NEW SPEAKERS: Change & Growth | MORE NEW SPEAKERS > > |
Imani Ellis
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Former NBCUniversal executive Imani Ellis is the CEO and Founder of CultureCon and The Creative Collective, a community dedicated to facilitating brave spaces for Black and Brown creatives. Founded in Ellis’s one-bedroom apartment, The Creative Collective has grown into the largest community devoted to creatives of color. In addition to community events, The Creative Collective provides countless resources and workshops. The Creative Collective’s marquee event, CultureCon, is the first-of-its-kind ideas conference that caters to all aspects of creative and young professional life. Past CultureCon speakers have included Tracee Ellis Ross, Will Smith, Regina King, John Legend, Spike Lee, Lena Waithe, and more. As a leader in talent development in media and creative industries, Ellis’s perspectives are crucial for organizations seeking a creative spark.
Ellis is regularly invited to speak at high-profile events and conferences, including Amazon, Jordan Brand, Pinterest, Advertising Week, Meta, the Women of Power Summit, Columbia Business School, and many more. Named a "Breakthrough Creative" by Ebony, a “Visionary” by Forbes, “One to Watch” by Black Enterprise, and a “Diversity Champion by AdWeek, Ellis shares invaluable insights on cultural competency and innovation.
Chris Licht
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Former Chairman and CEO of CNN, author, and veteran executive producer Chris Licht is a titan of the television landscape. Licht joined CNN after serving in senior, transformational positions at CBS, CBS News, and MSNBC. Licht previously served as Executive Vice President of Special Programming at CBS and Executive Producer and Showrunner for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – the most-watched show in late night television. Licht was also an Executive Producer on Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News on Paramount+. Prior to that, he served as Executive Producer of CBS’ critically acclaimed morning news program, CBS This Morning, which became the network’s most successful morning newscast in more than two decades. was the co-creator and original executive producer of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and was at the helm as the show garnered critical acclaim for its interviews with newsmakers and perspective on the top news stories. Drawing on his depth of experience, Licht shares key insights about building resilient teams, change management, and leading transformative large-scale organizations by leaning into innovation and empathy.
Licht has received numerous honors for his work. During his tenure as executive producer, CBS This Morning earned a prestigious Peabody Award, two News and Documentary Emmys, and one Daytime Emmy. Also, the broadcast and Licht were honored with an Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award as part of CBS News’ division-wide coverage of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Licht’s first book, What I Learned When I Almost Died, tells the story of what happened after a near-deadly brain hemorrhage left Chris in a hospital bed over eight long days to think about how his life had almost been cut short. With warmth and candor, Licht shares the lessons he learned overcoming adversity, surviving a health crisis, and creating more balance in his life in motivational talks.
Indra Nooyi
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Former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi is a business powerhouse, globally renowned for leading the company through a decade of tremendous growth and change. Praised for her prescient and strategic thinking, she was responsible for growing PepsiCo's revenues from $35 billion when she became CEO, to $63.5 billion in 2017. She oversaw a portfolio of global brands and diversified products enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 180 countries and territories around the world. As PepsiCo’s director of global strategy for over a decade, Nooyi led the company's restructuring, including the divestiture of its restaurants into the successful YUM! Brands, Inc; the acquisition of Tropicana and merger with Quaker Oats; the merger with PepsiCo’s anchor bottlers; and the acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann, the largest international acquisition in PepsiCo’s history. An advisor to several early-stage companies, Ms. Nooyi currently serves on the boards of Amazon, Philips, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Partnership for Public Service, and is an independent director of the International Cricket Council. She is a trustee at the National Gallery of Art, and is on the Dean’s Advisory Council at MIT’s School of Engineering.
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 such as making healthier and more nutritious products, limiting the company's environmental footprint, and empowering associates and people in the communities PepsiCo serves. With multiple appearances 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 2019, her portrait was inducted into the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, and in 2022 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling book My Life in Full: Work, Family and Our Future, published by Penguin Portfolio in September 2021, and teaches the MasterClass "Leading with Purpose."
Sir Tim Berners-Lee
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Named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Important People of the 20th Century,” one of the UK’s "100 Greatest Britons,” and one of the world's "Most Influential Thinkers,” Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the most powerful communication medium in the world — the World Wide Web — and gave it to the world for free. It is no exaggeration to say that Sir Tim’s visionary work has transformed every aspect of our lives. Today, its importance is greater than ever as we witness the AI revolution, a technology that relies on the web for data. Data is the foundation upon which AI is built, determining its performance, accuracy, and fairness. Without the Web and data, AI cannot exist, let alone thrive.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, as inventor of the web, has long advocated for individuals to own and control their data. This principle is particularly relevant to corporations and governments in the context of AI that is shifting boundaries. In order to have a competitive edge, corporations will recognise this shifting dynamic of data ownership and take steps to align their practices with this new reality. Sir Tim’s genius is in understanding this next, new future and his ability to educate corporations on this paradigm shift. His thoughtful consideration about the web and AI demonstrate how continued, and considered innovation can benefit society in an ethical and equitable manner.
Michael Eisner
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Michael Eisner teaches audiences how to develop corporate creativity and strategically invest in innovation, based on his experiences as CEO of Disney and as Founder of The Tornante Company, a fund to invest in and develop companies in the media and entertainment sector. Both Fortune 500 CEO and entrepreneur, Mr. Eisner knows that even large global companies can innovate and adapt to new markets, new economies and new technologies. Through his remarks, Eisner not only inspires corporate innovation, he gives parameters for successful execution such as brand building, establishing strategic partnerships, and employee work teams.
Under the leadership of Michael Eisner, Walt Disney Company revenues grew from $1.7B to more than $170B by focusing on the power of ideas, pursuing the innovative vision, and taking creative risks. As a leader in the media industry for four decades, Mr. Eisner has overseen organizations recognized for their inventiveness and innovation, experienced an explosion of technological advances that have impacted his business and led his companies through the advent of the next big ideas. In his presentations on leadership, he shares his insights on what it takes to run a company that must always grow and change.
Dick Costolo
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TIME Magazine named Dick Costolo one of the "10 Most Influential U.S. Tech CEOs." Costolo is a digital entrepreneur who has launched a series of highly successful ventures, but when he became CEO of Twitter (now X) in 2010, he realized he was helping run more than a digital platform; he was helping run an information revolution. Costolo was the Chief Executive Officer of Twitter from October 2010 to June 2015, where he took the company from $0 to $1.5B in annual revenue. With insights into global communication, information flow, and knowledge parity, Costolo discusses the players making the news and watching it happen in real-time while trying to grow revenue, manage rocket-speed growth, and court investors.
Also a former improv comedian, Costolo is a consultant on HBO’s “Silicon Valley”, a board member for Patreon and IfOnly, and a Venture Partner at 01 Advisors. In his speeches, Dick Costolo calls on his experience as a digital entrepreneur, business executive, and performer to deliver entertaining, insightful speeches with a powerful message about the future of social media and the Internet.
Jimmy Wales
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Leading futurist and ground-breaking tech entrepreneur Jimmy Wales is one of the most sought after visionaries in business and technology. Wales is the Founder of Wikipedia, the 5th most-popular website in the world, which strive to create free access for all to the sum of human knowledge. The stunning feat of democratization of information celebrated it’s 20th anniversary, having become a cultural phenomenon and remaining a leader in the fight against the proliferation of false information online. The tech giant creator is also the Founder of WT.Social, a collaboratively editable social networking platform, which aims to change the way we digest news. Driven by his passion for innovation, disruption, and the endless possibilities in the future of tech, Wales is a compelling and motivational keynote speaker for audiences of all kinds.
Named one of TIME’s “100 Most Influential People, Wales has also been heralded by the World Economic Forum as one of the top 250 leaders across the globe for his accomplishments, his commitment to the society, and his potential to shape the future of the world. Audiences praise Wales for his optimism for the future as well as his masterful ability to speak on complex issues ranging from AI, trends in new media, disruption, and resiliency. He consistently receives rave reviews for his in-demand events, such as: "We were all so thrilled with Jimmy. He was so open and dedicated to share with us, McCann people, media, students and the keynote audience such inspiring stories about him, Wikipedia and basically about such a wide array of interconnected subjects. We were all inspired in such a fantastic way by his presence here." (McCann/Thiess)
David Rowan
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David Rowan is today’s leading speaker on how emerging technologies will impact business — and how leaders should prepare now. He’s given more than 700 keynotes around the world, and has moderated events for the World Economic Forum, the biggest global companies, and governments. As founding Editor-in-Chief of WIRED magazine in the UK, David came to know the founders of WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Google, Didi, Spotify, Twitter and countless other ambitious startups from Tel Aviv to Shenzhen. His best-selling book, Non-Bullshit Innovation: Radical Ideas from the World’s Smartest Minds (Penguin), is a 20-country quest to identify genuine innovation in the face of technology-led disruption. The book sets out 17 proven strategies for future-proofing a successful business — from “Turn products into services” to “Build an ecosystem.” David spends his time at tech’s cutting edge: visiting university research labs and startup clusters to meet the people building the future. He’s invested in more than 150 early-stage tech companies and runs venture funds that invest in health-tech and climate-tech. David has been a technology columnist for The Times, GQ, Condé Nast Traveller, and The Sunday Times, and at WIRED he built a conference and a consulting business. And he is still searching for the future.
David will customize a talk for your meeting, or will moderate your event in his accessible journalistic style. He deconstructs tech trends in real time, unpacking how major innovations like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and more, are changing businesses and consumers. He delivers fascinating and knowledgeable presentations full of insight into the future of technology together with lively examples and engaging clips which reveal that in some cases the future is already here. He’s typically asked to speak about how innovation and technology are likely to impact a particular sector (from manufacturing to motoring), and what incumbent companies can do to protect themselves. He customises every talk, and in recent months has addressed audiences in finance, fashion, utilities, television, insurance, shipping, travel, real estate and business software. He also speaks a lot about changing business models, and how companies can develop a culture of innovation.
Charles Duhigg
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Duhigg is a Pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter at The New Yorker Magazine, and previously at The New York Times Magazine. At The New York Times, he authored or contributed to multiple series, including “The Reckoning” (2008), which studied the causes and outcomes of the financial crisis, and “The iEconomy”, which examined the global economy through the lens of Apple, and which won the 2013 Pulitzer prize in explanatory journalism. He has also won the George Polk Award (2007), the Gerald Loeb Award (2008), the National Journalism Award (2009), was a Business News Visionary Award recipient (2020-2021), and other honors. Duhigg was also the founding host of the “How To!" podcast for Slate Magazine.
In addition to his reporting, Charles Duhigg is a regular contributor to television and radio, including the PBS Newshour, Frontline, CBS Sunday Morning and various programs on CNBC and NPR. Before becoming a journalist, Duhigg worked in private equity and founded a health care company in his home state of New Mexico (and, for one terrifying day in 1999, was a bike messenger in San Francisco.) He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and Yale College.
Ken Langone
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Iconoclastic entrepreneur and business legend Ken Langone is renowned as the co-founder of The Home Depot, where he was lead director and a member of the executive committee of its board since the company's founding, helping it 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.
Langone's New York Times bestseller, I Love Capitalism!: An American Story, tells his compelling personal story rising up from a low-income family to becoming one of America's most successful businessmen. A passionate defender of the American Dream, Langone demonstrates that everyone is entitled to dream big and reach their maximum potential. 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.
A world-class philanthropist, Langone's many contributions include a major gift to NYU's Medical Center, resulting in its renaming as the NYU Langone Medical Center. He also serves on the boards of Unifi, Inc., Micell Technologies, Relationship Sciences and Juice Press.
Jim Messina
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Renowned Democratic strategist and international consultant Jim Messina is widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful political advisors. Messina is the mastermind behind former-President Obama and then-Vice President Biden’s 2012 re-election campaign, which Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt called “the best-run campaign ever.” The “Campaign Strategist of the Year” merged technology and politics and established the modern presidential campaign. While serving as the Obama-Biden administration’s Deputy Chief of Staff, he earned the nickname “The Fixer,” building bipartisan support for the historic Affordable Care Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the landmark repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” For over two decades, Messina served as Chief of Staff for various Senate and House offices, developing strong relationship on both sides of the aisle. Messina has gone on to elect over a dozen Presidents and Prime Ministers on five continents including: the UK’s Theresa May and David Cameron, Mexico’s Enrique Peña Nieto, Argentina’s Mauricio Macri, Italy’s Matteo Renzi and Spain’s President Mariano Rajoy, who he helped secure a surprising re-election win. Messina has upended the way that cutting-edge organizations think about strategy, and he delivers tangible takeaways with substance and some much-needed humor.
Messina is an in-demand voice at the crucial intersection of politics, business, and technology. He is a fixture on news outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, FOX News, Bloomberg, BBC, and more, and serves on the boards of Blockchain.com, Fortera, Vectra.ai, LanzaTech, the United States Soccer Foundation, and the Montana Land Reliance. At the helm of The Messina Group as CEO, Messina provides strategic consulting to top businesses around the world, including Uber, Airbnb, Google, Delta Air Lines, Hutchison Whampoa, and over 300 others. Among the most sought-after legislative D.C. insiders, Messina provides illuminating, actionable insights on our political and business landscape.
Adam Braun
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Coca-Cola, Kraft, and Great-West Life have all hosted New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Adam Braun and praised him as “The best speaker I’ve ever seen in the history of our company’s offsite events.” (Coca-Cola HBC); “The feeling was unanimous, the best speaker we’ve ever had at an offsite.” (Kraft Brands); “We all agreed that he is someone to watch over the next few years.” (Great-West Life)
Adam Braun knows how to motivate people to powerful action and organizations who bring Adam to their event are seeing the difference. His TEDTalk "The Five Phrases That Can Change Your Life," has been viewed 1.3 million times.
The Founder of Pencils Of Promise, Adam Braun’s story is how one young man turned $25 into more than 525 schools, serving 100,000 students around the world, and built a global community which is well on its way to achieving its goal of making a quality education a possibility for everyone. His story proves that anyone can take small steps to lead a successful and significant life.
Adam's book, The Promise of a Pencil, did not become a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller just because it was a great story; it became a sought-after guide for achieving goals and dreams and in the book Adam outlines chapters that provide actionable steps toward success. Adam empowers audiences to discover their next big idea, and he gives them guideposts for a path forward. Watch him in action in this inspiring presentation: Creating Extraordinary Change in Life & Business
Adam went on to become Founder & CEO of MissionU, a 21st-century higher education company teaching hard and soft skills for the new economy. MissionU was an early pioneer in remote learning for workforce development that led to it being named to Fast Company's "Most Innovative Companies" in 2018, and it was acquired by WeWork later that year.
By the age of 31 Adam was already named to Business Insider’s 40 Under 40, Wired magazine‘s 50 People Who Are Changing the World, and was selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s first ten Global Shapers. Braun was previously nominated for the TED Prize and has received the nation's oldest and most prestigious award for public service, the Jefferson Award.
Karen G. Mills
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Small business expert, author, and venture capitalist Karen G. Mills is a leading authority on U.S. competitiveness, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Mills is a Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School, served in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet as the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) from 2009 until 2013, and was a member of the President’s National Economic Council. During her tenure at the SBA, Mills took steps that led to record-breaking years for lending and investments in growth capital. Additionally, her efforts helped small businesses create regional economic clusters, gain access to early-stage capital, boost exports, and tap into government and commercial supply chains.
Mills is the author of Fintech, Small Business & The American Dream: How Technology is Transforming Lending and Shaping a New Era of Business Opportunity (second edition to be released in 2024), as well as numerous other publications on fintech, innovation policy, and the supply chain economy. She is a venture capitalist and the President of MMP Group, Vice Chair of Envoy, and a Director of several Churchill Capital entities. Mills is a trusted voice on how new technologies are revolutionizing how small businesses can leverage growth and economic opportunity, and how institutions large and small can be a catalyst for innovation and change.
Abigail Posner
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Today’s unprecedented speed of change is forcing companies to pivot like never before and leverage their most innovative assets - their PEOPLE. For centuries, our workforce has been focused on specific roles and siloed divisions, but now the path to growth will come by inspiring every employee (from leader to individual contributor) with a new path to bring different, untapped sides of themselves to work, and ultimately become more curious, creative and action-oriented. This process of creating a more holistic person and organization is what Abigail Posner refers to as expansiveness. Tapping into her Harvard background in social anthropology, as well as her practical application in business through her work at Google, where she pioneers a focus around Humanizing Digital, Abigail provides an inspirational narrative and a roadmap for how people and organizations can embrace a new WHOLE-istic approach to business innovation and growth.
Posner is a member of ENDI Corp’s Board of Directors and sits on the advisory boards of the 890 Fifth Ave, SwiftArc Ventures, Global Leadership Diversity Exchange, Realm, TheSocialArchitects & the Conference Board’s Marketing & Communications Team; and has been featured in a host of publications including: NYTimes, Business Insider, Forbes, Adweek, Huffington Post, La Presse, CNBC, Mumbrella, AdNews, B&T & Globes Israel.
If you are looking to guide people in your organization to embrace more than a siloed vision of their roles, as well as become more vested in using their unique perspectives and skills to be more creative and innovative, then Abigail is the perfect guide to spark novel thinking and lead your people to action. Beyond her role at Google, she is a world-renowned speaker, podcaster, writer, beauty blogger, and lifestyle influencer. From appearances before packed audiences at Lincoln Center and SXSW, to speaking in over 10 countries, Abigail has shared her insights on culture, technology and leadership to audiences of thousands and proves that her own expansive approach to life has infused her work with a creative and innovative edge.
April Rinne
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Change defines the present and uncertainty permeates the future. Individually, organizationally, and collectively, we humans are trying to discern what this means. What are the skills, practices, and superpowers that this world in flux demands – and how can you cultivate them with purpose and joy?
In 2025, humans’ ability to embrace all kinds of change, uncertainty, and not-knowing isn’t exceptional, but rather table stakes. It’s at the heart of responsible leadership (of both oneself and others), thriving culture, and effective communication. It’s the difference between flourishing and flailing. Put another way, learning to love uncertainty is the #1 skill we’ll need this year – and beyond.
Not only that: This is what every one of your colleagues, customers, clients, partners, stakeholders, and teams needs too. Ditto for your family, friends, and kids. This skill fuels every relationship in business, in society, and in life. So why do we resist learning it? What are we waiting for?
April Rinne – change navigator, speaker, investor, author, and adventurer – has been obsessed with these themes and questions for more than 25 years. Her work and travels in more than 100 countries have given her a front-row seat to a world in flux, as well as a world of wisdom to navigate the unknown. Not only is she your guide to developing a “flux mindset,” she’s also ranked one of the 50 Leading Female Futurists in the world by Forbes and is a Harvard Law School graduate, a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, a member of the Silicon Guild and Thinkers50 Radar, a Fulbright Scholar, and the author of the international bestseller Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change.
April is a trusted advisor to well-known startups, companies, financial institutions, nonprofits, think tanks, and governments worldwide, including Airbnb, Nike, Intuit, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, AnyRoad, and Unsettled as well as governments ranging from Singapore to South Africa, Canada to Colombia, and Italy to India. For more than two decades, she’s been known for seeing emerging trends early, understanding their potential, and helping others do the same. April is a bridge-builder between stakeholders, cultures, priorities, and those excited about change and those resistant to it. Recently, she was the sole global faculty member of Finland’s inaugural “masterclass of happiness,” combining her Finnish heritage and “fluxiness” to reach audiences around the world.
Earlier in life April was a global development executive, an international microfinance lawyer, and a hiking guide. Before that, she spent the better part of four years traveling solo, with an insatiable desire to better understand how the rest of the world lives. (One lesson: Change is universal. How we deal with it is not.) She is as comfortable at Davos as she is talking with microfinance borrowers in an urban slum. A certified yoga teacher, she can often be found upside-down, doing handstands around the world.
The following is also shared, depending on audience and context: April also harnesses her very personal experiences with flux, including the death of both of her parents in a car accident when she was 20.
Erica Keswin
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Bestselling author and workplace strategist Erica Keswin has spent the past twenty years working with some of the most iconic brands in the world as a consultant, speaker, writer, and professional dot-connector. Her book Bring Your Human to Work: Ten Sure-Fire Ways to Design a Workplace That is Good for People, Great for Business, and Just Might Change the World became a Wall Street Journal bestseller in its first week, serving as a powerful guide to a workplace revolution that honors relationships and puts people first. Her book Rituals Roadmap: The Human Way to Transform Everyday Routines into Workplace Magic is a #2 Wall Street Journal bestseller and an indispensable guide to taking your employee engagement to the next level. The Retention Revolution: 7 Surprising (and Very Human!) Ways to Keep Employees Connected to Your Company is a game-changing playbook filled with accessible and actionable case studies and research that will prove how transforming old ideas into new beginnings is good for people, great for business, and just might change the world. In Erica's game-changing keynotes, she highlights how relationships are the most powerful driver of success for individuals and companies striving to attract and retain talent and loyal customers.
Keswin and her work have been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Huffington Post, O Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Mogul, and Conscious Company, among others. She is also the Founder of the Spaghetti Project, a platform devoted to sharing the science and stories of relationships at work. Leaving audiences deeply informed and engaged, Keswin reveals her tried-and-true, human roadmap for people seeking a more meaningful and connected work life, and provides actionable insights on everything from how to cultivate a work culture of diversity and inclusion, to how to connect with customers in an authentic way.
Laura Tyson
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As an economist, policy-maker, professor, and former business school dean, Laura D'Andrea Tyson has long been a leading champion of ways to re-think the role of business in society. Currently a Professor and Director of the Institute for Business and Social Impact at the Haas School of Business and the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley, Tyson has also served as Dean of London Business School from 2002 through 2006 and as Dean of the Berkeley Haas School of Business from 1998 through 2001.
Frequently sought our for her economic insight from the highest levels of government, Tyson was a member of the US Department of State Foreign Affairs Policy Board (2011-2013) and served as a member of President Barack Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness (2011-2012). She was also a member of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board (2009-2011).
Tyson is currently a Senior Advisor at Credit Suisse Research Institute and The Rock Creek Group. Among the many other esteemed positions Tyson currently holds are:
In addition to her economic work at the highest levels of governments and Fortune 500 companies, she is a leader in the blending of business and social change, exploring ways that for-purpose organizations can impact social change using for-profit principles, and vice versa. Additionally, she has tremendous experience and insight into global trade and trace policy, as she helped usher China into the WTO and was instrumental in the creation of NAFTA and other trade legislation.
Seth Mattison
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With his finger on the pulse of the changing nature of work and leadership, Seth Mattison blends storytelling from his own personal experience working with category-leading brands with cutting-edge research to develop fresh perspectives on the issues most relevant for organizations to thrive today.
Seth is an internationally recognized thought leader, author, advisor, and top- rated keynote speaker on talent management, high-performance cultures, leadership, and the Future of Work.
His research, case studies, and thought leadership focus on inspiring audiences, while sharing actionable strategies to support individuals and organizations in their pursuit to be future-ready.
For almost two decades, Seth has shared his insights with tens of thousands of business leaders around the globe for many of the world’s most recognizable brands including Mastercard, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, The Dallas Cowboys, AT&T, PepsiCo, GE Energy, E&Y, Caterpillar, and The Walt Disney Company, to name a few.
In addition to speaking, Seth is the founder and CEO of FutureSight Labs, an org design and transformation firm that supports many of the world’s most inspiring leaders by helping prepare themselves and their organizations for the Future of Work through research, training, advising, coaching, digital tools, and thought leadership.
Peter Sheahan
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After decades of standing in the fire with leaders of high-performing organizations, Peter Sheahan has come to believe that an organization will only go commercially where its leaders first go personally.
Having grown his own companies by accelerating the growth and transformation for clients that include: Apple; Chick-fil-A; DeBeers; and AT&T -- Peter will provoke you to get bigger, by getting better! When leaders are true to their purpose, they gravitate towards doing work that matters and solving higher-order problems. The journey to get there requires that they have the courage to tell themselves the truth, take intelligent risks, and assume ownership for driving the alignment necessary to build an organization which behaves in ways worthy of its leadership position.
In being true to his own ambitions and relentless pursuit of growth, Peter has published seven books, built three global companies and delivered more than 2,500 presentations in 40+ countries. Today he is focused exclusively on inspiring leaders to do the hard work required to accelerate growth and transformation.
Jeff Rohrs
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Jeffrey K. Rohrs is a pied piper of marketing sensibilities and that rare breed of speaker who can both inform and entertain audiences of all stripes. He currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Yext and leads all global brand, enterprise, and partner marketing initiatives. His first book, Audience: Marketing In The Age Of Subscribers, Fans & Followers, explores the emergence of Proprietary Audience Development as a core marketing responsibility.
