15 Amazing Late Additions for SXSW 2017

The Forrest Four-Cast: March 5, 2017

Late last week, SXSW announced two additional keynote speakers for the 2017 lineup: Yasmin Green of Jigsaw (Tuesday, March 14) and country music super-start Garth Brooks (Friday, March 17). Some of the many other innovative industry experts who we have added to the lineup in the last few days are as follows:

1. Dean Baquet. Pictured above, he is the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has served as the executive editor of The New York Times since May 14, 2014. Hear Baquet’s insights about the challenges of the current administration on Sunday morning, March 12 at “Covering POTUS: A Conversation with the Failing NYT.”
2. Evan Burfield. The co-founder of Washington, D.C. startup incubator 1776, Burfield is a new addition to the “Working with Giants” session on Friday, March 10. This panel explores how big companies can incorporate the best traits of startup culture.
3. Diane Bryant. The executive vice president and general manager of the Data Center Group for Intel Corporation, Bryant is one of the many female presenters at SXSW who are addressing the topic of artificial intelligence. Her solo presentation on Tuesday, March 14 focuses on “AI: How Tech’s Next Revolution will Change Lives.”
4. Catherine Cheney. The West Coast correspondent for Devex, Cheney covers stories her audience of global development professionals can learn from as part of the publications motto of: “Do Good. Do It Well.” She is part of the “Basic Income: Can Giving Away Free Money Save Us?” session on Friday, March 10.
5. Jeff Dachis. The original founder of Razorfish, this long-time tech entrepreneur is now focusing his energies on health-related innovation. Hear how Dachis is attacking diabetes on Monday, March 13 at the “No More Apps: Why Reinventing Devices is Key” panel.
6. Victoria Espinel. The President and CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance, Espinel is a respected authority on the intersection of technology innovation, global markets and public policy. She leads efforts that help shape the technology landscape in 60 countries through work in BSA’s 10 global offices. At SXSW, she is part of the “An Act of War: Legislating Against Cyber Threats” panel on Monday, March 13.
7. Jonathan Greenblatt. The CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) talks about “The State of Hate” on Sunday, March 12 with Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune. Given the spike in hate incidents and crimes, vandalism, bomb threats, and abuse of minorities on social media over the last few months, this session should be incredibly timely
8. Julia Henderson. An independent radio producer and storyteller, Henderson is part of the ESPN-centric session “30 for 30 Podcasts: Audio Storytelling in Sports.” Scheduled on Sunday, March 12 at the Four Seasons as part of the action-packed Sports track.
9. Jeff Howe. Co-author of the new book “Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future,” Howe also penned the 2008 best-seller “Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business.” On Wednesday, March 15, his solo presentation is titled “Our Bright, Jobless Future: Trump Policy vs AI.”
10. Dave McClure. At Web Summit 2016, his November 9, post-election rant went viral. At SXSW, McClure talks to TechCrunh editor-at-large Josh Constine about “Startup Investing During the Trump Years.” Scheduled on Wednesday, March 15.
11. Alexis Ohanian. The co-founder of Reddit, he also co-founded Initialized Capital (a seed stage venture fund with over $160M under management) and wrote the best-selling book “Without Their Permission.” Ohanian returns to March Magic on the afternoon of Friday, March 10.
12. Lyndsey Parker. She is the Editor of Yahoo Music. Considered an expert in music and pop culture, Parker has appeared as a commentator for a wide variety of media outlets, including CNN, MTV, USA Today, and Reuters. On Saturday, March 18, she will lend her talents to “Conversation with Mike Posner.”
13. Josh Topolsky. He is the founder, CEO, and Editor In Chief of The Outline, a new digital media company that launched in Q4 2016. Before The Outline, Topolsky was most recently head of Bloomberg Digital as well as Bloomberg Media’s Chief Digital Content Officer. In 2015 he was named to AdAge’s 40 under 40. Learn his vision for the future at “Start Over: The Next Age of Digital Media” on Saturday, March 11.
14. Stephanie Weiner. Formerly the Senior Legal Advisor to Chairman Tom Wheeler at the Federal Communications Commission, Weiner is an expert in broadband policy matters, including net neutrality, broadband consumer privacy, competition policy, and universal service programs. Catch her at the “Internet Policy in the Age of Government Inc” panel on Wednesday, March 15.
15. Rebecca Williams. She is an open data advocate with a background in law and city planning who has also worked on federal data management at the White House Office of Management and Budget. On Monday, March 13, Williams contributes to “Fighting Crime with Data in the US and Abroad.”

Buy your badge now to learn from and connect with these 15 speakers plus thousands of other experts at SXSW 2017. Plenty of great hotel rooms still available throughout the city throughout the March 10–19 timeframe. Also, be sure to use the SXSW Social platform so you can book meetings before you get to Austin.

Hugh Forrest tries to write four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts generally cover technology-related trends. When not attempting to wordsmith or meditating, he serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW in Austin.