Jay-Z goes to Microsoft

Def Jam CEO Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, world-renowned advertising industry leader Sir Martin Sorrell, Donny Deutsch, chairman of Deutsch Inc. advertising agency and host of "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch," a nightly talk program on CNBC and Microsoft Corp. Chairman, and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates will join forces at the seventh annual MSN® Strategic Account Summit taking place today through Thursday.

Jay-Z

Deutsch will join with Gates in a session Wednesday afternoon, May 3, titled "Reconnecting to the Vision." Deutsch will then conduct an on-stage interview with Jay-Z, CEO of Def Jam Recordings. Jay-Z will share his experiences and perspectives on how to stay relevant amid constant changes in the music industry, and relate those lessons to the world of online advertising.

This event brings more than 700 advertising, technology, communications and entertainment leaders from 27 countries to the Microsoft headquarters campus to explore trends shaping online media today and in the future. This week's summit is the largest ever, a sign not only of its burgeoning importance to the advertising industry but also of the explosive growth in online advertising overall.

"This summit is a celebration of the exceptional innovation taking place throughout the advertising industry and its vital importance to Microsoft," said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.

Other guest at the event include influential sales leaders and marketing professionals such as Bryan Stapp, chief marketing officer for Quicken Loans Inc., Sean Finnegan, U.S. director for OMD Digital; Wenda Harris Millard, chief sales officer of Yahoo! Inc.; and Tim Armstrong, vice president of advertising sales for Google. Panel moderator Greg Stuart, president and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, will incorporate questions from the audience to make this session highly relevant and interactive.