On Monday, November 16
-- CNBC's Maria Bartiromo hosts entrepreneurship discussion featuring Snoop Dogg, Blake Mycoskie, Stephen Hanson, and Barry Sternlicht --
-- mtvU's "Movers & Changers" contest winner selected; awarded $25,000 start-up funds --
-- NYSE Euronext celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week in Europe and Ireland --
November 13, 2009, NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week, NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) on Monday, Nov. 16 will host the second annual "Mentoring Madness" event at the New York Stock Exchange with participation of four leading entrepreneurs -- Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus; Blake Mycoskie, Founder of TOMS Shoes; Stephen Hanson, Founder and President of B.R. Guest Restaurants; and Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group. Following the global webcast discussion on entrepreneurship led by CNBC's Maria Bartiromo, the winner of the mtvU "Movers & Changers" competition will be selected and receive $25,000 in start-up funds. NYSE Euronext will also celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week in its European market centers, where various events for the public and children will also take place.
"Global Entrepreneurship Week is about inspiring and educating the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders and encouraging them to embrace innovation, imagination, and creativity," said Duncan L. Niederauer, Chief Executive Officer, NYSE Euronext. "This message is especially important in these challenging times as entrepreneurs give birth to new products and services, create new employment and business opportunities, and fuel the growth of capital markets and world economies. We are proud to be part of Global Entrepreneurship Week."
Mentoring Madness at the NYSE
Following the ringing of the NYSE Opening BellSM with the Mentoring Madness participants, Mr. Niederauer and Kauffman Foundation Vice President Bo Fishback will kick-off the event and introduce Ms. Bartiromo and the participants, who will share their views on entrepreneurship and insights on how they launched and grew their businesses and brands. The participants include:
Blake Mycoskie - Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS Shoes, a for-profit company that has given over 150,000 pairs of shoes to children in need with its One-for-One philosophy, giving a pair of new shoes to a child in need with every pair of shoes sold.
Stephen Hanson - Founder and President of B.R. Guest Restaurants, a New York-based multi-concept operator that began with one restaurant, Coconut Grill, in 1987 and has since expanded to 16 properties in two cities and a new hotel brand, Postcard Inn on the Beach. The first one has just launched in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida. With each B.R. Guest space, Hanson and his dedicated staff work to meet their own - and the public's – increasingly demanding expectations through an emphasis on hospitality and quality – a recipe that sets his properties apart from competitors.
Barry Sternlicht - Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, is widely known as one of the real estate industry's most successful investors and innovative minds. He founded Starwood Capital Group in 1991 at the age of 31 to invest in distressed savings and loan industry assets, and today it stands as one of the world's premier real estate investment firms having invested more than $6 billion of equity capital in $21 billion worth of assets around the globe. His career includes serving as Chairman and CEO of one of the largest U.S. hotel companies, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, overseeing several successful spin-offs, including iStar and Starwood Property Trust, and creating some of the hotel industry's most popular brands and features, including the W Hotels brand and the Westin Heavenly Bed.
Snoop Dogg - Rapper and Entrepreneur - The long career Snoop has sustained is not only contributed to his time in the studio, but also his time in the boardroom. With nine solo offerings, and over 30 million albums sold worldwide, Snoop has his hand in many other ventures and has transitioned from gangsta rapper to mainstream staple. Over the years Snoop has been involved in a myriad of branding and co-branding opportunities from dolls and pet clothes to the custom Snoop deVille.
"This is a great opportunity to explore entrepreneurship with true success stories in business. I am delighted to talk financial literacy to the next generation of entrepreneurs and investors," Ms. Bartiromo said. "While at the same time, get empowered by the lessons of success from proven leaders. We will hear the pivotal points in their business plan development, their major influences, the steps they took to take their ideas to the next level and the resources they used to start a new enterprise and achieve their dreams."
Approximately 250 budding entrepreneurs will be on hand to direct questions to Messrs. Mycoskie, Hanson, Sternlicht and Snoop Dogg. The full program will be available live via the web from 9:45 a.m. through 11:00 a.m. (NY-EST) at www.nyse.com/mentoringmadness.
"Movers & Changers"
Following the "Mentoring Madness" event, three groups of young, social entrepreneurs will compete in the "Movers and Changers" competition, a nationwide search by NYSE Euronext and mtvU for inventive capitalists with promising, innovative business plans that contribute to social responsibility and well-being. The "Movers & Changes" finalists will be featured in the new mtvU "Movers & Changers" four-part, short-form series premiering November 16, 2009. One team will take home the ultimate prize of $25,000 in start-up money.
The finalists of the "Movers and Changers" contest are: Bamboo Lota/team members Kyson Bunthuwong, Joanna Kim and Stephanie Wu from the University of California Berkeley; SafeSnip Combined Umbilical Cord Cutter, Clamp and Disinfectant/team members Stephanie Roberts and William Kethman from Tulane University and WET Tea for Wetland/team members Shea Shelton, Jay Zhoa and Nic Lagatta, also from Tulane University. Additional information on Movers and Changers can be found at http://www.moversandchangers.com.
NYSE Euronext Recognition of Global Entrepreneurship Week
In addition to the "Mentoring Madness" program at the NYSE in New York, NYSE Euronext will recognize Global Entrepreneurship Week across its market and business centers in Europe and Ireland. Events include:
* On Wednesday, Nov. 18, representatives of the Dutch arm of the Global Entrepreneurship Week organization will strike the traditional gong to open the Euronext Amsterdam market with the winner of a contest that accepted submissions of plans on how to motivate children for entrepreneurship.
* On Wednesday, Nov. 28, the Opening Bell at Euronext Paris will be rung by 30 French entrepreneurs who were selected among entries on the company's website.
* NYSE Technologies staff in Belfast, Northern Ireland, have launched the "Make Your Mark Challenge," which is a school business challenge targeting teens to submit new business ideas. Awards will be presented at the NYSE Technologies Belfast facility and winners will be flown to New York City for a visit to the NYSE.
About Global Entrepreneurship Week
With the goal to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity, Global Entrepreneurship Week will encourage youth to think big, turn their ideas into reality, and make their mark. From Nov. 16 - 22, 2009, millions of young people around the world will join a growing movement to generate new ideas and seek better ways of doing things. Tens of thousands of activities are being planned in dozens of countries. Global Entrepreneurship Week is founded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Make Your Mark campaign. For more information, visit www.unleashingideas.org, and follow @unleashingideas on Twitter.
About NYSE Euronext's Global Entrepreneurship Sponsorship
A cornerstone of the NYSE Euronext brand is a commitment to innovative thinking and the ability to introduce new concepts and products. We are a proud sponsor of Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination, and creativity. The Week will connect young people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. Students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, employees, non-profit leaders, government officials and many others will participate in a range of activities - online and face-to-face - to harness the energy of social networking, to connect people taking action in their local and global communities and to celebrate entrepreneurship across the globe.
Contacts
NYSE Euronext
Judy Shaw, Media, 212-656-4290
Jshaw@nyx.com
