INDRA NOOYI: Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo (2006-18)

"The most appropriate way to describe Indra Nooyi is 'world class leader.' Her sharp strategic mind, tremendous market insight and humanitarian contributions all combine to make her a rare executive among the global corporate giants."

- Howard Schultz for TIME 

INDRA NOOYI is a business powerhouse, globally renowned for leading PepsiCo through a decade of tremendous growth and change, increasing the company's revenues from $35 billion when she became CEO, to $63.5 billion in 2017. Celebrated for her hallmark motto of "do well by doing good," Nooyi was chief architect of Performance with Purpose, PepsiCo’s pledge to do what’s right for the business by being responsive to the needs of the world through sustainable growth initiatives. Consistently ranked in Forbes' "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women," Fortune's "Most Powerful Women," and TIME's "100 Most Influential People in The World," Nooyi has been sought-out for her unparalleled business insights and empowering messages on leadership, inclusivity and change everywhere from The World Economic Forum to The Aspen Institute. In the coming months she is set to address an audience of 1,000 at the prestigious Growth Faculty's Women World Changers series and another 1,500 at the BlueCross BlueShield National Summit. 

 

GARY COHN: Director, National Economic Council (2017-18); President & COO of Goldman Sachs (2006-2017)

"We loved having Gary as part of this inaugural Forum, he's a fantastic speaker and I know our full audience benefited from his insights."

- Major Economic Forum

A finance industry legend who led one of the largest investment banking enterprises in the world, GARY COHN made headlines in NBC News, Politico, and Marketwatch, for his candid, in-depth interview from Davos on U.S. economic growth. Named as President Trump's chief economic advisor in January 2017, Cohn was heralded as "an economic-policy powerhouse" (The Wall Street Journal) and a "go-to figure on matters related to jobs, business and growth" (The New York Times). Thanks to his shrewd analysis and engaging style, Cohn has headlined both the NIC Fall Conference and Bloomberg's New Economy Forum, and just delivered a keynote at the 2019 Context Summit, during which he made headlines for a fascinating interview on CNBC. Just named to the board of directors of MZ, a global market leader in mobile gaming, Cohn also joined blockchain startup Spring Labs as an adviser. With his vast knowledge of the global financial system and the inner-workings of the current U.S. administration's approach to economic policy, Cohn translates uncertainty into tangible takeaways.

 

KEN LANGONE: Co-Founder, The Home Depot; Founder & CEO, Invemed Associates LLC; New York Times Bestselling Author of "I Love Capitalism!"

“I have known Ken Langone for forty years and simply put, he is a force of nature. I Love Capitalism fully captures the magnitude of that force, and the story of one of the most recognizable figures in business and an American treasure.” 

—Stanley Druckenmiller, Founder, Duquesne Capital

Iconoclastic entrepreneur and business legend KEN LANGONE is renowned as the co-founder of The Home Depot, where he helped the company expand to a national chain with over 2,000 locations and 400,000 employees. A pillar of corporate America for decades, Langone is the Founder and CEO of investment banking firm Invemed Associates LLC, served as CEO and President of Geeknet, Inc. (2011-2013), and was a director of the New York Stock Exchange. Sought-out to speak everywhere from Yahoo Finance to Yale University, Langone provides on-the-nose business insights, sharp analysis on the current political and economic climate, and real-life, empowering, inspiration on success and leadership. His recently released New York Times bestseller, I Love Capitalism!: An American Story, which tells his compelling personal story rising up from a low-income family to becoming one of America's most successful businessmen, is also a passionate defense of the American Dream — of preserving a country in which any hungry kid can reach the maximum potential of his or her talents and work ethic. Langone recently inspired an audience at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting with a conversation on the value of free enterprise. 

 

JIMMY WALES: Founder, Wikipedia, World's 5th Most Visited Website; Founder, Wikitribune, groundbreaking news platform

"It was great. After we opened up the invitation, we filled the auditorium and had an overflow room. C-SPAN broadcast live. He was engaging and interesting..!"


-CATO Institute

One of the most sought-after visionaries in business and technology, JIMMY WALES has been in-demand to illuminate the future of tech, helping companies both anticipate disruption and become disruptors, at events as varied as The World Business Forum and Geekpark's 2018 Innovation Festival. Audiences consistently praise Wales’ optimism for the future and masterful ability to break down issues ranging from Artificial Intelligence and automation to trends in new media and the digital economy, with passion, clarity and substance. In the coming months, Wales is set to address some 2,000 business leaders at the prestigious World Business Forum Mexico and World Business Forum Milan, another 2,000 attendees at the Ringling College Town Hall Lecture Series. Recently, Wales was sought-out for a fascinating, in-depth interview in the first-ever episode of Vanity Fair and Facebook Grow's new podcast The Making Of..., and shed light on "What's Next in Tech?" at the headline-making Digital Innovation Forum (where Wales was also sought-out for an interview).

 

MICHAEL EISNER: Chairman & CEO, The Walt Disney Company (1984-2005)


"Mr. Eisner was a hit at the Realtors Conference & Expo! In fact, based on feedback after the session, he is one of the best we’ve had in many years. The audience especially liked his perspectives on ‘creativity in a box.’ They also loved that he customized his speech with the Seize the Day theme."


- National Association of Realtors


STEVE FORBES: Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Forbes Media; New York Times Bestselling Author

"He was the BEST, as always. I would book him for every event if I could. He’s just a gracious, humble man. Our clients really enjoyed him and loved that he was roaming around during cocktail hour chatting. It makes my life so much easier when speakers are like him."

-Willis Towers Watson

LORI GREINER: Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank; The "Queen of QVC"; Prolific Inventor & Entrepreneur

"We were fortunate to have Lori Greiner as our closing keynote speaker... The room was filled to capacity... Many conferences lose half of their attendees before the conference concludes. Everyone stuck around to hear Lori Greiner. She offered an enlightening talk about how she got started and became the queen of QVC!"

-Venture Atlanta

DICK COSTOLO: CEO of Twitter (2010-15); Partner, Index Ventures

"[H]e was a huge success! He was very interesting and spoke to our requested topic... He kept our audience very engaged throughout his talk. We, in fact, had attendees lined up at the microphones for Q&A from the start. He interacted well with the attendees asking the questions. I could not have been happier with his day-of performance..."

- Multinational Financial Services Company

PENNY PRITZKER: U.S. Secretary of Commerce (2013-2017); Founder and Chairman, PSP Capital Partners and Pritzker Realty Group

“Sec. Pritzker was a hit… members were very impressed with her experience and knowledge… We would be delighted to work with her again in the future.”

- Leading Business Development Service

PHIL LIBIN: Co-Founder & CEO, All Turtles, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Startup Studio; Co-Founder, Evernote, Global Productivity Tool

"We are very much satisfied with the work and the speeches of Phil Libin. He fulfilled our expectations fully... Especially the fireside chat was very inspiring for the audience."


- Swiss Economic Forum

Visionary and passionate business leaders heralded for their ability to deliver speeches that are substantive, awe-inspiring and entertaining, these HWA Speakers offer actionable insights for every audience.