Informed by Mr. Rohrs' deep knowledge of brand, email, mobile, search engine, and social media marketing, the book is a must-read for CEOs and new marketers alike—anyone looking to gain a competitive advantage in today's ever-expanding marketing universe. The book was also ranked among the “Top 25 Social Media Books for Academia” from the Social Content Marketing Blog
Julie Williamson
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Dr. Williamson is a Vice President of Strategy and Research for Karrikins Group, where she has worked with some of the world's largest companies, helping them set and execute on strategy and transformation. She is a leading voice in how organizations link together communication, design, strategy, sales, marketing and service to deliver sustainable growth. She uses both traditional and forward looking resources in her strategy and transformation work, leveraging design thinking to help client arrive at solutions that are informed by data and inspired by creativity.
Her work with Peter Sheahan on the recently released book MATTER: Create more value, move beyond the competition, and become the obvious choice highlights Julie’s commitment to working with clients to find and deliver on opportunities for growth and development.
Julie is an educator and a professional, teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses on organizational strategy, behavior, and change, and helping students connect the theoretical concepts to real-world applications. Her work with knowledge management and leadership development has been put to the test with Fortune 100 companies and stands well outside of the classroom.
Robyn Benincasa
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When the challenges are steep and the competition fierce, Robyn Benincasa provides the tools individuals and organizations need to cross their most challenging finish lines.
As a two-time World Champion Adventure racer, San Diego Firefighter, and CNN Hero, Robyn knows a thing or two about creating Human Synergy, or as she puts it, “That magic that allows ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things together.”
Through harrowing experiences in places like the jungles of Borneo and the Himalayan peaks, Robyn has studied the good, the bad, and the not-so-pretty of Extreme Teamwork. Her refreshing and unique techniques build and foster impactful, inspired teams that succeed against all odds and turn setbacks into comebacks.
Robyn was named one of the "World’s Top 50 Keynote Speakers" in 2020 (Real Leaders Magazine), the "#1 Female Speaker" for Meetings.net, and is one of the "Top 10 Speakers" featured by Harvard Business Review. She has motivated countless leaders and teams for Fortune 500 companies, including IBM, Starbucks, Walmart, Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, HubSpot, Intel, and more. Her game-changing keynotes inspire us to grab life with one hand, our teammates with the other and create that special magic that makes each of us stronger together than we could ever be alone.
Eric Boles
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Eric Boles is the CEO and Founder of The Game Changers, Inc., a leadership training, and development company, headquartered in Lakewood, Washington. Eric is a noted global expert in talent development, change management, and cultural transformation. He is a thought leader in business strategies and provides in-depth coaching and consulting to help organizational leaders maximize their human asset and increase productivity and peak performance.
Eric is a graduate of Central Washington University. His community involvement includes serving on the Governance Board for the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap counties. Teaching Pastor at Life Center of Tacoma.
Recent client’s include State Farm Insurance, Bank of America, Astra Zeneca, Arch Capital, Mayo Clinic, Bridgestone, Planet Fitness, Eli Lilly, Subway, Sotheby’s Real Estate, BASF, Honeywell, Nationwide Insurance, AgReliant, NAPA Auto Parts, Staples, Simplot, Walser Automotive, Bristol Myers’s Squibb, GSK, The Leadership Institute, Express, and many others.
With his vast experience in corporate boardrooms as an executive coach and business consultant, Eric brings razor sharp insights and leadership strategies that have impacted the marketplace. His perspectives on managing and leading change, transforming culture and overcoming complacency are laced with practical tools and principles that can be applied both professionally and personally.
Prior to becoming a sought-after Speaker and Consultant, Eric learned many of his principles of peak performance, team dynamics and leadership from his experience as a Wide Receiver with the National Football League’s Green Bay Packers and New York Jets.
Eric is also an author of a book entitled Moving to Great…Unleashing Your Best in Life and Work.
Eric is a committed husband of over 25 years to his wife, Cindy Boles. He is a father to two adult daughters, Taylor Boles – 2020 Graduate of The University of Washington, and Madison Boles – Student Athlete at Colorado State University.
Harry G. Broadman
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At the vanguard of his generation 38 years ago, Harry Broadman began a career focused on investment opportunities and risks in emerging markets. Today, he’s globally known as a venerable practitioner of the design and execution of novel ‘first-mover’ strategies in such markets to achieve rapid business growth and rigorous risk-mitigation—strategies that focus on building durable cross-border trade and investment transactions, potent strategic partnerships, agile supply chains, robust corporate governance, tough financial compliance and anti-corruption controls, and incentives for sustained innovation.
Re-inventing himself multiple times across greatly differentiated senior roles in the private sector as a CEO, private equity investor, expert witness, management consultant and board director—interspersed with stints as a high-level White House trade negotiator and economic official and Senate committee professional staff member—he emerged as an authority on the fundamental drivers of the transformation world markets experienced (and continue to do so) long before the term "globalization" was ever uttered.
Harry has worked on the ground in more than 85 emerging markets across 5 continents, including China, India and the rest of Asia; much of Latin America; Russia and the Former Soviet Union; Eastern & Central Europe; the Balkans and Turkey; most of Africa; and much of the Middle East.
He’s advised entities such as IBM, Coke, CEMEX, Canon, Exxon, TPG, Valmet, KIA, ITW, Carlyle, PPG, Corning, Heineken, Merck, Mahindra, Walmart, Deere, Mars, Avon, Canadian Pension Bd, Intel, GE, Future Fund, ADIA, ICANN, Temasek, Berkshire Hathaway, McCormick, SunEdison, Westinghouse, Dow, Siemens, Standard Chartered, Microsoft, Apollo, Tyco, Caterpillar, Nike, Pfizer, Hilton, Blackstone, and Jaguar.
As a speaker, Harry brings to audiences a unique combination of fundamentally insightful views and operational lessons about the ways is which market and policy dynamics will impact C-suites, boards, managers and workers as well as suppliers and customers, and how they’ll alter business fortunes.
Harry has the rare ability to frame such effects from a genuinely prospective vantage point rather than conventional rear-view mirror extrapolations, and through a prism incorporating intrinsic non-linearities of market changes. And, all done in a highly entertaining mode, infused with his infectious sense of humor.
Marcus Buckingham
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Marcus Buckingham is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers in the world. He brings to high-achieving and leadership audiences the rare combination of valid data, psychological insight, practical tactics, and passion. His presentations are grounded in reality, and powerfully uplifting. He is the author of two of the best-selling business books of all time, First, Break All the Rules, and Now, Discover Your Strengths, and his tenth book, Love + Work (Harvard Business Review Press) is a WSJ bestseller and has been heralded by Forbes as one of the ten must-reads for career and leadership. Marcus’ 2019 Harvard Business Review cover article, "The Feedback Fallacy," was selected by HBR as one of the most influential articles of the last 100 years, and Marcus’ strengths assessments have been taken by over 10 million people worldwide.
Daniel Burrus
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Daniel Burrus is considered one of the World’s Leading Futurists on Global Trends and Disruptive Innovation. The New York Times has referred to him as one of the top three business gurus in the highest demand as a speaker.
He is the author of seven books, including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller Flash Foresight and his latest Amazon No. 1 bestseller, The Anticipatory Organization.
He has delivered over 3,000 keynote speeches worldwide and is a strategic advisor to executives from Fortune 500 companies, helping them to develop game-changing strategies based on his proven methodologies for capitalizing on technology innovations and their future impact. His client list includes Lockheed Martin, Verizon, Microsoft, VISA, Deloitte, Google, Procter & Gamble, KPMG, Honda, FedEx and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Burrus is an innovative entrepreneur who has founded six businesses, four of which were U.S. national leaders in the first year. He is the CEO of Burrus Research, a research and consulting firm that monitors global advancements in technology-driven trends to help clients profit from technological, social and business forces that are converging to create enormous, untapped opportunities.
He is the creator of the Hard Trend Methodology, the Anticipatory Organization® Business Model, used by leading organizations worldwide, and he is a founding member of the Department of Defense Joint Services Futures Group.
His accurate predictions date back to the early 1980s, when he became the first and only futurist to accurately identify the 20 exponential technologies that would become the driving force of business and economic growth for decades to come. They included digital electronics, AI, distributed computing, genetic engineering, lasers, optical storage, photovoltaics, fiberoptics and nanotechnologies to name a few. Since then, he has continued to establish a worldwide reputation for his exceptional record of predicting the future of technology-driven change and its direct impact on the business world.
Burrus is a featured writer, reaching millions of monthly readers with his insights on disruptive innovation, exponential change and the future. His work is featured across various platforms, including LinkedIn, where he is a member of an exclusive invitation-only group of experts. On LinkedIn alone, he has built a following of over 1.2 million professionals.
He has been the featured subject of several PBS television specials and has appeared on programs such as CNN, Fox Business and Bloomberg. Burrus has been quoted in a variety of publications, including Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Fortune and Forbes.
Ben Casnocha
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Ben Casnocha is an award-winning technology entrepreneur, author, and executive in Silicon Valley. BusinessWeek named Ben “one of America’s top young entrepreneurs" and Human Resources magazine named him one of the top trendsetters in the talent industry for the year 2015. He has led inspiring conversations about the future of work, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking with large audiences in more than a dozen countries around the world.
Ben is coauthor of the New York Times bestseller The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age, which has become one of the most sought-after management frameworks on how to recruit, manage, and retain entrepreneurial employees.
Robert Cialdini
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Dr. Robert Cialdini has spent his entire career researching the science of influence earning him an international reputation as an expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation.
His books including, Influence: Science & Practice, are the result of decades of peer-reviewed research on why people comply with requests. Influence has sold over 2 million copies, is a New York Times Bestseller and has been published in twenty-seven languages. His latest publication is Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade.
Because of the world-wide recognition of Dr. Cialdini’s cutting edge scientific research and his ethical business and policy applications, he is frequently regarded as the “Godfather of influence.”
Geoff Colvin
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Experience counts in serious times. For four decades at Fortune, Geoff Colvin has covered the economic, political, technological, and competitive forces disrupting business and how top leaders and companies adapt and transform to win in spite of them. The big takeaway, Geoff says, is that winning companies and leaders summon the courage to act – they stop protecting the past and start inventing the future – and they confront this reality faster than the competition. As business leaders face their biggest challenge ever, Geoff Colvin is the voice of experience who shines a light – revealing a clearer path for an uncertain future.
His columns and cover stories for Fortune have earned him millions of loyal fans. Many of them also hear him dispense critical business insights on the CBS Radio Network, where he reaches seven million listeners each week. Geoff’s bestselling books include The Upside of the Downturn, Talent is Overrated, and Humans are Underrated. A keynote speaker with compelling content, Geoff Colvin is also a brilliant panel moderator and interviewer.
As Fortune‘s senior editor-at-large, Geoff Colvin is now in his fourth decade at Fortune. He is one of business journalism’s sharpest and most respected commentators on leadership, management, globalization, government regulation, corporate governance, competition, the economy, the infotech revolution, human performance, and related issues.
Mark DeVolder
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Dr. Mark DeVolder is a global change management expert and thought leader on transitions and transformation. As a pioneer in the field, Mark launched a new way to navigate change … empowering leaders to move confidently through change.
Mark’s transformational message has inspired leaders and teams at top organizations like McDonald’s, US Air Force, Royal Bank of Canada, PwC, and Bristol-Meyers Squibb. In over 25 countries and on 5 continents, Mark has guided high profile clients through some the most daunting challenges: from coaching NASA rocket scientists in reinventing themselves to steering healthcare professionals through multi-billion dollar mergers, to fostering a safety-first culture in leading oil industry firms.
In his ground-breaking book, Perpetual Pivot: How the Best Leaders Thrive during Exponential Change, Dr. DeVolder shares insights and strategies gleaned from years of experience at the forefront of change management. Mark teaches the unique strategy of Empowered Change™, equipping leaders and teams to adapt to change and embrace challenges in order to accelerate growth and transformation.
Mark's keynotes deliver more than just engagement and insight; they are also fun, packed with practical tips and actionable takeaways that attendees can start using right away. People frequently praise Mark's high energy, audience engagement, and inspiring message, which not only ignites excitement about the future but also equips them with the practical tools and knowledge to capitalize on opportunities for growth in the midst of change.
Ryan Estis
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Ryan Estis has more than 20 years of experience as a top-performing sales professional and leader. As the former chief strategy officer for the McCann Worldgroup advertising agency NAS, he brings a fresh perspective to business events. As a keynote speaker, Ryan is known for his innovative ideas on leading change, improving sales effectiveness and preparing for the future of work. He was recently recognized as one of “the best keynote speakers ever heard” by Meetings & Conventions magazine alongside Tony Robbins, Bill Gates, Colin Powell and Mike Ditka.
Keith Ferrazzi
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Keith Ferrazzi radically transforms teams by offering leaders the inspiration and the road map to catapult their organizations forward, make up for lost time, embrace new realities, and win new frontiers.
His newest best-seller, Competing in the New World of Work, offers a bold new vision for what the organization of the future looks like — digital, distributed, inclusive, resilient, empathic — and the emerging best leadership practices that will redefine success in the ever-evolving world of work.
Based on an ambitious global research initiative involving thousands of executives, innovators, and change-makers who have redefined their strategies, business models, organizational systems, and even their cultures, Ferrazzi documents the workplace innovations that emerged during the pandemic and shows leaders how to shape their organizations and practices to remain competitive in a new, post-pandemic context.
Also the author of Who’s Got Your Back, Never Eat Alone, and Leading Without Authority, and he’s an entrepreneur, Founder & Chairman of Ferrazzi Greenlight, and an executive team coach to some of the most prominent organizations in the world. He’s a thought leader and frequent contributor to publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, Wall Street Journal, and Fast Company. Keith has been at the forefront of remote team transitions since his published research appeared in Harvard Business Review.
In his speeches, he examines how the pandemic forced us to shed antiquated ways of doing business and make bold leaps into the future of work and reveals the emerging best practices of thousands of C-suite executives on how to remain competitive and impactful in a post-pandemic world. You’ll leave inspired and ready to catapult your organization forward, embrace new realities, and discover new frontiers.
Yossi Ghinsberg
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A philosopher of life, Yossi Ghinsberg is a man of passion, fixed resolve and a connector of people. He believes that nothing promotes growth more than an unexpected experience and unconventional thinking. In these times of great challenge and change, his “Power to Survive” message is timely.
Not many living people know that survival is a choice as deeply and intimately as Yossi Ghinsberg. Having been lost for three weeks in the depths of the uncharted Amazon, in the midst of a raging rainy season, without companionship, food, weapon or fire, he survived against all odds. The most important thing he learned from this experience was that we all have the power to survive.
Josh Linkner
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Josh Linkner is a New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, venture capital investor, professional jazz guitarist, and a globally-recognized innovation expert.
Doug Lipp
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Candid. Passionate. Relevant. Doug Lipp is on a mission to help organizations strengthen their corporate culture, boost performance, amplify employee morale, and unapologetically, have fun while doing it. Doug is one of the most trusted and respected business speakers and coaches in the world and is sought after for his expertise in helping organizations build adaptive, world-class service cultures that fuel growth and long-term success. He is a distinguished, bestselling author and former head of training team at the legendary Disney University corporate headquarters. Doug has established a career and shaped an industry around the idea that culture is the preeminent factor driving business success.
Jerry Michalski
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Jerry Michalski helps people see the future differently. As a top tech analyst during the Dot-Com era, Jerry helped shape the worlds of software and online services, paving the way for online community, blogging, wikis, social media and more. He advises organizations large and small on how to navigate the waves of technological and social change that are transforming their industries and our world. Briefly put, producers could once mostly ignore consumers, telling them what was on offer and what they should want. Now the playing field is much more level. People are not mere consumers. Companies are realizing this, which is leading to a humanization of capitalism. The problem is, most companies don’t know how to be human, strange as that may seem. Jerry helps organizations become more human by offering unique perspectives on innovation, automation, big data, reputation, trust, authenticity, intent, purpose and other words that frighten the lawyers. He does this by guiding conversations into deep waters, framing issues crisply and clearly, and opening new possibilities.
Jerry is unique in being able to bring 26 years of contextualized, curated information to bear on your questions, live and virtually. Your participants will jump in their seats when they take part in this process.
Byron Reese
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With a gift for storytelling, Byron has captivated audiences around the world with the message that technology is empowering us to build a better world, and he invites his listeners to imagine this better world, and build it.
As a lifelong entrepreneur with multiple IPOs and successful exits under his belt, Byron frequently speaks to business audiences on how to excel in the world of tomorrow, and how to deploy technology successfully.
He states: “Technology multiplies human ability. That’s its trick. It magnifies us. We can move more bricks with a fork lift than we can on our back. Technological advancement is not to be feared, rather it should be welcomed, for by enhancing human ability, we enhance our productivity and therefore our standard of living. This is the entire reason why we live so much more lavish and prosperous lives than did our great grandparents. An hour of our time is vastly more productive than was an hour of theirs.”
Byron has addressed hundreds of corporations and professional organizations on almost every continent and reports that he is open to traveling to Antarctica to round it all out.
Mel Robbins
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Mel Robbins is the creator and host of the award-winning The Mel Robbins Podcast, one of the most successful podcasts in the world, and a #1 New York Times bestselling author. She has amassed 25M followers online and is considered the most sought-after expert in life improvement, mindset, and behavior change. The Wall Street Journal calls her a “billion-view podcaster” and TIME Magazine says she gives millions of listeners around the globe “a reason to believe in themselves.”
Her books have been translated into 50 languages and include the #1 New York Times, #1 Amazon, #1 Audible, and #1 Sunday Times bestselling The Let Them Theory, which is the most successful non-fiction book launch in history, with over 1.2M copies sold within a month of its release date. She is also the author of the multimillion-copy-selling The 5 Second Rule, The High Five Habit, and seven #1 audiobook releases on Audible.
USA Today calls Mel “a force to be reckoned with.” She is a global phenomenon in the publishing industry and podcasting. Her Boston-based media production company, 143 Studios, produces award-winning content, podcasts, events, audio series, online courses, journals, and books, along with professional development education for partners like Starbucks, Ulta Beauty, JP Morgan Chase, LinkedIn, Headspace, and Audible.
The Mel Robbins Podcast has won some of the most prestigious awards given to podcasts, including Webby, Signal Awards, and more. It was also recognized as one of Apple Podcasts' Top Shared and Followed Shows of 2024 and 2023 and Spotify Top Global Shows of 2024. Notable accolades for Robbins include being a Forbes 50 Over 50 Honoree, USA Today Top 5 Mindset & Performance Coaches in the World, and one of the fifty most influential influencers on The Hollywood Reporter’s Creator A-List in 2024.
Mike Walsh
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Mike Walsh is the CEO of Tomorrow, a global consultancy on designing business for the 21st century. He advises leaders on how to thrive in this era of disruptive technological change.
Rather than focusing on the distant future, Mike takes an anthropological approach – scanning the near horizon for emerging technologies and disruptive shifts in human behavior, and then translating these into pragmatic plans for business transformation. A prolific writer and commentator, Mike’s views have appeared in a wide range of international publications including BusinessWeek, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal.
Mike’s clients include many of the global Fortune 500, and as a sought-after keynote speaker he regularly shares the stage with world leaders and business icons alike.
Andrew Winston
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Andrew Winston is a globally-recognized expert on megatrends, sustainable business, and how to build companies that profit by contributing to a thriving world. He was ranked #3 on the Thinkers50 list of the most influential management thinkers in the world. Andrew’s books on strategy – including Green to Gold, The Big Pivot, and Net Positive, which was co-authored with legendary CEO Paul Polman – have sold over a quarter million copies in 15 languages. The Financial Times selected Net Positive as one of the Best Business Books of the Year. Andrew writes regularly for the Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. His views on strategy have been sought after by many of the planet’s leading companies, including 3M, DuPont, J&J, Kimberly- Clark, Marriott, PepsiCo, and Unilever. Andrew is a dynamic and inspiring speaker, reaching audiences of thousands at executive meetings globally. He received degrees in economics, business, and environmental management from Princeton, Columbia, and Yale.
Steve Wozniak
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Steve Wozniak is best known as the co-founder of Apple Computer, which helped shape the personal computer industry with the popular Macintosh. Considered by most to be the real “brains” behind Apple, Wozniak is not just a first class engineer with three decades of world-famous credentials, he’s also an incredible speaker and philanthropist. Drawing from his lessons at Apple, Wozniak delivers an unforgettable and always customized presentation full of expert insight on creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and fostering STEM education.
Ty Bennett
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When Ty was 21 years old, he and his brother Scott started a business in direct sales, which they built to over $20 million in annual revenue while still in their twenties. Since that time, he has developed over 500 sales managers globally with sales and leadership in 37 countries. As a young entrepreneur, Ty continues to engage his team’s focus to grow sales. He uses the power of influence and storytelling to get buy-in to the vision of growing their multimillion-dollar sales organization.
With a natural ability to engage and empower others, Ty draws on his experience in the trenches to share real and tangible techniques about the principles of leadership that continue to create his success. The founder of Leadership Inc., who has been featured as one of the Top 40 Under 40, Ty is a young fresh voice providing interactive presentations that are engaging, dynamic and inspiring.
His clients include some of the most recognizable brands in the world such as: Coca-Cola, Subway, Wounded Warrior Project, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Remax. Ty has shared the stage with celebrities, Olympians and world-renowned thought leaders such as President Bush and President Clinton.
Ty’s best-selling books – The Power of Influence and The Power of Storytelling: The Art of Influential Communication – are used in graduate courses at multiple universities including MIT, as today’s version of “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”
John Foley
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John GUCCI Foley has spent nearly a decade sharing practical and inspirational messages on High Performance with audiences around the world. The former lead solo pilot for the famed Blue Angels flight-demonstration squadron is among the top 10 most sought after conference speakers, presenting keynote messages at more than 100 events a year. John is a Sloan Fellow at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he reverse-engineered the culture of excellence and teamwork found in the Blue Angels, and the founder and CEO of John Foley Inc. and CenterPoint Companies, which provide in-depth training on the How of High Performance. To give back, John founded the Glad To Be Here® Foundation, which administers a giving-forward program that partners with clients to make donations to worthy charities. To share the message of excellence worldwide, John hosts The High Performance Zone, a podcast dedicated to achieving high performance and fearless success.
His exciting, rare journey inspires awe, triggering keynote audiences to take action and rethink what they believe is possible.
Sallie Krawcheck
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Sallie Krawcheck’s mission is to help women reach their financial and professional goals (or, put more bluntly, to get more money into the hands of women), thus enabling them to live better lives and unleashing a positive ripple effect for our families, our communities and our economy. She is the CEO and co-founder of Ellevest, a digital-first, mission-driven investment platform for women. Ellevest is one of the fastest growing digital investment platforms and has been named a #24 on CNBC’s top 50 "Disruptor" list, #14 on LinkedIn’s 50 “Most Sought-After Startups” ( #2 in New York), and one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 100 Brilliant Ideas. Krawcheck is also Chair of Ellevate Network, a 135K-strong global professional women’s network; and she is the best-selling author of Own It: The Power of Women at Work.
With a reputation for integrity, creativity, independence of thought, a sense of humor and an unrelenting focus on results, Sallie Krawcheck has built a career that has reached the top levels of success across a range of functions: as a senior corporate executive, as a research analyst and now as an entrepreneur. She has been recognized by Inc. as a “Top Female Founder”, called "The Last Honest Analyst" by Fortune magazine, was named the seventh most powerful woman in the world by Forbes, was # 9 on Fast Company's list of the "100 Most Creative People in Business and is considered one of the "Most Influential People in ESG Investing" by Barron's." She has been called one of the top 10 up and coming entrepreneurs to watch by Entrepreneur Magazine and has landed on Vanity Fair’s “The 2018 New Establishment List.”
Before launching Ellevest, Krawcheck built a successful career on Wall Street: She was the CEO of Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, US Trust, the Citi Private Bank, and Sanford C. Bernstein. She was also Chief Financial Officer for Citigroup. Prior to that, Krawcheck was a top-ranked research analyst covering the securities industry.
Chris Riddell
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In the chaotic state of our world today, there’s never been a more critical time for optimism with rigour. The uncertainty, unpredictability and sheer pace of our hyper-connected world is Chris’ passion—and life’s work. His obsession with making sense of the discomfort and challenges of this rapidly changing landscape has powered his thinking for over 15 years.
