Creativity Speakers | CAA Speakers

Anthony E. Zuiker

As the creator and executive producer of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, one of the highest-rated dramas in television history, Anthony E. Zuiker is tuned-in to America's steep consumer expectations. Not only did Zuiker develop a blockbuster television series; he built an entertainment empire that transformed television programming and advertising. A world-wide phenomenon, the CSI franchise ...

Benjamin Zander

Benjamin Zander is the brilliant and acclaimed British-born conductor of the Boston Philharmonic. Bringing his insights as the conductor of a major symphony orchestra to leaders involved in transformation and change, Benjamin Zander has become a much sought-after speaker to major organizations all over the world including Shell, IBM, Arthur Andersen, KPMG, Sprint, NASA and the US Army. Ben

Cameron Sinclair

As the Executive Director and Co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, Cameron Sinclair is not only an architect, but an author, humanitarian and world-class visionary. During his studies at the University of Westminster and at the Bartlett School of Architecture, Cameron developed a passion in social, cultural and humanitarian design. His resulting postgraduate thesis focused on providing...

Chris Bangle

One only needs to look down the street for evidence of Chris Bangle's ingenuity and far-reaching influence. A daring designer whose work has provoked endless discussion, Bangle is best known for his tenure as Chief of Design for the BMW group, where he was responsible for bringing the designs of the BMW, Mini Cooper, and Rolls Royce into the twenty-first century.

Christian Siriano

Oprah Winfrey calls his designs "works of art." Tim Gunn calls him "a prodigy" and "the next great American fashion designer." Only 24 years old, Christian Siriano was born to design. Raised by a creative family in Annapolis, Maryland, Christian began designing at just thirteen years old and attended the Baltimore School for the Arts and then went on to study at the American...

Chuck Comeau

Chuck Comeau plays drums for the pop/punk rock band Simple Plan. He is heavily involved in all business aspects of the band. The Lava/Atlantic recording artists Simple Plan is from Montreal, Quebec, Canada — all five members are French-Canadians who were born and grew up in the province of Quebec. The band has released two studio albums: No Pads, No Helmets...

Curt Smith

Curt Smith is best known as a musician, singer and songwriter who co-founded the multi-platinum group Tears For Fears, with which he continues to tour worldwide. He also produced and hosted the groundbreaking live music web series "Stripped Down Live With Curt Smith" and pursues his own solo music career. His most recent releases include the single "Perfectly...Still (featuring Universal Hall...

Dan Aykroyd

Daniel Edward Aykroyd is an Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning actor, comedian, screenwriter, and most recently business entrepreneur. He attended Carleton University in Canada, but dropped out before receiving his degree. He veered away from his study of criminology in college in order to pursue his interest in acting. He began as a comedian in various Canadian nightclubs and went...

Dany Levy

Business owner, journalist and savvy cultural observer, Dany Levy brings a sense of intensity, vision and creative voice to all her endeavors. After graduation from Brown University with a BA in English with honors in creative writing, Levy began her career in 1994 at New York magazine. There, she revamped and edited the Sales and Bargains section in 1996, and subsequently created the...

Doug Ellin

Doug Ellin, Creator and Executive Producer of Entourage moved to Hollywood from his native New York in 1990 to become a stand-up comedian. While working the circuit at comedy club mainstays including The Improv and The Comedy Store, Ellin took a position in the mailroom of New Line Cinema. It was through this connection to New Line Production Head, Michael DeLuca, that Ellin's career was able...

Duff Goldman

Chef Duff Goldman started working for acclaimed Baltimore Chef Cindy Wolf while attending the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. After graduating with degrees in History and Philosophy, Duff left Baltimore to study pastries at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, California. While in Napa, Duff was a stagiere at the French Laundry, working under acclaimed pastry Chef...

Duke Stump

A spirited and dynamic brand leader, speaker, teacher and blogger with an unbridled passion for creating what could be. Duke is Principal and Chief Architect of The Northstar Manifesto. A dynamic and progressive brand strategy studio focused on cultivating and nurturing cultural shifts in the world of sustainability. Over the past year, Duke has collaborated with a variety of luminary and...

Gentry Humphrey

How do you take a brand from big to huge? How do you make a brand part of the everyday lexicon? Gentry Humphrey, the man who helped make Air Jordans a standard wardrobe accessory, tells audiences how to move consumers by innovating, imagining and inspiring. If you doubt the influence the Jordan Brand has had on popular culture, think about this: Before the first AIR JORDAN...

