Michael Payne is a regular guest speaker at Sports and Business Conferences around the world.

Recent conferences include:

Business:

• Forbes CEO Europe Forum, Paris 2005.
• Inaugural, China Brands Festival, Beijing 2007.
• Marketing Business Summit, Sao Paolo 2008.
• IMD Business School, Lausanne. Regular Guest speaker for visiting corporations / delegations.
• Marketing / Advertising agencies – Various.
• Corporations – Shell European Marketing Forum, Marinello, Italy 2005.
• YPO – Young Presidents Organization - Various.
• WPP CEO Conference, Rio 2010 – Potential of Olympics and World Cup for Brazil.
• London Business School, Global Leadership Summit 2012.
• International Sport Security Conference, Doha 2012.
• Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance China 2011, 2012.
• Nielsen – Olympic Research Summit 2012.
• Michael Payne, Author, Olympic Turnaround

Sport:

• FT Sports Industry Summit, London.
• World Sports Congress, New York. 2006.
• Sport Accord, Seoul, Berlin, Dubai.. 2005 / 2006 / 2010.
• F1 Business Forum, Shanghai 2005.
• Sports Business Forums, London.
• Sportel, Monaco.
• Sports Industry Awards  Annual – Judge.
• ISPO Munich - Various

Heavy hitters endured the heat to exchange ideas when a Forbes conference hit town.

Paris didn't end up with the 2012 Olympics, but it did host this summer's Forbes CEO Europe Forum, where 200 senior executives gathered to hear the likes of EC Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and its former competition czar Mario Monti; Dutch ex-prime minister Wim Kok; Jérôme Caille, CEO of Adecco; Vivendi Chairman Jean-René Fourtou; SAP's chief, Henning Kagermann, and Accor's Jean-Marc Espalioux; Didier Lamouche, chairman of Bull; STMicro's legendary Pasquale Pistorio; and top execs Wolfgang Reitzle of Linde AG and Klaus Zumwinkel of Deutsche Post.

Those and other luminaries kept the sessions hopping over two steamy days. In one bit of take-it-to-the-bank wisdom, former IOC marketing head Michael Payne cautioned that favored cities rarely win the Olympic derby.

A few days later it was . . . Zut alors!