Speaker preview: what to expect from AWE this March

For the past four years, Advertising Week Europe has been the hub for creative thinkers and business professionals alike to join together for one week each year to reflect on years past, and to look ahead to where the European market is headed.

Now as AWEurope heads into its fifth year, the release of the Official 2017 Calendar reveals an impressive lineup of speakers that demonstrates the magnitude of the event’s fifth anniversary programming.

Facebook’s EMEA VP Nicola Mendelsohn is among the lineup of featured speakers to attend AWEurope in March, and will be joined by other senior business leaders for “Business Without Borders” to discuss how the industry can best ensure British business continues to punch above its weight on the global economic stage.

During "CMOs in the Cloud - Cooking up a Revenue Storm," Grad Conn, GM and CMO at Microsoft and Adobe, will explore the digital age of today and discuss the transformation of roles and brand strategies in the intelligent cloud. He'll also provide insight into the marchitecture required for success and give a sneak peak of what marketing AI will entail.

To better share how the UK’s biggest female millennial brand and the industry’s leading social app have joined forces, Claire Valoti, GM of Snap Inc. in the UK, and Farrah Storr, UK Editor in Chief of Cosmopolitan take the stage for “Discover How to Win with Cosmopolitan and Snapchat.” Both will share why and how premium content plays a key role in delivering maximum impact on audiences and how to discover what matters when it comes to creating engaging content.

For attendees interested in media and entertainment, Marie Claire editor-in-chief Trish Halpin will sit down with iconic screen actor Richard E. Grant for “Confessions of a Perfumed Ponce: A Conversation with Richard E. Grant” to discuss his early career and how he made the transition into the brand business with his fragrance line, ‘Jack.’ Though his career has spanned over 35 years, Grant is perhaps best known for his roles in The Iron Lady, Dom Hemingway and Jackie.

In keeping with the entertainment minded programming, Gurinder Chadha OBE, one of the UK’s most respected filmmakers, will discuss the art of writing and directing box office hits during “The Power of Cinematic Storytelling  – DCM in Conversation with Gurinder Chadha.” During the discussion, presented by DCM, Gurinder will share how a captive audience, a big screen and immersive sounds at the cinema provide the ideal canvas for storytellers to help us make sense of the world around us.

Finally, Haiyan Zhang, founding member of OpenIDEO and Innovation Director at Microsoft Research Cambridge, will share her passion for making real changes for people facing insurmountable health challenges such as Parkinson’s disease, cancer and blindness. Discover the wonderful story behind Project Emma as Emma herself and other guests who have been a part of the Makers Revolution share their stories in an open discussion on what they have faced and how people and tech came together to provide a solution.

Other notable speakers who will be seen at AWEurope this March include Unilever’s Keith Weed, Google’s Matt Brittin, Gravity Road’s Mark Eaves, Dentsu’s Nigel Morris, Ogilvy’s Rory Sutherland, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, comedian and reporter Jonathan Pie, and many, many more.

To learn more about AWEurope featured speakers and the over 175 programming events, be sure check out the 2017 Official Calendar. To stay up to date with the latest event announcements, follow along with our latest news.

This article first appeared on Advertising Week's site.