Happy Days: Are They Here Again?
Nation's CEOs Gather to Address Recovery and Growth
And to Honor Jack Valenti, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of The Motion Picture Association

New Haven, CT - December 16, 2003 - With the resurgent stock market, cheerful economic indicators, rising corporate profits, and geopolitical calm, 140 business and top policy leaders gather at the 48th CEO Summit of The Chief Executive Leadership Institute of the Yale School of Management to determine if these conditions will continue past this holiday season. The invitation-only conference, "Happy Days: Are They Here Again?" takes place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City, December 18-19, 2003.

The conference features lively, off the record, candid discussions by world-renowned chief executives, policy makers, and academics, including: Reuben Mark of Colgate-Palmolive; William Perez of S.C. Johnson; Tag Taguchi of Toyota; Doug Conant of Campbell Soup; Steve Schwarzman of the Blackstone Group; James Schiro of Zurich Financial; William Parrett of Deloitte; Bob Hormats of Goldman Sachs; Brad Anderson of Best Buys; John Eyler of Toys "R" Us; Jack Valenti of the Motion Picture Association; Tom Van Weelden of Allied Waste; Stuart Miller of Lennar; Steve Berger of Odyssey Investment Partners; Jimmy Dunne of Sandler O'Neill; Rick Goings of Tupperware; Herbert Kohler, Kohler Corp.; Jack Ward of Russell Corporation; Matt Winkler of Bloomberg; Bill George of Medtronic; Nell Minow of the Corporate Library; Sandy Warner of J.P. Morgan Chase; Judith McHale of Discovery Communications; Austin Ligon of Carmax; U.S. Congressman Christopher Shays; U.S. Congressman Harold Ford; SEC Commissioners Cynthia Glassman and Harvey Goldschmid; Enron trailblazer Sherron Watkins; and Enron chronicler and Fortune reporter Bethany McLean. In addition, the forum will host fifteen prominent management scholars from Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, Dartmouth, Wharton, and other distinguished universities.

On the evening of Thursday, December 18, the widely-respected Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association, Jack Valenti, will be presented with the Legend in Leadership Award by Jean Picker Firstenberg, director of the American Film Institute, and by Philip Kent, CEO of Turner Entertainment, with a special tribute by Disney's Michael Eisner.

Past winners of this award include: Hershey's retired Chairman and CEO Kenneth Wolfe; Vanguard Founder Jack Bogle; Home Depot Founder Bernard Marcus; former Coca-Cola President Donald Keough; former PepsiCo CEO Roger Enrico; MCI Founder Bill McGowan; musician entrepreneur Quincy Jones; Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone; catalogue entrepreneur Lillian Vernon; Dunkin Donuts Founder, the late Bill Rosenberg; former J. Walter Thomson CEO Charlotte Beers; Bell South Chairman Emeritus John Clendenin; former Wal-Mart CEO David Glass; Rich Teerlink, former CEO of Harley-Davidson; Gordon Binder, CEO of Amgen; Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic; and Kemmons Wilson, creator of Holiday Inns.

Valenti has presided over a dramatic change in the motion picture business and helped pioneer ratings systems for both film and television. Faced with new technology, the rise of the importance of international markets, and piracy - issues which have radically changed the landscape of the American film and television industry - Valenti has demonstrated the formidable leadership style honed from more than 50 years of business experience to address these crucial global issues. He was in charge of press for President Kennedy's fateful visit to Texas in 1963, and was then hired as special assistant to the new President Lyndon B. Johnson.

The Motion Picture Association of America and its international counterpart, the MPA, serve as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video, and television industries. This Association represents not only the world of theatrical film, but also serves as leader and advocate for major producers and distributors of entertainment programming for television, cable, home video, and future delivery systems not yet imagined.

The MPA represents the complex audiovisual industry globally, and today, U.S. Films are shown in more than 150 countries worldwide and American television programs are broadcast in over 125 international markets. In addition, the U.S. film industry provides the majority of prerecorded cassettes seen in millions of homes throughout the world.

The conference will conclude with a lunch at noon on Friday, December 19, which will be held at the flagship Toys "R" Us store in Times Square, 70 feet above the atrium overlooking the carousel, and will feature comments by CNBC's Jim Cramer, founder of TheStreet.com and CNN's Andy Borowitz, author of "Who Moved My Soap?"

This final lunch event and the dinner presentation with Jack Valenti are open to a limited number of members of the press who register in advance at the number listed below.

About The Chief Executive Leadership Institute:
The Chief Executive Leadership Institute, the world's oldest CEO college, is part of the Yale School of Management. It was founded in 1989 to provide original research on leadership and lively current educational forums through peer-driven learning for accomplished leaders across sectors. To learn more about the CELI, visit: http://celi.som.yale.edu/.

About the Yale School of Management:
The mission of the Yale School of Management is to educate leaders for business and society. The school prides itself on preparing men and women to combine rigorous business skills with a broader appreciation for the economic, social, and political factors that shape the global environment. To learn more about the Yale School of Management visit: http://mba.yale.edu

For an interview with Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Associate Dean for Executive Programs at the Yale School of Management and Founder and President of The Chief Executive Leadership Institute, or to register for the Legend in Leadership Award dinner or closing luncheon, contact Tabitha Wilde, Associate Director of Media Relations at the Yale School of Management, 203-432-6010 (Tabitha.Wilde@yale.edu) or Bonnie Blake, 203-432-0867 (bonnie.blake@yale.edu).