The Wall Street Journal has announced the guest list for this year’s annual D: All Things Digital event (D8), which will be kicked off with Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
Kara Swisher announced the details of this year’s D8 tech and media conference event on her BoomTown blog, which will be held June 1st through 3rd near Los Angeles, California. Apple CEO Steve Jobs will kick off the event with an appearance on opening night, having last appeared in 2007, both on his own and together in a rare interview with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, where they shared great memories of the past as well as their mutual admiration for each other. (That 2007 video is embedded below.)
The D5 conference in 2007 was particularly noteworthy for Jobs, as it was only a few weeks prior to the launch of the original iPhone, so there was plenty to talk about with journalist Swisher and co-host Walt Mossberg. But that doesn’t mean this year’s event will be any less boring -- Swisher promises some chat about the iPad and Apple’s current relationship with Google as well as “the next innovations from the Silicon Valley computer icon.” We figure the recent controversy surrounding the next-gen iPhone might also be fodder for the conversation as well.
Jobs won’t be the only tech star on display at D8: The guest lineup also includes Avatar director James Cameron, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in addition to HTC CEO Peter Chou, whose company is currently embroiled in a patent dispute with Apple over their mobile handset designs.
Also on deck for D8:
• Steve Burke, COO of Comcast
• Steve Case, Chairman and CEO of Revolution
• John Donahoe, President and CEO of eBay
• Carly Fiorina, Candidate for U.S. Senate, California
• Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the FCC
• Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm
• Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation SKG
• Ted Leonsis, Vice Chairman Emeritus of AOL, Chairman of Revolution Money and Owner of Washington Capitals
• Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford
• Ray Ozzie, Chief Software Architect of Microsoft
• Richard Rosenblatt, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Demand Media
• Vivian Schiller, President and CEO of National Public Radio
• Paul Steiger, Editor-in-Chief, President and CEO of ProPublica
Unfortunately for most of us, the event has been sold out since January -- but thankfully, live blogs and photos from each session will be available on AllThingsD.com during each interview, with video highlights posted shortly afterwards.
(Image courtesy of AllThingsD.com)
