Maggie Burns (l) and Robert Safian.
NEW YORK—Fast Company’s award-winning editor, author and business observer, Robert Safian, will share his observations about leadership, innovation and agility in the closing keynote at Vision Monday’s upcoming Global Leadership Summit to be held here on March 14. Also, just added to the program is Maggie Burns, head of the real estate portfolio of Industrious, an emerging leader in the premium coworking space across the U.S. Both will be part of, ‘workSMART – Leadership Tactics in Transformative Times.’ Registration details are here for the day-long, exclusive live event geared to vision care senior executives and decision makers which will be held Wednesday, March 14 at the Times Center here, just prior to Vision Expo East that week.

Safian is one of the most sought after speakers, moderators and interviewers in modern business, chronicling thousands of odds-defying organizations and leaders and getting inside access to their secrets of success. He is editor-in-chief and managing director of the influential, award-winning Fast Company, the world's leading progressive business media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation, technology and leadership. Under Safian's leadership, Fast Company has received numerous accolades, including the highly coveted National Magazine Award for Magazine of the Year in 2014. Named Editor of the Year by Adweek in 2009, Safian has also served as an executive editor for Time and Fortune and headed Money as its chief editor for six years. Safian has emerged as a leading voice in the Innovation Economy.

Safian stewards several of the most groundbreaking business gatherings, including The Innovation Festival in New York City and the Creativity-Counter Conference in Los Angeles. He has been a keynote presenter at events ranging from SxSW Interactive to the United Nation's Global Accelerators Council, the National Retail Federation's "Big Show" to the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival.

Burns oversees the real estate portfolio at Industrious, one of the leading firms across the country in the coworking space arena. She will be one of the VM Summit speakers addressing new workplace trends, engaging employees and the agile company. Prior to Industrious, she served as vice president of real estate at Breather, the on-demand meeting and workspace network, where she oversaw leasing, design and construction, landlord partnerships and real estate technology. Prior to Breather, she was director of strategic accounts at VTS, the commercial real estate industry’s top leasing and asset management platform. She began her career in finance, as credit trader at a global multi-strategy hedge fund and chief investment officer at a specialty finance firm.



The two join previously announced ‘workSMART’ speakers including:

• Erin Byrne, CEO of GreyHealth Group, who will address the intersecting dynamics of technology and health care and the flexibility required by industry leaders.
• Jason Dorsey, a leading Millennials and Gen Z researcher and speaker, will be the 2018 VM Summit keynote speaker, talking about solving tough generational challenges for organizations and leaders
• Retail futurist Melissa Gonzalez, who founded the The Lion'esque Group  in 2009. Her firm includes retail strategists and pop-up architects and she is the author of ‘The Pop-Up Paradigm.’
• Michael Dorf, founder and CEO of City Winery. A fast-growing and unique operation, City Winery combines culinary and cultural in venues in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston and, soon, Washington D.C.

The VM ‘workSMART’ program will investigate and illustrate a new agility mandate for all businesses,” said Marge Axelrad, SVP, editorial director of Vision Monday. “Top thinkers and doers in the new world of work and business are redefining retail, health care and service. But how does a company ‘pivot’? What does the current digital revolution mean for traditional business models?”

The VM Summit attracts senior industry executives, optical retailers, leading eyecare professionals, suppliers and key opinion leaders from the worldwide optical industry. It has become the place for face-to-face networking, a dynamic exchange of ideas and thought-provoking discussion.

Seating is limited at the event; registration information is posted here.

The 2018 VM Summit Premier Sponsors are Essilor, Europa Eyewear and Luxottica. Signature Sponsors include Alcon and VisionWeb. Supporting Sponsors are VSP Global and CareCredit.