BUSINESS CONFERENCE
JUNE 15, 2009 / NEW YORK CITY
WIREd dIgITal WhITE PaPER / JUNE 25, 2009
Presented by

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ TaBlE OF CONTENTS
2 / INTRODUCTION
3 / FRee: The FUTURe OF a RaDICal PRICe
CHRIS ANDERSON editor in Chief, WIReD Magazine
4 / COllabORaTION as a bUsINess MODel
TIM CADOGAN CeO, OpenX
MARK SHUTTLEWORTH Founder, Ubuntu Project
5 / bReakINg The PRICe baRRIeR
ELON MUSK Founder, Tesla Motors; spaceX
6 / IT’s NOT abOUT The CaR
SHAI AGASSI Founder & CeO, better Place
7 / aND DaTa FOR all
VIVEK KUNDRA Federal CIO, Usa
8 / The leasT lIkely FINaNCIal gIaNT
SCOTT THOMPSON President, PayPal
9 / havINg CONFIDeNCe ON The eDge
JEFF BEZOS Founder & CeO, amazon.com
10 / DIsRUPT beFORe yOU’Re DIsRUPTeD
JEFF IMMELT Chairman & CeO, ge
11 / WhO NeeDs MOODy’s?
JESPER ANDERSEN & TOBY SEGARAN Co-Founders, Freerisk
12 / The gaMe has JUsT ChaNgeD
NEIL YOUNG Founder & CeO, ngmoco
13 / ReCaP: a Day OF DIsRUPTIve DIsCUssION
18 / sPONsORs
1/

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
We live in an era of relentless change. New technologies and business
models emerge almost overnight. advertising, retail, manufacturing, media,
financial services, travel—no matter what business you’re in, you’ve felt,
or are about to feel, the shockwave that disruption brings.
at WIREd we believe this flood of innovation represents a huge opportunity
—a once-in-a-lifetime chance to transform a company and a career.
disruptive By design was our effort to capture this concept for a select
like-minded audience.
In the pages that follow you’ll find summaries of all the conference events.
Each of our panelists told a different story of how to deal with change.
Jeff Immelt discussed shutting down gE’s incandescent bulb business
because it was good for his bottom line—and good for the planet. Federal CIO
Vivek Kundra laid out his ideas for government transparency via the new
website data.gov. and Neil Young of mobile game maker ngmoko shared how he
discovered a path to growth in the iTunes app Store. There were more insights
from Jeff Bezos, Shai agassi, Elon Musk, WIREd editor Chris anderson and
others. The clear message: If change is good, more change is better.
Whether you were at the Morgan library for the conference or you’re just
catching up now, we hope the ideas from disruptive By design will leave
you feeling better prepared to adapt, respond, and thrive—no matter what
comes at you next.
2/