Equally potent across myriad industries, Chris’ insight and expertise has benefitted trail-blazing start-ups, government bodies, and Fortune 500 companies. As a renowned strategist and senior business advisor, Chris has worked globally with some of the biggest and most influential brands and businesses on the planet including Jaguar, Land Rover, Facebook, Australia Federal Police, Ebay, Vodafone, and Macquarie Bank. His intuitive and instinctive approach to tracking global patterns and unlocking opportunities has had significant impact on how businesses—and humans—can take purposeful steps towards creating real and lasting positive impact. And making an impact is what Chris is arguably most famous for… because being in a room with Chris Riddell is an immersive and transformational experience. A combination of rigorously detailed insights delivered with unparalleled enthusiasm, and dynamic screen content… all wrapped up in sensational showmanship—any amount of time spent with Chris is a wildly entertaining and deeply revolutionary experience.
His unique skill of taking what we know—and fear—about our world and encouraging changes in attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and mindsets—is critical to business and social transformation. No sector, subject or stone is left unturned in his quest to make sense of the challenging and disrupted world of ‘the future’.
This is the power of the Chris Riddell experience. It’s real… relatable… relevant… and revelatory.
Bill Taylor
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Bill Taylor shows business leaders a path to go from now to next in a world filled with nonstop disruption. As a young entrepreneur, Bill co-founded Fast Company, the bold business magazine that redefined the genre and chronicled the tech-fueled revolution that transformed business and work. Highlighting free-thinking leaders and companies that are upending their organizations and industries is Bill’s passion – and he had a front-row seat. After selling the magazine, Bill has continued to inspire a generation of executives and company-builders to think differently about leadership, change, culture, and the new world of work. He’s written three bestselling books filled with examples of new ways to innovate and succeed: Simply Brilliant: How Great Organizations Do Ordinary Things in Extraordinary Ways, Practically Radical, and Mavericks at Work. Bill also writes regularly for the Harvard Business Review. In a business environment where ordinary is not an option, Bill Taylor is a natural storyteller who inspires people to avoid the experience trap and not allow what they know to limit what they can imagine about the future.
Barbara Corcoran
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From humble beginnings to the fast and furious New York City real estate market, Barbara Corcoran shares her story of success with audiences and provides insight on what it takes to lead teams to greatness and grow their business.
Barbara Corcoran’s credits include straight Ds in high school and college and 20 jobs by the time she turned 23. It was her next job that would make her one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country: She borrowed $1,000 and quit her job as a waitress to start a tiny real estate company in New York City. Over the next 25 years, Barbara would parlay that $1,000 loan into a $5 billion real estate business, building the largest and best-known brand in the business. Barbara is the author of the bestseller Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business and host of the Business Unusual podcast, which was named to Forbes' 21 Podcasts to Listen to in 2021 list. She is also the real estate contributor for NBC’s TODAY and a frequent contributor to every major network. Audiences find Barbara’s tell-it-like-it-is style to be very motivating, and she inspires them with innovative tools to grow their businesses, giving them important insight on leadership and practical strategies to lead teams to greatness.
Thomas Frey
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Author of Communicating with the Future, futurist speaker Thomas Frey is a powerful visionary who is revolutionizing our thinking about the future.
Over the past decade, Thomas Frey has built an enormous following based on his ability to develop accurate visions of the future and describe the opportunities ahead. Having started seventeen businesses himself and assisting on the development of hundreds more, the understanding he brings to his audiences is a rare blend of reality-based thinking coupled with a clear-headed visualization of the world ahead. Predicting the future has little value without understanding the driving forces behind the trends, subtle nuances that can be leveraged, and implications for both the people directly affected in the industry as well as others farther down the technological food chain.
As part of the celebrity speaking circuit, Tom continually pushes the envelope of understanding, creating fascinating images of the world to come. His keynote talks on futurist topics have captivated people ranging from high level government officials to executives in Fortune 500 companies including NASA, IBM, AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, Lucent Technologies, First Data, Boeing, Capital One, Visa, Ford Motor Company, Qwest, Allied Signal, Hunter Douglas, Direct TV, International Council of Shopping Centers, National Association of Federal Credit Unions, Times of India, and many more.
Michelle Gielan
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Michelle Gielan has spent the past decade researching the link between happiness and success. She is the bestselling author of Broadcasting Happiness: The Science of Igniting and Sustaining Positive Change and was named one of the Top 10 authors on resilience by the Harvard Business Review.
Michelle is an Executive Producer of “The Happiness Advantage” on PBS and a featured professor in Oprah’s Happiness course. She formerly served as anchor of The CBS Morning News, and her research has received attention from dozens of media outlets including The Washington Post, FORBES, and The New York Times.
Sheena Iyengar
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Columbia Business School professor Dr. Sheena Iyengar is a world expert on choice and decision-making. Her book The Art of Choosing received the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year and inspired an eponymous TED Talk. Her subsequent book, Think Bigger, was a Gold Medal Winner of the 2024 Axiom Business Book Award. Her research is regularly cited in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Economist as well as in popular books, such as Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink and Aziz Ansari’s Modern Romance. Dr. Iyengar has also appeared on television, including The Today Show, The Daily Show, and Fareed Zakaria’s GPS on CNN. Her TED Talks have collectively received 7M views and her research continues to inform markets, businesses, and individuals around the world.
Dr. Iyengar has been named a member of Thinkers50, a global ranking of the top 50 management thinkers. She won the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Core Teaching from Columbia Business School in 2012 and was named one of the World’s Best B-School Professors by Poets and Quants. She has also given keynotes and consulted for companies as wide-ranging as Deloitte, Google, Bloomberg, Blizzard Entertainment, J.P. Morgan & Chase, and The North Face.
Scott Klososky
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Throughout his career, Scott Klososky has lived on the leading edge of technology innovation and its impact on the business world and society in general. He is recognized globally for his unique ability to accurately predict future digital trends and provide the logic behind why they will alter the current status quo.
Scott has the ability to entertain, inspire and enlighten audiences while also translating difficult to understand technology topics. He is known for architecting each presentation specifically for the audience, and with the very latest information available. Topics include content such as the importance of organizational digital maturity, leading through the Digital Transformation, cybersecurity, machine intelligence, data intelligence, trendspotting, digital marketing, and best practices for digital governance.
He is equally adept at giving large stage keynotes, speaking to small boards of directors, facilitating half and full day workshops, and doing break-out sessions. His topics often create many questions and he enjoys being interactive with audiences when appropriate. The best measure of his ability to inspire and inform audiences is the high percentage of speaking clients who bring him back for follow on work with their audiences. Scott is also the rare find of someone that has both the "over the horizon" vision, and "in the trenches" experience. He is about transforming, not just informing
Ian Morrison
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With his eye firmly focused on the horizon, futurist Ian Morrison looks at where we’re going and how to plan for the challenges and opportunities ahead. Using the present to discover implications for the future, Ian Morrison helps audiences plan for long-term success by identifying the driving forces shaping their destiny. Drawing on cutting-edge research and practical experience as a consultant in the field, Morrison helps audiences recognize the unexpected opportunities that transform an organization, an industry or a life.
John Nosta
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First and foremost, John is a thinker. A thinker entrenched in the world of science, medicine and innovation. John is the founder of NOSTALAB—a digital health think tank. He’s currently ranked as the #1 global influencer in digital health and generally regarded as one of the top global strategic and creative thinkers in this important and expanding area.
John has an established reputation as a vocal advocate for strategic thinking and creativity. He has built his career on the “science of innovation,” a process where strategy and creativity work together to create inflection points in the market. He has also been recognized for his ability to translate difficult medical and scientific concepts into material that can be more easily communicated to patients, clinicians and scientists. He is also one the most popular speakers around the globe presenting his vibrant and insightful perspective on the future of health innovation. His focus is on guiding companies, NGOs, and governments through the dynamics of exponential change in the health / tech marketplaces.
Neil Pasricha
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A Harvard MBA, New York Times best-selling author, award-winning blogger and one of the most popular TED speakers in the world, Neil Pasricha is a “pied piper of happiness” (The Toronto Star) who dazzles audiences with ideas and frameworks that skyrocket organizational happiness and engagement.
Pasricha spent a decade inside Walmart, the world’s largest company, working for two CEOs directly and then as director of Leadership Development. He complements this “what’s worked” authority with infectious enthusiasm and heartfelt authenticity. He builds trust with audiences quickly and then challenges them to elevate expectations of themselves and commit to the habit of happiness every day.
Pasricha has spoken to royal families in the Middle East, Ivy League deans, and CEOs at organizations such as Audi, Microsoft and GE—all using research and models that enhance individual performance and create a more positive and productive workplace.
In his latest best seller The Happiness Equation (2016), Pasricha provides step-by-step guidelines to illustrates exactly how to apply a unique set of principles to improving and managing everything—your time, your career, your bottom line, your relationships and ultimately, of course, your happiness.
Neil’s writing and work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, CNN, BBC, The Guardian, The New Yorker, The Sunday Times, China Daily, The Jakarta Post, The Sydney Herald and Wired.
JP Pawliw-Fry
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Dr. J.P. Pawliw-Fry is a thought leader on the subjects of leadership, performance and managing change. He is a performance coach to Olympic athletes and business leaders. He is Partner and Co-founder of the Institute for Health & Human Potential (IHHP), a recognized as a world leader in developing and delivering unique training programs in Emotional Intelligence to increase performance and leadership. JP is responsible for turning its research and development work into new ideas and models that can help individuals and organizations find an edge in a competitive world.
Mark Thompson
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New York Times bestselling author Mark C. Thompson is a leadership coach for the world’s fastest growing, most innovative companies—from LYFT CEO & Cofounder Logan Green, Pinterest Cofounder Evan Sharp and World Bank CEO Dr. Jim Kim, to founders Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Tony Robbins and Charles Schwab, for whom he served as the world’s first CXO—Chief Customer Experience Officer.
Forbes Magazine says Mark has the ‘Midas’ touch as a sought after coach, speaker and venture investor. His New York Times bestselling books include: ADMIRED: 21 Ways to Double Your Value; Now Build a Great Business; and Success Built to Last - Creating a Life that Matters, Mark is also an Innovation Leadership columnist for Forbes.com, Inc.com and FastCompany.com. His most recent bestseller ADMIRED is a primer on how the world’s “Most Admired Companies” achieve long-term success and growth as well as the qualities that are common to “Most Admired Leaders”.
Mark was Charles Schwab’s former Chief of Staff and Chief Customer Experience Officer, and the Executive Producer of Schwab.com which today has assets over $3 Trillion. He is a co-founding advisor of Sir Richard Branson’s Entrepreneurship Centres.
Dr. Thompson is an expert on executive leadership, business strategy, and innovation who has spent over 25 years leading teams and building companies from the ground up. He delivers actionable, valuable and practical advice for leaders at all levels of an organization.
Duncan Wardle
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Leaning on 25+ years of experience with Disney, most recently as Head of Innovation & Creativity, Duncan Wardle creates an engaging, immersive keynote that leaves the audience with a unique set of tangible tools they can actually use to embed a culture of innovation and creativity across their own organizations.
As Head of Innovation and Creativity at Disney, Duncan and his team helped Imagineering, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and Disney Parks to innovate, creating magical new storylines and experiences for consumers around the globe.
As founder of iD8 & innov8 he now brings his extensive Disney experience to audiences around the world using a very unique approach to Design Thinking, that not only places the end user at the core of the creative thinking process, but also looks in new and usual places to uncover insights for innovation, helping people capture unlikely connections, leading to fresh thinking and disruptive ideas.
Delivering a series of keynotes, workshops and ideation forums, his unique Design Thinking process helps companies embed a culture of innovation into everyone’s DNA.
Duncan is a multiple Ted X speaker and contributor to Fast Company Magazine. He teaches Master Classes at Yale, the University of North Carolina, Duke University and the University of Florida. In 2008 he received the American Citizen of Choice Award at the White House. In 2014 he was awarded a Hons. Doctorate from Edinburgh University in Scotland. He also holds the Duke of Edinburgh Award presented by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
Margie Warrell
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Dr. Margie Warrell brings sharp insights from her diverse global experience in Fortune 500 business, coaching, and leadership development. Yet it’s her ability to connect at the most human level getting to the heart of what holds people and organizations back that sets her apart as a speaker on the world stage.
Margie’s down to earth style and humor coupled with her hard won wisdom of the human condition enable her to distill theory into practical advice that emboldens braver decision making to build value, accelerate growth and strengthen outcomes.
The titles of Margie's bestselling books - Find Your Courage, Make Your Mark, Stop Playing Safe, Train the Brave and You've Got This! as well as her podcast, Live Brave - reflect her passion for emboldening people to lead braver lives with bigger impact. Margie’s walked her talk countless times since growing up in rural Australia. Her intrepid adventures - from hiking Kilimanjaro with four kids to living in Papua New Guinea - combined with her research equip her with deep insights for unlocking human potential.
Margie’s expertise in human behavior and rising to today's complex challenges is widely sought by media outlets such as CNN, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. A Senior Partner in the Board, CEO & Leadership Advisory practice at Korn Ferry, Margie also sits on the advisory boards of the Women's Democracy Network and Forbes School of Business & Technology and is a Women’s Economic Forum honoree.
Tina Brown
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Legendary editor, journalist, CEO, and New York Times bestselling author Tina Brown is an expert on leading through extreme disruption. Brown transformed Vanity Fair, increasing sales from 200K to 1.2M, reinvented The New Yorker, and pioneered online journalism as the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Beast. Now CEO of Tina Brown Live Media, she was the visionary Founder of Women in the World Summits and served as the CEO from 2010-2020. An engaging and talented speaker and moderator, Brown offers lessons on reinvention, shifting business models and market conventions, and taking risks.
Brown is the author of New York Times #1 bestselling biography The Diana Chronicles as well as The Vanity Fair Diaries: 1983-1992, which was named as one of the best books of 2017 by TIME, The Economist, Vogue, and more. Her new book The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor – the Truth and the Turmoil highlights Brown’s expertly observed insights into the world of the royal family. A leader in one of the most disrupted industries in our time, Brown was featured in CNBC’s documentary The Brave Ones, championing her leadership and legacy. Whether she’s sharing stories of triumphant turnarounds or offering concrete tools and inspiration for embracing risks, Brown is an engaging and powerful speaker who makes an impact with both individuals and organizations.
Greg Creed
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Unconventional brand leader and former CEO of Yum! Brands and Taco Bell Greg Creed is known for his skill in building transformative, courageous workplace cultures. His landmark campaigns lifted Taco Bell into a period of profound growth. He was awarded Restaurant Business’s Restaurant Leader of the Year and named an “Industry Titan” by the Women’s Foodservice Forum. Creed’s book, R.E.D. Marketing: The Three Ingredients of Leading Brands (R.E.D. stands for relevance, ease, and distinctiveness), distills his hard-earned wisdom into actionable practices for any brand. As one of the most respected voices in his industry, Creed’s perspective is a unique window into how culture, branding, and innovation can thrive in harmony. Qu Beyond’s podcast said, “Greg is relatable, down-to-earth, humble, self-deprecating, and brilliant."
Creed is currently Founder and CEO of the unconventional consultancy firm UnCo, helping companies with brand building, franchising, culture, and leadership. He serves on the boards of Whirlpool Corporation, Aramark Corporation, and Delta Airlines. He also currently serves as advisor to the CEO and Board of Directors of Thanx Inc and is Chairman of Quid. He has spoken at industry-leading venues such as the Global Restaurant Leadership Conference, National Restaurant Association, Restaurant Leadership Conference, KBP Foods, and more. Creed’s engagements provide a rich repository of cases, learnings, and laughs that leave audiences feeling energized and motivated.
Bozoma Saint John
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A trailblazing and genuine change-agent, Bozoma “Boz” Saint John is a Hall of Fame Inducted Marketing Executive, author, and entrepreneur who is worthy of the Harvard Business School case study written about her career, titled “Leading with Authenticity and Urgency.” Few people have the depth and breadth of experience that Boz has. Her remarkable success at Netflix, Pepsi, Apple, Uber; the Endeavor brands (WME | IMG, Miss Universe, Ultimate Fighting Champion, Professional Bull Riders, and more); and her own haircare and wig brand, Eve by Boz, proves her to be one of the most effective marketers of any generation. On February 21, 2023, Viking Books published her memoir, The Urgent Life.
With almost 20 years of experience that spans multiple industries including digital music and entertainment, consumer packaged goods, fashion, sports and automotive, Bozoma is a leader heralded for her bold thinking and cutting-edge ideas. Prior to Netflix and Endeavor, she served as the Chief Brand Officer at Uber, where she was tasked with telling the stories of millions of riders and driver-partners across over 600 cities, and as the Head of Global Consumer Marketing for Apple Music and iTunes, where she built and launched Apple Music, as well as spearheaded campaigns geared towards growing consumer brand recognition, loyalty, and equity around the world.
Recognized for her breakthrough work by both the industry and her peers, Boz is a member of the Billboard Hall of Fame, the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement and American Marketing Association Hall of Fame. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, named Forbes #1 Most Influential CMO in 2021, Executive of the Year by Billboard Magazine, and featured in lists such as Fortune’s "Most Influential CMOs," Fast Company’s and Ad Age’s "100 Most Creative People," and more.
Hailed as the "coolest person to ever go on stage at an Apple event,” by Buzzfeed, Bozoma brings unparalleled energy, transformative thinking, and innovative ideas to each engagement.
Ginni Rometty
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Ginni Rometty is a leader, innovator, and convener who believes that how we work and lead is as important as what we achieve. As the ninth Chairman, President, and CEO of IBM, Ginni transformed the 100-year-old company, reinventing 50 percent of its portfolio, building a $25B hybrid cloud business, and establishing IBM’s leadership in AI and quantum computing. She drove record results in diversity and inclusion and supported the explosive growth of an innovative high school program, P-TECH, to prepare the workforce of the future in more than twenty-eight countries. Ginni is the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work, and World (Harvard Business Review Press). In the book, as she does in sought-after events, Ginni shares milestones from her life and career while redefining power as a way to drive meaningful change in positive ways for ourselves, our organizations, and for the many, not just the few – a concept she calls “good power.”
Through her work with the Business Roundtable, Rometty helped redefine the purpose of the corporation. She has been named Fortune’s #1 Most Powerful Woman three years in a row, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and has been honored with the designation of Officier in the French Légion d’Honneur. Today, Rometty serves on multiple boards including J.P. Morgan Chase, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and co-chairs OneTen, a coalition committed to upskilling, hiring, and promoting one million Black Americans without four-year degrees by 2030 into family-sustaining jobs and careers. She offers unparalleled insights on leadership, organizational and societal transformation, DEI, the future of work and education, and more, and is in-demand for events with groups including the World Economic Forum at Davos, The Milken Institute, Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit, the Consumer Electronics Show, and Grace Hopper, to name a few.
Brian Grazer
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Hollywood legend Brian Grazer is an entertainment mogul with an empowering story of resilience and ingenuity. Coming from modest means and growing up with dyslexia, Grazer is an Academy, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Grammy award-winning producer as well as a New York Times bestselling author. Behind iconic films and shows including A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Splash, 24, and Arrested Development (just to name a few), Grazer's work has been nominated for 43 Oscars and 195 Emmys. Named to TIME’s “100 Most Influential People in the World,” Grazer co-founded Imagine Entertainment along with his longtime friend and business partner Ron Howard in the 1980s, quickly growing it to become one of Hollywood's most prolific and successful production companies. With a unique flair for telling fascinating stories and decades of experience as a Hollywood icon, Grazer offers insight into themes such as leading through times of disruption, unleashing curious creativity, innovating in a fast-changing world, and the future media landscape.
The secrets to Grazer's success and distinct outlook are chronicled in his #1 New York Times bestseller, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. Sought-out to speak with hosts including Google, Goldman Sachs, SXSW, and the Aspen Institute, Grazer has helped everyone from parents to CEOs to artists to young graduates hone the mindset, philosophy, and skills needed to thrive at every phase of life.
Joanne Lipman
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Powerhouse journalist Joanne Lipman has transformed newsrooms across the country – and now she’s turned her keen eye to transforming work and life in the post-pandemic era. In her blockbuster new book, Next!: The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work (March 2023), she offers a deeply reported, delightfully readable look at how to change your life, your workplace, or your career -– and how to inspire innovation in others. It follows her No. 1 bestseller That’s What She Said, about achieving gender equity at work and at home, inspiring men as well as women to join together to promote diversity, innovation and excellence.
One of the nation’s most prominent journalists, Lipman is the former editor-in-chief of USA Today and the USA TODAY Network, Conde Nast Portfolio, and The Wall Street Journal Weekend Journal, leading those organizations to six Pulitzer Prizes. Dubbed “innovator in chief” by The New York Times and “star editor” by CNN, Lipman began her career at The Wall Street Journal, where she rose to become the highest-ranking woman in the paper’s history. Lipman has been in-demand with groups such as Motorola, Google, Aetna, Chevron, NBC Universal, among many others.
Lipman is sought after for her insights, appearing on ABC, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, and CBS, and is an on-air contributor at CNBC. Her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, TIME, Fortune, and Harvard Business Review. She teaches a popular Yale University course on Media & Democracy, focused on issues including polarization and combatting misinformation. A lively and entertaining speaker, Lipman offers action-oriented insights and critical analysis into issues ranging from workplace culture, to personal and business growth and transformation, to fostering diverse and equitable organizations, and more.
Sekou Kaalund
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Sekou Kaalund has two decades of Wall Street experience spanning leadership in institutional and retail businesses, making him a highly regarded authority on strategic leadership and targeted, sustainable impact. A former leader at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as well as Citi, Kaalund has established key connections across client segments and industries. He is a highly sought-after speaker for his insights on strategizing growth, developing talent, and forming inclusive teams that have a major impact on organizations of all kinds. Prior to joining U.S. Bank, he spent the last 15 years at JPMorgan Chase in a variety of leadership roles across institutional and retail businesses, most recently serving as Senior Executive Vice President of the Managing Committee of the U.S. Bank. While managing complex firmwide relationships, he launched Advancing Black Pathways, the first global corporate initiative that leveraged a data-driven strategic framework to develop scalable programs to reduce the racial wealth gap, which led to a historic five-year firm-wide $30B commitment to advance racial equity. He has offered riveting keynotes at the Milken Global Conference, National Urban League, the Whitney M. Young Jr. Memorial Conference, and many more, and has led engaging conversations at Chase Talks with Kevin Hart, Grant Hill, Dominque Wilkins, among many others.
Kaalund’s contributions have received numerous accolades including being named on Ebony’s “Power 100” list as a “Titan of Industry,” the SAID Institute’s Mark of Excellence award, World of Money’s Wall Street Legacy Award, and being named one of Face2Face Africa’s “30 Black Stars.” He has been featured in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, and on the BBC, NBC, and CNBC. Kaalund has been honored by the All Stars Project for leadership and community impact, the Council of Urban Professionals, the Harlem YMCA, and the Boys and Girls Club of American inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2011. He serves on several boards, and his leadership initiatives include the tech partnership “Advancing Black Entrepreneurs” StartupBus, a hackathon on wheels.
Michael Spence
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Nobel Laureate and award-winning professor Michael Spence is the author of The Next Convergence and co-author of Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World. Spence is the Philip H. Knight Professor Emeritus of Management in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford, and a Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is an Adjunct Professor at Bocconi University in Milan, and an Honorary Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford University. In 2001, Spence received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his work in the field of information economics.
Spence is a Senior Advisor to Jasper Ridge Partners and a Senior Advisor to General Atlantic Partners, and chairs GA’s Global Growth Institute. He chairs the Advisory Board of the Asia Global Institute and was the Chairman of The Independent Commission on Growth and Development (2006-2010). He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Luohan Academy in Hangzhou. He previously served as Dean of the Stanford Business School (1990-99) and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University (1984-90). Spence was awarded the John Kenneth Galbraith Prize for excellence in teaching and the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded to American economists under age 40 for a "significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge."
Rich Kleiman
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Entrepreneur and media architect Rich Kleiman is the co-Founder and CEO of Boardroom – a sports and entertainment company that includes the flagship media network, Boardroom.TV. Founded in 2019 by Kleiman and Kevin Durant, Boardroom covers the business of sports, music, and entertainment, with a special focus on the ways that athletes, executives, musicians, and creators are moving the business world forward. Other projects under the Boardroom umbrella include the critically acclaimed scripted series SWAGGER in partnership with Imagine Entertainment and Apple TV+, the Academy-Award-winning short film Two Distant Strangers (Netflix), and Emmy-nominated documentary NYC Point Gods (Showtime). Most recently, Kleiman announced the launch of Boardroom Advisory, an offering for talent and brands to help them navigate business strategy, content creation, sports ownership opportunities, and venture & private equity investing.