Grant Achatz

Grant Achatz is the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef of 2008. His restaurant, Alinea, was named “Best Restaurant in America” by Gourmet Magazine. After opening, Alinea rapidly garnered top ratings from Mobil, AAA, Zagat, the Chicago Tribune, Time Out, Gayot, and was named to the Top 50 Restaurants in the World by Restaurant Magazine, UK.

Hollis Gillespie

Writer and former flight attendant Hollis Gillespie is a syndicated columnist and top-selling author. Her column "Moodswing" appears in the alternative weekly Creative Loafing. She is the travel columnist at Paste Magazine and writes a humorous financial column for BeE WOMAN magazine. Hollis has appeared on the cover of numerous publications including Atlanta magazine, Creative Loafing...

James Franco

James Franco’s metamorphosis into the title role of the TNT biopic James Dean earned him career-making reviews, as well as a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture made for Television. He also received nominations for an Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award for this memorable performance. Franco earned an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead as well as nominations for an Academy...

Jay Sean

Jay Sean is the international superstar behind songs such as "Down," featuring Lil Wayne, and "Do You Remember," chart-topping hits from his U.S. debut album All or Nothing, which helped catapult him into a league reserved for just a few. Now, he is gearing up for the release of his fourth album, the highly anticipated Cash Money/Universal Republic follow-up Freeze Time, with music, including...

Jeff Ng

With his hands in just about everything, 33-year-old Jeffrey Ng aka jeffstaple has masterfully created a world of communicating through design. The founder and owner of Staple Design, Staple Clothing and Reed Space, Jeff is a graphic, web and clothing designer, artist, DJ, writer and entrepreneur. Born in New Jersey, Jeff attended New York University to study journalism. While in college, he...

Jeff Staple

With his hands in just about everything, 33-year-old Jeffrey Ng aka jeffstaple has masterfully created a world of communicating through design. The founder and owner of Staple Design, Staple Clothing and Reed Space, Jeff is a graphic, web and clothing designer, artist, DJ, writer and entrepreneur. Born in New Jersey, Jeff attended New York University to study journalism. While in college, he...

John Cleese

Best known for his brilliant humor and classic TV and film performances, John Cleese is also an extraordinarily popular lecturer who enthralls packed audiences worldwide. Often named the funniest man alive, John Cleese is both a versatile comedic actor and a leading business motivator.

John Cusack

With an impressive body of work spanning the course of two decades, John Cusack has evolved into one of Hollywood's most accomplished and respected actors of his generation, garnering both critical acclaim as well as prestigious accolades for his dramatic and comedic roles. Cusack first gained the attention of audiences by starring in a number of 1980s film classics such as "The Sure Thing,"...

Joss Whedon

Emmy and Oscar nominee Joss Whedon is one of Hollywood's top creators, scripting several hit films and creating one of television's most critically praised shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Born in New York June 23, 1964, Whedon is a third-generation television writer. His grandfather and father were both successful sitcom writers on shows such as The Donna Reed Show, Leave It to Beaver and...

Kara DioGuardi

While you may know her as the American Idol judge who sits between Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres, Kara's songs have appeared on more than 150 million albums, and she remains one of the industry's most sought after songwriters and producers. Kara is a Grammy nominated hitmaker, 2007 BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year, 2007 SOCAN Award winner, and has been awarded 15 BMI Awards for co-writing .....

Kat Von D

Kat Von D, 28, is one of the most respected and sought-after tattoo artists in the world. She's also the star of TLC's series "L.A. Ink," a spin-off of "Miami Ink," which Kat was featured on for two seasons. The hit series "L.A. Ink" will be airing new episodes this July centering on the talented artists working at Kat's tattoo shop - High Voltage Tattoo. Since "L.A. Ink" premiered in Aug...

Ken Levine

Ken Levine is the co-founder, President and Creative Director of 2K Boston (formerly Irrational Games). At 2K Boston, Ken led the creation of the multi-million selling, multiple game-of-the year award winning title BioShock . Prior to Bioshock, Ken wrote the original storyline for Thief: The Dark Project and was the lead designer of System Shock 2...

