SAS Premier Business Leadership Series to be hosted in Berlin

SAS Institute, the leader in business analytics, will once again be hosting its Premier Business Leadership Series (PBLS), providing business decision-makers a platform to network and share ideas with peers from around the globe.

This year's kick-off event is set to be hosted from 21-23 June at the InterContinental Hotel, in Berlin, and all the high-level content shared at this international, invitation-only occasion is designed to facilitate thought leadership and networking among senior executives from director level and up.

“The theme of this year's PBLS is Innovate, Optimise, Transform, which are all key aspects underpinning the CIO and CEOs' agendas at the moment,” says Maphum Nxumalo, Managing Direct at SAS Institute.

“The series has always attracted the highest calibre of speaker and attendee and offers critical insight into where the business world is evolving into the future. We believe this year's event will be no different and attendees will have the opportunity to ask forward-thinking questions and get fact-based answers.”

Key aspects of the series will include access to and the ability to learn from decision-makers facing challenges similar to those facing your own business, and witness firsthand how these players are transforming business as usual. In addition, networking opportunities will afford attendees the opportunity to engage one-on-one with industry experts and innovative thought leaders, as well as collect real-world expertise and practical knowledge that can aid with optimising organisational performance.

A host of keynote speeches will be delivered, as well as workshops and sessions that will examine issues from an executive's perspective across a broad spectrum of industries, such as the importance of technology in telecommunications and energy and utilities; applying risk management technologies in an evolving financial services and public sector landscape; how retailers can improve decision-making and get results with business analytics; and why all organisations need to move beyond spreadsheets to drive profitability and more effective planning and budgeting.

Confirmed speakers to date include: Madeleine Albright, first female Secretary of State of the United States and Chair, Albright Stonebridge Group; Andrew Rashbass, CEO, The Economist Group; Thomas H. Davenport, Best-selling author and President's Distinguished Professor at Babson College; Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS; Gerard Lyons, PhD, Chief Economist and Group Head of Global Research at Standard Chartered; Thornton May, Futurist, Executive Director and Dean of the IT Leadership Academy; Geoffrey Moore, Managing Director, TCG Advisors and Venture Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures; Joseph Quinlan, Managing Director and Chief Market Strategist, at Bank of America Global Wealth and Investment Management; Clay Shirky, Writer, consultant and teacher on the social and economic effects of Internet technologies; Norbert Walter, PhD, Former Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank and Managing Director of Walter & Daughters Consult.

“There is an adage that states that http://www.sas.com/events/pbls/2010/berlin/documents/Series-Highlights.pdf 'wise leaders recognise that you never waste a good crisis' - so while the business world is waiting for the recession to pass, two-thirds of organisations are missing an opportunity - only tweaking what has worked for them in the past. The remaining third see the recession as a growth opportunity and believe now is the time for innovation and real transformation. Do you know what part your organisation falls under? If not, the PBLS is a perfect place for you to start making that call,” ends Nxumalo.

Additional locations for the PBLS include: Hong Kong from 9-11 August, and in Las Vegas from 26-28 October. For more information, visit http://www.sas.com/events/pbls/2010/berlin/index.html or to register.