Kleiman has been Kevin Durant’s manager since 2013, and brokered KD's lifetime deal with Nike. He is co-Founder of 35V, which houses over 100 early-stage investments across sports, technology, finance, media, and more. The 35V portfolio includes digital sports network Overtime, Coinbase, Acorns, Postmates, and NBA Top Shot by Dapper Labs. Kleiman serves as the Executive Director of the Durant Family Foundation (fka Kevin Durant Charity Foundation), helping underserved and low-income families and youth across the globe. He also sits on the Board of Directors at New Heights Youth, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to sports-based youth development and education in New York City. As both a speaker and a moderator, Kleiman generates high-impact conversations on building robust and lasting business portfolios, maintaining mental wellness as an elite performer, and learning from your mistakes to build an industry-transforming business.
Michael Mignano
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Technology executive and entrepreneur Michael Mignano is passionate about building products that change the world. After serving as VP of Product for Aviary, and growing the photo editing platform’s audience to over 100M creators before an acquisition by Adobe, Michael co-founded Anchor which was acquired by Spotify in 2019 for $170M and is the world’s largest podcasting platform. His work on Anchor transformed podcasting from a niche medium into a universal form of creative expression adopted by millions worldwide. After Anchor was acquired by Spotify, Michael served as Head of Talk Audio for Spotify, where he lead the podcast, live, and video businesses for the world’s leading audio streaming platform. Michael has joined Lightspeed Venture Partners, a venture capital firm, as a partner.
Michael has been recognized by Fortune on their “40 Under 40” list, and he is an angel investor and advisor to more than fifty of the world’s most promising early-stage technology companies, including Cameo, Coda, The Infatuation, Parade, Pipe, and Stir. His career has been focused on building world-changing products that scale to hundreds of millions of users and empower people to express themselves creatively across mediums. In compelling keynote and conversations, Michael shares insights on shifting global culture through powerful ideas, leveraging your passion into an impactful career, and maximizing productivity through communication at work and in life.
Fawn Weaver
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Serial entrepreneur, two-time New York Times bestselling author, and groundbreaking business mogul Fawn Weaver is an expert in crafting compelling stories; as a writer, powerhouse investor, and values-driven leader. Weaver, CEO of Uncle Nearest, Inc., is one of only five African American women to found and lead a $1B+ company in U.S. history. Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey is the fastest-growing American whiskey brand in U.S. history, the best-selling Black American-founded spirit brand of all time, and was the most award-winning Bourbon of 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Weaver also built the $50M Uncle Nearest Venture Fund, investing in minority founded, owned, and led brands with the greatest potential to grow into legacy brands. A multi-hyphenate and popular TED speaker, Weaver is a highly sought-after voice in conversations about accelerating growth without sacrificing values, inclusive organizational strategy, and leadership, making an impact with audiences of all kinds.
Weaver has been featured in The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, CNBC, Fast Company, Oprah Magazine, Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and more, and she has appeared on FOX Business, the TODAY Show, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, among countless others. She is a regular contributor to Inc. Magazine, and her revelatory segment on NPR’s How I Built This with Guy Raz had the internet abuzz for weeks. A committed philanthropist, Weaver is the Founder of the Nearest Green Foundation, which offers full scholarships to every descendent of Nathan ‘Nearest’ Green, the world’s first known African American master distiller. She is certified as a Corporate Director by Harvard Business School and sits on the Endeavor Group Holdings board of directors, where she also serves on its audit committee. In riveting conversations, Weaver offers key insights and impactful takeaways about cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset and what it takes to succeed across industries in business and in life.
Pamela Druckerman
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Pamela Druckerman is an American journalist and author of the international bestseller Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting (known in the U.K. as French Children Don’t Throw Food). It’s an unconventional parenting guide that mixes anthropology, journalism, and memoir, with dashes of history and humor. The book has been (or is being) translated into 21 languages.
Pamela is also a Contributing Opinion Writer for the International New York Times. Her op-eds and articles have appeared in the Washington Post, The Guardian, the Financial Times, New York Magazine, Marie Claire, Vanity Fair France, and elsewhere. Her work has been featured on Good Morning America, The TODAY Show, National Public Radio, BBC Women’s Hour, and Oprah.com, among many other news outlets. From 1997 to 2002 she was a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal, based in Buenos Aires, São Paulo, and New York.
Pamela speaks regularly to audiences in Europe and the United States. She holds a B.A. in philosophy from Colgate University, a Master of International Affairs from Columbia Univeristy, and has trained in improvisational comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade. She lives in Paris.
Erik Logan
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Transformational leader Erik Logan has a diverse portfolio that spans talent management startups, technology, cable networks, and sports league management, most notably as the CEO of the World Surf League (WSL) and President of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). At WSL, Logan redefined the sport by introducing game-changing formats and partnerships with platforms like ABC, HBO, and Apple TV+, achieving record audiences and revenues. His previous role at OWN was marked by a turnaround that led the network to unprecedented ratings and revenues, reinforcing his reputation for innovation and growth.
Throughout his career, including tenures at XM Satellite Radio, Citadel Broadcasting, and CBS/Infinity, Logan has excelled in nurturing new talent and fostering innovative environments. His leadership style is characterized by a commitment to executive growth, a passion for business excellence, and an aptitude for recognizing industry trends, making him a catalyst for change and success in diverse sectors.
Whether leading a sports league to its best performance in over 40 years or driving a media network to become #1 in its key target demographics, Logan consistently demonstrates an uncanny ability to revolutionize how audiences interact with content. As an avid supporter of the growth mindset, Logan inspires a culture of continuous learning, innovation, and adaptability through his leadership and motivational speaking engagements.
Ariel Emanuel
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Ariel Emanuel is Chief Executive Officer of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company comprised of industry-leading brands including WME, IMG and UFC. After rising through the Hollywood talent agency ranks, Emanuel co-founded the original Endeavor in 1995, eventually orchestrating the largest talent agency merger in history to form WME. He later led the company into a strategic partnership with Silver Lake, facilitating the acquisitions of IMG and UFC and culminating in the formation of holding company, Endeavor, which went public in 2021. Over the course of his career, Emanuel has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, one of Fortune’s Businesspersons of the Year, and one of Sport Business Journal’s 50 Most Influential People in Sports. Prior speaking engagements include conversations at Recode, Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference, The Economic Club of Chicago, and the Future Investment Institute.
Allison Massari
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While most speakers have a story to tell, there are a select few with one so impactful and poignant that the audience is forever changed. That is what happens when Allison Massari speaks.
Hailed as “life-changing” “riveting” “extraordinary” “bold” and “deeply moving” Allison Massari’s work is a celebration of the power of the human spirit, and her journey is the quintessential story of courage and heart. Allison’s potent message has reached audiences in more than 75 countries and is a testament to hope, radical compassion, and indestructible perseverance. A top keynote speaker, Allison has been recognized with esteemed speaking engagements internationally. She has been featured on PBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX networks and also stars in the award-winning international documentary, Resolve (2015). Her diverse client list includes: Microsoft, GE Healthcare IT, Intel, MDRT, Capital One, Wells Fargo, Kaiser Permanente, 3M, Lilly, HIMSS/CHIME, Allscripts, Siemens Healthcare, and McKesson.
Allison’s unique history gives her compelling authority to address difficult issues with genuine sensitivity and profound insight. An interdisciplinary artist as well as an entrepreneur, Allison was preparing paintings for an important museum exhibition early in her art career when her world was shattered. Hit head-on at 60mph and trapped inside her car, she nearly lost her life in a fiery and explosive collision. Burned alive, conscious the entire time, Allison suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns on over 50% of her body. Astonishingly, navigating the experience compelled her to discover an unshakeable strength and fortitude—and carefully learn the intricacies of what it takes to overcome adversity and live with heart. Through captivating, hope-filled stories, Allison shares her personal journey and elevates audiences, generating renewed excitement for their life and work. Her unforgettable keynote instills essential tools of self-leadership—teaching how to boldly access grace and resilience and be a dynamic force of goodness in the face of challenges. As Allison states, “We can each make a vigorous, life-changing choice to navigate our way through and beyond adversity and be a force of light for ourselves and others.”
Allison is passionate about tailoring her speech to address the specific issues affecting each market. She takes great care in getting to know her clients—their industry distinction, their mission, and their audience, including the pain points and what they are doing exceptionally well. Her incredible empathy and her capacity to precisely acknowledge and appreciate the work that is done in any organization provides extraordinary support, encouragement, and inspiration to audiences worldwide. Whether she is speaking to leadership teams or to your entire workforce, Allison compassionately highlights each person’s value and demonstrates how their work connects to the overall mission. In Healthcare, for instance, Allison’s groundbreaking program addresses the current challenges faced by the medical industry, including burnout, understaffing, time restraints, employee retention, compassion fatigue and everyday stresses. Audiences experience the far-reaching and vital impact of their work and walk away feeling more connected to their purpose and to each other.
Allison is also an award-winning visual artist. Her work has been sought out by museums and private art collectors internationally and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her colorful and sublime visual art serves as a breathtaking backdrop to all of her keynotes.
Allison Massari’s keynotes are jaw-dropping, heartfelt, and deeply inspirational. She purposefully shares her message of resilience, courage and hope with sincere vulnerability—committed to her desire for no person to feel alone. Prepare to be taken on a journey.
Dr. Luana Marques
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Dr. Luana Marques is a Harvard professor, best-selling author, and global keynote speaker specializing in high-performance leadership in uncertain times. As the creator of the Bold Move™ framework, she equips individuals and organizations with the tools to override hesitation, embrace discomfort, and take decisive action—especially when the path ahead is unclear.
With two decades of research on the neuroscience of avoidance and decision-making under pressure, Dr. Luana has partnered with Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and top-performing teams to transform the way leaders approach risk, uncertainty, and rapid change. Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The New York Times, Good Morning America, and more.
Dr. Luana’s keynotes combine scientific insights, high-energy storytelling, and real-world case studies to help organizations move from hesitation to bold, strategic action—turning discomfort into a competitive edge.
In a world of constant burnout, uncertainty, and rapid change, hesitation isn’t an option for decisive leadership. Dr. Luana’s Bold Move ® methodology provides the tools and playbook to navigate challenges and thrive in today’s business landscape.
For Dr. Luana, the keynote is just the beginning. She is committed to creating moments that go beyond inspiration, ensuring attendees leave not just motivated but equipped with tools for real action.
Through book signings, meet-and-greet opportunities, and interactive discussions, she fosters deeper engagement, leaving a lasting impression on audiences. Her best-selling book, Bold Move: A 3-Step Plan to Transform Anxiety into Power, extends the impact of her keynote—giving attendees a science-backed framework to apply long after the event.
Dr. Luana collaborates with organizations to deliver a seamless and high-value experience, whether through bulk book purchases, customized signing sessions, or exclusive VIP engagements. More than just a speaker, she’s a strategic partner in ensuring your event drives lasting transformation.
Niren Chaudhary
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Global CEO, innovator, and philanthropist Niren Chaudhary is a visionary leader. He is formerly the Chairman of the Board of Panera Brands. Prior to becoming Chairman in 2023, Chaudhary served as CEO of Panera Brands and Panera Bread. Previously, Chaudhary served as Chief Operating Officer and President of Krispy Kreme, where he created a path for enterprise value growth of 3x over 5 years. Prior to that, he spent over two decades at Yum! Brands serving in global leadership positions including Global President of KFC and President of Yum! India. Chaudhary is hailed for his commitment to innovation and often provides insight into how large organizations can stay agile.
Chaudhary is guided by his deep passion for serving others and building future leaders. He lectures at Columbia Business School and University of Delhi. His insights and voice have been sought by PWC, Harvard University, and London Business School, to name a few. He dedicates his personal time to serving on the Tufts Medical Centre Board and as an advocate for DKMS, a leading non-profit with the world’s largest stem cell donor registry. Chaudhary’s warm energy extends to his keynotes and moderated conversations alike, connecting with audiences on both an intellectual and personal level.
Jim Carroll
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Jim Carroll is recognized as the world’s leading futurist, trends and innovation experts, with a massive global blue-chip client list. Over the last 30 years, more than 2 million people have shared his insight at his events. Jim’s global client list gives him a front-row seat to the high-velocity change that is occurring as disruption comes to take hold of every industry and every organization.
With that insight, and the customized research that he undertakes for every engagement, he helps to transform growth-oriented organizations into high-velocity innovation heroes!
Jim provides high energy keynotes for audiences of 50 to 5,000, as well as intimate, customized strategic planning sessions for CEO/CxO, board, and senior management meetings. He has researched key innovation success factors for dozens of organizations and industries including life sciences, health care, insurance, automotive, manufacturing, agriculture, technology, education, government, consumer products, retail, banking and countless others.
He has been invited in by NASA (twice) to share his insight on the future of the space industry; by Disney, to advise on new strategies for creativity and innovation; by the PGA of America for his thoughts on how to accelerate the golf industry; by Pfizer for insight on the future of medical science; by the World Bank for his thoughts on opportunities for economic development; and by the Wall Street Journal for his perspective on disruptive trends. Among countless others…
Jim Carroll is an author, with numerous books including Now What?, Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast;, Surviving the Information Age, The Future Belongs To Those Who Are Fast, Ready, Set, Done: and What I Learned From Frogs in Texas.
David C. Edelman
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David Edelman’s leadership in driving strategic digital and marketing change over the past 30 years – as a top CMO and as a Strategic Consultant -- has made him a sought-after advisor and speaker on AI, digitization, go-to-market strategy, marketing organization, and agile operations. Known for developing foundational concepts such as “The Customer Decision Journey,” and “Segment-of-One Marketing,” David has been repeatedly recognized by Forbes as one of the “Most Influential CMOs in the World,” and by AdWeek as one of the “Top 20 Marketing and Technology Executives.” His writing and work attracts over 1.1 million followers to his LinkedIn blog, and he has delivered dozens of keynote presentations at conferences around the world. In October 2024, Harvard Business Review Press published his co-authored book: Personalized! Customer Strategy in the Age of AI.
From 2016 through 2020, he guided Aetna (now part of CVS Health) through becoming a digitally-oriented, customer-centric enterprise. Currently, David teaches Marketing at HBS. Via his Edelman Advisory Services LLC, he also works with a wide range of CEO’s and CXO’s on Marketing and Strategy, focusing on where AI and personalization unlock transformational opportunities. A proven change agent, David built new practice areas as a partner with The Boston Consulting Group, Digitas (now part of Publicis Groupe), and then for McKinsey & Company, all based on guiding clients through global digital transformation initiatives.
In 2022 and 2023, he published three articles for the Harvard Business Review, Customer Experience in the Age of AI, Generative AI Will Change Your Business -- Here's How to Adapt, and What Smart Companies Know About Integrating AI, following his earlier cover story on Branding In the Digital Age (2010), and a follow-up article Competing On Customer Journeys (2015). These have become core reading at business schools and in many corporate marketing departments. Through his affiliation with the “Growth Master” council of the Association of National Advertisers, he co-leads an ongoing taskforce on “Responsible Personalization,” helping CMO’s navigate the many challenges of using AI and customer data to deliver breakthrough experiences.
Jason Ma
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Jason Ma, Founder and CEO of ThreeEQ, is an award-winning Chief Mentor of Next Gen Leaders, high-level rainmaker, sought-after speaker, acclaimed author, and a highly regarded and well-connected strategic advisor to UHNW families, CEOs, boards, and single family offices. Ma also serves as an investor and Chief Business Officer at AdXero, a transformative incentivized media distribution technology venture with enormous industry impact and ROIC/MOIC potential.
With 40 years of deep experience spanning technology, education, finance, media, advertising, e-commerce, distribution, telecom, hospitality, and more—combined with over 2 million miles of world travel—Ma brings unparalleled strategic insights and pragmatism to his work. He has inspired and guided a “small army” of Next Gens to achieve success in Ivy League/elite college admissions, high-powered careers, personal development, and enduring family legacies. He also served as a Thiel Fellowship mentor, supporting young entrepreneurs in pursuing transformative ventures.
Ma was a Forbes Global CEO Conference by-invitation delegate for eight years, further cementing his standing in elite circles. His global impact is underscored by a decade of contributions as Silicon Valley’s leading member of the B20, the G20’s official forum with the global business community (private sector). Across ten G20 Presidencies—Australia, Turkey, China, Germany, Argentina, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, India, and Brazil—he has helped shape private sector policy recommendations on the Future of Work, Human Capital, Skills, and Education, while being an influential voice on AI & Digital Transformation and Trade & Investment. Ma is one of a select few Americans appointed annually as a B20 member since 2014.
A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Ma is the acclaimed author of Young Leaders 3.0: Stories, Insights, and Tips for Next-Generation Achievers and former Forbes contributor on Mentoring Young Leaders (~2 million views). His insights have also been featured in elite publications such as Forbes, The CEO Magazine, Impact Wealth, Family Office Magazine, Red Hot Monde Magazine, and showcased at premier Family Office, Private Wealth, Investor, CEO, AI/Tech, B20/G20, Education, and Next Gen leadership summits and shows.
Renowned for his expertise in Next Gen leadership, family legacy enhancement, Ivy League/elite college admissions, high-powered careers, family office trends, strategic investments, AI/tech company building, and geopolitics, Ma’s guidance resonates deeply with UHNW families, Family Offices, and CEOs worldwide.
A philanthropist, Ma serves as a St. Jude/ALSAC Advisory Council lead member, an SVCF partner, and is engaged in his faith community. He is an inspired father of two happy, compassionate Gen Z daughters. The Ma family (playfully nicknamed the “MAfia”) values unconditional love, humor, and high standards in what matters. Ma holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from UC Berkeley College of Engineering.
Kendra Bracken-Ferguson
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Kendra Bracken-Ferguson is an internationally acclaimed thought leader. In demand for her strategic vision and attention to brands that want to grow to scale quickly and sustainably, she is a sought after speaker and c- suite/board advising powerhouse.
Kendra's ecosystem of leadership is rooted in her global conglomerate BrainTrust where she is the Founder, CEO and General Partner.
BrainTrust is an award-winning, global force created by Kendra in 2015. It was the first of her suite of BrainTrust enterprises leading to her founding BrainTrust Founders Studio in 2021, now the largest membership-based platform designed for diverse founders of beauty and wellness companies that has not only changed the face of beauty but also empowered overlooked business owners to enter the room and sit at the tables of capital and wealth generation.
She also is a General Partner in the adjacent BrainTrust Fund I, dedicated to investing in breakthrough beauty and wellness brands. A transformative brand builder, Kendra is the secret ingredient in guiding and monetizing more than 200 influencer-driven brands that have collectively generated more than $100MM in revenue. Kendra has created and launched seven brands in partnership with celebrities and influencers. Among her firsts, Kendra has the distinction of one of the first 100 Black women ever to have raised more than $1MM in investment for her first company.
Not only has she innovated and partnered into the worlds of celebrity and influence, she has also been early to the power of technology to open new gates of opportunity as the youngest Vice President at Fleisham-Hillard New York, the first Director of Digital Media at Ralph Lauren and the first Chief Digital Officer at CAA-GBG (Creative Artists Agency - Global Brand Groups) when her company was acquired.
She also developed Influencer Data Mapping™, a proprietary advertising marketing solution to drive ROI (return on influence).
Kendra hosts Business of the Beat podcast that sheds light on the business of beauty through the eyes of BIPOC founders, senior executives, influencers, and operators who are in the process of starting, growing, and scaling their businesses. With a focus on empowering and inspiring diverse leaders in the beauty and wellness industry, this podcast features over 170 episodes, and season four is now underway. Each episode uncovers key takeaways and behind-the-scenes stories of entrepreneurs, highlighting the beauty of their success.
Kendra’s first book, The Beauty of Success: Start, Grow and Accelerate Your Brand was released on February 13, 2024 and was named the #1 New Release in Business Entrepreneurship on Amazon.
As much as she does, she also gives. A noted philanthropist, mentor and advisor, Kendra has received numerous awards and has an endowment at her alma mater, Purdue University for a female student of need in the School of Liberal Arts.
Dov Seidman
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Dov Seidman is a successful entrepreneur and CEO, bestselling author and writer, and a teacher. Seidman is the author of the New York Times bestseller HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything, which offers a philosophical framework for individual and organizational behavior in a world that is increasingly interconnected and interdependent. Most recently he founded The HOW Institute for Society, a global nonprofit that aims to elevate humanity by nurturing a culture of moral leadership, values-based behavior, and principled decision making.
Seidman has been named a “Game Changer” by TIME Magazine, a “Groundbreaker” by The New York Times, “One of the Top Thought Leaders of the Past Decade” by The Economic Times, and “the corporate whisper” by Fortune Magazine because of his “ability to take the challenges that CEOs and other leaders face in their day-to-day roles and place them in a broader context of decision-making.” Led by a lifelong pursuit and passion for ethical leadership, he became the exclusive partner of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Prize in Ethics in 2008, as the institution was in its 20th year of celebrating ethical decision-making among America’s youth. Seidman regularly writes about business behavior, leadership and corporate culture for Fortune Magazine and The New York Times.
“When you press the pause button on a machine it stops. But when you press the pause button on human beings, they start.” – Dov Seidman
Martha Pease
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Business Transformation Leader, Chief Marketing Officer, CEO, Board Member
Martha Pease is a Chief Marketing Officer, Board Member, CEO and Global Business Director recognized for leading companies in transforming brands and businesses to increase shareholder value. Martha has held high-level posts in media, retail, fashion, beauty, technology, creative, and consulting firms for iconic companies and including IBM, Apple, Neutrogena, Dominos, L’Oreal Paris, BBDO, BCG and Victoria’s Secret. Recognized and respected as expert in unlocking growth, Martha realigns complex organizations and business models toward transformational change by resetting priorities, balancing risk, and building stakeholder consensus.
Her global perspective, ability to navigate critical inflection points, and direct expertise in scaling businesses are hallmarks of her career. She understands how to capitalize the intersection of digital technology, strategic thinking, culture, creativity, and innovation across industries. Recognized and respected as an expert in driving growth, Martha realigns complex organizations toward transformational change by resetting priorities, balancing risk, and building stakeholder consensus.
Martha has led global teams through periods of significant challenge, steering brands to purposeful and sustainable growth by building new equity and consumer relevance. As CMO, Martha led the architecture and activation of the brand vision and transformation narrative for Victoria’s Secret, and supported the highly successful 2021 public offering. As Neutrogena CMO and Member of the Operating Board, she spearheaded major revenue initiatives, expanded to new distribution, and elevated consumer insight to create and launch the company’s most successful skincare line, Healthy Skin.
In her role as BBDO’s Global Account Director, her strategic vision into the behavior of business customers was central to the successful, early repositioning of Apple’s Macintosh computer to the business market. Martha’s global account leadership for L’Oreal Paris at McCann Worldgroup reinvigorated the iconic “Because I’m Worth It” platform for digital-first consumers, and as EVP at JWT, her team repositioned Domino’s as a modern, trusted brand. Martha served as a Partner and Global Leader at BCG, supporting a range of clients in marketing, sales and brand growth. As a Board Director, Founder, and Investor, Martha has applied decades of experience in leadership and governance to help drive innovation in medical devices, internet data analytics, skin care and consulting services. Recognized for distilling complex messages into digestible information, she has shaped national media conversations as a CNN commentator and authored the book Think Round. A highly awarded advertising and marketing executive, Martha’s work for clients has won every major advertising industry prize including multiple Cannes Gold Lion. Martha is committed to progressing leadership diversity as a mentor and coach to women founders and investors in fashion, healthcare, and retail technology start-ups.
Martha holds a BA from Dartmouth College in English Literature and Film History, with multiple citations for excellence and High Honors. In addition, she is a graduate of the Harvard Radcliffe Publishing Procedures Course at Harvard University, and a NACD Board Leadership Fellow.
Shane Feldman
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An accomplished entrepreneur and respected thought leader on human connection, Shane Feldman has traveled the world, embedding himself in local cultures across 100 cities and 40 countries, uncovering practical strategies that help leaders create engaged communities.
In this digital age of distraction and disconnection, our leaders are facing a community crisis spanning all generations. Shane's "Leadership Passport" framework helps companies cultivate a work environment centered around community, enabling individuals and teams to perform at their highest levels. As a leading international speaker for more than a decade, Shane has customized high-energy keynotes for dynamic brands across every sector, including Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, PwC, YPO, TD Bank, Shopify, ADP, and Kaiser Permanente.
