Speeches, Seminars
and Hands-On Workshops
Maio&Co principals have delivered scores of keynotes, talks, seminars and workshops. Audiences range from undergraduates at Fordam University in New York and Monterrey University in Mexico, to the full MBA student body at Bocconi University in Milan, to the Alumni Association of IMD, the clients of Bureau Veritas, industry leaders, professional associations and luminaries in their own right.
For a full list of speeches and other talks, contact us directly or browse the History section of this site.
How Authentic is Your Marketing, Really?
A SoulBrandingSM Workshop for Social Entrepreneurs
International Business and Consciousness Conference
January 2008 - Santa Fe, NM
Diversity Officers: Your Corporate Brand Needs Your Help!
A SoulBrandingSM Workshop for Executive Members of EAF, Europaische Akademie fur Frauen
March 2008 - Berlin, GE
Diversity is critical to the innovation required by business now. Why? Because business needs to expand its portfolio of rich inputs -- and develop the courage and range of cultural 'ears' to actually hear them. Brands are posing as more and more sensitive to human and social interests, and the organizations behind them must keep pace with that promise, to rebuild trust and credibility with stakeholders. To do that, the operations of the company need to tune their hearing and engagement to the range of the Digital Demos' values and sensitivities. In this way, the Diversity Officer is the gate to the organization's ability to engage customers and other stakeholders as an authentic partner, and to co-create the offerings that delight them.
The Global Demos Gooses Capitalism: Squinting in the Glare Outside Plato's Cave
Keynote Address by Elsie Maio
Social Achievement Awards Conference
Sponsored by the Association of Greek Advertisers
June 2007 - The Gaia Museum, Athens GR
Most companies are dazed by the bright light of social accountability thrust upon them by the Global Digital Demos, the vocal community of human interest on the Internet. They reflexively grab for cover in CSR gestures and faddish 'sustainability' initiatives to neutralize perceptions of their negative impact on society and the natural systems of the planet.
But some have surrendered to the inevitable decline of 'financial fundamentalism', and stepped into the next evolution of capitalism as authentic, nurturing participants in the fabric of life on earth. Ironically, they are outperforming the others at the bottom line, too. Elsie highlights the performance metrics of such leaders who link their human values to KPIs, such as sustained retention of employees and customers; lower operating costs; higher rates of productivity, innovation and profitability; and market preference. Cases with metrics include Continental Airlines, State Farm Insurance, ANZ Bank, and Discovery. She closes with a diagnostic tool to identify your company's appetite for, and current position on the evolutionary path toward Humanity, Inc.; and next steps for its transformation.
+ Contact us to schedule an updated presentation of this speech at your event.
Brandism: Impact of brand on the real estate market
American Institute of Architects
June 2007 - NYC, USA
Elsie Maio challenged architects and urban planners to address the inevitable rise of authentic human voice during this transition out of the age of ego and greed in global business.
Architecture/ Identity/Community was a BRANDISMTM panel organized by Anna Klingmann with the Center for Architecture/ AIA New York Chapter. Designed to encourage candid discussion within the New York community, panellists included some of the most pertinent voices in contemporary architecture, criticism, real estate, and branding.
Ethical Branding:
What It Looks Like in Different Sectors - and How to Do It
A SoulbrandingSM Workshop for CSE clients
October 2007 - Athens, GR
"'Financial Fundamentalism' -- as our colleague Doug Smith calls it in his book On Value and Values -- is under attack… This is creating a window, like never before, for a massive expansion of the nature of capitalism. In the direction of the greater good for the Global Demos. That is the work I am committed to and will discuss with you today as you determine where on the spectrum your company behavior and its brand experience actually reside -- and where you want them to go." -- from Elsie Maio's introduction to a hands-on workshop for select clients of CSE in Athens
Designing the 21st Century
RGDOntario Conference
2003 - Toronto, CAN
Elsie takes the platform with Roger Martin and other thought leaders to exhort Canadian creatives to work from their personal conviction, 'design thinking', and human values to invent the next models for business. She illustrates how personal courage, common sense and social sensitivity have catapulted companies like Continental Airlines into prominence from the depths of performance.
Beyond 'Citizenship': Boosting Corporate Performance with the Human Brand
An extended SoulBrandingSM Workshop for Chief Branding Officers
Conference Board Council on Corporate Brand Management
The senior officers in branding, marketing and communications of a dozen global companies worked with Elsie for a half-day of case study and group exercises in the SoulBrandingSM system. They explored the business rationale for moving beyond 'citizenship' branding models, and the internal business processes for integrating with strategic planning and other functions to accelerate their companies' overall performance.
This workshop is one of our current offerings.
+ Click to read a complete description of this offering.
PowerTool for Conscious Leadership: SoulBrandingSM
Symposium on Leadership and Consciousness in Business
Alumni Group of IMD
2002 - London, UK
The new business leader is alert to the expectations of today's vocal stakeholders for an holistic agenda. The five decision screens in the SoulBrandingSM system keep managers' attention focused on stakeholders' essential criteria for preference.
+ Download speech (PDF file l 76K)
Managing Human Resources in the New Stakeholder Economy
Guest Lecture to the MBA Class
Bocconi University
2002 - Milan, IT
SoulBrandingSM: How the corporate brand can cohere the transformation of corporate culture, identity and behaviour
The Corporate Sustainability Conference
Sponsored by Triple P Performance Centre and Erasmus University
2002 - Rotterdam, NL
The Corporate Sustainability Conference is linked to various European research initiatives, co-financed by the European Commission. This international conference was organized to explore "the impact of CSR and the Triple Bottom Line approach on various management disciplines /business units." Elsie delivered the kickoff lecture for Managing Stakeholder Relations and Creating Value and chaired the roundtable discussion devoted to it.
In a separate talk at the event, our client Mr. Xander Meijer, CMO at ECOVER, discussed how his company was learning to gauge the authenticity of their values-led brand using the SoulBrandingSM Self-Audit tool.
Our views of the impact of the stakeholder-driven economy on the practice of brand management were requested by and subsequently published in the Journal of Business Ethics as "Managing Brand in the New Stakeholder Environment."