Kevin Carroll

Kevin Carroll is the founder of Kevin Carroll Katalyst/LLC and the author of three highly successful books published by ESPN, Disney Press and McGraw-Hill. As an author, speaker and agent for social change (a.k.a. the Katalyst), it is Kevin’s “job” to inspire businesses, organizations and individuals - from CEOs and employees of Fortune 500 companies to schoolchildren - to embrace their spirit...

Kirk Ellis

Award-winning writer/producer Kirk Ellis won two Emmys and the Humanitas Prize for his work on John Adams starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. Ellis wrote and co-executive produced the seven-part HBO miniseries, which is based on David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography. The miniseries scored a record 23 nominations; second only to Roots in Emmy history and won a record breaking...

Marcus Buckingham

Marcus Buckingham has dedicated his career to helping individuals discover and capitalize on their personal strengths. Hailed as a visionary by corporations such as Toyota, Coca-Cola, Master Foods, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, and Disney, he has helped to usher in the “strengths revolution,” persuasively arguing that people are dramatically more effective, fulfilled and successful...

Matt Harding

Recently named as TIME magazine’s “#1 Viral Video of 2008,” Matt Harding’s inspiring, universally appealing videos have reached over 30 Million viewers around the globe. At 26, Matt Harding quit his job as a videogame designer and spent his life savings on a trip around the world. He took a friend’s suggestion to perform his terrible dancing techniques in the various exotic settings he...

Matthew Weiner

Matthew Weiner is the creator and executive producer of Mad Men, an AMC original series, now in its fourth season. Since its debut, the series has garnered three consecutive Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Drama Series; three Golden Globe® Awards for Best Television Drama Series; a Peabody Award; a Producers Guild Award; two Writers Guild Awards; AFI Awards for one of the Top 10 Outstanding...

Morgan Webb

Morgan defies all reason as a computer and gaming wizard who's strikingly beautiful, spunky and clever. From simple philosophy student to the programmer's pin-up girl, Morgan Webb had quite a ride. She survived the dot-com bust and found a cushy spot in the offices of TechTV as host of The Screen Savers, doling out daily Windows tips to love-stricken techies.

Nev Schulman

Yaniv "Nev" Schulman can currently been seen in the critically acclaimed film, CATFISH, which had its world premiere at the Sundance film festival, selling in a bidding war to Relativity and Universal. In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel's brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project would lead to the most...

Paul Haggis

Paul Haggis is the award-winning filmmaker who, in 2006, became the first screenwriter to write two Best Film Oscar winners back-to-back – Million Dollar Baby (2004) directed by Clint Eastwood, and Crash (2005) which he himself directed. For Crash, he won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. The film also received an additional four nominations including one for...

Paula Wagner

Paula Wagner, a co-owner of United Artists Entertainment, LLC (along with Tom Cruise and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.), also serves as the company's Chief Executive Officer, overseeing all its day-to-day operations. She and Cruise took charge of United Artists in November 2006, with the aim of reviving the venerable studio founded nearly 90 years ago by movie legends ...

Ray Kurzweil

Ray Kurzweil has been described as “the restless genius” by the Wall Street Journal, and “the ultimate thinking machine” by Forbes. Inc. magazine ranked him #8 among entrepreneurs in the United States, calling him the “rightful heir to Thomas Edison,” and PBS included Ray as one of 16 “revolutionaries who made America,” along with other inventors of the past two centuries. As one of the lead...

Rem Koolhaas

His unique vision and inspirational designs are seen throughout the world. One of the world's most honored architects, a recipient of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2000, Rem Koolhaas is considered one of the world's most brilliant, daring and creative architects. Rem began his career as an architect not by designing a building but by writing a book. His Delirious New..

Ryan Bingham

For some artists, winning an Oscar would represent reaching a pinnacle. For Ryan Bingham, who took home the Academy Award for "The Weary Kind," his hauntingly beautiful theme song for the acclaimed film Crazy Heart, it instead represented a crossroads and a decision about which path to take. "When there are a lot of people around saying 'look, you have to capitalize on this and do something ...

Stacy London

Stacy London is one of America’s foremost fashion experts. She is currently the co-host of TLC’s hugely popular show, What Not To Wear. In 2005 Stacy joined The Today Show on NBC as a style correspondent and has regularly appeared on Access Hollywood as a fashion expert. Previous to a career in television, Stacy developed her keen sense of style in fashion editorial. A true arbiter of...