Shane has been recognized by Presidents, Prime Ministers, the White House and United Nations, and named one of North America’s Top 40 Under 40 LGBTQ+ Leaders. He has been featured by Oprah, Larry King, Forbes, People Magazine, and is the subject of a TV series from A&E.
In this new era, brands are struggling to optimize team culture, leadership, recruitment and loyalty. Through his firsthand experiences travelling the globe and spearheading the entrepreneurship incubator, Count Me In, Shane has decoded frameworks that help leaders build better relationships, and better workplaces.
During his tenure as CEO, Shane helped initiate more than 30,000 Count Me In projects worldwide, contributing a value of over $2.6 billion to the global economy. Shane started Count Me In in 2008 as a school project. With an alumni network spanning 6 continents, Count Me In became a social entrepreneurship incubator, engaging 10-million members in 104 countries.
Shane is a Venture Partner and co-founder of several multinational companies including a fintech startup, advisory firm and boutique hospitality group.
Luvvie Ajayi Jones
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Luvvie Ajayi Jones is an internationally recognized speaker whose thought leadership on culture, authenticity, and disruption enables transformative action. A dynamic speaker, she has captivated audiences around the world with her wit, warmth, and powerful storytelling. Her superpower: using humor as a tool to engage audiences and speak directly to the hearts of others. When she walks away, people take action. Her talks have been consistently praised for their ability to spark conversations, provoke thought, and leave audiences feeling empowered.
She has spoken at some of the most innovative brands, such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, Spotify, Nike, Bank of America, Deloitte, and American Express. She’s been a featured speaker at noted conferences such as TEDWomen, Cannes Lions, SXSW, Leadercast, 3% Conference, and MAKERS Conference.
Her renowned TED talk “Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable” has over nine million views and counting, has been transcribed into 23 languages, and has placed her in the Top 1% of TED Talks of all time.
Off stage, she’s pouring her words into New York Times bestselling books. She’s written four so far: I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual, Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual, and Rising Troublemaker: A Fear-Fighter Manual for Teens. Her fourth book and first kids’ book, Little Troublemaker Makes a Mess, was published in May 2023, debuting at #5 on The New York Times bestsellers list.
Luvvie is the host of a podcast of the same name as her book, Professional Troublemaker, where you can listen to her have candid conversations with changemakers who have taken action, caused good trouble and led courageous lives driven by conviction, humor and honesty. Guests like Bozoma Saint John, Jenifer Lewis, Glennon Doyle, Cynthia Erivo, Donna Brazile, Yvette Noel Schure, Sarah Jakes Roberts, Thasunda Brown Duckett, Tarana Burke, Elsa Majimbo, Elaine Welteroth and more. Started in February 2018, the podcast has over 3 million downloads, was chosen as “New & Noteworthy” by Apple Podcasts and featured in their “BOLD WOMEN” collection. It was chosen as a “featured podcast” by Spotify, and NPR’s Michel Martin chose it as a “Must Listen.”
Seth Matlins
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Seth Matlins is an award-winning marketer who has spent his career in and advising the C-suite of the most iconic brands globally.
As Managing Director of The Forbes CMO Network, Seth has unrivaled insight and access into the challenges facing the biggest brands, companies, and the people who lead them, globally.
He is host of “The CEO’s Guide to Marketing” podcast, the Forbes video series “On the Evolution of Creativity and Creative,” creator of The Forbes Creator Upfronts, editor of The Forbes World’s Most Influential CMOs list, The Forbes Entrepreneurial CMO 50 list, and curator of the most prestigious CMO Summits globally,
Broadly recognized as one of marketing’s top thought-leaders, and the curator and convener of marketing’s most prestigious events, conversations, and recognitions, Matlins brings wit, wisdom and a pragmatic and focused perspective to every engagement.
A renowned expert on marketing, cultural, brand, and purpose-and values-driven marketing, for over 30 years, his ideas have shaped brands, businesses, and the cultural landscape itself.
He's served as President of Rock the Vote, founded the marketing practice for Creative Artists Agency, was the first Global CMO at Live Nation, launched his own double-bottom-line women’s brand and company, and was the Head of Cultural Strategy and Insights at Hollywood powerhouse Endeavor’s cultural marketing agency.
Seth is the author of both federal legislation, The Truth in Advertising Act (HR 4341), which called on the FTC and advertising industry to consider the unintended consequences of photoshopped ads and images, and The Scratch & Sniff Book of Weed (Abrams), now in its 8th printing.
An in-demand authority on marketing, cultural and brand strategy, and creativity, Seth tailors unique and indelible talks that engage, entertain, challenge, provoke and create impact.
Lisa Bodell
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When the most important work isn’t getting done, it’s not the people that need to be fixed – it’s the work. Lisa Bodell, a global leader on simplification, collaboration, and innovation, helps organizations transform performance by reimagining the work. By trading complexity for simplicity, organizations find new ways to unleash creativity and spark the energy so essential to innovate and compete. It also lifts morale, increases engagement, and improves employee well-being and retention. Lisa is the author of two groundbreaking books, Why Simple Wins and Kill the Company. She ranks on the “Top 50 Speakers Worldwide” list and captivates audiences with her insights, energy, and humor. Lisa inspires them to question the status quo and make small changes that have profound impact – giving them time and energy to focus on the work that matters most.
After earning her business degree from University of Michigan, Lisa launched her career at Leo Burnett in Chicago, where she discovered a gift for uniting strategically-driven ideas with forward-thinking themes. She went on to build two successful businesses before moving to New York and focusing on the simplification and innovation space with FutureThink. Founded in 2003, FutureThink works with leading brands worldwide and has become one of the largest sources for simplification and innovation research, tools, and training in the world.
Lisa brings a compelling perspective to the sought-after topics of simplification and innovation to thousands of people each year. A thought leader and serial entrepreneur, her transformational message has inspired executives at top-ranked organizations such as Google, SAP, Citigroup, and the Department of National Intelligence to lead change in their organizations.
Lisa has contributed her expertise to a wide variety of media. She is a monthly contributor to Forbes and has frequently appeared in other media including: Fast Company, WIRED, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and CNN. She has also been featured in many major books such as Warren Berger’s A More Beautiful Question, Adam Grant’s Originals, and AfterShock, the 50-year celebration based on futurist Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock.
Lisa has taught innovation at both American University and Fordham University and has a TED popular talk on the topic. She serves on the board of advisors of several organizations, including the Global Agenda Council for the World Economic Forum, the United States National Security Agency, the Association of Professional Futurists, and Novartis.
Joe Theismann
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The most successful quarterback in the history of the Washington Redskins, Joe Theismann is also a world-class entrepreneur whose positive, high-energy presentations provide audiences with expert strategies for handling trying circumstances and dealing with unforeseen change. Voted the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and twice named both the Pro Bowl’s Most Valuable Player and the NFL’s Man of the Year, Theismann led his team to the Super Bowl XVII championship. After a serious injury abruptly ended his football career, Theismann learned firsthand how to think, analyze and reinvent in the face of adversity and change. An Emmy award-winning analyst for two decades on ESPN’s critically acclaimed, Sunday Night and Monday Night NFL broadcasts, Theismann challenges audiences to recognize the potential that lies within—as individuals and as members of a team. He always goes the extra mile to inspire your team to excellence, showing how passion, leadership and teamwork all combine to create a comprehensive game plan for success.
Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal
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As the #1 international expert on resilience and mental wellbeing, Dr. Taryn Marie has inspired audiences ranging from big stages of thousands to intimate gatherings of executives, sharing how we can all effectively face the inevitable moments of challenge, change, and complexity. LA Progressive magazine calls her “the go-to person” and “a secret weapon” for organizations and teams who want to find their edge and rise above the competition. She has received standing ovations from audiences on topics related to change, leadership, confidence, compassion & empathy, innovation, wellbeing, and, of course, resilience. Audience members say her keynotes are:
“Uplifting. Thought provoking. Unforgettable. Your life and view of the world will not be the same after hearing Dr. Taryn Marie speak!”
She is a #1 Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Bestselling Author of the book, The Five Practices of Highly Resilient People: Why some flourish when others fold, and the Founder and Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) of the Resilience Leadership Institute (RLI). By conducting two decades of original research on resilience, Dr. Taryn Marie developed the empirically based framework, The Five Practices of Highly Resilient People and believes that resilience is the key to individual, teams, and organizational growth and acceleration across the globe. Her mission is to positively impact the lives of 1 billion people through the practices of resilience.
Her work has been featured by Fox and NBC News, Bloomberg Business, Thrive Global, and Forbes. Her TEDx talk entitled “How Resilience Breaks Us Out of Our Vulnerability Cage” has been viewed over 1 million times! She is the host of the top 1% acclaimed podcast Flourish or Fold: Stories of Resilience, where well-known people tell their lesser well-known story of facing challenge to remind us that adversity is a necessary ingredient in life.
Jacob Morgan
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After having terrible jobs working for other people Jacob went off on his own to research and explore how work and everything we know about it is changing. Today Jacob Morgan is one of the world’s leading authorities on the future of work, employee experience, and how the workplace is changing. He is a best-selling author of The Future of Work, keynote speaker, and futurist who advises business leaders and organizations around the world. Jacob’s work has been endorsed by the CEOs of: Cisco, T-Mobile, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Schneider Electric, Best Buy, KPMG, AARP, Pandora, and many others.
Adam Markel
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Adam Markel, bestselling author, keynote speaker and resilience researcher, guides individuals and organizations to tap the power of resilience to master the challenges of constant change.
With 18 years as a trial attorney building a multi-million dollar enterprise and 10 years as the CEO of a leading personal development and business training company, Adam has much to share about resilience, culture and change. Yet, some of his most enduring lessons came from his years as an ocean first responder - a life and death environment where Adam learned the importance of cultivating high performance capacity and impeccable teamwork.
In his latest bestselling book, Change Proof, Adam shows how those principles of resilience are equally relevant today for any business that wants to move beyond managing change to actively embracing it and using times of uncertainty, crisis, and chaos to create opportunities and stimulate individual and team growth.
As one of Huffington Post’s top speakers to see and the #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Pivot, Adam’s messages have inspired tens of thousands worldwide. His keynotes, corporate workshops, and business coaching integrate practical business strategies, personal development insights and a unique delivery style to create a high-energy and impactful learning environment.
Adam is currently the CEO of the More Love Media Group, a TEDx speaker and influencer, and host of the Change Proof Podcast, facilitating insightful discussions with business leaders and social innovators and sharing strategies to fully embrace an uncertain world and build Change Proof organizations.
Adam is continuously inspired by his wife of more than 30 years and their 4 amazing children.
Willie Jolley
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Dr. Willie Jolley is a world renowned speaker, singer, author and media personality. In 1999 he was named “One of the Outstanding Five Speakers in the World” & “Motivational / Inspirational Speaker of The Year” by the 175,000 members of Toastmasters International.
In 2005 he was inducted into the prestigious Speaker Hall of Fame. In 2015 he replaced the legendary Zig Ziglar on the national Get Motivated Tour! And in 2017 he was named “A Legend Of The Speaking Industry!”
Dr. Jolley is the host of the #1 Motivational Show in America on Sirius XM and is heard daily with his Motivational Minute on WHUR FM preceding Steve Harvey. He also has a popular podcast on IHeart Radio. He is the author of several international best-selling books including It Only Takes A Minute To Change Your Life, A Setback Is A Setup For A Comeback, Turn Setbacks Into Greenbacks , An Attitude of Excellence and his new marriage book with his wife, Dee, entitled Make Love, Make Money, Make It Last!
No matter the venue, from his exciting One Man Show that was recently recorded for a national television special, to his Get Motivated tour appearances, to his #1 Rated Sirius/XM radio show, Dr. Willie Jolley keeps it moving with high energy and enthusiasm, as he delivers nuggets on how every person can live a better life, one day at a time!
Alli Webb
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Founder of Drybar, serial entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author Alli Webb shares actionable and inspiring business insights in captivating talks. Webb is is the co-founder of Drybar, Squeeze, and Becket + Quill. In her informative, actionable, and inspiring remarks, Webb demystifies creating a company and brand culture that will transform any industry.
The Inc. Magazine How I Did It cover girl has been named to Fast Company's “100 Most Creative People in Business,” Fortune’s “40 Under 40” list, Marie Claire’s “Most Fascinating Women,” and Inc.'s “100 Women Building America’s Most Innovative and Ambitious Businesses,” Webb is a bonafide business powerhouse and an innovative leader paving the way for aspiring entrepreneurs the world over. Webb also appeared as a guest shark on hit TV series, Sharktank and currently serves as an advisor to many budding brands. Webb delights and motivates audiences with talks ranging from business innovation, to how to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit, to the challenges and opportunities in being a female entrepreneur, and beyond.
Erica Dhawan
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Mariana Atencio
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Navigating change and uncertainty in life is hard. It’s even harder when you’re not confident about who you are. Coming to America from Venezuela as a young girl, Mariana Atencio felt self-conscious about being different. She recounted her struggles to fit in and adapt to her new life in a TED talk that captured the hearts of tens of millions. Mariana’s message: What makes you different is what makes you special – unleash your potential by embracing your authenticity.
Mariana took that lesson into her journalism career as a national news anchor and network reporter. A born storyteller, Mariana worked to build bridges and understanding – reporting with her unique perspective from all over the globe, earning accolades and a prestigious Peabody Award along the way. Mariana’s bestselling book, Perfectly You: Embracing the Power of Being Real, inspires people to leverage their personal and professional authenticity to supercharge their relationships, careers, workplace cultures, and happiness. Mariana continues to pursue stories that capture her curiosity as head of her own media production company. She also elevates the impact of events through her powerful keynotes and skillful moderating, and hosting.
Robert Tucker
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What sets this futurist and innovation keynote speaker apart? Answer: 30 years of dynamic speaking experiences combined with in-depth research serving the unique needs of each audience! Robert Tucker has been at the forefront of the future trends and innovation revolution since 1984. As a young journalist in Los Angeles, he began interviewing and studying the most respected futurists, visionaries, and thought leaders of that era. His curiosity piqued by these remarkable encounters, Robert pivoted his entire career to studying the best practices of what he calls “Innovation Vanguard Firms” and how their leaders thrive and adapt amidst ever-increasing industry, technological, and economic changes. Their secret, Tucker tells audiences, is how they develop superior idea management processes to drive growth, and differentiation, and achieve competitive advantage.
During his 30-year career, Robert has been invited to share his ideas in 54 countries and in every state in the US. Leadership groups and governmental sponsors in Singapore, Dubai, Mexico, and Morocco turn to him for thought leadership. They highly rate his sessions and workshops and sometimes have him back again for a second performance. He has advised companies across countless industries: from banking to tech, pharma to defense systems, and almost every industry in between. Clients include Microsoft, American Express, and Citibank, as well as over 400 trade and professional associations and customer user groups on how to create “future-ready” cultures that thrive no matter which way the wind blows.
Traversing the globe, Tucker has been invited to share his strategies (and sometimes to serve as a facilitator, talk show host, and two-day boot camp instructor) with an amazing variety of audiences, in an amazing variety of environments. From addressing the top leaders in Dubai of the Executive Council of United Arab Emirates to presenting to thousands of Asian insurance salespeople gathered in Bangkok’s giant BITEC Convention Center, it’s all in a day’s work for this seasoned personality. From keynoting the prestigious Captains of Industry Conference in Singapore, to a group of students gathered in war-impacted Gaziantep, Turkey (just across the border from Aleppo), Tucker provides each audience with inspiring, powerful “take-home value” as he empowers your audience to tackle even the biggest challenges and disruptive trends.
According to audience surveys the key is Robert’s unique, hands-on research combined with captivating storytelling. “We learn best through stories,” says Tucker, who enlightens audiences to not only understand why they need to “futurize their thinking,” but also how to use his methods to see further up the road and to make better, forward-thinking decisions.
Tucker’s pioneering research with his company, Innovation Resource Consultant Group, identified the critical success attributes of 43 leading American innovators and became the acclaimed book, Winning the Innovation Game. Former Intel Chairman Andrew Grove described Tucker’s international bestseller Managing the Future: 10 Driving Forces of Change as a “lucid, practical guide to total quality in business.” In Driving Growth Through Innovation, Tucker delved into the emerging best practices of companies pioneering radically more effective approaches to developing cultures of innovation. And in his latest book, Innovation Is Everybody’s Business: Making Yourself Indispensable in Today’s Hypercompetitive World, Tucker takes up the issue of leadership development, and reveals the innovation skills essential to success in today’s hyper-change era.
A multi-year winner of the Top Five Speaker Hall of Fame, Tucker was also awarded the prestigious Brand Personality Award by the Asia Pacific Brands Foundation for outstanding contributions to the field of innovation.
Not only has Tucker entertained and enlightened audiences at thousands of events and conferences he has also curated and organized several in his hometown of Santa Barbara, California. The 2023 Pacific Coast Futures Retreat was a resounding success among attendees and speakers. Tucker also worked closely with BigSpeak to create the “Elite Retreat” for the top conference producers like ASAE to gather and look at the future of conferences and meetings.
Tucker is a contributor to Forbes.com and has been featured in Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, Innovation Excellence, and many other publications. His “Innovation Trends” newsletter is read by thousands of clients and top leaders worldwide. He has appeared on CBS News, Channel News Asia, Bloomberg, Network 18 India, the PBS series Taking the Lead, and was a featured guest on the CNBC series The Business of Innovation.
Natalie Nixon
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Executive leadership strategist Dr. Natalie Nixon is "the creativity whisperer for the C-Suite." She's considered by many to be the foremost authority on unlocking the creativity within teams, at every level. Be it mid-level management, in-person or remote teams, C-suite executives, or board room, Dr. Nixon's pioneering work in creativity and results have reshaped how companies like IBM, NBCUniversal by Comcast, Bank of America, Salesforce, Microsoft, Google, Deloittle, and many others have approached their biggest business obstacles and resulted in unprecedented results.
With contemporaries like Seth Godin, Simon Sinek, Adam Grant, and Scott Galloway, coupled with her unique outlook and experience, Dr. Natalie Nixon stands above almost all other speakers for our event. Dr. Nixon's life in creativity, research, and results-based innovative process has trade associations, corporations, and NGOs from around the world raving about her talks. As a keynote speaker, audiences value her accessible expertise on creativity, the future of work, and innovation. She advises leaders on transformation--by applying necessary tools of wonder and rigor to amplify profit, growth, and overall business value. She brings an innovative and unique perspective to every keynote, strategic advisory engagement, and leadership coaching session.
Her experience living in 5 countries and her background in the social sciences (anthropology), academia (business and innovation management), and the arts (fashion and dance) distinguish her as a one-of-a-kind creativity expert. Because of the value she brings to each event, Natalie has been named among the top 50 keynote speakers in the world. Dr. Nixon has been featured in all of the business leadership staples, such as Forbes, Fast Company, INC., and many others.
Dr. Natalie Nixon, her book The Creativity Leap: Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation and Intuition at Work, and firm Figure 8 Thinking, have garnered a trifecta of praises. Core77 recognized her firm as one of the top women-led firms of 2022. "[Natalie] helps you get unstuck and unlock the work you were born to do!" (Seth Godin, Marketing guru); "[Natalie] is a personal trainer for your creativity muscle" (Jessi Hempel, host of LinkedIn's "Hello Monday" podcast).
Natalie received her BA (honors) from Vassar College, and her PhD from the University of Westminster in London.
Steve Brown
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Steve Brown is a leading thinker on AI, generative AI, autonomous agents, digital transformation, the future of work, and how advances in AI will shape the future of business, education, and society. He draws upon decades of experience in artificial intelligence and high tech to advise leaders on how to build winning AI transformation strategies that fuel innovation, boost productivity, and drive growth.
During Steve’s 25-year career in artificial intelligence and high tech, he has held a range of leadership roles including Chief Evangelist and futurist at Intel and senior director and in-house futurist at Google DeepMind in London. He is co-founder of The Provenance Chain Network, a company that provides supply chain transparency and resilience services to the U.S. Space Force and is a strategic advisor to two AI startups. He is also a BCG Luminary.
Steve works with global brands, Fortune 100 companies, startups, and government agencies. Clients include Nike, JP Morgan, Samsung, Comcast, Audi, PepsiCo, and Disney and he has been featured on major media including BBC, CNN, Bloomberg TV, ABC, CBS, NBC, and in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired Magazine. He speaks at events around the world on the future direction and impact of AI and inspires companies to create new products and services, streamline operations, and elevate work using AI and other technologies. Steve’s book, The Innovation Ultimatum: How Six Strategic Technologies will Reshape Every Business in the 2020s, published by Wiley, is a how-to guide on innovation and digital transformation.
Jay Williams
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Jay Williams is CEO of Improbable Media, a next generation production and brand consulting company he co-founded in 2024 with NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Improbable harnesses the power of content and storytelling to support elite talent and brands in developing and expanding their ecosystem. Jay’s versatility extends from business to broadcasting as one of ESPN’s top on-air talents. He is the host of the network’s award-winning College GameDay show and frequently contributes to ESPN’s signature shows First Take and Get Up.
On the court, Jay is one of the most decorated and prolific players in college basketball history, winning the National Championship at Duke University and being inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the second overall selection in the NBA Draft and played for the Chicago Bulls.
His autobiography, Life is Not an Accident: A Memoir of Reinvention, is a New York Times Bestseller.
Michael Ventura
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Michael Ventura is an accomplished leader, practitioner, and educator. As the founder of strategy and design consultancy Sub Rosa, he advised influential organizations from the American Civil Liberties Union, Goldman Sachs, Google, Microsoft, and Nike to well-respected institutions such as The United Nations and the Obama-Biden Administration. Alongside his thought leadership work, Michael serves as faculty at the Esalen Institute and in private practice working with individuals seeking personal growth and mentorship. His book, Applied Empathy (Simon & Schuster 2018) explores the intersectionality of these two worlds (leadership and self development) through the practice of empathy for each of us as individuals, for others, and for society at large.
He has served as a board member and advisor to a variety of organizations including Behance, The Burning Man Project, The Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, the United Nations' affiliated Tribal Link Foundation, and a variety of growth-stage businesses. He is a visiting lecturer at institutions such as The University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, Princeton University, and the United States Military Academy at West Point. An ardent steward of personal and professional development, Michael is frequently engaged as an advisor to leaders, teams, and corporate boards at moments of transformation and change.
General John 'Jay' Raymond
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Throughout his over 38-year career, General John W. “Jay” Raymond has served in numerous command, joint and service staff jobs in nuclear, space, cyber and air operations.
He has commanded at every level to include the 5th Space Surveillance Squadron, 30th Operations Group, 21st Space Wing, Fourteenth Air Force, Joint Forces Space Component Command, Air Force Space Command and served as the first commander of the reestablished U.S. Space Command, our nation’s newest Combatant Command. He has deployed serving as Central Command’s Director of Space Forces supporting operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2011, he was stationed in Japan and served in a critical leadership position in Operation Tomodachi, a humanitarian and disaster relief operation following a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami and nuclear reactor disaster.
General Raymond is globally recognized as a transformational leader with over 38.5 years of National Security experience. He has planned, established, and led large complex organizations with a budget exceeding $30B dollars. In December of 2019, the President of the United States appointed Gen Raymond to serve as the first Chief of Space Operations for the newly established United States Space Force. As the Chief of Space Operations and the first ever Guardian, he oversaw the standup of all new Space Force organizations, transfer of personnel from other military branches, consolidation of space units from other services, setting of the services culture and the designing of its force structure. He has built extensive global partnerships with our allies and coalition partners, and with the intelligence community, the commercial space sector and civilian space agencies. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he served as a strategic advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense and National Security Council.
For his work in leading the initial building of the Space Force, Raymond has been described as the "father of the Space Force.” He retired from military service on January 1, 2023.
Tamika Tremaglio
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Tamika Tremaglio is an accomplished finance professional with a distinguished career spanning various leadership roles. For over 30 years, she has been instrumental in driving success and growth in professional services in the areas of strategy development, operations management, risk management, talent development, forensic accounting, and regulatory compliance.
Most recently, Tamika served as the Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and held the positions of Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Think450, the NBPA's commercial arm.
Known for her adeptness in establishing robust corporate governance practices, Tamika's leadership ensured compliance with regulatory and financial frameworks and implemented impactful compliance programs at global companies such as Exxon Mobil, Olympus, Embraer and Johnson & Johnson, among others. Tamika’s professional finance and accounting experience, includes leading large, high-profile global and domestic corporate investigations, matters involving collective bargaining agreements, modeling player licensing, and earnings distributions, strategy development, operations management, talent development, compensation, corporate governance, corporate citizenship initiatives, franchise disputes, board compliance, and real estate matters.
