anthonys founder and Narta director, Clive Savage, will then provide delegates with a short presentation reflecting on the industry.

On the Saturday morning, delegates will receive a presentation from Australian forensic policeman – Peter Baines – who has been involved with the repatriation of the Waterfall train disaster, the Bali bombings and the tsunami in Phuket. Baines will provide delegates with stories of Australian spirit in the face of adversity and the value of leadership in crisis.
Following Baines will be further presentations from Harry S Dent and Jason Jennings who will chair a roundtable panel discussion.

A secret guest, who will present a segment titled ‘The Winning Attitude’ will conclude the conference sessions.