There definitely is a kickback aspect, but another one is that they are paying these speakers for the cachet of their "presence". If you spend time in and aroun

There definitely is a kickback aspect, but another one is that they are paying these speakers for the cachet of their "presence". If you spend time in and around some of these events (thinktanks, management consulting, and Wall Street, are especially brutal for this) they are really about signaling competence. It's the same reason that they hire fresh undergrads from almost exclusively ivy leagues regardless of that fresh graduate's major -- the "name brand" of the degree is the signaling for competence. Whether the talks are actually of any substance at all is beside the point (and attendants will actually whine if the talk is too technical). Just getting them in the room and sending out the PR blasts is worth it for the longtail influence on the perception of the org.