Carlos Hidalgo
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Carlos Hidalgo is the co-founder and CEO of Digital Exhaust, a growth partner that helps clients make growth simple. Carlos serves his clients as an advisor, consultant, and teacher to ensure they have meaningful engagement with their customers at every stage of the journey and are able to mature and create sustainable growth.
Carlos has 30 years of experience working with organizations of all sizes as an advisor, consultant, innovator, and growth expert. He is widely recognized for his expertise in marketing, sales, and customer success and for coaching executives in the areas of leadership and managing change. In addition to his work with his clients, Carlos has won numerous marketing awards and been named to several prestigious industry lists as a marketing leader.
Carlos is also the author of Driving Demand, which is ranked as a top 5 marketing book of all time by Book Authority, and The UnAmerican Dream, which was released in 2019. In addition to books, Carlos is a well-known international keynote and TEDx speaker.
You can follow Carlos on LinkedIn or on Twitter @cahidalgo.
Zahra Al-Harazi
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Zahra Al-Harazi is among Canada’s most successful entrepreneur and leadership expert known for her exceptional keynote addresses that have motivated and inspired the world’s largest organizations. She embodies her message of growth and resilience through the power of purposeful leadership and developing a winning attitude in both business and life.
A survivor of two civil wars, and both a refugee and an immigrant, Zahra landed in Canada with her three children with no education or connections. Her entrepreneurial spirit quickly led her to start her own company, Foundry Communications, which, within a few years, went on to become an internationally recognized design agency.
Since then, she has been honoured with accolades including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, One of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women by WXN, RBC’s Top 25 Immigrants to Canada, and Canada’s Top 40 under 40. Zahra has served as a former UNICEF Ambassador, and delivered her first Ted Talk in 2017. She also became a HarperCollins Best Selling Author in 2020 with her book, What It Takes.
Currently, she is building her third company, Skillit, an online skill-sharing marketplace. Zahra also serves as a consultant, working with Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, entrepreneurs and professional organizations. Zahra has overcome decades of cultural and societal challenges to become a successful entrepreneur who found her own voice. Having spoken to audiences of thousands in over twenty countries, she is continuing to build and inspire. She currently sits on the Opportunity Village board and the Greater Good council.
Chris Barton
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Chris Barton wanted a way to identify songs anywhere he heard them. There wasn’t one – so he invented an app called Shazam. Chris’s creation is nothing short of pure magic. Chris seeks to delight people by using technology to make seemingly impossible ideas come to life. Shazam is just one of them. It changed the way the world discovers music and laid the groundwork for the consumer AI industry we know today. In addition to creating Shazam, Chris holds twelve patents and played key roles in the early days of Google and Dropbox. Chris’s newest venture, Guard, aims to use AI to detect drowning in swimming pools – a never-before accomplished effort. In his speeches, Chris’s story and storytelling completely captivate audiences. He inspires people to make big things happen in their organizations – to create magic in defiance of the obstacles.
Holding 12 patents, including one found within the Google search algorithm, Chris has made significant contributions to the tech industry. He also invests in a wide range of start-ups, including artificial intelligence for heart health and inflammatory disease therapeutics. Today, Chris spends much of his time building his third startup company, Guard, an artificial intelligence system that detects drowning in swimming pools.
When he has time, Chris enjoys speaking at events and sharing lessons learned from his experiences overcoming the impossible. He inspires people with firsthand stories that highlight key take-aways across technology innovation, persistence, removing friction, and entrepreneurship. Chris gives audiences a new framework for making big things happen. His truly inspirational story motivates them to take action.
Julie Solomon
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Marketing expert and entrepreneur Julie Solomon has been empowering lives through her chart-topping podcast and in-demand online programs for over fifteen years. Following a career as a publicist for some of the top music acts and thought leaders, Solomon launched her courses Pitch It Perfect, The Influencer Academy, and the SHINE Mastermind, teaching tens of thousands of students worldwide. Solomon is passionate about helping women turn messages into movements and empowers entrepreneurs to grow their influence and impact. She is the author of the empowerment guide Get What You Want: How to Go From Unseen to Unstoppable.
Recently named one of the Top 100 Leaders in influencer marketing, Solomon and her work have been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Business Weekly, Business Insider, SUCCESS, and People, among others. As the host of the chart-topping The Influencer Podcast, she offers authentic strategies for business growth and personal development to millions of listeners. In sought-after keynotes, Solomon shares her philosophy of highlighting inner brilliance to maximize potential in work and in life, leaving audiences of all kinds feeling motivated and confident.
Ryan Leak
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Ryan Leak is an author, executive coach, and motivational speaker that gets to inspire over 50,000 people every single month. He trains over 15,000 leaders every year from Fortune 500 companies to professional sports teams. His viral Surprise Wedding story has been featured on Good Morning America, the Today Show, and other various media outlets.
He’s the author of the USA Today best selling book, Chasing Failure: How Falling Short Sets You Up for Success. And his most recent book, Leveling Up: 12 Questions to Elevate Your Personal And Professional Development is a Wall Street Journal Best Seller. He’s married to Amanda and is also the assistant coach for his son’s basketball team.
Deborah Rosado Shaw
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Today’s challenge for many organizations is about transformational leadership. Do your leaders have the capacity to help people see beyond what limits them, to help them see beyond their current constraints in a way where they are paving a path for their best level of performance? This is an entirely new area of prowess that Fortune 50 Trusted Advisor and former SVP, Chief of Global Diversity & Engagement officer at PepsiCo Deborah Rosado Shaw calls the New Realm of Mastery. This level of leadership is about addressing people’s commitments, their goals and what they value most in their own lives in a way that helps transform them into self-starters, risk takers and people who know how to find their voice and path even in the most challenging times. As Deb shares with global leadership audiences, the best leaders help people learn how to motivate themselves in times of uncertainty and challenge. Deb helps leaders and organizations elevate to new heights by sharing the strategies of the New Realm of Mastery, which former Chairman of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi praised as follows, “Deborah is a leading and powerful voice who founded PepsiCo’s transformational leadership program and took our company-wide conversation about diversity from one focused on inclusion to a broader dialogue about the engagement of all employees with each other and with the diverse world around us.”
Sam Bloom
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Sam Bloom is a two-time World Para Surfing champion, global keynote speaker, bestselling author and inspiration behind the #1 Australian box-office and international global Netflix hit movie Penguin Bloom starring Naomi Watts as Sam.
The movie is adapted from the international bestselling book, Penguin Bloom: The Odd Little Bird Who Saved a Family. Published in 13 languages, Penguin Bloom is a collaboration between Sam’s husband Cameron, a professional photographer, and New York Times bestselling author Bradley Trevor Greive. A second book, Sam Bloom: Heartache & Birdsong, picks up the story where Penguin Bloom ended, and shares Sam’s personal perspective on facing and overcoming adversity.
Jarring, beautiful, and real, Sam’s presentations are unlike anything your audience has seen or heard before. A refreshingly honest and deeply engaging speaker, Sam takes you on an intimate, visual journey against the backdrop of her husband Cameron’s stunning video and imagery, leaving audiences deeply moved and truly inspired.
Sam shares the extraordinary highs and painful lows of life before, during and after the accident that changed her life forever, leading us on the journey back from the edge of a deep depression that almost claimed her life.
Purposeful and raw, Sam speaks from the heart and delivers her powerful message with clarity and purpose, reminding her audience that we must make the best of the present as we never know what tomorrow will bring.
Beau Lotto
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Your challenge at the very first moments of your next event is to get your audience instantly connected, warmed up and plugged in. Your event’s success is decided from the start. By getting your audience members open and wanting to change, collaborate, and create, you will avoid any skepticism. Leverage your investment with Beau Lotto as your opening keynote speaker.
World-famous neuroscientist, Dr. Beau Lotto, will prepare and super-motivate your audience by using the principles of neuroscience (yes, you read that right). When you step back and consider the Big Picture, the strategy makes sense. We all know the world is changing fast — that’s a given. The challenge is to adapt…or die. What you need is a speaker who will show your audience how to thrive in the face of change. Beau gives your attendees, in practical plain talk, the neuroscience behind personal evolution. He provides the detailed steps to achieve a successful culture where your audience can empower evolvability and thrive as a result.
Beau’s megamix is more than just science, however; he weaves in ideas from technology, art, fashion, music, and performance. It’s the kind of subject matter, delivered in a friendly, entertaining style, that turns heads.
The result for you: usable ideas that create a more invigorating, inventive, and evocable company culture. As well, this could be your first step in creating more meaningful, post-transactional customer relationships. Think of his gift to your audience as insight backed by science.
Beau’s keynote visit is more than just another indistinguishable inspirational speaker yelling, “You can do it!” Much more. Here, you get a fact-based return on investment. Don’t let Beau’s science background give you pause – his talks are always common-sense, and peppered with humor, audience participation and actionable principles that audiences can apply in their professional lives.
Beau, a renowned audience arouser, is a leading expert in perception, neuroscience, and complex adaptive systems. He’s helped navigate brands like Cirque du Soleil, Microsoft and L’oreal to even greater successes. In corporate circles as well as in the scientific community, Beau is well known and well respected; he’s earned a world-class reputation as a speaker, masterclass leader and big-league corporate consultant.
He’s been electrifying crowds for over 30 years, including a three-time gig as a mainstage TED-talk speaker. How? By challenging his audiences’ perceptions about change, getting them to look past their biases, and sparking ideas about how to create a more evolved, can-do organization.
The ultimate strategy: to apply scientific truths about perception to get your staff achieving solid bottom-line results.
Audiences love him because his unique style enables him to:
• Connect with every audience member
• Get his point across using humor, interaction and evidence rather than high-tech speak
• Engage the audience in a way that will cause immediate improvements and evolution in your organization
• Give your audience the tools they need to more be successful, courageous and collaborative in wildly uncertain, changing times
• Stay positive, inspirational, and aspirational (which is contagious and nourishing)
• Step up the possibilities as to what your people will consider do-able and achievable
• Share with the group how to create a culture (both at the conference, in oneself and across the organisation) grounded in 10Cs: Evolutionary, Neuroscientific principles that empower individuals and systems to thrive in a constantly changing world.
If you want to build your team more effectively and have them face and conquer their problems, fears and challenges, let Beau show the way. Neuroscience – as entertainingly explained by Beau – holds the key to adaption, creativity, innovation, and perception.
Ozan Varol
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Today, thinking like a rocket scientist is a necessity. Learning to embrace uncertainty and thrive in the unknown will be the lifeblood of the most successful leaders and organizations for years to come. Those who can tackle these challenges with a mindset that combines extraordinary thinking with a practical, proven moonshot process, will achieve extraordinary results. As Ozan poignantly shares in his keynotes, “It is only when we sacrifice the certainty of answers and embrace uncertainty, that breakthroughs happen.” As a former rocket scientist, and the #1 Bestselling Author of Think Like A Rocket Scientist, there is arguably no one better than Ozan Varol to help audiences understand the process behind Moonshot Thinking, which can help businesses launch their own moonshot, spot opportunities they couldn’t see before, and create an extraordinary advantage to shape the future of their industry. Ozan has been called a “true original” by Adam Grant and dubbed a “superhero” by Dan Pink. His work has been described as “must read” by Susan Cain and featured in the Wall Street Journal, Time, BBC, CNN, Washington Post, and more. He has helped numerous large and small organizations reimagine the status quo with moonshot thinking, including Microsoft, Intel, General Electric, Google X, Adidas, Lloyds Bank, among many others.
Tomas Pueyo
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Tomas Pueyo is a growth, product and marketing expert, currently leading a billion-dollar business inside Course Hero, an online education company based in Silicon Valley. With two Master of Science degrees in Engineering and an MBA from Stanford, Tomas has spent the last few years of his career taking hard problems, dissecting them, solving them, and communicating about them. He is the author of The Star Wars Rings: The Hidden Structure Behind the Star Wars Story and gave a TEDx talk about storytelling structure.
He has published several high-profile articles on Medium. His latest, focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, have been viewed by over 60 million people and translated into over 40 languages. His strategy of “The Hammer and The Dance” has been followed by governments around the world, and publicly endorsed by countries such as Germany, Bulgaria, Peru, and others. He has become an expert source for journalists on COVID-19, quoted in hundreds of media outlets around the world, including The New York Times and CNN. Tomas, who is multilingual, now advises public and private sectors around the globe on Coronavirus strategies.
Belinda Parmar, OBE
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Belinda Parmar OBE is a corporate campaigner who has worked for the past twenty years transforming company cultures. Belinda works alongside CEOs and leaders using the power of empathy in language and leadership.
Belinda founded her first company ‘Lady Geek’ in 2010 which inspired women to become tech pioneers and wrote a book called Little Miss Geek. Belinda’s experience of running a gender focused company led her to the conclusion that gender can shut down a conversation, but empathy can open it up to everyone. In 2015, Belinda received an OBE by the Queen for her services to women in technology. Belinda then went on to launch The Empathy Business which is a consultancy helping some of the worlds biggest brands. She currently works with some of the world’s most complex companies in the world including Barclays, Facebook, Aston Martin and British Gas.
Belinda pioneered the first ever way to measure empathy in companies and is the creator of the Global Empathy Index, featured in the Harvard Business Review. Belinda speaks at Davos for the World Economic Forum and was voted one of the top global public diversity figures in Nov 2020 alongside Kamala Harris.
In 2019 and 2020 Belinda was invited to Davos to speak on the power of empathy in responsible leadership. Belinda has written for The Guardian, been voted one of the most influential women on Twitter by Forbes and regularly appears on the BBC and Sky News talking about empathy, tech, inclusion and responsible leadership.
Marissa Orr
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Marissa Orr is a former Google & Facebook executive, bestselling author, and leadership speaker. Spending 15 years working at today’s top tech giants, she has conducted talks for thousands of people in the US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, at companies and universities such as Google, Twitter, Pace University, New School, American Express, and more. Originally from Miami, Orr received her Master’s degree in Decision and Information Sciences from the University of Florida. Her debut book, Lean Out, The Truth About Women, Power, & the Workplace, was released by Harper Collins Leadership in June of 2019 and is an Amazon bestseller.
Featured in Forbes, Fox, Yahoo! Finance, and CNBC, Lean Out is not simply a retort to Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, but a revolutionary path forward with the power to change the lives of men and women in the corporate world and beyond. With Lean Out, Orr provides a fresh voice for a new generation of thinkers.
Bill Wooditch
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Success isn’t fast, it isn’t easy, and it isn’t certain. But one thing is certain: success will always be under construction. For Bill Wooditch, success didn’t happen overnight. It took years of dedication, applied self-belief, the mastery of skills, and at all times perseverance. Success begins with that one commitment – your commitment to make your life all that it can be.
He was the top salesperson in a Fortune 500 company, and for two years in a row, he was the top producer for the 6th largest insurance brokerage in the world. His transition from top salesperson to founder and CEO of Wooditch Enterprises, a company generating $100MM in sales is a testament to the power of resilience, the quest for purpose, and the rewards of achievement that can only come from a mindset that moves in one direction – “Always Forward!”
Bill is the author of, Always Forward!: Discover the 7 Secrets of Sales Success and his second book, Fail More: Embrace, Learn, and Adapt to Failure As a Way to Success is now available. As a professional speaker he has had the opportunity to work with Fortune 500 companies like AIG, Old Republic, Zurich, and Bank of America and mentors those who are hungry for success, teaching them skills to harness the lessons of failure to create new opportunities.
The hard-won lessons he shares in his keynotes are designed to shorten the distance between where you are now and where you are determined to go in the future.
Daniel Newman
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Daniel is principal analyst of Futurum Research, CEO of Broadsuite Media Group, and author of six Amazon best-selling books. The latest release, “Human/Machine: The Future of Our Partnerships with Machines” explores the challenges as well as the wondrous opportunities of the growing relationships with machines. This guide to our near future was charted with co-author renowned economist Olivier Blanchard.
Dan is a contributor to some of the worlds largest media outlets, including Forbes, Entrepreneur and The Huffington Post. His Top 10 Digital Transformation Trends for 2020, was recently published in Forbes and he currently ranked #1 in the prestigious ARInsights Power 100 list of Technology Industry Analysts. Dan is considered one of the industry leaders/analysts with the most sustained “buzz” in the industry right now. He spends his time researching, analyzing and providing the world’s best and brightest companies with insights as to how digital transformation, disruption, innovation, and the experience economy are changing how business is done. He brings together the technology layer with the human layer, seeking to solve the biggest challenges that companies have today; how to grow, scale, change and adapt to a world where technology and media shift at breakneck speed. Recently his Top 10 Digital Transformation Trends for 2020 was ranked #1 in the prestigious ARInsights Power 100 list of Technology Industry Analysts. Dan is considered one of the industry leaders/analysts with the most sustained “buzz” in the industry right now.
Dan loves technology, but he’s also extremely passionate about digital transformation and strategy. He believes technology can only reach its potential when it is intertwined with humanity. When people and technology work together to meet their potential, the business results will follow.
From keynoting on the world’s largest stages to weekly insights on Forbes and Entrepreneur, his goal is to provide clients with what they need to out-innovate and turn disruption from threat into success.
Janet Stovall
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Janet M. Stovall has flourished in the highly competitive corporate FORTUNE 500 world. A long history of driving change and building culture in large, complex organizations has given her deep expertise around DEI practices and principles, especially in the area of communications. In fact, she broke barriers as one of the few Black C-level speechwriters in the Fortune 100.
A self-described diversity pragmatist, Stovall is best known for her TED talk challenging business to get serious about inclusion. Collectively, Stovall’s three TED presentations have nearly 3 million views.
Stovall is Global Head of DEI at the NeuroLeadership Institute, a global think tank, consultancy, and research organization that uses neuroscience to improve business performance. A firm believer in action over aspiration, intent over impact and objectivity over subjectivity, Janet works with organizations and leaders that truly value diversity as an asset. Her consultancy, Pragmatic Diversity, helps them unlock that value through accountable inclusion and equity. Through direct consultation with leaders, teams and individuals, as well as keynote speeches and workshops, she helps business get real about DEI and dismantling systemic inequity.
On stage, her approach tackles workplace inequity head-on with a straightforward formula for creating an inclusive workplace that unlocks the power of diversity. Her superpowers? Applying objective solutions to solve subjective DEI challenges, building actionable DEI frameworks and strategies, and brokering honest DEI conversations among top leaders.
Co-author of The Conscious Communicator: The Fine Art of Not Saying Stupid Sh*t, Stovall also speaks to challenges of communicating authentically about DEI and social justice. Her groundbreaking book introduces a framework and practical tool to help leaders shape DEI and social justice and visions and messages aligned with organizational mission, vision, and values – consistently, proactively, and in ways that are powerful rather than performative.
Dan Thurmon
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A teacher of peak performance, author of books and presentations with impact, and a lifelong student of success, happiness, and achievement, Dan Thurmon is on a mission. To encourage attendees’ uniqueness and contributions. To discover a sense of purpose and greatness. To have meaning at work and in their lives.
Dan has worked with organizations around the world, in every spectrum of business: Fortune 500 companies. Startups. Associations across hundreds of industries. Troops on the front lines. Students, teachers, and entrepreneurs. Through his presentations and workshops, Dan helps these organizations to accelerate improvement, facilitate true breakthroughs and enable and encourage greatness.
Inducted into the Speakers Hall of Fame and a member of the illustrious Speakers Roundtable, Dan also served as President of the National Speakers Association, leading their CEO, staff and 3,500 world-wide members in a profound transformation.
Dan believes deeply that the right words, presented in the right way, at the right time, can change everything. His lifelong study of language and presentation skills have enabled a mastery of landing the critical idea that will shift an individual...or an organization. His opening presentations enable more productive and transformational meetings. Or as a closer, he provides a call to action that elevates the experience and the ROI of a meeting investment.
Dan doesn’t just talk about peak performance. He personifies it.
Scott Steinberg
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Hailed as The Master of Innovation by Fortune magazine, and World’s Leading Business Strategist, award-winning strategic consultant, trends expert, and professional speaker Scott Steinberg is a bestselling expert on leadership, change + innovation. A go-to resource for C-level leaders, he has served as a source of thought leadership, insight, and consulting for over 1000 leading brands, and advised on household-name products found in 100+ million homes.
One of America's top futurists (per the BBC); the author of Make Change Work For You and Millennial Marketing; and among today's top business strategy + leadership training providers, the Fortune 500 calls him a "defining figure in business + technology" and "top trendsetter to follow."
A strategic adviser to CEOs and four-star generals, firms like IBM, PwC, and the US Dept. of Defense regularly seek his insight. As the CEO of BIZDEV: The International Association for Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, and management consulting + market research firm FutureProof Strategies, he helps partners stay one step ahead of emerging trends – and drive growth around them.
One of the world's 150 most influential keynote speakers + futurists, and today’s #1 generations expert and technology expert (per Google), he offers breakouts, workshops, and speeches at meetings/events, and has consulted on dozens of industry-leading solutions. A noted content strategy, social media + communications expert, his eye for business analysis has also led to work as an insider for 600+ media outlets from CNN to The Today Show. From Dell to MTV, he’s worked with many top brands to drive success. An expert witness + board member who advises C-level leaders, attorneys + investors, he also offers sales and media training, and hosts many executive summits.
"One of the best gurus on innovation + competitive advantage strategies to accelerate growth.” -European Commission
“If you really want to know about business, you should refer to Scott Steinberg.”- Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin
Matt Mayberry
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Matt Mayberry, a former NFL linebacker for the Chicago Bears, is currently one of the most-read columnists for Entrepreneur Magazine, as well as an acclaimed keynote speaker, author, and peak-performance strategist. Using a real-world approach, He specializes in maximizing the performance of organizations, teams, and individuals all over the world.
Matt provides attendees with a real-world strategy for peak performance, incorporating motivation, process & mindset, and credibility into his keynotes. While Matt’s programs have been revolutionary for sales and leadership groups, he has presented for tech, finance, industrial and pharmaceutical groups as well.
A partial client list includes: the FBI, National Kitchen & Bath Association, Fifth Third Bank, NAPA Auto Parts, Farm Bureau Financial Services, Cosentino, USA Hockey, DuPont, Union Pacific Railroad, and Lowe’s.
From the football field to being the head of business development for a multi-million dollar healthcare company and becoming a successful entrepreneur, Matt has the credibility to deliver a keynote speech with a strong focus on actionable ideas and strategies designed to maximize business and personal performance.
Nick Jankel
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Nick Jankel is a highly sought-after and accomplished international keynote speaker who inspires, motivates, and empowers audiences across the globe to forge the future -rather than fail it.
As a futurist, leadership theorist and transformation catalyst at the pinnacle of thought leadership, Nick has advised and accelerated many ambitious organizations such as Novartis, HSBC, Unilever, Kellogg’s, Nike, No.10 Downing Street, Zalando, Genentech, Google, Roche, Diageo, Intel, Lendlease, P&G and the BBC.
Nick is a master at the skills, qualities and capabilities of Transformational Leadership: how to metabolize constant change into concrete value and impact, from leading digital transformation to landing disruptive innovation. A Cambridge-educated medic, he develops highly-original thinking and powerful tools— using a blend of the latest brain science fused with profound wisdom—that inspire leaders to switch on and step up rather than freezing in uncertainty, fighting the need for tangible change, and repeating what worked in the past.
Ashley Fox
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Ashley Fox is one of the NFL’s most well respected journalists and a trailblazer in the ego-infused world of sports media. During her 24-year career, including 7 years as a lead NFL reporter and analyst for ESPN, Inc., The Worldwide Leader in Sports, Ashley covered the United States’ most popular sport for the largest sports media network in the world.
By being fair, honest and accountable, with unwavering professionalism and boundless optimism, Ashley earned the trust of professional athletes, coaches, owners, team executives and league commissioners. She understands the power of relationships and the steps necessary to build and maintain them. She has mastered the lost art of listening and knows that the best questions mine the most insightful answers.
Since 1993, Ashley Fox has reported from the world’s largest sporting events- the Summer Olympics, Wimbledon, the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the Final Four, the World Series, the Stanley Cup Finals, and the PGA Championship. Ashley’s written work has been featured on ESPN.com, TheUndefeated.com, ESPNW.com and in ESPN The Magazine, Sports Illustrated and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
A world-class communicator, Ashley shares with her global audience her inspiring story of determination, perseverance, balancing personal and professional integrity, believing in the impossible and overcoming obstacles. Attendees of Ashley’s presentations learn the proven leadership, communication and teamwork strategies that took her from a small-town girl with big-time dreams to an award-winning reporter and columnist for the preeminent sports network on the planet.
