SUMMIT REVIEW
OUTSIDE THE BOX
KATIE BARNES » MANAGING EDITOR » SPA BUSINESS T
he Aspen Institute at Aspen Mead- ows, Colorado is no stranger to forward-thinking leaders – Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs and Richard Branson have all spent time there in the quest for inspiration. T e venue was the perfect choice for this year’s Global Spa & Wellness
Summit (GSWS) – an event that promised something diff erent – to spur Innovation Through Imagination, enabling industry leaders to create new directions and busi- ness models. T e institute was created by businessman
Walter Paepcke in 1945. Enthralled by Aspen’s natural beauty, he pictured a haven where leaders, thinkers and artists could escape
from their daily responsibilities – on neutral ground – to refl ect on what makes a success- ful society and how to tackle critical issues. T e 325 spa industry professionals and
Aspen Institute fellows who attended the GSWS in June quickly discovered that the whole site has been built to inspire. Build- ings are purposely set apart so delegates walk between venues to provide thinking time; playful touches such as ping pong tables, keva planks for building, bendable blue objects and customised puzzles were dot- ted around the site to aid creativity, while the shade of blue used for the auditorium seats was picked for its stimulating qualities and as an echo of this, the site is planted with wild fl owers of the same colour.
A WIDE EMBRACE In a summit fi rst, this year’s agenda brought together a selection of experts from outside the industry to help delegates think outside the box and to encourage discussion on our sector’s future. T e impressive list of speak- ers included the head of retail at Google, an ex-chair of Disney Imagineering, a former Surgeon General, a Hollywood actress and the former President of Costa Rica. To reflect this more all-encompassing
approach, embracing the wider technolog- ical and medical sectors, the word wellness was added to the name of the summit. T e summit co-chairs who helped make
it all happen were GSWS board members Philippe Bourguignon, vice chairman of Rev- olution Places and CEO of Exclusive Resorts (see sb11/3 p44); Richard Dusseau, president of Trilogy Spa Ventures; and Susie Ellis, presi- dent of SpaFinder Wellness (see sb12/2 p52). Ellis says: “T is year’s summit was our
best-attended, most thought-provoking and information-packed conference to date.”
Actress Mariel Hemingway (left) spoke about spas and mental health with Susie Ellis 54 Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital
OUTSIDE INFLUENCES Dr Richard Carmona, the 17th US Surgeon General and now vice chair of Canyon Ranch (see sb09/1 p66), spoke passionately about the need to tackle the growing health cri- sis where healthcare systems are struggling to cope with the onset of chronic illnesses – such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease – which are oſt en preventable through life- style change. It’s predicted that such diseases will cost the US alone us$5.5 trillion (€4.5tn, £3.5tn) in the next few years, accounting for 20 per cent of GDP. Carmona feels spas have
SPA BUSINESS 3 2012 © Cybertrek 2012
The Aspen Institute was an inspiring venue
Held at an inspirational venue, with a host of outside industry experts prompting fresh ways of thinking, the sixth annual Global Spa & Wellness Summit lived up to its theme of Innovation Through Imagination
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