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ FREE: The Future of a Radical Price
ChRIS aNdERSON
Editor in Chief, WIREd Magazine
W ant an idea that will shake
things up? What about free as
the ultimate price point? WIREd Editor
a full subscription, which gives them
access to deep business news and
specialized financial tools.
in Chief Chris anderson has spent
the last two years thinking about Microsoft is another example of
the idea of free. he says that zero is smart use of the free model, says
rapidly becoming the going rate for anderson. The company protested
new competitors entering markets quietly but took little legal action
and even for established companies while its Windows operating system
hoping to extend themselves. was widely pirated in China. Microsoft
executives were betting that each
“We have never had an industrial pirated copy of the operating system
economy where things got 50 percent would help build a base of customers
cheaper every year,” says anderson. who would pay for the convenience
Nowhere is this more true than on the of Windows support when they could
Internet, where nonexistent barriers afford to. “looking the other way,”
Photo / JosePh Moran
to entry and infinitesimal marginal says anderson, “Microsoft let pirates
“In some ways, the comPetItIon
Is to get to free before yoUr
/ ChRIS aNdERSON is editor in chief of WIREd
magazine, a position he took in 2001, and has led
oPPonent does.”
the magazine to nine National Magazine award
nominations, winning the prestigious top prize costs make free the new real price. be their best marketers, so that some
for general excellence in 2005, 2007 and 2009. “It’s the law of gravity, but online,” says day that piracy would come back as
he is the author of the New York Times best-seller anderson. “Everything digital will have revenues.” anderson says that the
The Long Tail, and runs a blog on the subject at a free counterpart. In some ways, the Microsoft example perfectly illustrates
www.longtail.com. anderson will publish his next competition is to get to free before two major types of customers in
book, FREE: The Future of a Radical Price, in July your opponent does.” the world of free. One group is price
2009. he is also founder of Booktour.com, a free sensitive, and looks for the lowest
online service that connects authors on tour how to decide if a business could cost no matter what. The other is risk
with potential audiences. Previously he was at benefit from free? anderson says that sensitive, willing to pay—sometimes
The Economist, where he served as U.S. business companies may want to make their a lot—for support, reliability, and
editor, asia business editor and technology editor. most popular product available for timeliness.
anderson’s media career began at the two premier free, and then charge for specialized
science journals, Nature and Science. anderson services, products or content. an and how does anderson incorporate
holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics example: wsj.com, the online services free into his own life? his new book,
from george Washington University and studied of the Wall Street Journal. The FREE: The Future of a Radical Price,
Quantum Mechanics and Science Journalism company offers dozens of news stories out in July, will be available in
at the University of California at Berkeley. and blogs for free every day. Readers audiobook and e-book versions
who want more pay $100 a year for for—you guessed it—free.
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BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ Collaboration as
a Business Model
Photo / JosePh Moran
TIM CadOgaN
CEO, OpenX
/ TIM CadOgaN is the chief executive officer of OpenX.
I
OpenX’s purpose is to help businesses worldwide grow t’s the ultimate business challenge: software becomes more attractive to
by providing compelling, open online advertising prod- Can you make money going up manufacturers like dell and hP, who
ucts and services that drive revenues. Today, OpenX’s against Microsoft and apple, google license proprietary versions of Ubuntu.
primary product is the world’s leading independent ad and Yahoo, armed only with software Even at cut-rate prices, other operating
server, which is used by more than 35,000 publishers and services that are free and open systems can’t compete. Shuttleworth
on more than 150,000 websites across the Internet. for anyone to adapt? “When you start estimates that Ubuntu now has
From 2003 to 2008 Tim was at Yahoo!, most recently with zero revenues,” says Tim Cadogan, between 10 and 15 million users, just
as Senior Vice President of global advertising Market- CEO of ad publisher OpenX, “you have behind the Mac OS.
places overseeing the primary advertising product lines nothing to lose.”
at the company—including display, Search and Video. Cadogan’s company works on a
Previously at Yahoo!, Tim was Vice President of Search That’s the basic story of open source “freemium” model: OpenX provides
where he was responsible for both the consumer search software. Companies like OpenX and ad publishers with free, flexible core
and paid search businesses. Prior to Yahoo!, Tim was Vice Ubuntu have repeatedly found ways software applications that users
President of Search at Overture (formerly goTo.com). to turn the weaknesses of their larger can build and tweak to reach their
at Overture, Tim played several roles, including driving competitors into opportunities. Says company’s target audience. Websites
product development and evangelizing the paid search Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth, “It’s can use the free version of OpenX to
model to the global search and portal industry. no surprise that smaller organizations serve up to 100 million ads per month.
“PeoPLe are InVentIng thIngs
MaRK daILy, yoU encoUrage them to
ShUTTlEWORTh eXPLore, and yoU
Founder, Ubuntu Project can cherry PIcK what worKs.”
/ MaRK ShUTTlEWORTh is founder of the Ubuntu Project,
an enterprise linux distribution that is freely available are willing to break the rules. The More than that, and they pay. OpenX
worldwide and has both cutting-edge desktop and disadvantage to being the incumbent, sees as many as 300 billion ads a
enterprise server editions. Mark studied finance and to being the 800-pound gorilla, is that month flow through its servers.
information technology at the University of Cape Town, you’ve come to depend on things being
and went on to found Thawte, a company specializing true. They may have been true when Both Cadogan and Shuttleworth say their
in digital certificates and cryptography. he sold Thawte you were founded, but might not be true mix of business is changing, with some new
to U.S. company VeriSign in 1999, and founded hBd today. Someone can come along and clients asking for services as well as
Venture Capital and The Shuttleworth Foundation. he operate without those constraints.” software. That’s where the constant
moved to london in 2001, and began preparing for the innovation of open source really starts
First african in Space mission, training in Star City, Russia, as an example, Shuttleworth cites the to pay dividends: Their collaborators come
and Kazakhstan. In april 2002 Mark flew in space, as a rise of netbooks, small, inexpensive up with more good ideas than any one
cosmonaut member of the crew of Soyuz mission TM34 computers designed primarily individual or company ever could.
to the International Space Station. In early 2004 he for running Internet applications. “People are inventing things daily,” says
founded the Ubuntu Project, which aims to produce a as competition drives down prices Shuttleworth. “You encourage them to
free, high-quality desktop OS for everybody. for the machines, open-source explore, and you can cherry pick what works.”
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BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ Breaking the Price Barrier
ElON MUSK
Founder, Tesla Motors; SpaceX
E lon Musk is a triple-threat
disruptor. as a founder of PayPal,
he took on the banking industry.
electric cars, running on an array of
batteries not so different from those
in laptop computers. Musk wanted his
SpaceX Falcon 1, launched by his Space cars to disrupt the hybrid market, and
Exploration Technologies, was the first as a hands-on executive supervising
privately developed liquid fuel rocket to product development and design, he
reach earth orbit. and his Tesla Roadster got his way. he says that detroit’s
is the world’s first lithium-ion supercar. Big Three automakers have ended up
What does a guy like that worry about in such a mess in part because they
at night? The price of gas. It isn’t high skimped on innovation in engineering.
enough. “You really need the product guys
running a product company,” argued
Photo / JosePh Moran
Musk would like to see US pump Musk. “The path to the CEO’s office
prices more than triple. That would shouldn’t be through the CFO’s
“the Path to the ceo’s offIce ...
/ ElON MUSK is the chairman, CEO and Product
needs to be throUgh
architect of Tesla Motors, where he has overseen engIneerIng and desIgn.”
product development and design from the beginning,
including the all-electric Tesla Roadster and
Model S sedan. Electric vehicles have been one help hasten the death of the internal office, nor should it be the marketing
of his central interests for almost two decades, combustion engine and usher in department. It needs to be through
stemming from his time as a physics student the electric car era. “The economic engineering and design.”
working on energy storage technologies. Elon’s forcing function that should be at the
other primary activity is serving as CEO and CTO pump—which should probably be $10 Even though he sees himself as a
of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), gasoline—isn’t there,” says the Tesla competitor, Musk says he wishes
which develops rockets and spacecraft for CEO. “You have to try to bridge that gap detroit no ill will. “”I hope they get very,
missions to Earth orbit and beyond. In 2006, with innovation. I’m putting so much very focused on making great cars,” he
SpaceX won the NaSa contract to design, build time and effort into helping create says.” and there’s at least one thing he
and demonstrate operation of a commercial Tesla because I hope we can accelerate envies about the Big Three: their acres
replacement for the Space Shuttle, which retires that transformation.” and acres of factory space. “When the
in 2010. The SpaceX Falcon 1 was the first privately mess gets sorted out,” says Musk, “I’d
developed liquid fuel rocket to reach orbit. Prior to The Tesla Roadster and the new Model S like to say ‘I’d like some of those plants,
SpaceX, Elon co-founded PayPal, the world’s leading sedan aren’t hybrids—they’re pure if you don’t mind.’”
Internet payment system, and served as the
company’s chairman and CEO.
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5/