Tarun Wadhwa
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The most fascinating things in life are those that surprisingly pop-up out of nowhere and inexplicably capture our attention. After all, we are hardwired with a fight-or-flight instinct that demands that we notice anything disruptive. Tarun Wadhwa has lived his whole life examining rule-changing innovative disruptions and how they affect our business and personal lives, and may be the clearest and most accurate futurist alive today.
Tarun is an entrepreneur, academic and award-winning writer who is working at the intersection of technological advancement, innovation, global growth, security, and public policy. He regularly writes for Forbes and The Huffington Post, and his work has appeared in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Marketwatch, The Washington Post, Digital-Life-Design, and many other prestigious journals. A noted thought leader, he is currently a Visiting Instructor at Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering and was previously co-Founder and COO of AIC Chile, a private innovation lab that creates technologies aiming to alleviate poverty.
One of Tarun’s most exciting ventures is Day One Insights, a strategy and advisory firm he founded around technological convergence and corporate reinvention. This work focuses on trends that are overturning established industries; developments in healthcare, financial markets, cyber-security, retail, entertainment, transportation, and the impact of technological advancements on legal systems and societal institutions. All of this cutting-edge research has provided opportunities to partner with several of the most talked about companies in the world and influence leadership decision-making that is transforming these organizations.
It is no surprise that Tarun has become a favorite speaker with these same global companies. He packs his keynotes with eye-opening data, memorable stories, and a charismatic style that is infectious.
Michael Veltri
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Michael Veltri is a leadership expert, battle-hardened business executive, and Nationwide Bestselling author. Recognizing that success in business and life is created by the daily decisions we make, Michael elevates teams, fuel-injects leadership, and improves business performance through better decision-making practices.
From ancient Japanese warriors to brain science, from business titans to academic research, Michael tapped wide-ranging resources to develop a groundbreaking model for better decision making that leads to exponential leadership growth and peak performance with balance, not burnout. Simple, elegant, and effective, Michael's approach has positively impacted some of the world’s most successful organizations, brands, and leaders.
Michael is also a cancer survivor, decorated U.S. Marine veteran, and master-instructor in classical Japanese martial arts. He brings his business savvy, martial arts discipline, and Marine Corps leadership to every keynote speech inspiring, motivating, and educating audiences worldwide.
Ryan McCarty
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Ryan McCarty helped create a Culture of Good for TCC, the largest Verizon Authorized Retailer’s 3,000 employees at 800 stores across the U.S. What began as a powerful movement—in which employees have done everything from dressing up as superheroes for a children’s hospital to distributing hundreds of thousands of backpacks for kids—has grown into a business teaching other companies that inspired employees ignite positive change in the world and impact your bottom line – positively. As co-founder of Culture of Good LLC, Ryan helps other organizations engage the hearts of their employees and empowers them to make the changes they wish to see in their communities.
Jonathan F. P. Rose
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Jonathan F.P. Rose’s business, public policy and not-for-profit work focus on creating a more environmentally, socially and economically responsible world. In 1989, Mr. Rose founded Jonathan Rose Companies LLC, a multi-disciplinary real estate development, planning, consulting and investment firm. The firm has completed $2.3 billion of transformational work, in close collaboration with cities and not-for-profits. Mr. Rose is a thought leader in a wide range of urban issues, and the development of communities of opportunity. He has received the MIT’s Visionary Leadership Award, The Urban Land Institute’s global award for Excellence and many other awards for his work.
Mr. Rose’s book on how to create resilient cities, The Well Tempered City: What Modern Science, Ancient Civilizations and Human Behavior Teach us About the Future of Urban Life, was published by Harper Wave in 2016, and won the 2017 PROSE Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work by a Trade Publisher.
Mr. Rose is a Trustee of Enterprise Community Partners and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He is an Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects and Honorary Trustee of the American Museum of Natural History and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Mr. Rose plays bass and blues harp.
Mr. Rose and his wife Diana Calthorpe Rose are the co-founders of the Garrison Institute and serve on its Board. The Institute connects inner transformation with outer solutions to relieve suffering in the fields of trauma, education and the environment.
Mr. Rose graduated from Yale University in 1974 with a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy, and received a Masters in Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980.
Michael Massimino
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Mike Massimino is a former NASA Astronaut, a New York Times Bestselling Author, a Columbia University Professor, a media personality, and the first person to tweet from space. He is a four-time spacewalker on two missions to the Hubble Space Telescope, including the final Hubble servicing mission which has been called the most dangerous and complex mission in space shuttle history. Mike has made numerous television appearances, including a recurring role as himself on the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory, has hosted educational television programs, and provides expert commentary on morning shows and network and cable news programs.
He has been called the real-life astronaut who inspired George Clooney’s role in the movie Gravity. He uses humor and his unique storytelling ability to inspire audiences to identify the passion in their work, to use teamwork and innovation to solve problems, to provide leadership in the face of adversity and crisis, and to never give up when pursuing a goal.
Greg Norman
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Arguably the most successful athlete-turned-businessman in the world, Greg Norman is known as much for his entrepreneurial spirit in the boardroom as his dominance on the golf course. The internationally renowned “Great White Shark” won more than 90 tournaments worldwide, including two Open Championships, and he holds the distinction of defending his No. 1 position in the world golf rankings for 331 weeks, the second-longest reign in history. As one of the most prolific players in the game’s history, his career culminated in 2001 when he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame with a higher percentage of votes than any other inductee in history.
Greg Norman now transcends the game of golf, with over a dozen companies around the world bearing his name and the iconic shark logo as part of the Greg Norman Company, which he leads as Chairman & CEO. His internationally recognized brand boasts more than 100 golf course designs across six continents, a global real estate collection, award-winning wine, golf-inspired lifestyle apparel and a diverse investment division. Across all facets of business, the Greg Norman brand consistently delivers the quality that his name is synonymous with and continues to inspire people to attack life.
Isaac Lidsky
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“Isaac Lidsky may possess the most eclectic resume in business,” according to Inc. Magazine. He is the CEO and co-founder of ODC Construction (Florida’s largest residential shell contractor) and author of the New York Times best-selling book Eyes Wide Open: Overcoming Obstacles and Recognizing Opportunities in a World That Can’t See Clearly (March 14, 2017, Penguin Random House). A dynamic speaker whose viral TED Talk reached more than 1 million views in 20 days, and a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School (magna cum laude), Isaac is the only blind person to serve as a Law Clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court. As a child actor, he played “Weasel” on NBC’s “Saved By The Bell: The New Class.”
Dispelling any notion of disability, or the acceptance of self-imposed limitations among any of us, Isaac has forged a true vision for leading and living Eyes Wide Open and mastering your own reality. In his talks to corporate audiences, entrepreneurs and associations around the world, Isaac provides his philosophy and actionable principles for individuals and leaders to build more accountability and courage into how they interact and engage with themselves, others, the world and their highest aspirations.
Georgia Dienst
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Georgia is a deeply humanitarian futurist, disruptor and business entrepreneur with a strong notion that we can create radically positive change in the world through science, technology and business.
Having worked with companies like Youtube, Google X, Singularity University as well as many global brands and start-ups, she has deep insight into future trends and how these are affecting business and the media landscape. Her passion lies in harnessing the power of brands and business to do good in the world.
Blake Masters
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Blake was a student at Stanford Law School in 2012 when his detailed notes on Peter Thiel’s (co-founder of PayPal) class “Computer Science 183: Startup” became an internet sensation. Masters and Thiel have transformed those class notes into a New York Times bestseller: “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future.”
Everybody is in favor of innovation in the abstract, yet few people actually engage in the kind of sustained, original, and independent thinking that innovation requires. Using insights learned from working closely with Silicon Valley’s best entrepreneurs and investors, Blake helps companies work through the tough questions that can help orient them toward creating new value in the future instead of merely copying what’s worked in the past.
Thomas Kolditz
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Tom Kolditz is the founding Executive Director of the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University. He designed and directed the core Leader Development Program at the Yale School of Management, served as the chairman of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at West Point, and was the founding director of the West Point Leadership Center. A highly experienced leader, Brigadier General (retired) Kolditz has more than 26 years in P&L level supervisory positions, serving on four continents in his 34 years of military service.
Brigadier Gen. Tom Kolditz shows how extreme life-and-death situations can offer profound lessons for leaders in any setting. Gen. Kolditz’s research reveals that the leadership skills and principles evident in dangerous settings also apply to leading in business and everyday life, making this program applicable to both personal and professional success.
Aaron Ross
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Aaron Ross is the best-selling author of Predictable Revenue: Turn Your Business into a Sales Machine With The $100 Million Best Practices of Salesforce.com. Called “The Sales Bible of the Silicon Valley,” the book has been #1 on amazon’s telemarketing list for over 2 years. His newest book, From Impossible To Inevitable: How Hyper-Growth Companies Create Predictable Revenue, details the hypergrowth playbook of companies like the record-breaking Zenefits (which skyrocketed from $1 million to $100 million in two years), Salesforce.com (the fastest growing multibillion dollar software company), and EchoSign—aka Adobe Document Services—(which catapulted from $0 to $144 million in seven years). Whether you have a $1 billion or a $100,000 business, you can use the same insights as these notable companies to learn what it really takes to break your own revenue records.
Jeff DeGraff
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Jeff DeGraff’s life reads like an innovation playbook. The pages are speckled with failures followed by great successes all because of the mantra adopted at an early age from icon Walt Disney: “Keep moving forward.” Jeff knows how to innovate because he has been through the wringer and rolled with the punches, each time adding a new, better, and cleverer play than the last to his dossier. Jeff’s creative and direct take on making innovation really happen have made him a world renowned thought leader and have prompted his clients and colleagues to dub him as "The Dean of Innovation".
Jeff has advised many of the world’s leading corporations, using the Competing Values Framework that he co-created, on how to grow, change and ultimately move forward to see positive results. Jeff’s clientele list reads as a ‘who’s who’ of the business world, boasting Eaton, American Airlines, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, General Electric, Prudential and Pfizer, all as happy customers. Clients call Jeff when they want to achieve a cultural change that leads to sustainable innovation and growth. Time and time again, clients have been enthralled and inspired by Jeff’s speaking abilities and unorthodox view of innovation. He commands the room as he combines theory and practice to instill the mindset needed to make innovation truly happen. Jeff’s ideas have gained such a following that he created the Innovatrium, an innovation institute in the heart of the University of Michigan’s campus.
Kaihan Krippendorff
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Kaihan Krippendorff has made a commitment to helping organizations and individuals thrive in today’s era of fast-paced disruptive technological change. He began his career as a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company before founding the growth strategy and innovation consulting firm Outthinker, a community comprised of strategy executives from the world’s top F500 and private companies. Outthinker ideas have created $2.5 billion in revenue, and companies that participate in the Outthinker process grow 100-120% faster, thanks to Kaihan's game-changing insights that allow businesses to execute cutting-edge strategies to thrive in the new economy.
Krippendorff is a bestselling business author and member of the prestigious Thinkers50 Class of 2019 Radar group, a global selection of the top 30 management thinkers to follow and hear from in the coming year.
A sought after speaker and facilitator in a number of fields, including business strategy, disruptive growth strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership, and corporate entrepreneurship, Kaihan has served some of the largest corporations in the world, including Microsoft, ABC TV, Johnson & Johnson, and AIG. He is also an advisory board member for a blockchain-powered transportation platform, an international food processing/exporting company, and a B-corporation focused on sustainable products and lifestyle.
Whether delivering a keynote, or heading a workshop, anyone who has worked with Kaihan will mention the great lengths he goes to in order to customize his program to your industry and carefully select material that will resonate with the audience.
Neel Doshi & Lindsay McGregor
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Lindsay McGregor and Neel Doshi are co-authors of the New York Times bestselling book, Primed to Perform: How to Build the Highest Performing Cultures Through the Science of Total Motivation and co-founders of startup, Vega Factor. Lindsay takes the reins as CEO of Vega Factor.
After decades of practical experience and study, Neel and Lindsay have developed the science of high performing cultures. What is unique about their work is they have developed a quantifiable approach that explicitly links culture with performance. Their work isn't theoretical only. Leading organizations are putting into practice the methodology described in their New York Times bestselling book, Primed to Perform.
In Lindsay and Neel's work, they have concluded that why someone works, drives how well they work. In other words, a person's motive for their work is the driver of their adaptive performance. Three motives increase performance while three motives decrease performance. Neel and Lindsay can unequivocally prove this perspective with live audience engagement, company data, current events (like Wells Fargo) and experiments. In their talk, they share alternatives that are proven to build high performing cultures.
Jerry Michalski & April Rinne
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Everywhere we look, the economy is changing. Growth doesn't look like it used to. Work and the workplace have turned upside down. Business leaders and policy makers are wondering what to do. And it's still early, with even more change on the horizon.
Jerry Michalski and April Rinne are here to help you navigate this space, both today and moving forward.
Together and individually, they have seen these forces at work and helped birth new industries. From microfinance to tech booms (and busts), from the sharing economy to automation, and from new business models to trust-driven innovation, each of them has been at the 50 yard line in the very early stages of some of the most important transformations of the last three decades. They love what they do, and when they do it together, more than doubling the value they bring to the table.
They’re great at trailblazing and they love helping others forge profitable new paths.
Dave Zilko
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Dave Zilko founded his first specialty food company more than 20 years ago on a $2,500 credit card loan. While today Dave remains an equity partner in several food-oriented enterprises, he recently exited active involvement in the industry when he engineered the sale of Garden Fresh Gourmet, makers of the number one brand of fresh salsa in North America, to the Campbell’s Soup Company for $231 million. Dave was a partner at Garden Fresh for 13 years, serving as Vice Chairman with primary responsibility for strategy and sales.
Today Dave has an equity stake in and is CEO of FUEL Leadership—a digital media property that also organizes business events featuring an exclusive list of rock star-level speakers—a roster that spans the spectrum from business to entertainment.
Dave is also an operating partner at Huron Capital, a Detroit-based private equity firm with over $1 billion under management. He serves on the boards of the $60 million Grow Michigan venture fund, of Jimmy Buffett's charitable foundation, "Singing for Change," and is on the executive board of the largest food rescue organization in the country, Forgotten Harvest. Dave graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in finance and earned a Master of Business Administration in marketing from The George Washington University.
Adam Hartung
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Even the best businesses can fail. Kodak, Hostess and Circuit City were all once market leaders but eventually bankruptcies. Their products became dated, customers stopped caring and soon the former market giants were irrelevant. Why? Because they refused to change.
Excelling at what you want to do doesn’t create business success – instead figure out what people want to buy. Your organization must either adapt with market trends and let go of old business strategies or disappear like Polaroid. What made your company successful five years ago most likely won’t produce the same results today and certainly won’t in five years.
But even when you’re willing to change, how do you decide what to do next?
Winning means thinking and acting outside the box. Adam Hartung’s more than 20 year track record developing and implementing strategies to take advantage of emerging trends has shown companies like Eaton, Hyatt and Integrys Energy how to unleash business growth through innovation. When new competitors and market shifting trends threaten your core business, Adam will show you how to be an industry leader by not asking customers what they want and instead giving them what they need.
Bill Benjamin
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Engaging and dynamic... you’d never know he is a math and computer guy!
Bill Benjamin has over 25 years of business experience and has provided his expertise on performance and leadership with diverse groups in many high pressure environments, including the U.S. Marines, NASA, Intel, Goldman Sachs and Surgeons!
Bill is a partner at the Institute for Health & Human Potential. IHHP is a world leader in developing and delivering unique training programs that help people perform and lead under pressure. IHHP’s recently released book: Performing Under Pressure, The Science of Doing Your Best When it Matters Most has become a NY Times bestseller as well as being named by INC magazine as one the top 10 business books of the year.
Bill knows first-hand the importance of having to perform under pressure: he is a recovering mathematics major (pause).... He is also a former sales and marketing executive in the IT industry, and has received direct feedback from his wife and his two young daughters that being smart is not enough to succeed at work or at home!
Bill was born in Canada, lives in suburban Chicago, and travels the world helping others learn his hard earned wisdom into the one quality that will make each of us better leaders – our ability to perform under pressure.
Ashish J. Thakkar
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Ashish J. Thakkar is the Executive Chairman of Mara Sokoni, an African e-commerce platform with a focus on B2C marketplace for general merchandise. He is also the Founder of Mara Group and Mara Foundation. Ashish has driven the growth of the Mara Group from a small IT business in Uganda to the globally recognized multi-sector investment group that exists today. Through its investments, Mara Group now employs over 11,000 people across 25 African countries in sectors spanning technology, banking, real estate and infrastructure. Ashish serves as Chair of the United Nations Foundation, Global Entrepreneurs Council and is the author of The Lion Awakes: Adventures in Africa’s Economic Miracle.
Laura Schwartz
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Laura Schwartz is a dynamic professional speaker, emcee and internationally recognized television commentator. But when she arrived at the White House in January of 1993, she was just a 19-year-old student with no political connections and no way of knowing what was about to come next. She landed a volunteer position answering phones in the press office, but that was just the beginning. She climbed her way up the ranks of the Clinton Administration, as the Midwest Press Secretary, Director of Television and, ultimately, Director of Events, where she produced the President’s events on the world stage.
Laura is the author of Eat, Drink & Succeed, which focuses on powerful, positive and productive networking secrets not only to her success but that of Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey and more. Laura relates these powerful techniques to every reader and audience regardless of industry or location in the world.
Throughout every presentation, Laura shares secrets to leadership and success while revealing essential tools that will increase sales, productivity, elevate you to the table or propel you to the next level in business and beyond. As she often remarks, “You never know when the next conversation will be thee conversation to change your life or that of someone else!”
Laura has been taking her empowering presentations to stages across the world since 2001 and is well known for her keynotes and as a mistress of ceremonies and on stage interviewer for multi-day conferences and events. Whether addressing an intimate gathering of 30 or a crowd of 30,000, Laura captivates attendees with her positive energy, expertise and enthusiasm.
Marc Randolph
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Marc Randolph is a veteran Silicon Valley entrepreneur, advisor and investor. Marc was co-founder of the online movie and television streaming service Netflix, serving as their founding CEO, as the executive producer of their web site, and as a member of their board of directors until his retirement from Netflix in 2004.
He is a frequent speaker at industry events, works extensively with young entrepreneur programs, and is a trustee of the non-profit National Outdoor Leadership School. Marc’s general themes are strongly entrepreneurial but his message resonates just as well with corporate CEOs as it does with students and early stage entrepreneurs. His experience as a six-time founder allows him to speak with authority not only about how companies get started, but about how businesses of any size can better foster innovation and more effectively turn ideas into realities.
Joshua Medcalf
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After asking the question, “What would I do if money didn’t matter?” Joshua Medcalf dropped out of his Masters program at Duke University, skipped scholarships to law school, and moved across the country into a homeless shelter to serve people. Today he is the president and founder of Train to be CLUTCH, whose focus is a heart's first approach to leadership, life skills and mental training. He has written three highly acclaimed books: Burn Your Goals: The Counter Cultural Approach to Achieving Your Greatest Potential, Train to be CLUTCH 101; and An Impractical Guide to Transformational Leadership. Joshua has the unique position of mentoring highly talented millennials as well as baby boomers with decades of invaluable experience, and he is able to share case studies and the latest scientific research on maximizing human performance in a multi-generational workplace through engaging and unbelievable stories.
Aimee Mullins
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Aimee Mullins revels in the continuous exploration of what is possible—both for herself and those whose lives she touches. Aimée has developed her own unique formula for creating the “invented life,” fashioned from her undeniably unique combination of life experiences as on Olympic athlete, ground-breaking high fashion model, a beacon for design tech, dedicated advocate and avant-garde actor. Aimée has spoken multiple times at the world-famous TED conference, is a TED All-Star and her talks have been viewed nearly 5 million times. She delights in sharing what she has learned to help others shatter perceived limitations and reinvent themselves. In a warm, engaging and approachable style, Aimée offer insightful, actionable and powerful guidance to corporate and consumer audiences worldwide. Aimée is a born story-teller, Renaissance woman, and inspirational icon for achieving the “impossible.”
An influential voice in today's culture, she is regularly invited to share her ideas at various corporations and global conferences like TED and TEDMED. In addition to her professional career, Aimee serves on numerous boards and spends much of her time assisting various non-profit organizations, most notably the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF). She is a founding member of the Leadership Board to SPIRE Institute, the world’s largest and most diverse athletic development center.
Nicholas Webb
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Nick Webb is a number one best-selling author and is one of the most popular Innovation, Healthcare, Future-trends, and Customer Experience Speakers in the world. Nick is the CEO of LeaderLogic, LLC a Management Consulting Firm that provides consulting services and training to the top brands in the world. Nick works shoulder-to-shoulder with boards of directors of multibillion-dollar companies to assist them in building future-ready organizations.
As a technologist, Nick has been awarded over 40 Patents by the US Patent and Trademark Office for a wide range of cutting-edge technologies, including one of the world’s smallest medical implants and one of the first wearable technologies.
Nick’s best-selling books include, What Customers Crave, The Innovation Mandate, What Customers Hate, Happy Work,Lucid Leadership and his number one bestselling book, The Healthcare Mandate. Nick has been awarded one of the Top 30 Business Experts for eight years in a row.
Nick has served as a Chief Innovation Officer and an Adjunct Professor at a top medical school. Nick was awarded his Doctorate of Humane Letters (hon.) for his contributions in healthcare.
Additionally, Nick is also the Producer and Host of the Award-winning Documentary Film, “The Healthcare Cure”. The film won the Sedona International Film Festival’s “Audience Choice Award”, Most Impactful Film.
NICK SPEAKS ON:
Let’s face it – “innovation” has become a buzzword. Everyone loves it and a lot of people talk about it, but very few know how to leverage it for success. Nick will bring to your group his decades of real-world business experience and show them, in a way that’s engaging and entertaining, how every member of your team can become an innovator and contribute to your bottom line.
Nick Webb will bring to your group his extensive real-world knowledge of healthcare innovation, including his experience as an inventor of one of the world’s smallest medical implants. In recognition of his contributions to healthcare innovation and policy, Nick was awarded the Doctorate of Humane Letters (hon.) from Western University of Health Sciences. Your team will love him – and you’ll soon see the difference in their performance!
With Nick Webb, you’ll have on your team the acclaimed author of “What Customers Crave,” his best-selling book that redefines the customer relationship. His deep, first-hand knowledge will make a difference that you’ll see in your team’s performance and your bottom line!
Nick Webb has studied the past, knows the present, and speaks with authority about the future. As he reveals in his forthcoming book, “The Innovation Mandate” (HarperCollins Leadership, 2019), Nick sees a bright future for those who take advantage of currents in the marketplace rather than fighting them. If you want your team to face the future armed with actionable information, Nick Webb will deliver!
As CEO of Leader Logic and recipient of the Top Global Business Guru award for 2017, 2018, and 2019, Nick Webb understands the challenges of leadership, knows the real-world application of innovation, and speaks to the audience from the perspective of having worked in the trenches. He’s helped thousands of leaders from around the world to rise to the top – and he’ll do the same for you!
Polly LaBarre
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In a world awash in profound change and at a time when everything is on the table, Polly LaBarre helps leaders make sense of and creatively respond to the forces buffeting their organizations. A bestselling author, speaker, and thinker who’s advised top global organizations, Polly’s mission for the past 20 years has been to make every kind of organization fundamentally more resilient, innovative and inspiring.
Her insights embolden and equip leaders at every level to make a meaningful impact. Polly is an inspiring and provocative voice on the big ideas and important questions that will shape the future of organizations, work, and collective progress.
Polly’s work is driven by three core questions: 1) How do we support human flourishing? 2) How do we cultivate the audacity of imagination required to tackle our most intractable problems? 3) And, how do organizations and individuals change how they change to become endlessly resilient?
To make genuine progress on those questions, Polly studies and works with progressive organizations, creates curriculum, and runs experiments for unleashing creativity, expanding collaboration, and accelerating change.
As co-founder of the Management Lab (with Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini), Polly spent the last decade working to develop a methodology, platform and practical tools for building organizational capability and accelerating change. Polly and her colleagues deployed that pioneering approach to collaborative innovation in a range of large-scale experiments in “hacking management” inside leading companies and across a global community of some 35,000 management innovators.
Polly is the coauthor of the bestselling book Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win (which The Economist named a “Book of the Year” and called “a pivotal work in the tradition of In Search of Excellence and Good to Great”). She was a member of the original team of Fast Company magazine, where she played a central role in the remarkable success of a magazine that recast the conventional wisdom on working, leading, and winning.
