The Schwab iMPACT 2000 conference schedule is out, with the line-up of celebrities for the September event looking more like the evening's guest list on The Tonight Show than a program for financial advisors.

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Schwab iMPACT 2000

But that is the trend with the biggest and even the smaller conferences lately -- organizers have to fill the seats, and that includes signing entertaining professional speakers, not just star money managers.

Probably the biggest and timeliest keynote speaker is recent Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, who made a strong run in the early primaries against George W. Bush before bowing out in March. Presumably, conservative McCain will have substantially different content than last year's moving keynote from former New York governor and famed liberal Mario Cuomo.

Another interesting choice of guest speaker is basketball great Earvin "Magic" Johnson, one of the most versatile, entertaining, and beloved athletes in recent sports history. In addition to Johnson's visibility as an athlete, he also made headlines during the 1991-92 NBA season by going public with the fact that he was HIV-positive. He continues to campaign to raise funds to fight AIDS via his Magic Johnson Foundation.

And the Tuesday keynote speaker, Guy Kawasaki, the CEO of Garage.com, should have many interesting questions to answer from the audience regarding the future of the Internet start-up boom and the venture capital industry that has boomed alongside of it.

 

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