1.26.15 | Chicago, IL | The countdown to NeoCon® 2015 is on! The largest commercial interiors show in North America will take place at The Merchandise Mart in Chicago from June 15-17, 2015. For more than four and a half decades, it remains the premier platform for connecting, learning and conducting business in the industry. With over one million square feet of exhibition space, the show serves as a launching pad for thousands of new products and covers a spectrum of vertical markets including workplace, healthcare, hospitality, retail, environmental, government and education. The exhibition is complemented by an equally impressive educational program, which features over 100 accredited seminars, association forums, keynote presentations and special events. Headlining this year’s fair is four of the best and brightest, a carefully selected group of forward thinkers and innovators who push the boundaries of design, fashion and the cognitive mind. While they hail from very different backgrounds, they each bring a humanistic approach to their work.

Monica DeBartolo, Director of Programming, remarks, “More than just a ‘tradeshow,’ NeoCon has become known as an incubator of ideas and a lively symposium for the industry. Our keynotes help us kickstart this important dialogue and keep the intellectual energy going across the three days of the show. This year, these keynotes are both fresh talents and stalwarts of design. Patricia Urquiola has been responsible for some of the most iconic designs of the past decade, while Martin Leskaj and Anastasija Sugic’s 2-year old studio 13&9 is one of the industry’s hottest rising stars. Jason Silva, a media artist, futurist and philosopher, will get the audience to think about the world around them and how people interact with technology. This level of excellence is something that our showrooms, exhibitors and attendees have come to expect from the show.” 

The 2015 keynote presenters are: 

PATRICIA URQUIOLA [KE1] 
Sponsored by Haworth, Inc. 
Monday, June 15, 8:00AM 

Patricia Urquiola, designer and architect, was born in Oviedo, Spain. She now lives and works in Milan where she runs Studio Urquiola. Her work is widely known to be playful and poetic, yet pragmatic and functional, a creative combination that is the magic behind her work. She comes and goes through conventional time-- rethinking, reinventing, and creating new. The effect is a powerful reminder of the past and exploration into the now, always creating a new experience for the user. 

JASON SILVA [KE2] 
Tuesday, June 16, 8:00AM 

Jason Silva is the Emmy-nominated host of National Geographic Channel’s #1 rated and Emmy-nominated series, Brain Games, seen in over 100 countries. He is the creator of “Shots of Awe,” a short film series of “trailers for the mind” that serve as philosophical espresso shots exploring innovation, technology, creativity, futurism and the metaphysics of the imagination. “Shots of Awe” have received more than 13 million views. Jason also created the web series “Future of Us” for AOL, exploring exponential technology and the future of humanity. From 2005 to 2011, Venezuela-born Silva was a presenter on Current TV, the Emmy-winning, independent cable network started by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, where he hosted, wrote and produced more than 100 hours of original content. An active and prolific global speaker, Jason has spoken at TEDGlobal and Google’s Zeitgeist Conference and keynoted multiple events for Microsoft, IBM and Adobe. 

MARTIN LESJAK AND ANASTASIJA SUGIC [KE3] 
Sponsored by Mohawk Group 
Wednesday, June 17, 11:00AM 

ANASTASIJA SUGIC 
Born in Banja Luka, Bosnia in 1984, Anastasija Sugic, arrived in Graz initially with plans to study medicine. While Sugic finished requirements for her degree in 2012, she had already made a name for herself as an independent fashion designer. Her brand ANASTASIA SU is influenced by Sugic’s extensive knowledge of the human body and its workings acquired from her background in studying medicine. This result is a studio that creates designs and products that are not only aesthetically pleasing but that are also compatible with the human body’s form. 

MARTIN LESJAK 
Martin Lesjak, born in Judenburg, Austria, in 1972, is an architect and founder and CEO of INNOCAD. Established in 1999 in Graz, the firm has won numerous competitions and received design awards both domestically and internationally. In addition to his practice, Lesjak has taught at the Technical University of Graz since 2003. He feels strongly that in addition to creating and designing product, that his designs provide comprehensive solutions and a meaningful context. 

The keynote presentations are free and set the stage for what promises to be a dynamic, engaging and empowering show experience. Show and keynote registration will open online the week of February 9th. 

As hotels tend to book up fast, trade professionals are encouraged to make their reservations early. For hotel and travel discounts, visit http://neocon.com/show-information/attend/travel/. 

Vornado Realty Trust | Merchandise Mart, a division of Vornado Realty Trust, is a leading owner and operator of integrated showroom and office buildings, as well as trade show facilities, bringing buyers and sellers together through market events, trade and consumer shows, and conferences each year. We are committed to creating sustainable environments in the properties we manage and the communities we serve. Vornado Realty Trust, based in New York City, is a fully integrated equity real-estate investment trust. Vornado’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are traded under the symbol VNO.