Travel Leaders Network has announced that Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh will be the keynote speaker at the 2018 EDGE International Conference, which stands for “Educate, Discover, Gather, Evolve.” With more than 2,000 travel agents and industry leaders expected to attend, EDGE will take place at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas June 12-16. Hsieh’s keynote speech will be held on June 15. Travel Leaders Network comprises nearly 6,800 agency locations in both the United States and Canada.
“Tony is a trailblazer in his field and we are eager to hear and learn from him,” said Travel Leaders Network President Roger E. Block. “Attendees will be able to not only hear Tony’s keynote address, but will also have access to hundreds of training and education opportunities.”
In 1999, at the age of 24, Hsieh sold LinkExchange, the company he co-founded, to Microsoft for $265 million. He then joined Zappos as an advisor and investor, and eventually became CEO, where he helped Zappos grow from almost no sales in 1999 to the multi-billion-dollar company it is today. Back in 2009, the company was acquired by Amazon in a deal valued at $1.2 billion on the day of closing. Hsieh has remained as CEO of Zappos.
Hsieh’s book, “Delivering Happiness,” was published in 2010, and outlines his path from starting a worm farm to life at Zappos. Hsieh shows how a very different kind of corporate culture is a powerful model for achieving success and happiness.
In addition to his responsibilities as CEO of Zappos.com, he also helped start Downtown Project, a group committed to helping transform downtown Las Vegas. This transformation includes the relocation of the Zappos offices from Henderson, Nevada, to what was the old City Hall in downtown Las Vegas.
In addition to Hsieh’s keynote speech, EDGE will feature more than 210 hours of education, including adventure travel workshops presented jointly by Travel Leaders Network and the Adventure Travel Trade Association, workshops focused on luxury travel, selling independent travel to affluent travelers, as well as Power Speakers that include expert sessions on proven sales methodologies. Additionally, special sessions are planned for owners and managers of host agencies and sessions for independent contractors on how to grow their businesses.
The entertainment highlight of the conference will be a special performance of select songs from Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, the Tony and Grammy-award winning musical based on the true story of composer and singer-songwriter Carole King.
Travel Leaders Network agents who wish to register for the conference may do so on Agent Universe.
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