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ It’s Not about the Car
ShaI agaSSI
Founder & CEO, Better Place
a s CEO of Better Place, Shai agassi
has turned the auto industry
business model on its head. Instead
stations and battery swap locations.
and, says agassi, as China goes, so goes
the world. “Once China does it, you don’t
of focusing on the vehicle and letting have a choice,” he says.
someone else sell the fuel, his company
will provide the infrastructure to power a agassi describes the american auto
new generation of electric cars. drivers industry as “a man-made Katrina,” but
will stop for a charge or a new battery, he also says the survivors will need the
which will take about the same time infrastructure and support of companies
as filling up the tank does today. Once willing to lead the transition to electric
there’s a distributed system to reliably vehicles. “You have to enable the six
“we’Ve done the crazy thIng of
raIsIng a ton of caPItaL to PUt
Photo / JosePh Moran
the networK In PLace before
the ProdUct eXIsts.”
power electric cars, agassi is confident car makers that will survive this wave,”
somebody else will step forward make he says, “because Car 2.0 has to come
/ ShaI agaSSI is the founder and chief executive the vehicles. “We’ve done the crazy from them.”
of Better Place, a company focused on one of this thing of raising a ton of capital to put
century’s biggest challenges—building a scalable the network in place before the product Even if a market for electric cars does
and sustainable personal transportation system exists,” he says. develop in China, the global transition
that ends oil dependence. he works directly with from gas to battery power will still take
government leaders, auto manufacturers, energy The governments of Israel, denmark, years and massive investments. “We’re
companies and others to make his vision of zero- and China apparently think agassi is not in this game in order to make a quick
emission electric vehicles powered by renewable anything but crazy. Better Place has buck,” agassi says. “Our goal is to end
energy a reality in countries around the world. inked deals with all of them to start oil, and you can’t do it with a thousand
This vision was inspired by a profound question building the company’s charging cars. To end oil you’ll need a billion cars.”
posed at the World Economic Forum in 2005,
“how do you make the world a better place by
2020?” With a passion for tackling large-scale
challenges, agassi sought to answer this question
by creating a pragmatic plan to free cars from oil,
reduce harmful emissions, and usher in an era of
sustainable mobility.
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BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ and data for all
VIVEK KUNdRa
Federal CIO, USa
“O pen, transparent and
accountable” may seem
antithetical to what americans have
‘We the people’ rather just a few folks
making all the decisions.”
come to expect from the federal “The default setting of the United
government, but Vivek Kundra, the new States government should not
Federal Chief Information Officer, says be that everything be secret and
he can change that. he has plans to closed,” Kundra says. “The default
improve the way the government works setting should be open—making sure
and drive innovation in the public and that we are not releasing information
private sectors by putting government that may be classified, or sensitive.”
information online where it will be
available to anyone with a computer. More than just a one-way feed, the
data.gov dashboard will allow users to
The front door for this effort will be manipulate information, create new
data.gov, a site with feeds to all kinds applications, and tackle problems. For
of federal data. data.gov started with instance, Washington spends more
Photo / JosePh Moran
“the defaULt settIng of the
UnIted states goVernment
shoULd not be
/ VIVEK KUNdRa was appointed as the first Federal
CIO of the United States by President Obama
secret and cLosed.
in March 2009. In this capacity, he directs the the defaULt settIng
policy and strategic planning of federal information
technology investments and is responsible for
shoULd be oPen.”
oversight of federal technology spending. The
Federal CIO establishes and oversees enterprise 47 feeds three months ago, and now than $76 billion a year on information
architecture to ensure system interoperability has more 100,000. Eventually it will technology. Kundra expects that
and information sharing and ensure information aggregate information from every NgOs and private businesses will
security and privacy across the federal government. agency in Washington. analyze the data on procurement and
deployment costs and create new
Kundra has been recognized among the top 25 “data.gov will move us in a direction of applications and software that could
CTOs in the country and as the 2008 IT Executive participatory democracy by allowing lead to huge savings. “We’re giving up
of the Year for his pioneering work to drive the american people to see how power and authority, but there’s an
transparency, engage citizens, and lower the government works and by recognizing economic argument for it, because
cost of government operations. Prior to joining that the government does not have it allows innovators to tap into the
the Obama administration, Kundra served in a monopoly on the best ideas,” says power of the country,” he says.
Mayor Fenty’s cabinet as the CTO for the district Kundra. “We will have returned the
of Columbia and governor Kaine’s cabinet as government to its rightful place, to
assistant Secretary of Commerce and Technology
for the Commonwealth of Virginia. his diverse
record also includes technology and public policy
experience in private industry and academia.
