Chosen as one of Variety’s “Top Ten Actors to Watch in 2009” and part of the new breed of emerging leading men in Hollywood, actor Laz Alonso can currently be seen top lining the new A&E series “Breakout Kings,” which premiered to record numbers in March. The show is about an unconventional partnership of U.S. marshals and a group of convicts who join forces to catch fugitives on the run. His past movie credits include lead roles in this year’s Jumping the Broom, opposite Paula Patton, as well as Sony/Screen Gems’ hits Stomp The Yard and This Christmas. He also had a lead role in 2006 Roland Joffe psychological thriller Captivity, and a co-starring role in the 2005 hit Jarhead, opposite Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard. Laz was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He graduated from the Howard University School of Business, earning a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing.

Stephen M. R. Covey leads the Global Speed of Trust Practice. A sought-after and compelling keynote speaker and advisor on trust, leadership, ethics, and high performance, he speaks to audiences around the world. He is the New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust, a groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting book that challenges our age-old assumption that trust is merely a soft, social virtue and instead demonstrates that trust is a hard-edged, economic driver—a learnable and measurable skill that makes organizations more profitable, people more promotable, and relationships more energizing. He advocates that nothing is as fast as the speed of trust and that the ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust with all stakeholders is the critical leadership competency of the new global economy. Covey passionately delivers that message and is dedicated to enabling individuals and organizations to reap the dividends of high trust. Audiences and organizations alike resonate with his informed, practical approach to real-time issues that affect their immediate and long-term performance.

Author, innovator, futurist, teacher and commentator, Nat Irvin, II, is the W.M. Strickler Executive-in-Residence and Professor of Management at the University of Louisville, College of Business. At the College of Business, Irvin teaches change management, leadership and future studies. He was also 2008 Visiting Executive Professor of Future Studies at the Babcock Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University. He is an advisor to a proprietary research study on consumer behavior and the emergence of identity among ethnic minority and cultural groups conducted by Starcom MediaVest Group, one of the world’s largest brand communications groups. Advertisers and other media use Irvin’s findings to identify new demographic groups and target them with customized messages and opportunities. In 2010, Dr. Irvin launched “Thrivals 3.0”, as part of the IdeaFestival (IF), a world-class event that attracts leading global innovators and thinkers to discuss and celebrate imagination, new perspectives and transformational ideas.

A young entrepreneur, industry pioneer, highly regarded marketing expert and a man who has surpassed new heights of commercial and financial success are just a few ways people have described Daymond John. Over the last 20 years, Daymond John (The Shark) has evolved from one of the most successful fashion icons of his generation to a highly sought after branding expert, author, consultant and as a speaker in business and motivational genres. Daymond's creative vision and strong knowledge of the marketplace created one of the most iconic fashion brands in recent years. FUBU ("For Us By Us"), represents a lifestyle that was neglected by other clothing companies. Realizing this need in the marketplace, Daymond helped to create the untapped urban apparel space and laid the groundwork for other companies to compete in this newly established market.

Recording artist, concert performer and philanthropist John Legend has won nine Grammy awards and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. John launched his career as a session player and vocalist, contributing to best-selling recordings by Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z and Kanye West before recording his own unbroken chain of Top 10 albums -- Get Lifted (2004), Once Again (2006), and Evolver (2008) --each of them reaching #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop charts. John's debut album, Get Lifted, earned eight Grammy nominations; won Best New Artist, Best R&B album and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for Ordinary People while selling more than three million copies worldwide. His follow-up album, Once Again, earned an RIAA platinum certification and a Grammy award for "Heaven", which also won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. In 2008, John released Evolver, his third Top 10 album and embarked on an extensive world tour with his ten-piece band.

A nationally syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate, Roland S. Martin is the author of Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith; Speak, Brother! A Black Man’s View of America; and The First: President Barack Obama’s Road to the White House as Originally Reported by Roland S. Martin. Mr. Martin is a commentator for TV One Cable Network and host of “Washington Watch with Roland Martin,” a one-hour Sunday morning news show. He is also a CNN Analyst, appearing on a variety of the network’s shows. In 2008, 2009, and 2010, he was named by Ebony as one of the 150 Most Influential African Americans in the United States.