T Bone Burnett

In his conversations and speeches, T Bone Burnett focuses on his celebrated work as a composer, music supervisor and producer for films such as O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Walk the Line, Across the Universe, Cold Mountain and The Big Lebowski. Burnett-who just won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "The Weary Kind," the theme from Crazy Heart, for which he also served as a producer.....

Terry Tamminen

“Arnold Schwarzenegger may have signed the world's toughest anti-global-warming law, but it is Terry Tamminen, his environmental adviser, who is emerging as the state's real [global warming] Terminator.” (TIME Magazine, April 9, 2007). “Terry Tamminen...is probably the most brilliant guy around when it comes to the environment,” says Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, (Outside Magazine, April...

Thomas Dolby

This gifted musician scored a Top 5 hit with his song and video "She Blinded Me With Science" and became one of the first stars of MTV in the early 1980's. He went on to record several multi-platinum albums and perform with the likes of Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Roger Waters, Def Lepperd, Joni Mitchell and Foreigner, and this earned him 5 Grammy® nominations.

Thomas Kinkade

Twenty-five years have passed since Thomas Kinkade and his bride, Nanette, put their entire savings into his first lithograph printing in 1984. Thom found that he was inspired not by fame and fortune, but by the simple act of painting straight from the heart, putting on canvas the natural wonders and images that moved him most. It is this devotion and singular-minded focus on the...

Tim Gunn

Tim Gunn is Chief Creative Officer of Liz Claiborne Inc. In this role, he is responsible for attracting, retaining and developing the creative talent within the Liz Claiborne, Inc. portfolio of brands. Prior to joining Liz Claiborne Inc., Gunn served as a member of the administration and faculty at Parsons School of Design for 24 years and has a rich and deep history with the institution...

Tom Shadyac

What makes you happy? Tom Shadyac certainly knows how to make people smile and laugh having directed Hollywood comedic blockbusters Ace Ventura, The Nutty Professor, Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty and Liar Liar, among others. Now Tom finds his more serious and introspective side as a life threatening accident causes him to not only seek life's meaning but question the "American Dream." In the up...

Trey Ratcliff

Trey Ratcliff (@TreyRatcliff) runs the #1 Travel Photography Blog in the world at StuckInCustoms.com, which receives over half a million monthly page views. Chris Anderson from TED called Trey a "pioneer of HDR photography." HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography is a new paradigm in art that creates images like no one has ever seen before. Trey has had the first HDR photograph to hang in the...

Victoria Labalme

Performing Artist & Communications Expert Victoria Labalme is known throughout the business community as a dynamic and motivation catalyst for dramatically improving and transforming people's presentation and communication skills...

Wade Davis

Anthropologist Wade Davis is perhaps the most articulate and influential western advocate for the world's indigenous cultures. His stunning photographs and evocative stories capture the viewer's imagination. As a speaker, he parlays that sense of wonder into passionate concern over the rate at which cultures and languages are disappearing -- 50 percent of the world's 6,000 languages, he says...

William McDonough

William McDonough is a world-renowned architect and designer and winner of three U.S. presidential awards: the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development (1996), the National Design Award (2004); and the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (2003). Time magazine recognized him as a “Hero for the Planet” in 1999, stating that “his utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that...

Yves Behar

Designer Yves Behar has produced some of the new millennium's most coveted objects, like the Leaf lamp, the Jawbone headset, and the XO laptop for One Laptop per Child. Over the past decade, Yves Behar and his firm fuseproject have become the design group that companies turn to for a game-changing idea. Take the re-invention of the Bluetooth headset, for one; or the re-envigoration of...

Zach Braff

Zach Braff has distinguished himself from his peers-not only as an actor, but as a writer and director. With his feature writing and directorial debut, GARDEN STATE, Zach Braff revealed himself in all three capacities-acting, writing and directing. The film garnered numerous awards. On the writing side, Braff received a coveted WGA nomination for "Best Original Screenplay." The film has also...

Frank Rose

Frank Rose is a recognized authority on the future of media. In his new book, The Art of Immersion: How the Digital Generation Is Remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the Way We Tell Stories, he argues that we are seeing the emergence of a new form of narrative that’s native to the Internet in the same way the novel is native to print. Told through many media at once in a nonlinear fashion...

Top Creativity Speakers