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BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ The least likely Financial giant
SCOTT ThOMPSON
President, PayPal
P ayPal does one thing really
well: It moves money from one
person to another, instantly, with
auction and sales site is still PayPal’s
main opportunity for growth. But
Thompson says he is constantly
a few keystrokes and the click of a surprised by the novel ways that
mouse. Which makes the company an people all over the world use PayPal,
especially ingenious kind of disruptor. not just for transfers, but to do
fairly sophisticated things like run
“What we do is special,” says PayPal businesses and meet payrolls. Says
president Scott Thompson. “We’re Thompson: “Make it simple, make it
not aligned with any one brand. We’re convenient, and people will take you
“maKe It sImPLe, maKe It
conVenIent, and PeoPLe wILL
taKe yoU Into theIr LIVes In
Photo / JosePh Moran
UnPredIctabLe ways.”
brand agnostic…. It’s hard for other into their lives in unpredictable ways.”
organizations to imagine that they
will build something, put it out there, Thompson thinks a lot about
/ SCOTT ThOMPSON is president of PayPal, with
and then let their competitors benefit competition from a newer, hungrier
overall responsibility for growing the business and
from having that infrastructure in company. “I worry about the next
establishing PayPal as the leading global online
place. The most frequent question we group of engineers, [people who]
payment service. Scott previously served as
get is, ‘What are you guys? a bank? are completely disruptive and totally
PayPal’s senior vice president and chief technology
an electronic transfer service?’ The determined. Could it happen? I wouldn’t
officer, where he oversaw information technology,
answer is that the world hasn’t seen bet against it.” Still, he says, “payments
product development, and architecture. Prior to
a company like ours before.” is not a business for the faint of heart.
PayPal, Scott worked for Inovant, a subsidiary
Customers have zero tolerance for
of Visa formed to oversee global technology for
PayPal is ubiquitous on eBay, which problems. You have to be good 100
the organization. as executive vice president of
purchased the company from its percent of the time.”
technology solutions at Inovant, he was responsible
founders in 2002, and the online
for all development, support and maintenance
of Visa’s global payment system. Scott was
also chief information officer of Barclays global
Investors, where he implemented a new strategic
technology platform and global infrastructure. In
addition, he has worked with Coopers and lybrand,
delivering services to clients such as Wells Fargo.
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BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ having Confidence on the Edge
JEFF BEzOS
Founder & CEO, amazon.com
F ifteen years ago Jeff Bezos
changed the way we shop online—
now he wants to change the way we
he sees electronic books as a net gain
for traditional publishers, even if they
don’t realize it yet. “If you look at the
read. With the Kindle, the amazon digital efficiencies by not having to do all that
e-reader, his goal is to end the era of the printing and the incremental gains
printed book. “The book has had a great on selling more copies, authors are
500 year run, but it’s time for a change,” going to be read more. They’re going to
he says, adding that a lot of customers make more money. Return on invested
agree with him. “We launched [the first] capital is going to be higher, capital
Kindle just over 18 months ago. There expenditures are going to be lower.”
are now 300,000 books available. If as for the publishers’ seeming inability
you look at the universe where we have to deal with the advent of the e-book,
“It’s a myth that
mULtI-PUrPose deVIces
Photo / JosePh Moran
are aLways better.”
both the physical title and the Kindle “If you’re an incumbent and things are
title, Kindle sales are 35 percent of the changing, it’s very anxiety producing.”
/ JEFF BEzOS has always been interested in physical book sales.”
anything that can be revolutionized by computers. Bezos says the Kindle is a tool that makes
Intrigued by the amazing growth in use of the Bezos discussed the decision to restrict reading easier. Which means people will
Internet, Jeff created a business model that the new Kindle dX to the same basic read more, and buy more books. “Now
leveraged the Internet’s unique ability to deliver tasks as the original: delivering books you can think of a book and have it 60
huge amounts of information rapidly and efficiently. and other text-heavy material. There’s seconds later. That will drive sales.”
In 1994 he founded amazon.com, Inc., now no camera, no keyboard—why not?
the leading online retailer that offers services “Reading is an important enough activity Who is the biggest fan of the Kindle?
which traditional retailers cannot: lower prices, that it deserves a purpose-built device,” It may be Bezos. “I get grumpy now
authoritative selection, and a wealth of product said Bezos. “It’s a myth that multi- when I’m forced to read a physical
information. Before heading west to start amazon. purpose devices are always better.” book,” he says.
com, Jeff worked at the intersection of computer
science and finance, helping build one of the most
technically sophisticated quantitative hedge funds
on Wall Street for d. E. Shaw & Co. he also led
the development of computer systems that helped
manage more than $250 billion in assets for
Bankers Trust Company.
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BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ disrupt Before You’re disrupted
JEFF IMMElT
Chairman & CEO, gE
J eff Immelt is proof that you don’t
have to be a small, scrappy inno-
