800-plus attendees flock to Palm Desert for NAED Western

The J.W. Marriott Desert Springs Resort  in Palm Desert, CA, has been a popular destination for NAED Conferences for more than 25 years, but the buzz in the lobby bar and at the sessions and networking events seemed noticeably louder than in years past.

 Keynote speaker Rich Karlgaard from Forbes magazine got great reviews for blending commentary on industry megatrends, politics and the economy, particularly his riff on the “bits (software and e-commerce)vs. atoms (old-school manufacturing)”  economy. Several NAED insiders ranked Karlgaard as one of  their Top 5 conference speakers in recent memory.