Business Forum

Aging Means Business

Monday, November 22, 2010, at 8:30 am
Hilton New Orleans Riverside
Two Poydras Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Sponsored by AARP, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab, MetLife Mature Market Institute, and ActiveAge.

Registration (includes breakfast and lunch):
$149 - Regular (not registered for GSA's 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting: "Transitions of Care Across the Aging Continuum"*)
Registration now open!  Click here to register now.

$79 - Attendees of GSA's 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting: "Transitions of Care Across the Aging Continuum"*
Register on the Annual Scientific Meeting page.

On-site registration will be available between Friday, November 19 and Monday, November 22.

The United States population is aging, and each cohort of older adults is healthier and wealthier than the one prior. In fact, people over age 50 control 70 percent of wealth in the United States, which highlights the enormous opportunity for businesses to cater to this market segment.

Join us in New Orleans for this one-day forum to learn more about the changing consumer demands of the 50+ age group—and ways to better serve, target, and engage this growing market of baby boomers and older generations. Top-ranked academic experts on economics, gerontology, and consumer behavior will engage in dialogue with national and local business leaders interested in understanding, attracting, and capitalizing on a growing senior market.

The day will be moderated by Harry R. Moody (Director of Academic Affairs, AARP) and Sandra Timmermann
(Executive Director, MetLife Mature Market Institute), and will include a focus on aging-in-place technology, home
modification, and housing. Laurie Orlov, founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch, will provide the keynote address. Other presenters will include Joseph Coughlin, founder and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab; Mary Furlong, president and CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates; and Gary Moulton, product manager in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group.

Plus, join us as we announce the winner of the first Aging Means Business Student Ad Contest, sponsored by the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to design original ads for a marketing campaign aimed at adults age 50+. This year’s ad theme is “Welcome to New Orleans, Baby Boomers!”; ads should promote tourism in New Orleans for adults age 50+. Experts in 50+ consumer marketing will judge student-designed ads based on their ability to capture the 50+ audience according to principles of advertising and consumer research. For more information, or to submit an ad, click here.

View the agenda here.

For information about last year's "Aging Means Business" forum in Atlanta, GA, click here.

* This event is part of GSA’s “Transitions of Care Across the Aging Continuum” conference, to be held November 19-23 in New Orleans, LA, at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. An estimated 3,500 professionals in the field of aging are expected to attend, and the program schedule contains more than 400 scientific sessions featuring interdisciplinary research on aging.

For more information, including sponsorship opportunities, please contact Greg O’Neill at (202) 587-2842 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Sarah Frey at (202) 587-2843 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Confirmed Presenters to Date