vator to create massive change. during
Now Immelt and gE are applying this
same thinking to health care. One
example: a new magnetic resonance
the past decade Immelt has led creative device that sells for a fraction of the
disruption within gE, first on the cost of the company’s current MRI
environment, and now in health care. machines. gE can introduce new
products at lower prices in the United
during the Bush administration, States and the U.S. “business will be
Immelt decided to embark aggressively just fine,” he says. “and we unleash
on green initiatives—even though incredible opportunities in Russia,
it meant taking an axe to a prime China, India, Saudi arabia, africa… This
source of revenue. “It’s obvious that is what’s going to power our healthcare
this is now the right choice, but it business over the next decade.”
“one of the reasons
Photo / JosePh Moran
It’s so hard to InnoVate
or be dIsrUPtIVe
Is that yoU rUn the rIsK of
gIVIng somethIng UP.”
/ JEFF IMMElT is the ninth chairman of gE, a post
he has held since September 7, 2001. Immelt has
held several global leadership positions since was not part of the political climate,” Immelt also says that the United
coming to gE in 1982, including roles in gE’s he says. By focusing on a program States needs to reinvent itself as
Plastics, appliance, and Medical businesses. In called ecoimagination, Immelt and a manufacturing nation, to disrupt
1989, he became an officer of gE and joined the gE reduced the company’s costs by its own service economy. “We are
gE Capital Board in 1997. In 2000, Immelt was more than $100 million. at an all-time low in research
appointed president and chief executive officer. spending. Nothing happens unless
Immelt has been named one of the “World’s Best But the changes meant killing gE’s we rejuvenate technology. We’ve
CEOs” three times by Barron’s, and since he began incandescent light bulb business in got to like manufacturing. To be
serving as chief executive officer, gE has been favor of compact fluorescent bulbs. a service-oriented importer is
named “america’s Most admired Company” in a “In your gut, you know 100-year-old just wrong.”
poll conducted by Fortune magazine and one of technologies might not last forever,” he
“The World’s Most Respected Companies” in polls says. “One of the reasons it’s so hard “let’s get on with the process
by Barron’s and the Financial Times. Immelt is also to innovate or be disruptive is that you of innovation,” says Immelt. “The
a member of The Business Council, and he is on run the risk of giving something up.” rest of the world moves without us.
the board of the New York Federal Reserve. You have to be willing to attack your People aren’t going to wait for us.”
installed base.
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BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ Who Needs Moody’s?
JESPER aNdERSEN S ometimes disruption means
picking up the pieces of a ravaged
those products. The result: top ratings
for risky products. “These days it
& TOBY SEgaRaN operation and rebuilding it in a more
useful, more robust way. That’s what
really shouldn’t take too much to
think through why we might want to
Co-Founders, Freerisk freerisk.org is trying to do with the debt- revisit how we evaluate our debt,” says
rating ratings system that helped cause andersen.
the global credit crisis.
Segaran and andersen are designing a
let’s look at an example: how did transparent, crowd-sourced platform
insurance giant aIg hold onto its aaa that anyone can use to modify, rank and
Photo / JosePh Moran
“we want to comPLeteLy
change the way we thInK aboUt
corPorate credIt ratIngs.
/ TOBY SEgaRaN is the co-founder of Freerisk and we want to decentraLIze
the author of Programming Collective Intelligence,
amazon’s top-selling aI book. his upcoming titles
rIsK management.”
Programming the Semantic Web and Beautiful
Data will be released in July. he speaks on the credit rating almost to the moment sort financial data about a company.
subjects of machine learning, collective intelligence that the federal government stepped Users can also collaborate to develop
and freedom of data at conferences worldwide. in to save the company with a billion and test algorithms that turn that data
he currently holds the title of data Magnate at dollar bailout? Jesper andersen and into useful ratings.
Metaweb Technologies, where he works on Toby Segaran, partners in freerisk,
large-scale data reconciliation problems. Prior say the answer is easy. The big “This is primarily a story about open
to Metaweb he founded Incellico, a biotechnology agencies, Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch, data,” says andersen. “We want to
software company acquired in 2003. he holds a rated complicated derivatives not on completely change the way we think
B.Sc. in Computer Science from MIT and USCIS quality and transparency, but in order about corporate credit ratings. We want
deemed him a “Person of Exceptional ability.” to please the customers who created to decentralize risk measurement.”
/ JESPER aNdERSEN is the co-founder of Freerisk
and is a statistician, computer scientist and
entrepreneur. he is currently a consultant with
the Open data group, focusing on machine learning,
risk assessment and artificial intelligence sys-
tems. he’s spoken on finance and statistical sys-
tems, and is the founder of Certainty labs,
a start-up focusing on making complex statistical
modeling simpler. Previously he was the lead
architect at Visible Path, which was sold in 2008.
Jesper holds a B.Sc. in Physics from haverford
College and an M.B.a. from University of Chicago’s
Booth School of Business, where he received the
Vijay Vashee Most Promising Entrepreneur award
in 2008.
/ ClICk heRe FOR COMPleTe vIDeO COveRage
wired.com/wiredbizprogram/videolibrary.html
11 /

