MUMBAI: American media personality Martha Stewart will welcome 16 candidates into her conference room when US broadcaster NBC's The Apprentice: Martha Stewart kicks off next month on 21 September 2005.
 
 

Stewart's version of the show will feature a 'conference room'. Candidates will live in a 'loft,' versus a 'boardroom' and living in a 'suite.' Ranging in age from 22-42, this group of creative entrepreneurs will compete for 13 weeks to become Stewart's first Apprentice.

The candidates include ad executives, creative directors, chefs, lawyers, designers, a magazine publisher, and a TV newscaster.
 
 

Stewart says, "I am incredibly impressed with this cast. Their poise and creativity is balanced by a tremendous entrepreneurial spirit. Many of the candidates were as accomplished or more so than I when I started to build my business. Even so, there are some explosive personalities among the candidates and they really create a lot of tension in the conference room."

One candidate Dawn currently heads up Red Wagon Communications, a marketing and PR agency. She founded The Secret Socialite, an organisation that coordinates special events for philanthropic young professionals.

Another candidate Leslie was named one of Hispanic Business magazine's "100 Most Influential Hispanic Americans" and previously served as the executive director of the White House Initiative on Hispanic education. A former aide to US Representative Henry Bonilla, Leslie spearheaded the Republican Party's first multimillion-dollar advertising campaign targeting Hispanic voters.