For Immediate Release October 20, 2009	Contact: Todd Kluss This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (202) 587-2839

Atlanta Business Leaders, Aging Experts To Confer on Senior Spending Power

Taking advantage of Atlanta’s reputation as a top center for commerce and transportation, the upcoming Annual Scientific Meeting of The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) will include a special forum about aging and business on Friday, November 20, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.

This day-long session, Aging Means Business in Atlanta, will provide a rare opportunity for leading authorities on economics, gerontology, and consumer behavior to engage in dialogue with Atlanta industry leaders interested in understanding, attracting, and capitalizing on an expanding senior market.

The presentations will address the enormous potential for targeting older consumers, life-course perspectives on the psychology and economics of consumption, and effective strategies for marketing to older adults. They also will spotlight specific industries, including financial services, entertainment, technology, pharmaceuticals, and insurance.

“The disruptive demographics of aging will drive business innovation,” said confirmed speaker Joseph Coughlin, PhD, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab. “The rapidly increasing and diverse 50-plus population across the industrialized world is a vast opportunity for technology and economic development laying the foundation for the new business of old age in Atlanta and beyond.”

According to research published by fellow presenter William Frey, PhD, the Atlanta region is home to four of America’s top 20 counties with the fastest growing population of residents ages 55 to 64, and five of the top 20 counties with the fastest growing population of people age 65 and over.

Coughlin and Frey will be joined by more than 15 national and Atlanta-based experts working at the nexus of aging and business issues. Among them are Mary Furlong, EdD, CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates and founder of SeniorNet and ThirdAge Media; Laura Carstensen, PhD, director of the Stanford Center on Longevity and professor of psychology; and Glenn Ruffenach, editor of The Wall Street Journal’s “Encore” section on retirement living.

The forum will start at 8:30 a.m. and registration prices range from $79 to $149. Participants will enjoy breakfast, a closing reception sponsored by the MIT AgeLab, and facilitated lunch table dialogues on various topics, such as aging-in-place technology and age branding and marketing.

A full description of the event, including the program, pricing, and a list of speakers, is available at www.geron.org/businessforum. For group rates (3 or more), contact Sarah Frey at (202) 587-2843 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

GSA’s Annual Scientific Meeting — the country's largest interdisciplinary conference in the field of aging — is taking place from November 18 to 22 at the Hilton Atlanta and Atlanta Marriott Marquis. Visit www.geron.org/am for more information. An estimated 3,500 professionals are expected to attend the four-day gathering, which includes more than 400 scientific sessions featuring research presented for the first time. Media representatives can register free of charge.

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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,200+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA’s structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and an educational branch, the Association of Gerontology in Higher Education.