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ The game has Just Changed
NEIl YOUNg
Founder & CEO, ngmoco
a s CEO of mobile games publisher
ngmoco—that’s pronounced
N-g-moko—Neil Young believes in
time on the iPhone. “I noticed that I
wasn’t just using it to make telephone
calls. “ he says. like millions of iPhone
the disruptive force of the iPhone. owners, Young also started to spend
But even coming from a gaming time trawling the app Store. Many of
background with Ea, Young says he the new applications are so good, and
was caught off guard by the rapid so inexpensive, “users are starting
changes that smart phones created to buy software like songs,” says
in the mobile games industry. “If Young. Plus, iPhone customers always
somebody had told me two years have their handsets with them. “We
ago that I was going to be the CEO observed that entertainment and
of a mobile phone game company, interactivity was not moving closer to
I would’ve said ‘What the fuck the desktop, it was moving closer to
happened?!’ did I get fired?” the person.”
Photo / JosePh Moran
“we obserVed
that entertaInment and
InteractIVIty was not moVIng
cLoser to the desKtoP,
/ NEIl YOUNg is the founder and CEO of ngmoco, It was moVIng cLoser to
creator and publisher of games exclusively for
iPhone and iPod touch.
the Person.”
Prior to founding ngmoco, Neil held various Now that ngmoco has a clutch of Ultimately, the iPhone presents
positions at Electronic arts, most recently as the games sitting comfortably in the ngmoco with a huge chance to disrupt.
group general Manager of the Ea Blueprint Studio iTunes app Store Top 25, Young is no It’s a widely supported, web-enabled,
group that included Maxis (creators of Spore™ longer stunned. But he still marvels at developer-friendly weapon in the
and The Sims™) and Ea’s collaborative partnership how quickly the iPhone transformed his mobile battle against devices like
with Steven Spielberg. Neil joined Ea in 1997 as business and his own phone habits. It’s Nintendo’s dS and Sony’s PSP. “The
general Manager of Ea’s Origin Systems subsidiary, a reminder that disruption can come opportunity for us was not just to beat
where he supervised the launch of the world’s first from any direction, at any time. the mobile games business,” says
massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Young, “but to take the old handheld
Ultima Online™. Young says he found himself spending business and crush it—to destroy it off
less time on his computer and more the back of the iPhone.”
Prior to Ea Blueprint, Neil served as Vice President
and general Manager of Ea los angeles and Ea
Maxis, where he oversaw the studios responsible
for the blockbuster franchises Medal of honor™,
Command & Conquer™, The lord of the Rings™
and The Sims.
/ ClICk heRe FOR COMPleTe vIDeO COveRage
wired.com/wiredbizprogram/videolibrary.html
12 /