	Lori Bitter, MA, is president of Continuum Crew, an integrated communications firm focused on engaging mature consumers, which she launched following the closure of JWT BOOM, the nation’s leading mature market advertising and marketing company. In 2010 Continuum Crew was named on Entrepreneur magazine's 100 to Watch list. Lori has more than 25 years of advertising, public relations and strategic planning experience and is the author of numerous white papers on topics relevant to the senior and Boomer population. Lori holds a Master’s degree in Advertising from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
	Joseph F. Coughlin, PhD, is founder and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. He is one of Fast Company magazine’s "100 Most Creative People in Business” and was named by The Wall Street Journal as one of “12 pioneers inventing the future of aging and how we will all live, work and play tomorrow.” His research seeks to understand how demographic and social trends, human behavior and technology converge to drive future innovations in business and government. He also consults to governments, financial services, consumer products, transportation, retailers, IT and health firms worldwide.
	Helen Foster is the principal and lead strategist at Foster Strategy, a marketing consultancy specializing in 50+ consumers.  Helen is a nationally recognized expert in age-qualified real estate, and has served as a speaker, judge, advisor, and editorial contributor for top industry organizations, including the Urban Land Institute and the International Council on Active Aging.  Helen’s experience encompasses consulting, planning and/or communications development; her clients include Verizon, the State of Louisiana, Bose, Retirement Living TV, AARP, and others.  Before developing Foster Strategy in 2007, Helen was a partner and co-manager of the 50+ consumer division for the major multinational communications firm, JWT.
	Mary Furlong, EdD, president and CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates, is a leading authority on the baby boom generation as it moves toward and beyond age 50. She has guided the offline and online 45+ market strategies of leading corporations and nonprofit organizations for more than 20 years, and her list of clients includes IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Merrill Lynch, Viacom (CBS), Advance Publications, Proctor & Gamble, Pfizer, Microsoft, regional Bell operating companies and AARP. In addition, Mary is a professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Santa Clara, and founder of SeniorNet and ThirdAge Media. Furlong’s book, Turning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace, was published by Financial Times Press in 2007.
	Tara Letort is the director of group public relations and communications at the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau. In this role, she provides attendance-building tools for upcoming conventions. She serves as an extension of the client's marketing department and works closely with the group's meeting planner, marketing and PR director, and local committee members to customize marketing plans to help promote the city and the upcoming meeting. Tara is a member of the local American Marketing Association and currently is pursuing her Certified Meeting Professional designation. Tara has been in the advertising/marketing industry for 10 years, since graduating from the University of Alabama in 2000.
	David A. Lindeman, PhD, is Director of the Center for Aging and Technology, an initiative of The SCAN Foundation and the Public Health Institute. The Center focuses on identifying and evaluating best practices in the diffusion of emerging technologies that enhance home and community-based care for seniors, and serves as a state and national resource base for providers and policymakers. Previously, Dr. Lindeman was the founder and Director of the Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging in Evanston, IL, an applied research and education center. He has served as director or co-director of federal, state and foundation coordinating centers/program offices, including those for the National Institute on Aging and California Department of Health Services.
	Harry R. Moody, PhD, is the director of academic affairs for AARP. Before coming to AARP, he served as Executive Director of the Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College and Chairman of the Board of Elderhostel. He is the author of many articles and books, including Aging: Concepts and Controversies (now in its 6th edition); Ethics in an Aging Society; and The Five Stages of the Soul: Charting the Spiritual Passages That Shape Our Lives, translated into seven languages worldwide.  He is completing a new book, The New Aging Enterprise, highlighting “good to great” organizations in the field of aging.
	Gary Moulton, PhD, is a product manager in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group. He is responsible for the company's strategic initiatives that focus on the use of technology by older adults (50+). Prior to his current position he was responsible for Microsoft's vendor program for assistive technology manufacturers. He held a similar position at Apple before joining Microsoft in 1995. He was trained as a clinician and, at the beginning of his career, worked with individuals with disabilities. He also has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in human development.
	Laurie M. Orlov, a tech industry veteran, writer, speaker, and eldercare advocate, is the founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch, a market research firm that provides thought leadership, analysis, and guidance about technologies and related services that enable boomers and seniors to remain longer in their home of choice. In addition to her technology background and years as a technology industry analyst, Laurie is a certified long-term care ombudsman in Florida and the author of When Your Parents Need Elder Care: Lessons From The Front Lines.
	Jon Pynoos, PhD, is the UPS Foundation Professor of Gerontology, Policy and Planning at the Andrus Gerontology Center of the University of Southern California. He is also director of the National Resource Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modification, and co-director of the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence. Pynoos researches, writes, and advises the government and non-profit sectors concerning how to improve housing and long term care for the elderly. He has conducted numerous applied research projects based on surveys and case studies of housing, aging in place and long-term care. He teaches courses on Social Policy and Aging.
	Gregor Fraser Rae, chairman and co-founder of BusinessLab, an IT-related research consultancy, is a strategist with over 20 years experience in corporate and product positioning, marketing, and communications. He has coordinated a number of collaborative research programmes including "ActiveAge," which is committed to finding innovative solutions for an aging society. Recent conference presentations include, "The Competitive Advantage of Aging," "Assistive Technologies: All Change," and "The Aging Boomers - Watch This Space."
	Sandra Timmermann, EdD, is an assistant vice president of the Retirement Strategies Group at MetLife, and the director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute. The Institute informs product development, enables MetLife associates to better understand and engage mature customers, and influences public opinion. Prior to joining MetLife, Sandy held senior staff positions with several national aging organizations including the American Society on Aging, AARP and SeniorNet. Earlier in her career, Sandy worked with corporate clients in public relations and marketing agencies. Sandy is the Financial Gerontology columnist for the Journal of Financial Service Professionals, and has been interviewed by major media including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and USA TODAY.