February 13, 2013
American Express Publishing’s Luxury Summit 2013 will take place April 21-23 at St. Regis Monarch Beach, CA, and will center on the theme, “Luxury: The Remix 2013.”
The summit will concentrate in four key areas: globalism, travel, lifestyle and technology. Speakers include executives from Hermès, PPR, Tom Ford, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Hilton Worldwide.
“This year's theme is 'Luxury: The Remix 2013,' a road map for the future that involves innovative ways of looking at the world of luxury and doing business,” said Richard David Story, editor in chief of American Express Publishing’s Departures, New York.
American Express Publishing produces the Departures, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine and Executive Travel magazines.
Pooling resources
Mr. Story is curating the content for this year’s conference.
In fact, the summit will begin with an interview by Mr. Story with Bob Chavez, president/CEO of Hermès USA.
The French fashion group saw notable sales growth in 2012.
Hermès spring/summer 2013
“This interview will set the tone for the conference,” Mr. Story said. “We’ll be talking about how this quintessential luxury brand has evolved throughout the years, maintaining its status as the epitome of luxury of not only the past and present, but of the future.”
Additional speakers at the summit come from luxury brands in the fashion, beauty, travel and real estate categories.
Fashion executives include Alexis Babeau, managing director at PPR Luxury Division; and Domenico De Sole, chairman of Tom Ford International.
Jane Lauder, global president and general manager at Estée Lauder-owned brands Origins, Ojon and Darphin, will discuss high-end beauty from a global perspective.
From the travel sector will be Frits van Paasschen, president/CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide; Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group; John Vanderslice, global head of luxury and lifestyle brands at Hilton Worldwide; and Sam Nazarian, founder and chairman/CEO of SLS Hotels Brand.
Mr. van Paasschen, for example, will discuss Starwood’s new luxury hotels opening around the world, while Mr. Nazarian will talk about how the SLS Hotels Brand is redefining the hospitality industry.
SLS Beverly Hills
The new feature of American Express Publishing’s Luxury Summit this year is the real estate panel moderated by Pamela Liebman, president/CEO of Corcoran Group.
Panelists include Izak Senbahar, president of Alexico Group, which is the developer of New York’s 56 Leonard and the Mark Hotel.
Mark Hotel
“Home sales with a more than $1 million price tag soared at the end of 2012 and there are more $20-$30 million deals happening right now around the country than even before the recession,” Mr. Story said.
“Who better to discuss these trends and how the luxury real estate market translates to other sectors than Pam who heads Corcoran Group?” he said. “Her strategy and leadership has transformed Corcoran Group into one of the nation's most successful and prestigious real estate firms.”
That’s the spirit
The Luxury Summit 2013 will also feature American Express Publishing executives such as Nancy Novogrod, senior vice president and editorial director at American Express Publishing Corp. and editor in chief of Travel + Leisure; and Ray Isle, executive wine editor at Food & Wine.
Mr. Isle will lead the summit’s first wine panel with actor Kyle MacLachlan, who will discuss his wine venture Pursued by Bear, and Ravenswood Winery’s founding winemaker Joel Peterson.
Additional media, research and technology executives will be present including Chris Anderson, author, CEO of 3DRobotics and former editor of Wired; Melissa Biggs Bradley, founder of Indagare; Robert Frank, reporter and editor at CNBC; Dr. Jim Taylor, vice chairman at The Harrison Group; and Alexandra Wolfe, author of “Stop Out ... Start Up.”
The conference also includes activities for delegates and attendees such as surfing lessons, sailing, poolside fitness and cooking lessons with Los Angeles' Umami Burger chef Adam Fleischman.
The full program for American Express Publishing’s Luxury Summit 2013 is available at http://luxurysummit.com.
St. Regis Monarch Beach
“Luxury is alive and well,” Mr. Story said. “All eyes are on Africa – we are seeing more and more luxury companies looking to open stores and plan for hotels on the continent.”
Final Take
Tricia Carr, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
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