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ ReCaP: a Day OF
DIsRUPTIve DIsCUssION
13 /

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ a Day OF DIsRUPTIve DIsCUssION
“terrIfIc LIne UP of sPeaKers, and the aUdIence was jUst
as ImPressIVe. aLLtoLd, a fascInatIng day. If yoU eVer get
an InVIte to any eVent they host, It Is a mUst attend.
they PUt on qUIte the show.”
– author, Trader & CNbC analyst barry Ritholtz, The big Picture, June 15, 2009
1/ 2/
3/ 4/
5/ 6/
Photos / JosePh Moran
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
1 / ge Chairman & CeO Jeff Immelt, 2 / WIReD senior editor Nicholas Thompson with Federal CIO vivek kundra, 3 / WIReD Contributing editor spencer Reiss with Founder
of Ubuntu Project Mark shuttleworth and OpenX CeO Tim Cadogan, 4 / editor in Chief of WIReD Chris anderson with Founder of Tesla Motors and spaceX elon Musk
5 / WIReD senior Writer Daniel Roth with Founder & CeO of better Place shai agassi, 6 / WIReD senior Writer steven levy with Founder & CeO of amazon.com Jeff bezos
14 /

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ TOP DIsRUPTORs gRab The sPOTlIghT
A-LIST ATTENDEES
/ ATTENDEES
350 C-level executives and business leaders
MARTHA STEWART, Founder, MslO
BEN FRIED, CIO, google
NICHOLAS NEGROPONTE, Chairman, One laptop per Child
MICHAEL MENDENHALL, CMO & svP, hewlett Packard
Photos / bob krasIn
JEFF HAYZLETT, CMO, kodak
GRAZIANO DE BONI, President & CeO, Prada Usa
CHRIS BEARD, CIO, Mozilla
JONATHAN MARCHBANK, COO, virgin Mobile Usa
/ OTHER PRESS INCLUDES
/ PRESS HIGHLIGHTS
Press ImPressIons: 40 million+*
The country and companies like his have “outsourced too many
things,” said Mr. Immelt at a WIReD magazine conference about
disruptive technology in New york on Monday, where he was
/ THE TALK ON
interviewed on stage by WIReD editor In Chief Chris anderson.
@WIREDBiz #WIREDLive
381 followers as of June 15, 2009
MarthaStewart “at the WIReD business Conference listening to
“lions” of new technology disruptive by design. Jeff bezos, Jeff
In the future, amazon.com’s kindle e-book reader will display more
Immelt, Mark shuttleworth, etc.”
book formats beyond its own. and you should expect to see kindle
books on a lot more devices. That was the clear implication of Tim O’Reilly “Immelt: Tim O’Reilly vivek kundra at WIReD Disruptive
comments that Jeff bezos, amazon’s chief executive, made at the by Design Conference: govt agencies now competing to be top
conference, which was sponsored by WIReD magazine. data.gov contributor! #wiredlive #gov20”
Jeffrey Hayzlett “Told Martha stewart at break she should have
brought cookies. she told me to bring cameras! ;) #wiredlive”
CNN aired footage from the WIReD business Conference of WIReD jkrohrs effective display of Panasonic Toughbooks at #wiredlive.
senior editor Nick Thompson discussing transparency in the Two of them under a melting ice sculpture. http://pk.gd/bQd
Obama administration with Federal CIO vivek kundra.
shelly_palmer listening to vivek kundra, 1st CIO of the Usa discuss
data.gov at the WIReD biz Conf #wiredlive, the CeO of the Usa has
chosen well.
“I’m anti-tax, but I’m pro-carbon tax,” Tesla Motors founder
elon Musk said onstage at the WIReD business Conference here / WaTCh COMPleTe vIDeOs OF all
Monday—a remark that prompted interviewer and WIReD editor WIReD bUsINess CONFeReNCe PaNels aT:
in Chief Chris anderson to quip that he was a “true silicon valley wired.com/wiredbizprogram
libertarian.”
15 /
*Press IMPressIons as of 6/24/09

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
1/
4/ 2/
3/
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
1 / vivek kundra, Federal CIO of Usa meets Nicholas Negroponte, Chairman of One laptop per Child, 2 / author Richard bookstaber was among our distinguished
group of attendees, 3 / The atrium of the Morgan served as a networking hub throughout the Conference, 4 / Chris anderson, editor in Chief of WIReD and
barry Ritholtz, CeO of FusionIQ
17 /

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
/ We saLUTe
The InforMeD,
oPTIMIsTIC,
anD InnoVaTIVe
sPonsors of
The WIreD bUsIness
ConferenCe:
DIsrUPTIVe bY
DesIGn.
sPONsORs /
Presented In PartnershIP wIth
18 /

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
We’re ally, an online bank focused on doing right by you and
your money. We offer rates among the most competitive in
the country, we never hide behind fine print, and we give you
24/7 access to a real human being. Isn’t it time for some
straightforward banking?
For more information, please visit allybank.com
19 /

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
american airlines is one of the largest airlines in the world,
contributing more than $150 billion per year to the U.S.
economy. american and its regional airline affiliates, american
Eagle and americanConnection, serve 250 cities in over
40 countries with more than 3,400 daily flights. The network
covers points throughout North america, the Caribbean, latin
america, Europe and the Pacific with major connecting hubs
at dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago O’hare, Miami, and St. louis,
and a large concentration of Caribbean service at San Juan,
Puerto Rico. american also has a large presence in other large
U.S. metropolitan areas, including New York (four airports),
los angeles (four airports) and Boston. The combined fleet
numbers more than 900 aircraft. american has nearly 82,000
employees worldwide and american Eagle 13,000.
american airlines is also a founding member of the global
oneworld® alliance, which enables member airlines to offer
its customers a broader route network, opportunities to earn
and redeem frequent flyer miles across the combined network
and more airport lounges. Together, oneworld members serve
nearly 700 destinations in over 150 countries, with 8,500
daily departures. american is also one of the largest scheduled
air freight carriers in the world, providing a wide range of
freight and mail services to shippers throughout its system
onboard american’s passenger fleet.
For more information, please visit aa.com
20 /

EYE
CONTACT.
YOUR
MOST
UNDERRATED Sometimes,
SKILL
the more business
you do face-to-face, the
SET. more business actually gets done.
3,400 flights. 250 cities. 40 countries. One airline.
Service totals include American Eagle. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AA.com and We know why you fly are marks of American Airlines, Inc.
®
oneworld is a mark of the oneworld Alliance, LLC.

