Van Jones, Game of Thrones Showrunners, Marie “KonMari” Kondo & More Join SXSW Conference Lineup
The 2017 SXSW Conference is pleased to announce more pioneering and innovative Featured Speakers today, including CNN political commentator, Van Jones; organizational author, Marie "KonMari" Kondo; Outdoor Voices CEO, Tyler Haney; Game of Thrones Showrunners, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff; futurist Ray Kurzweil; SoulCycle CEO Melanie Whelan; and many more. These Featured Speakers add to the creative cross-collaboration SXSW is known for – ranging in leaders from the tech, film, television, business, literature, government, and journalism fields.
Gain access to all this exciting, new programming and more during the 2017 SXSW Conference & Festivals from March 10-19 in Austin, TX. Register to attend by this Friday, January 13 to save $200 off the walk-up rate.
New for 2017, SXSW is expanding badge access for all registrants. Attendees will still receive primary entry to programming associated with their badge type, but can now enjoy secondary access to most other SXSW events, including Keynotes and Featured Speaker sessions.
Want more? Browse the newest programming additions to the 2017 SXSW Conference below. And stay tuned for more announcements about programming, awards, and more in the coming weeks.
Newly Added Featured Speakers
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (Entertainment Influencers) - David Benioff works as an author and screenwriter. D.B. Weiss is a writer and the author of Lucky Wander Boy. Both Benioff and Weiss are co-creators and executive producers of the Emmy Award-winning Game of Thrones for HBO.
Steve Case and Beth Comstock (Startup Village) - Steve Case is America's best-known and most accomplished entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of AOL and CEO of Revolution. Beth Comstock is Vice Chairman at GE. In this capacity, she leads GE’s efforts to accelerate new growth.
Tom Cwik, Maggie Malone, Steve May, and Vick Schutz (Entertainment Influencers) - Tom Cwik leads Space Technology development at JPL, initiating and maintaining the Laboratories long-term tech strategy. Maggie Malone is the Head of Creative Affairs at the Walt Disney Animation Studios, where she has worked on such films as Zootopia, and Frozen. Steve May is the Chief Technology Officer at PIXAR, overseeing the development of visual effects tools and processes for the entire studio. Vick Schutz is the Computer Graphics Supervisor at ILM, where he completed work on films such as Avatar, War of the Worlds, and more.
Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro and Dr. Ryuichiro Higashinaka (Intelligent Future) - Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro is director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, part of the Department of Systems Innovation in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University, Japan. Dr. Ryuichiro Higashinaka is a Senior Research Scientist at the Audio, Speech, and Language Media Laboratory, a part of the NTT Media Intelligence Laboratories.
Van Jones (Government) - Van Jones is an author, CNN political commentator, and host of The Messy Truth with Van Jones on CNN. Jones worked as the green jobs advisor to President Barack Obama, and has founded and led four not-for-profit organizations engaged in social and environmental justice.
Marie "KonMari" Kondo (Design) - Marie “KonMari” Kondo is a Japanese organizing consultant, author and visionary entrepreneur. Kondo has captured the findings from her lifelong journey of organization as the best-selling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing and Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up.
Ray Kurzweil and Amy Kurzweil (Tech Industry) - Ray Kurzweil is one of the world’s leading inventors, thinkers, and futurists. He is co-founder and Chancellor of Singularity University and a Director of Engineering at Google. Amy Kurzweil is a cartoonist and writer whose comics have appeared in The New Yorker. She is the author of Flying Couch: A Graphic Memoir (NY Times: Best of 2016). She teaches writing and comics at Fashion Institute of Technology and The New School for Design.
Wagner Moura and Alice Braga (Entertainment Influencers) - Golden Globe Nominee actor Wagner Moura (Narcos, Netflix) and actress Alice Braga (Queen of the South, USA Network), two Brazilian artists, discuss diversity in Hollywood as both star in cutting-edge, prime-time drama series in the United States with Latin American protagonists.
Casey Neistat (Journalism) - Casey Neistat is a YouTube creator with over 1.3 billion views, a filmmaker and a technology entrepreneur. In November 2016 he became part of CNN Worldwide, where he is currently building an entirely new stand-alone media and technology company that combines CNN's global resources with a fresh approach to the news.
Gen. Paul J. Selva (Government) - General Selva serves as the 10th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this capacity, he is the nation’s second highest-ranking military officer. Selva was recently featured on the 60 Minutes segment “The Coming Swarm,” which addressed autonomous drones.
Melanie Whelan and Tyler Haney with Julia Boorstin (Health) - Melanie Whelan is the CEO of SoulCycle, the country's premier indoor cycling brand. Tyler Haney is the Founder and CEO of active lifestyle brand Outdoor Voices. Julia Boorstin is the Senior Media and Entertainment Correspondent for CNBC.
Explore the full list of previously announced Keynotes and Featured Speakers, as well as the full list of Conference programming on the online schedule.
Register for SXSW 2017
Register by Friday, January 13 at 11:59pm PT to save $200 on the walk-up rate and book your hotel to get the best available housing rates and selections. Browse the continuously updated online schedule and start building your own personalized schedule.
SXSW 2017 features expanded badge access for all attendees. Not sure which badge is right for you? Take our Tracks Quiz and review the badge comparison chart.
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All speakers subject to change.
2017 SXSW Conference Featured Session Speakers (l-r) D.B. Weiss and David Benioff; Marie “KonMari” Kondo - Photo by Martin Schoeller; Van Jones - Photo courtesy CNN; Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro and Dr. Ryuichiro Higashinaka; Wagner Moura - Photo by Victor Afaro; Gen. Paul J. Selva; Steve May; Julia Boorstin; Ray Kurzweil - Photo by Clark Weinberg Photography; Casey Neistat; Alice Braga - Photo by Gil Inoue; and Melanie Whelan - Photo courtesy SoulCycle.
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