Keynote Presentations
Continue your networking and professional development with these keynote presentations.
Scott Adams
Author"Comedy, Cubicles and Corporate Life"
Tuesday, April 17, 9:15 – 10:00 a.m.
Scott Adams, the man who gave us the comic strip Dilbert, keeps audiences laughing with a presentation guaranteed to show the lighter side of work.
Corporate Irreverence: Endless, time-wasting meetings, back-stabbing co-workers, downsizing – no matter what the bad news in the business world, Scott Adams can find the humor. Creator of the comic strip and cultural phenomenon Dilbert, Adams entertained himself during boring meetings by drawing caricatures of his co-workers and bosses, when a bespectacled character named Dilbert emerged from the doodles. Audiences everywhere have identified with the hapless character, trapped forever in his cubicle, and, like his popular comic strip, Adams' presentations never fail to entertain.
The Dilbert Phenomenon: Now published in more than 2,000 newspapers in 65 countries, it is the most photocopied, pinned-up, downloaded, faxed, re-faxed, e-mailed and snail-mailed comic strip in the world. Recipient of the Reuben Award, cartooning's highest honor, Adams has 35 books in print, including two No. 1 New York Times best sellers.
Well-traveled in the Corporate World: Adams is no stranger to the corporate world, having worked as a bank teller, computer programmer, financial analyst, product manager, commercial lender, budget manager, strategist, project manager and "pseudo-engineer." Adams knows firsthand what life in the business world is like – that's how he knows what's so funny about it and why he can so easily share that with audiences across the country.
David A. Dickey, Ph.D.
Professor of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NCSpecial Statistics Presentation
"Forecasting Methods: Models and Techniques"
Tuesday, April 17, 10:30 – 11:20 a.m.
David A. Dickey received his Ph.D. in statistics at Iowa State University in 1976, working under Professor Wayne A. Fuller. He is co-author of four books, including SAS for Forecasting Time Series in SAS' books by users program. Since 1976, Dickey has been on the statistics faculty at NCSU, where he teaches graduate-level statistical methods, theoretical and applied time series analysis, experimental design, applied data mining, a SAS programming course and an applied linear models course. A SAS contract instructor since 1981, Dickey developed the first SAS forecasting course and has taught many of the SAS advanced statistics courses. He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and member of NCSU's Academy of Outstanding Teachers.
He has taught in NCSU's summer institute in genetics and has associate status in the NCSU Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. His research focuses on time series and especially extensions and variations of the "Dickey-Fuller test" used in PROC ARIMA and other software packages.
The Disney Institute and Lee Cockerell
"Disney's Approach to Quality Service"Wednesday Lunch and Feature Presentation*
Wednesday, April 18, Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Since its founding in 1923, The Walt Disney Company has remained faithful in its commitment to producing unparalleled entertainment experiences. Today, Disney is divided into four major business segments: Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, Consumer Products, and Media Networks. Each segment consists of integrated, well-connected businesses that operate in concert to maximize exposure and growth worldwide. In this presentation, Disney presenters will focus on the Parks and Resorts segment to illustrate how the company has maintained its status by offering quality service to its customers.
After the engaging, quality service presentation, hear personal insights from Lee Cockerell, an experienced leader with Disney. Lee Cockerell held the distinguished title of executive vice president of Operations for Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. His responsibilities included managing the largest single-site work complex in the United States. Cockerell managed 18 resort hotels with more than 20,000 guest rooms, four theme parks, three water parks, five golf courses, shopping village and nighttime entertainment complex, and a large sports and recreation complex. He also handles support operations for this multibillion-dollar business, which employs over 54,000 people.
Note: The Disney keynote presentation is being offered in conjunction with lunch on Wednesday. This is an extra-fee event. Special meal deals are available.
*Throughout the presentation, Cockerell will reveal real-world operational examples of the "business behind the magic." Thus, the Disney Institute Team respectfully requests that no children under the age of 16 attend this portion of the SAS conference in order to preserve the Disney image of fun and fantasy for our younger guests.