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
Risk Management for an online world.
dataPipe provides custom solutions for businesses with com-
plex Internet-facing infrastructures. We proactively manage
security, monitoring, storage, data center operations, servers,
and applications including database administration and the
full software stack.
For more information, please visit datapipe.com
22 /

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
Fujitsu Computer Products of america, Inc. is an established
leader in the document imaging market, featuring state-of-
the-art scanning solutions. Organizations of all sizes can
benefit from the various document-imaging solutions available
in the award-winning Fujitsu scanner product line. delivering
an unbeatable combination of affordability, reliability and
performance, Fujitsu scanners range in speeds from 8-120
pages per minute (ppm).
at the touch of a button, the Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner turns
paper documents into instant PdFs. The ScanSnap provides
convenience, simple connectivity, automatic color, page
size and blank-page detection. The ScanSnap features an
automatic document feeder (adF) that digitizes both sides
of a document in a single pass in color, making it ideal for an
office or home office environment.
For more information, please visit us.fujitsu.com/scansnap
or call 1.888.425.8228
24 /

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
NYSE Technologies is the world’s leading provider of end-to-end
electronic trading solutions. Our flexible and scalable products
and services deliver robust and integrated solutions, from
single trading positions to complete exchange platforms.
Through our innovative market-leading software, market data and
low-latency secure connectivity, we engage the global trading
community with innovative tools, access to liquidity and worldwide
markets and third-party, value-added applications.
We empower all tiers of the market by offering our solutions
as fully deployed, managed or hosted services.
From a single company, we deliver best-of-breed products
using world-class technology connected to all the world’s
major markets.
For more information, please visit nyse.com/technologies
26 /

BUSINESS CONFERENCE dIsrUPtIVe BY dESIgN /
For over 15 years Panasonic Computer Solutions Company
has designed and manufactured the industry’s most durable
and reliable mobile PCs. legendary Panasonic Toughbook®
computers are the ultimate rugged and wireless total
computing solution, giving mobile users constant productivity
without risking important data. Engineered with a magnesium
alloy case, shock-mounted hard drive and spill-resistant
design, our computers allow professionals across a multitude
of industries to trump conventional business practices and
work wherever their job takes them. No matter how extreme
the demands of your job, award-winning Toughbook computers
are built to withstand the harshest conditions, ensuring
maximum uptime in the field, on the road or in the boardroom. In
a world where you’re only as tough as the tools you carry, it’s nice
to know Toughbook computers can handle virtually anything.
For more information on our full line of rugged, reliable
and wireless computers, please call 1.888.223.1184 or
visit panasonic.com/toughbook
27 /

Panasonic recommends Windows Vista® Business.
IN YOUR WORLD,
YOUR COMPUTER
SHOULD BE YOUR
FORTRESS.
IF IT’S NOT, EXPERIENCE LEGENDARY TOUGHBOOK RELIABILITY.
When it comes to rugged and reliable performance, Panasonic Toughbook® computers deliver. Every
Toughbook computer is a triumph of engineering – from the ground up and inside out. With their
durable magnesium alloy cases, spill-resistant keyboards and shock-mounted hard drives, Toughbook
computers perform no matter how extreme the demands of your job. Add to that dependable wireless
built-in and you have a computer that’s ready and waiting. It’s no surprise that Toughbook computers,
powered by Intel® Centrino® 2 with vPro™ technology, continue Panasonic’s 15-year-plus tradition as
the leader in rugged mobile computing.
1.888.223.1184 / panasonic.com/toughbook
TOUGHBOOK
FOR A TOUGHWORLD TM
Intel, the Intel logo, Centrino, Centrino Inside, Intel vPro and vPro Inside are
trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Toughbook
notebook PCs are covered by a 3-year limited warranty, parts and labor.
To view the full text of the warranty, log on to panasonic.com/business/
toughbook/support.asp.Please consult your Panasonic representative prior
to purchase. Panasonic is constantly enhancing product specifications and
accessories. Specifications subject to change without notice. (*CF-52EV,
CF-52GF and CF-52GU, **CF-30K, ***CF-F8EW) ©2009 Panasonic Corporation
of North America. All rights reserved. Fortress_H_Bizco_FY09-1 Toughbook 52* Toughbook 30** Toughbook H1 Toughbook F8*** Toughbook U1
BUY NOW: $50 OFF THE PURCHASE PRICE OF YOUR FIRST TOUGHBOOK COMPUTER
AVAILABLE FROM BIZCO TECHNOLOGIES AT 1.877.TOUGH.61 / TOUGHONLINE.COM.
OFFER APPLIES TO ALL TOUGHBOOK MODELS. LIMITED TIME OFFER. COUPON CODE WIRED

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adapt, respond, and thrive—no matter what comes
at you next, visit:
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Thank you for joining us at the
WIReD bUsINess CONFeReNCe
DISRUPTIVE by DesIgN
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send your thoughts to informedoptimism@wired.com