Meet the 2013 VolunteerMatch Client Summit Speakers: Platon

On May 16-17, 2013 VolunteerMatch will gather its corporate clients for a day and a half of learning, sharing and networking. The 2013 VolunteerMatch Client Summit will feature several sessions led by corporate social responsibility (CSR) thought leaders. In this series of posts, we’ll introduce you to each of the speakers and what they’ll discuss at the Summit.

Name: Platon
Title/Organization: Platon Photography
Keynote Topic: “Powerful Portraits: An Intimate Look at Humanity”

Images from international photographer Platon have been on the cover and inside the pages of some of the most influential publications in the world. The award-winning photographer joins the VolunteerMatch Client Summit to discuss his life and career of making pictures of the movers and shakers of our times.

Platon’s chat navigates his experiences making portraits of celebrities, politicians, athletes, and activists. The journey starts with images of those who hold supreme positions of power, and shifts to those whose power and rights have been stripped away, including defenders of human rights around the globe. Ultimately, Platon’s work is to humanize icons of our time and allow the audience to question the sources of power in global communities.

In between his work for magazines such as Time (for whom he shot the 2011 “Person of the Year” cover image of Vladimir Putin), the New Yorker, and Wired, Platon is also dedicated to social change, shooting portraits for Human Rights Watch and presenting his ideas about the power of storytelling to create community to audiences at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Yale, the London School of Economics, and beyond.

Platon began his career working for British Vogue and then for the late John F. Kennedy Jr.’s political magazine, George. While shooting portraits for a range of international publications, Platon developed a relationship with Time magazine, producing more than 20 covers. In 2007, he was awarded the World Press Photo Contest’s top prize for his image of President Vladimir Putin for Time’s “Person of the Year” cover.

In 2008, he became the staff photographer for the New Yorker and produced a series of large-scale photo essays, two of which won awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors.Platon’s New Yorker portfolios have covered U.S. President Obama’s inauguration, the U.S military, portraits of world leaders, and the Civil Rights Movement. Platon later partnered with Human Rights Watch to highlight human rights defenders from Myanmar as well as the leaders of the Egyptian revolution. Following his coverage of Myanmar, Platon photographed Aung San Suu Kyi for the cover of Time—days after her release from house arrest.

This year’s event is generously supported by JetBlue, New York University, Newell Rubbermaid and 3BL Media.