Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) has announced several key speakers and panelists for its upcoming Innovation Summit to be held in New York on October 14 and 15.

Speakers and panelists include:  Mel Healey, Group President, Feminine & Health Care, P&G; Doug Carlson, CEO of VIV Publishing and managing director, Zinio; Michael Kelley of PricewaterhouseCoopers; Walter Issacson, former managing editor of Time and currently CEO of The Aspen Institute; Mary Lou Jepsen, founder and CEO of Pixel QI; Danny Stein, CEO of eMusic; Fabio Freyre of Facebook; and Postmaster General Jack Potter.

The Magazine Innovation Summit is the world’s first magazine industry conference devoted exclusively to innovation in the publishing space. It will focus on understanding and harnessing the power of disruptive technologies and transformative business models to affect positive change for magazine brands. The Summit addresses the challenges the industry is facing, and encourages attendees to face them head on.

“Because this is a time of enormous change in the magazine industry, we refocused our annual fall conference on the subject of innovation, so we could fully explore the opportunities presented by these changes,” said Nina Link, President and CEO, MPA.

Acknowledging that editors, publishers and marketers need to find ways to comprehend and process the vast changes in the magazine business, she said that the conference will give attendees a chance to hear from people who are already working through many of the issues presented by disruptive technologies  and shifting business models. 

“You can’t overcome a challenge until you identify it,” she said. “This conference is designed to create discussion and conversations, which will lead to solutions.”

Sessions for Oct. 14 Include Keynotes and Panels
The Summit kicks off Oct. 14 with a full day of speakers and panels geared toward a wide variety of magazine professionals, including top-level publishing executives—presidents, CEOs, group publishers—as well as senior staff members like publishers, ad sales executives, marketers, digital leaders, circulators, lawyers and senior public relations executives.

The day features a keynote by Scott Anthony, author of the recently published book “The Silver Lining: An Innovation Handbook for Uncertain Times.” He will interview Mel Healey, group president, Feminine & Health Care, P&G, about the best practices marketers can use to ensure their efforts to innovate will succeed.  A second keynote, Michael Kelly of PricewaterhouseCoopers, will discuss “Reinventing Portability:  4 Things to Know Now.”  His session will explore the potential for publishers to capture marketers’ dollars as content moves to portable devices. Cathie Black’s interview with Postmaster General Jack Potter caps the end of the Oct. 14 program.  He will discuss transformation and the Postal Service, and how it affects magazines.  That will be followed by a cocktail party at the Grand Hyatt. 

Panels scheduled for Oct. 14 include “The Magazine Brand Business Model of Tomorrow,” “Are E-Readers Ready for Their Close-Up,”  “How Changes in Printing Technologies Improve Business” and “Putting Back the Wall: New Concepts for Paid Content,” moderated by Walter Isaacson. 

Separate Tracks on Oct. 15
The Innovation Summit breaks into four tracks on the second day of the conference.

The editorial track, at the Time-Life Building, has a full day of speakers on tap. Topics include: “Why I Tweet,” “Who Pays for Content,” “The Decline and Rise of Magazine Journalism” and “What Happened to the Record Album and Why it Matters to Magazines.”

Three other tracks offer half-day sessions. The Consumer Marketing track will feature speakers on “What New Technology Platforms Mean for Consumer Marketers,” “Partnering with Facebook” and “What’s the Future of Newsstand?” Attendees will gather at the Hearst Tower on West 57th St.

The Advertising Sales and Marketing track, which will take place at the Time & Life Building, is devoted to increasing magazine ad revenue today…and tomorrow. Sessions include: "Growing Revenue in a Time of Change," "How Magazines Can Profit in the Era of Accountability," and case studies on magazines and mobile, video and social media.

The Government Affairs track will be held at the MPA headquarters at 810 7th Ave. Speakers for this track will be announced at a later date.

“Disruptive technologies pose challenges, but they also present opportunities,” said Link. “If magazines can view these technologies as powerful tools to broaden its overall audience, and develop meaningful ways to strengthen its ties with their audience, they are in a great position to create stronger revenue streams. This is the conversation we want to get started at the Summit.”

For more information on the Innovation Summit, please go to:  www.magazine.org/innovation09.  For the latest updates and relevant news, follow the event on Twitter @maginnovation09.