NEW YORK, March 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Wall Street Journal will again convene the world's leading CEOs, entrepreneurs, policymakers and industry experts at the annual ECO:nomics conference to address key changes, opportunities and risks at the intersection of business and the environment. The event will take place April 2-4 at the Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara, C.A.
This year, ECO:nomics features a lineup of global CEOs – including Nicholas K. Akins, chairman, president and CEO, American Electric Power; Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO, Mondelēz International, Inc.; Donnie Smith, president and CEO, Tyson Foods, Inc.; David P. Steiner, president and CEO, Waste Management, Inc.; Jim Lentz, CEO, Toyota North America; Christophe de Margerie, chairman and CEO, Total; and many others – who, along with subject-matter experts, will discuss and debate the most urgent topics with a focus on harnessing resources for the future, profitability, sustainability, and smarter uses of energy. The opening night session will feature a conversation on environmental innovation with Michael T. Duke, chairman, Executive Committee, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
The issues to be addressed at ECO:nomics 2014 directly impact the business world. Topics range from America's game-changing natural gas boom to China's globally significant energy appetite to the range of potential power sources of tomorrow that are only starting to get attention today. Emerging entrepreneurs will also pitch promising new clean tech companies in a special feature called "The Next Big Thing."
Additional leaders participating in ECO:nomics include:
- Gregory R. Page, executive chairman, Cargill, Incorporated;
- Helge Lund, president and CEO, Statoil ASA;
- J. Eric Smith, president and CEO, Swiss Re Americas;
- Thomas A. Fanning, chairman, president and CEO, Southern Company;
- Theodore F. Craver, Jr., chairman, president and CEO, Edison International;
- Gregory H. Boyce, chairman and CEO, Peabody Energy Corporation;
- Frederico Curado, president and CEO, Embraer S.A.;
- Fred Krupp, president, Environmental Defense Fund;
- Daniel Yergin, vice chairman, IHS;
- Vaclav Smil, distinguished professor emeritus, University of Manitoba;
- Stuart N. Bernstein, global head, Clean Technology and Renewables Group, Goldman Sachs;
- Peter W. Davidson, executive director of the Loan Programs Office, U.S. Department of Energy;
- David W. Mohler, vice president, Emerging Technology, Duke Energy Corporation;
- Edward Fenster, co-CEO, Sunrun Inc.
ECO:nomics will be hosted by editors of The Wall Street Journal, including Gerard Baker, editor in chief; John Bussey, assistant managing editor and executive business editor; Russell Gold, staff reporter, Kimberley Strassel, editorial board member; Joseph B. White, global automotive editor; and Jeffrey Ball, contributing editor.
The findings from ECO:nomics will be published in a worldwide special report in The Wall Street Journal and on WSJ.com.
For more information about The Wall Street Journal's 2014 ECO:nomics conference, please visit http://economics.wsj.com/. And for the social conversation follow @WSJ_ECO and use #WSJECO.
About The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is America's largest newspaper by paid circulation with more than 2.2 million customers. In recent years, the Journal has expanded its core content offering to include coverage of the arts, culture, lifestyle, sports, and personal health, building on its heritage as the leading source of business and financial news. Published by Dow Jones, one of the world's largest news gathering operations with nearly 2,000 journalists in more than 80 bureaus, The Wall Street Journal now spans 12 editions in nine languages, engaging readers across newspapers, websites, magazines, social media, and video. The Journal holds 35 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism.