Media Mogul Summons the Powerful to Expound

MEDIA MOGUL SUMMONS THE POWERFUL TO EXPOUND
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Sallie Hofmeister]
When 250 News Corp. executives gather this weekend for a management retreat at a posh California seaside resort, they'll skip the typical team-building exercises that such confabs are known for. Why role-play when you can pick the brains of actual world leaders and rock stars? Speakers at the Pebble Beach event will include such political powers as British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former President Clinton and Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres. Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton will opine on remaking complex organizations, former Vice President Al Gore will riff on climate change, and U2's Bono will deliver a keynote address titled "The Power of One." If there's one man with the power to summon the powerful, mogul watchers agree, it's Murdoch. "It's his unique persona and his global reach that puts him in a special category," said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of the Yale School of Management. "He is the fulfillment, although not ideologically, of what Ted Turner aspired to be, in terms of having influence not only culturally but socially. Unlike [Viacom Inc. Chairman] Sumner Redstone, Murdoch is interested in influence as much as affluence."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-fox28jul28,1,292186...
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