Accelerator Expedition from Interaction Associates Develops 21st Century Leaders with Powerful Insights Into Global Change and Emerging Markets

(San Francisco, CA January 26, 2009) — Interaction Associates (IA) is launching an innovative leadership immersion experience — Accelerator Expedition ™ — designed to transform high potential leaders into globally savvy innovators by equipping them with advanced optics into social innovation, values-based business practices, and sustainability.

The premiere Accelerator Expedition is scheduled for May 1-11, 2009 in collaboration with The Pachamama Alliance, a leading social innovation organization working in the Amazon rainforests of Ecuador. The immersion experience is limited to an enrollment of 20 participants from several corporations representing a variety of industries.

"High potential leaders — in fact, all leaders — at many global companies face a unique challenge: How to build on their expertise and prior training to create global growth opportunities in emerging markets," said Linda Dunkel, CEO of Interaction Associates. "Accelerator Expedition moves leaders to a new level by going beyond the classroom and immersing them in powerful challenges at the leading edge of change with social innovators like the Pachamama Alliance who are creating powerful and sustainable solutions," added Dunkel.

Sustainability is a key primary focus of Accelerator Expedition, given the growing popularity and market demand for new business practices, evolving models, and non-traditional partnerships required as global companies embrace growth strategies rooted in sustainable practices. Accelerator Expedition helps companies build muscle in global transformational leadership drawing on IA's 40-years of expertise and access expertise in building vital multi-sector alliances and innovative approaches to sustainability from Pachamama.

"The opportunity for corporate leaders to convene in the rainforest in order to create distinctions between the way things are now and another model is an enormous opportunity," said Tom Koenig, Former Chairman & CEO of GMAC Finance. "In the environment of a natural system, there is the opening to re-imagine different models for leadership and business success," added Koenig.

Though Accelerator Expedition is designed as multi-phase program over nine months, the May option is a condensed version that includes just the immersion and learning lab portion over ten days in Ecuador.

"This is a powerful, unique opportunity that could truly lead to a dramatic change in consciousness about how to lead your company, creating distinctive competitive advantage," said Adam DeVito, CEO of Big Boing, the renowned strategy and integrated marketing firm based in California. "This is about transformation at a deep level," DeVito added.

More information about Accelerator Expedition and enrollment information is available here [1], including details of the May event. Information about The Pachamama Alliance can be found at: www.pachamama.org [2]