CUMU Conference - Richard Florida, Keynote Speaker October 25, 2010

Richard Florida, of the University of Toronto, is author of the global best-seller The Rise of the Creative Class. His latest book, Who's Your City? also a national and international best seller, was an amazon.com book of the month.

He is author of The Flight of the Creative Class and Cities and the Creative Class. His previous books, especially The Breakthrough Illusion and Beyond Mass Production, paved the way for his provocative looks at how creativity is revolutionizing the global economy.

Mr. Florida is a regular correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly and a regular columnist for The Globe and Mail. He has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Economist, and The Harvard Business Review. He has been featured as an expert on MSNBC, CNN, BBC, NPR and CBS, to name just a few.

Mr. Florida has also been appointed to the Business Innovation Factory's Research Advisory Council and recently named European Ambassador for Creativity and Innovation.

His ideas on the “creative class,” commercial innovation, and regional development have been featured in major ad campaigns from BMW and Apple, and are being used globally to change the way regions and nations do business and transform their economies.

Mr. Florida is one of the world’s leading public intellectuals on economic competitiveness, demographic trends, and cultural and technological innovation. International diplomats, government leaders, filmmakers, economic development organizations and leading Fortune 100 businesses have benefited from his global approach to problem-solving and strategy development.

He is one of the world's most sought after speakers on global trends, economics, prosperity, competitiveness and growth. Combining in-depth analysis, cutting-edge trends, a fascinating personal story, and just a touch of self-deprecating humor, it’s no wonder Florida was recently named one of Esquire Magazine’s Best and Brightest, alongside luminaries such as Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Sachs.