23 Apr 2014
GSWS announces three keynote speakers for the 2014 event
BY Helen Andrews
The Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS) has announced three speakers – an architect, an economist and a specialist in retail technology – for its eighth annual summit in Marrakech, Morocco.
The summit’s futuristic theme, Fast Forward, means speakers will be focusing on the future of spa and wellness – from new technologies that will transform spa business performance; to the future of design; to exploring the latest in brain science; to the next wave in retailing; and to evaluating forecasting research.
During the September 10-12 event, architect Bjarke Ingels, economist Kjell A. Nordstrom and retail technology expert Paul Price will host talks about what consumers will want from wellness centres in the future.
Bjarke Ingels is the founded the architect firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in 2005. He has participated in international projects including his latest leisure development – creating the designs for the interactive Lego House exhibition centre, in his home country of Denmark, whose construction will begin this year.
BIG are also renowned for the Danish Maritime Museum in Helsingor, Denmark – an underground ship-shaped site – and the apartment building Mountain Dwellings in Copenhagen with a diagonally sloping roof.
The Swedish economist, writer and public speaker – Kjell A. Nordstrom – will analyse a new frontier for spa businesses, marked by seismic demographic and consumer shifts. His research and consulting focus is strategic management, multinational corporations and globalisation.
“Ultra productive Megacities where silence, space and a peaceful mind is a scarce resource. The wellness industry will indeed thrive,” Nordstrom said.
The third speaker, Paul Price, is CEO of retail technology company Creative Realities – founded 14 years ago. His company assists marketers by engaging customers in-store using marketing technology which involves designing a shopping technology plan to identify how to augment the shopping experience for clients’ customers.
Delegates from diverse sectors including hospitality, tourism, health and wellness, beauty, finance, medical, real estate, manufacturing and technology attend the GSWS which is held in a different host country every year.
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