The Society of American Business Editors and Writers’ 49^th annual spring conference in Indianapolis on March 15-17 will feature appearances by prominent business and government officials – including Richard Cordray, first director of the new federal Consumer Financial Protection – along with training and discussion panels, networking events and the year’s Best in Business Awards ceremony.

Read the conference’s schedule.

Click here to register.

Scroll down for hotel and venue information.

Richard Cordray, director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Keynote speaker- Richard Cordray

A former state treasurer and attorney general in Ohio, Cordray was confirmed by President Barack Obama on Jan. 4 in a controversial recess appointment. The speech to SABEW will be one of his first since taking the helm of the bureau created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act to protect consumers who borrow money.

Cordray is a former Marshall Scholar at Oxford University, a past editor-in-chief of the University of Chicago Law Review and an ex-clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. He’s also an undefeated five-time champion on the television game show “Jeopardy!”.

Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana

Keynote speaker- Mitch Daniels

Mitch Daniels was elected as the 49th Governor of the State of Indiana in 2004, in his first bid for any elected office. He was re-elected in 2008 to a second and final term, receiving more votes than any candidate for any public office in the state’s history.

Governor Daniels came from a successful career in business and government, holding numerous top management positions in both the private and public sectors. His work as CEO of the Hudson Institute and President of Eli Lilly and Company’s North American Pharmaceutical Operations taught him the business skills he brought to state government.

Daniels is the author of Keeping the Republic, a book published by Sentinel Books (Penguin) last fall.

Evening receptions are planned at the hallowed NCAA Hall of Champions and the Rhythm! Discovery Center, a hands-on ode to the percussive arts. The event occurs about a month after the 2012 Super Bowl at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism will conduct a separate pre-conference workshop on computer-assisted reporting for business journalists, “Be A Better Watchdog,” March 15. Details below.

Jeff Belskus, president, Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Other speakers scheduled to appear at the SABEW conference include Jeff Belskus, president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy car team owner/driver Ed Carpenter. Also on the lineup: Steve Russell, founder, chairman and CEO of Celadon Trucking, one of the country’s largest freight trucking firms with international operations.

James Farley of Ford Motor Co.

Paul Ingrassia of Reuters

Ford Motor Co.’s senior marketing leader, James Farley Jr., will engage in a conversation with Thomson Reuters’ deputy editor-in-chief, Paul Ingrassia, a Pulitzer Prize-winning financial journalist and author, most recently, of “Crash Course: the American Automobile Industry’s Road from Glory to Disaster,” published by Random House in January 2010.

Sam Mamudi of MarketWatch

Kristi Dosh, ESPN sports reporter

Abe Madkour of SportsBusiness Journal

ESPN sports reporter Kristi Dosh will join Sam Mamudi of MarketWatch and SportsBusiness Journal Founding Editor, Abe Madkour for a panel discussion about creating a “new playbook” for covering sports business.

Diana Henriques of the New York Times

Diana Henriques of The New York Times, author of the best-selling book about Bernard Madoff and his multibillion-dollar Ponzi investment scheme, Wizard of Lies, will participate in a panel on turning beat reporting into a book.

John Ketzenberger, president, Indiana Fiscal Poklicy Institute

John Ketzenberger, president of the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute and a former writer and editor at the Indianapolis Star and the Indianapolis Business Journal, will moderate a panel on the ongoing battle over the role, scope and reach of labor unions. The panel will explore right-to-work, an issue that has emerged as a flashpoint nationally this year.

Opportunities to pick up new skills and burnish existing ones is a major feature of SABEW conferences. In a nod to the host city, home to the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” the Indianapolis 500, attendees will be offered 500 Minutes of Skills Training, a prime opportunity for business reporters and editors to pick up tips on covering sports, non-profits, healthcare, immigration and a new wave of American austerity measures.

Bob Steele

Jacqui Banaszynski

Ethicist Bob Steele and writing coach Jacqui Banaszynski, both of Poynter Institute, will be speaking.  Banaszynski will give advice on better business writing while Steele will focus on ethical dilemmas and leadership challenges. Also, Sarah Cohen, Duke University’s Knight Chair, will help attendees to better understand local economic studies.

• The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism and Investigative Reporters andEditors will be co-presenting Be a Better Business Watchdog — CAR for Business Journalists, a workshop focussing on computer-assisted reporting (CAR).

There will be additional training by Sarah Cohen, Duke University’s Knight Chair, in understanding local economic studies.

This free workshop precedes the Society of American Business Editors and Writers Conference March 15-17,  for which there is an additional fee.

To register for this free workshop, click here.

VENUE INFORMATION: The 2012 spring conference will be held at the Informatics and Communications Technology Complex at Indiana University. To view images of the venue, click here.

HOTEL INFORMATION:

To reserve hotel rooms at the special SABEW per-night rate of $139 single or $159 double, please call the University Place hotel at (317) 231-5160 or (800) 627-2700 before February 21. Or click here to register online.