Melinda Gates, former Ford CEO to speak at Willow Creek Leadership Summit

Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Alan Mulally, former president and CEO of The Ford Motor Company, are among the featured speakers at the Global Leadership Summit starting Thursday at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington.

Willow Creek Senior Pastor Bill Hybels also will speak during the event Thursday morning, then interview both Gates and Mulally.

About 8,500 people will be on the Willow Creek campus Thursday and Friday for the 22nd annual summit, Willow Creek spokeswoman Susan DeLay said. Another 305,000 people are expected to view the event remotely. The summit will be telecast live on big screens at 550 locations around the country. The summit also will be recorded, translated into 59 languages and disseminated to 675 sites in 125 countries throughout the fall.

Other speakers at the summit include Bishop T.D. Jakes, founder and senior pastor of The Potter's House; Horst Schulze, CEO Capella Hotel Group and founding president of The Ritz-Carlton Group; and Patrick Lencioni, founder of The Table Group and best-selling author of 10 business books, including "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team."

Over the years, the summit has brought dozens of political, business, entertainment and religious leaders from across the world to Willow Creek to discuss their leadership successes and philosophies. Past speakers have included former President Bill Clinton, former U.S. secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, and U2 singer Bono.

DeLay said every seat on the Willow Creek campus is sold out for the summit, but seats are available at 10 other Chicago-area locations, including the Willow Creek churches in West Chicago and Crystal Lake, as well as the Living Hope Church in Elk Grove Village, the First Baptist Church of Geneva and the Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Libertyville. For more information, visit www.summit.willowcreek.com.