Chris Gardner, the self-made businessman on whom the movie "The Pursuit
of Happyness" was based, will be one of the keynote speakers at the
Financial Planning Association's annual conference, the FPA announced.
Gardner will be
joined by Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic
Orchestra and previous keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum.
Speakers also include Amy Chua, author of the best-selling book, "World on Fire."
This year's FPA annual conference and
exposition will be held September 8-11 at the Washington State
Convention and Trade Center in Seattle.
Gardner, the owner
and CEO of Christopher Gardner International Holdings and the author of
the biography, "Pursuit of Happyness," will address "the keys to
empowerment, beating odds and breaking cycles," according to the FPA.
He will open the general session on Saturday, September 8, at 3:30 p.m.
Gardner's
rags-to-riches story was the basis of a movie starring Will Smith. The
story recounts how Gardner, homeless and with a toddler son at his
side, persevered to win a job as a broker at a large brokerage house.
Zander will use
the "analogy of the orchestra to demonstrate how an organization can
come together as a team and unleash its full potential," according to
the FPA. He will speak during the second general session on Sunday,
September 9, at 3:45 p.m.
Chua will speak
Monday, September 10, at 3:45 p.m. on "how to sustain globalization by
finding ways to spread its benefits while curbing its most destructive
aspects."