A sought-after speaker, moderator, and interviewer, Polly has delivered hundreds of keynote addresses around the world and developed and hosted numerous events. Her writing has appeared in a variety of publications, including Fast Company, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Fortune.com, the McKinsey Quarterly, and The Huffington Post. In addition to frequent television appearances on CNBC, PBS’s Nightly Business Report, Good Morning America, and the Today Show, Polly has also been a business and innovation correspondent for CNN where she produced regular segments on big ideas and best practices from the world of business and beyond.
Mike Rayburn
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Mike Rayburn is a two-time TED Talk Presenter, an innovative entrepreneur and Hall of Fame speaker who uses world-class guitar and comedy to teach change and innovation to corporations world-wide. He has headlined Carnegie Hall, headlined in Las Vegas, and performed more than 5,000 presentations in 20 countries on five continents. Rayburn is a regular on Sirius/XM and morning radio nationwide. He has performed as guitarist with The Beach Boys and John Oates. Rayburn’s keynote is called “The What IF? Keynote Experience.” You will learn three simple tools for harnessing your unrealized potential, creating and leading change, and becoming a virtuoso performer. You’ll hear amazing music including a solo guitar version of Bohemian Rhapsody.
Oh, and you laugh a LOT! No one does what Mike Rayburn does.
Ron Kaufman
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Ron Kaufman is the world’s leading educator and motivator for uplifting customer service and building service cultures.
Rated one of the “Top 25 Who’s Hot” speakers by Speaker Magazine, he presents powerful insights and global best practices from working with clients on every continent for more than twenty years. His energetic keynote speeches and workshops have inspired millions.
Lance Secretan
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Dr. Lance Secretan is widely acknowledged as one of the most insightful and provocative leadership teachers of our time. He is the former CEO of a Fortune 100 company, university professor, award-winning columnist and author of 15 books about inspiration and leadership. His teachings and writings on conscious leadership are courageous, radical and ingenious and have been hailed as among the most original, authentic and effective contributions to leadership thinking currently available.
Shawn Achor
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Shawn Achor is the New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Advantage and Big Potential. Shawn graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and earned a Masters from Harvard Divinity School in Christian and Buddhist ethics. After spending 12 years at Harvard, Shawn traveled to 50 countries studying how to create an interconnected approach to potential and happiness. He has now worked with over a third of the Fortune 100 companies, and at places like NASA, the NFL, and the Pentagon. Shawn has battle-tested his research in high-challenge environments from working with all the public schools in Flint Michigan, to six battalions of Marines at Camp Pendleton, to government leaders at Camp David, to students in a shantytown in Soweto South Africa, to hospitals in the wake of a mass shooting in Orlando and the Boston bombing. In every place, Shawn has found the optimism can be increased through mindset and behavioral change, and that by creating an interconnected approach to happiness and success, we shine brighter together. Shawn’s research made the cover of Harvard Business Review, his TED talk is one of the most popular of all time with over 20 million views, and his lecture airing on PBS has been seen by millions.
John Izzo
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Dr. John Izzo has been a pioneer on creating successful businesses and emerging work trends for over twenty-five years. Izzo was a pioneer on employee engagement and social responsibility with his book Awakening Corporate Soul (1994), a trail blazer on shifting generational values when he wrote Values Shift-The New Work Ethic (2000), showed how individuals shape the future with Stepping Up (2014) and now is blazing a new trail showing business why a rising class of people worldwide will shape the economy of the future with his forthcoming book The Purpose Revolution. This rising class is not one of nationality, income, race or gender but one that aspires to have a good life while doing good.
He has spoken to over one million people, advised over 500 companies, authored six bestselling books and helped some of the world’s most admired companies. Known for his compelling combination of leading edge research, riveting storytelling, practical ideas to make a difference starting now and a keen sense of where the future is going your organization will leave inspired and ready to act. His clients have included IBM, Qantas, the Mayo Clinic, Verizon, RBC, TELUS, Westjet, DuPont, Humana, Microsoft and McDonalds.
Peter Fuda
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Peter Fuda is a global authority on leadership and business transformation who helps companies and individuals answer this question: How does a good manager become a great leader? He does more than rely on current buzz words such as 'change,' 'disruption' and 'innovation' and seeks cultural and meaningful transformation by focusing on goals, alignment, and ambition. Major companies around the world seek Peter's guidance as they set strategic goals and stake claim to them.
Steve Rizzo
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A personal development expert, comedian, Speakers Hall of Fame motivational speaker, and author, Steve Rizzo is the Attitude Adjuster. After being saddled with the dubious high school honor of "Least Likely to Succeed," Steve Rizzo was able to do what many people dream of—proving them all wrong. Now he helps his audiences around the world do the same thing. He is the author of the bestselling book, Get Your SHIFT Together and is often called upon as the “go-to” guy on the topic of personal development for many network, cable and radio media outlets. His immensely popular PBS special revealed why he’s an expert on attitude, humor and the power of positive thinking.
Steve left his promising career as a headline comedian where he shared the stage with Jerry Seinfeld, Rodney Dangerfield and Ellen DeGeneres, to become a professional speaker who teaches people how to be happy and successful no matter what their circumstances are.
Peter Guber
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Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment, the visionary multimedia venture spanning movies, TV, sports, and new media, Peter Guber is among the most successful executives and entrepreneurs in the entertainment and communications industries. A passionate, humorous, and tireless motivator and speaker, Guber has dedicated himself to coaching current and future leaders about the importance of telling purposeful stories to propel their business success.
Nido Qubein
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Dr. Nido Qubein came to the United States as a teenager with little knowledge of English and only $50 in his pocket. His journey has been an amazing success story. The Biography Channel and CNBC aired his life story titled A Life of Success and Significance.
As an educator, he is president of High Point University, an undergraduate and graduate institution with 4,300 students from 40 countries. He has authored two dozen books and audio programs distributed worldwide.
As a business leader, he is chairman of the Great Harvest Bread Company with 220 stores in 43 states. He serves on the boards of several national organizations including BB&T (a Fortune 500 company with $185 billion in assets), the La-Z-Boy Corporation, and Dots Stores.
As a professional speaker, Dr. Qubein has received many distinctions including the Golden Gavel Medal, induction into the International Speaker Hall of Fame, and as the founder of the NSA Foundation in Arizona.
Sharing his experiences - from first coming to the United States to scrambling to reach the top of his professions – Nido Qubein has become an inspiring business speaker who shows companies that success is possible in any situation. By believing in the best and dedicating hard work and perseverance, people and companies can achieve their best work, and become beacons of success in the business world.
Waldo Waldman
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Known as “The Wingman,” Lt Col Waldo Waldman, MBA, CSP, CPAE is a highly decorated combat fighter pilot with 65 missions in Iraq and Serbia. A business consultant and executive coach, he helps organizations build collaborative cultures of trust, courage and commitment in highly competitive, rapidly changing business environments.
In addition to his time in the military, Waldo has real world corporate sales and management experience and is an expert on change management, peak performance, and resilience – having broken through a lifelong fear of heights and overcoming claustrophobia as a fighter pilot.
A key message in his inspirational “Never Fly Solo” signature keynote is that you can’t reach your highest potential alone. You need wingmen - trusted partners – to help you win when adversity strikes. His compelling stories and techniques on overcoming obstacles, performing under pressure, earning trust, and servant-based leadership are extremely relevant to diverse organizations who seek to create a “One Team, One Mission” performance-focused culture of trust and collaboration.
“We Survive Solo but Win Together.” Waldo
Waldo is the author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Never Fly Solo and an inductee into the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame, a prestigious award that has been bestowed on less than 190 speakers worldwide. A graduate of the U.S Air Force Academy, he also holds an MBA with a focus on Organizational Behavior and is the founder of The Wingman Foundation whose mission is to build funds and awareness for veterans in need.
He’s been featured on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Inc. Magazine, and The Harvard Business Review, and his global clients include American Express, Hewlett Packard, Verizon, GE, The Denver Broncos, New York Life, ExxonMobil, Merck, Johnson & Johnson and dozens of national associations.
Lisa Ford
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Lisa Ford, CSP, CPAE, is a speaker with over 20 years of experience presenting to businesses, associations and government. She speaks throughout the United States and internationally on topics of customer service, leadership, team issues and change. Lisa is best known for her work in the areas of customer service. She is the author of the videotape series How to Give Exceptional Customer Service, the #1 selling business video series in the U.S. for over 5 years.
Lisa designs content personalized to the audience and issues they face. She has also customized numerous videos for clients to use in their ongoing education efforts. Lisa’s experience includes working with Pfizer, Viacom, Edward Jones, CSX, Kaiser Permanente, Morton’s of Chicago, Citgo, American Gas Association, American Diabetes Association and American Veterinary Medical Association.
In 2002, Lisa was inducted into the Speakers Hall of Fame by the National Speakers Association. She is one about 240 speakers who have been honored over 30 years. She also serves a Board Member of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tennessee.
Kenneth Cole
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Kenneth Cole has built a 150 store-strong retail empire, uniting his fashion instincts and business acumen with his philanthropic convictions. Mr. Cole’s influence reaches far beyond the world of fashion – he has been a dynamic advocate for many causes ranging from initiatives for the homeless to his work as Chairman of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).
Michael Bergdahl
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When Michael Bergdahl speaks, people don't just listen. They learn. Experience, insight, and a powerful, personable presence combine to make Michael Bergdahl the must-have speaker for any business that's serious about competing in today's market. With an upbeat, high-energy style that entertains as it teaches, his presentations make complex business strategies and tactics easy to understand and apply.
Ram Charan
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Ram Charan is a world-renowned business advisor, author and speaker who has spent the past 35 years working with many top companies, CEOs, and boards of our time. In his work with companies including GE, MeadWestvaco, Bank of America, DuPont, Novartis, EMC, 3M, Verizon, Aditya Birla Group, Tata Group, GMR, Max Group, Yildiz Holdings, and Grupo RBS, he is known for cutting through the complexity of running a business in today’s fast changing environment to uncover the core business problem. His real-world solutions, shared with millions through his books and articles in top business publications, have been praised for being practical, relevant and highly actionable — the kind of advice you can use Monday morning.
Ram has coached more than a dozen leaders who went on to become CEOs. He reaches many more up-and-coming business leaders through in-house executive education programs. His energetic, interactive teaching style has won him several awards, including the Bell Ringer award at GE’s famous Crotonville Institute and best teacher award at Northwestern. He was among BusinessWeek‘s top ten resources for in-house executive development programs.
Ram has authored over 25 books since 1998 that have sold over 2 million copies in more than a dozen languages. Three of his books were Wall Street Journal bestsellers, including Execution, which he coauthored with former Honeywell CEO Larry Bossidy in 2002, which spent more than 150 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. He also has written for publications including Harvard Business Review, Fortune, BusinessWeek, Time, Chief Executive and USA TODAY.
Amanda Gore
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For more than 25 years, Amanda Gore has been one of America’s and Australia’s most admired experiential speakers. She uses the principles of emotional intelligence to transform the spirit of people and cultures by changing perceptions, improving relationships, connecting people, managing change, leadership, innovation, and team dynamics.
Amanda believes success in business is always about feelings – the way we feel about a product, organization or person influences how we behave and informs our decisions about how we spend or who we conduct business with. Until we change our perceptions, we won’t change our behaviour. Amanda’s presentations changes perceptions… And feelings.
Author of five books and several video and audio training programs, Amanda is also the CEO of the JOY Project and has a bachelor's degree in physiotherapy, a major in psychology, and expertise in ergonomics, stress management, group dynamics, neurolinguistics, neuroscience, and occupational health.
Gary Bradt
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Change happens – faster than ever. The challenge is to adapt, ignite and win! Psychologist, author, coach and speaker, Dr. Gary Bradt has devoted his career to arming organizations and people with practical and powerful tools that increase their capacity to adapt quickly and keep moving in a positive direction – professionally and personally.
James Canton
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A renowned global futurist, author, and global advisor to the Fortune 100, Dr. Canton has been forecasting the leading innovations and trends that have shaped our world for 25 years. He is the CEO and Chairman of the Institute for Global Futures, a San Francisco based Think Tank. He has advised three White Houses, over ten nations, and over 100 companies worldwide. He was on the founding advisory board of Singularity University, was an Apple Computer executive, and has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Fox and NBC. He is the author of Future Smart, Technofutures and The Extreme Future.
Robert Kriegel
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Dr. Robert Kriegel’s bold, innovative “out of the box” strategies for keeping ahead of the changes and challenges in today’s dynamic work climate have made him one of this country’s most in demand business speakers. His customized speeches and programs inform, inspire and entertain. He will teach you how to develop and lead Change - Ready© people and organizations. You will learn how to round up sacred cows that cost money and inhibit change and new opportunities. He also outlines strategies for gaining the competitive edge by not competing but changing the game, leading customers not following them and rethinking rules, redefining roles and reinventing the game. Each of Dr. Kriegel’s presentations is individually designed to reinforce the objectives of your meeting, to address the specific challenges and concerns facing the audience, and to have practical “take home” value.
Gary Swart
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Formerly the CEO of oDesk, the world's largest online workplace with more than 1B in work through the platform from over 3 million clients and 10 million freelancers, Gary Swart guided the company to industry-leadership and through a merger with Elance while serving as a leading voice for the future of work and the emerging online work industry. He is currently a General Partner at Polaris Partners, investing in technology and healthcare companies.
Gary serves as a thought leader on marketplaces, sales leadership, the future of work, how best to hire and manage teams, and on the rise of the “freelance economy.” He has spoken at the Inc. Leadership Conference, The Economist’s Ideas Economy Panel, SXSW, TechCrunch 50, and at HBS—which teaches a case study on oDesk. His commentary has appeared in a variety of publications including LinkedIn, Forbes, TechCrunch, The Washington Post and The Next Web. And he’s appeared on TV and radio outlets, including CNBC, BBC, Bloomberg TV, National Public Radio (NPR), Startups Uncensored, and the Fox Business Network. In addition, Gary is a faculty member at the Alchemist Academy and a StartX Mentor.
Mitch Lowe
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Mitch was a founding Executive at Netflix, Inc., serving as Netflix’s Entertainment Domain Expert and as Vice President of Business Development & Strategic Alliances from 1998 to 2003. Now, Mitch is the CEO of MoviePass, Inc., a Movie Theater subscription service.
Becky Margiotta
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Becky combines storytelling and humor with her unique leadership experiences as a military officer and social entrepreneur to inspire audiences to:
Challenge and transcend their own limiting beliefs about what is possible to create in the world
Apply the principles of large-scale change to their own efforts to make the world a better place
Create fearless leaders and teams that are capable of unleashing unprecedented social change
Amanda Knox
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Exoneree, journalist, and New York Times bestselling author Amanda Knox spent four years in an Italian prison and eight years on trial for a murder she didn’t commit. The scandal made headlines for nearly a decade, as Amanda – dubbed “Foxy Knoxy” – was exploited by the media and judged by the masses on a global scale. Though she was exonerated by Italy’s highest court, she was sentenced to life by the court of public opinion, forever branded as a killer despite her innocence. Since her exoneration, Amanda has fought to reclaim her identity and to find meaning in those stolen years and unjust incarceration, all while advocating for a more just legal system and a more ethical media.
Thoughtful, passionate, and revelatory, Amanda Knox has captivated audiences across the country and abroad, sharing the wisdom she learned the hard way about how to find resilience in the face of tremendous adversity. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Waiting to Be Heard and Free: My Search for Meaning as well as co-host – with her husband Christopher Robinson – of the podcast Labyrinths, which delves into stories of getting lost and found again through compassionate interviews, philosophical rants, and playful debate with fascinating people. Amanda sits on the board of the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice, serves as an Innocence Network Ambassador, and is an advocate for criminal justice reform and media ethics.
Felipe Calderon
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Former President of Mexico Felipe Calderón is a globally recognized leader in climate action and sustainability transformation. Establishing economic reform as a top priority of his administration, President Calderón’s policies catapulted Mexico into a powerful player in the global economy. Since leaving his post as President, Calderón has focused his leadership and attention on the economic benefits of acting on climate change. In 2022, he was named President of the Environment and Sustainability Commission for the International Automobile Federation. President Calderón was named "Statesman of the Year" by the World Economic Forum, a “Top 100 Influential People in the World” by TIME Magazine, and "Champion of the Earth" by the United Nations. President Calderón has been honored with the Teddy Roosevelt Award for the Environment, the GLOBE Award from the Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment, and the International Star of Energy Efficiency award. President Calderón is a foremost voice in environmentalism and an outspoken proponent of sustainable investment.
Calderón provides actionable steps for both the private and public sector to advance sustainability practices, build consensus, and support business growth. He has hosted and chaired the G-20 Summit of Leaders as well as chaired the UN Conference on Climate Change COP 16, marking a new era of cooperation in this field. President Calderón has provided his insights to hosts such as the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, SkyBridge Capital’s SALT Conference, Colgate University, Accenture, and more.
Adam Savage
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Beloved science communicator Adam Savage has spent most of his life gathering skills to build his dreams into reality. Over his career, his work has appeared onscreen to the delight of millions. While best known as a co-host of the Discovery Channel’s flagship show, MythBusters, Savage has worked on a number of iconic titles behind the scenes. His fabrications appear in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, The Matrix Reloaded, and more. Savage currently hosts Tested, a YouTube channel exploring the intersection of science, pop culture, and emerging technology.
Savage is a natural fit to engage audiences in explorations of creativity, imagination, and science. In his New York Times bestseller, Every Tool’s a Hammer: Life Is What You Make It, Savage shares his golden rules of creativity, problem solving, and much more. He sits on the boards of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the Center for Policing Equity and is an advisor to the California Academy of Sciences. From finding what inspires you to following through on making an idea a reality, Savage encourages audiences to push the boundaries of what's possible. Speaking to audiences around the world, Savage challenges and inspires people to turn curiosity into creation.
Deshauna Barber
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Deshauna Barber is a dynamic international motivational speaker, Army veteran, former Miss USA and founder of the Women Veterans For Change. Renowned for her impactful and inspiring approach, Barber recently partnered with E.L.F. BEAUTY and Emerald Audio Network as the host of their new limited podcast series, Valor, to highlight the extraordinary stories of courageous servicewomen throughout history, celebrating their bravery and resilience.
Leveraging her unique experiences as an Army officer, STEM graduate, and advocate, Deshauna exemplifies the power of perseverance and resilience. Her journey from a decorated military career to becoming a top- rated speaker, sought after by Fortune 500 companies, underscores her remarkable ability to inspire and motivate. In 2019, Deshauna made history as the youngest President and CEO of the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN), a leading nonprofit dedicated to advocating for servicewomen and female veterans. During her tenure, she championed women’s rights and resources on Capitol Hill, making significant strides in support of our nation’s service members. She has also launched a speaker mentorship course called Thrive, a cohort-based training program with 18 aspiring students pursuing careers as motivational speakers. Deshauna holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Virginia State University, a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems and Services from the University of Maryland University College, and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certification from Cornell University. Crowned Miss USA in 2016, Deshauna became the first soldier to win the title. She used her platform to advocate for increased support for soldiers with Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
With over 11 years of military service, she continues to emphasize the importance of mental health for service members and veterans. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Deshauna channels her experiences into empowering others, dedicating her life to inspiring and uplifting those around her. As a motivational speaker and advocate, her global mission is to encourage, inspire, and strengthen individuals, embodying her commitment to making a positive impact in the world.
Phil Keoghan
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Phil Keoghan is arguably the most traveled host on the planet. After he started traveling around the world at the age of 2, he has been globetrotting ever since. Surviving a near-death experience at the age of 19, Keoghan wrote a list of things to do before he died and created a “BUCKiT: Tick-it Before You Kick-it!” philosophy which he turned into a best-selling book called No Opportunity Wasted. Visiting more than 100 countries, Phil has been sharing his stories in front of a TV camera for over 30 years. He is the host and an executive producer of CBS’ multi-Emmy Award-winning reality series The Amazing Race, host of National Geographic Explorer, and creator, show runner, and host of Tough as Nails.
As a proprietor of adventures, Keoghan loves to share his travel expertise with audiences. He has produced a line of NOW luggage and the NOW energy bar, travel-first products building on his “No Opportunity Wasted” philosophy. He has shared his stories and advice at Unicomm’s Travel & Adventure Show, Omni Technologies, the Anti-Defamation League, and more.
Cari Champion
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Esteemed broadcast journalist, sports anchor, and television personality Cari Champion has advanced the sports media industry for women today. For nearly a decade, she served as anchor and host at ESPN – her roles included co-hosting SportCenter’s Coast to Coast, hosting SportsNation, and moderating ESPN’s popular debate talk show, First Take. Champion’s influence resonates across mediums, and she is the host of the podcast Naked with Cari Champion, showcasing her authentic interview style that brings refreshing and nuanced conversations to the forefront from thought-leaders and culture-shifters within the entertainment industry. Champion recently hosted CNN's New Year's celebration and she can be seen frequently as a regular contributor to the network. She currently hosts TNT’s The Arena, creating a thought-provoking forum for provocative topics from the most popular voices in sports. She hosts the eponymous Cari Champion Show, which aired on Amazon. She served as co-anchor of NBC’s primetime studio show, Tokyo Tonight on NBC’s Peacock Channel during the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, as well as co-host of NBC’s reality competition series The Titan Games. Champion made history with her move to Vice TV, working alongside Jemele Hill as the first Black women to host a late-night cable show, Cari & Jemele: Stick to Sports. Champion shares her unparalleled insights about creating her own path to working at the top of her field, the intersections of race, ethnicity, and gender in sports and media, and how to cultivate leadership, teamwork, and perseverance at work and in life.
Champion has been profiled in Sports Illustrated, Vogue, Bustle, The Grio, Essence, and more, and she was honored by Essence at its inaugural Black Women in Sports event. She was selected to host the prestigious 2021 SI (Sports Illustrated) Awards. She is the Founder of Brown Girls Dream, a powerful mentorship network supporting high potential women of color, inspired by the mentorship she received early in her career. She also writes a bulletin for META, ‘I Said What I Said’, debunking harmful stereotypes and unpacking provocative stories. Champion is a gifted keynote speaker and moderator, getting to the heart and soul of today’s biggest issues, and making a lasting impact on audiences of all kinds.
Dr. Myron Rolle
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Neurosurgeon, bestselling author, philanthropist, and former NFL player Dr. Myron Rolle is a medical pioneer in preventing traumatic brain injury and has made profound improvements to neurosurgical care in the Caribbean. Dr. Rolle is a Rhodes Scholar and a chief neurosurgery resident and Pediatric Neurosurgery Fellow at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. He developed and published the Rolle Scoring System, a public health rating scale used to determine a developing country’s governance around helmet safety to prevent traumatic brain injury. Dr. Rolle has been recognized by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons for demonstrating the best operative technique in the reconstruction of upper extremity motor function using intercostal nerve transfers after a traumatic brachial plexus injury. Dr. Rolle is the bestselling author of The 2% Way: How a Philosophy of Small Improvements Took Me to Oxford, the NFL, and Neurosurgery, and he shares his remarkable story and life-changing philosophy in motivational events.
Dr. Rolle is the chairman of the Caribbean Neurosurgery Foundation – a not-for-profit which houses capacity-building and health system-strengthening initiatives for improved neurosurgical care in the Caribbean. His foundation has impacted over 3.5M people in the Caribbean through the upscaling of policy, service delivery, infrastructure, and workforce development. Dr. Rolle also serves as the youngest ever board director at Abiomed – a leading provider of groundbreaking medical technology that provides circulatory and oxygenation support for the most at-risk cardiac patients. Following a successful event, host Citadel raved: “Never have I received so many messages and pings about a session from such a diverse audience. Each and every one… appreciated your candor, perspective, humility and storytelling. A privilege to share a stage with you and hope we are able to partner in the future.”
Dan Schulman
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Visionary former CEO of PayPal and tech leadership expert Dan Schulman blends profit with purpose and focuses on improving the financial health of people, families, and businesses around the world. Frequently recognized by Fortune as one of the “Top 20 Businesspersons of the Year,” Dan encourages his audiences to embrace stakeholder capitalism, diversity, inclusion, and more, while prioritizing responsible and world class business practices. Prior to his role at PayPal, he served as Group President at American Express, President of the Prepaid Group at Spring Nextel Corporation following its acquisition of Virgin Mobile USA, Inc., where he led the company as its founding CEO for eight years, and President and CEO of Priceline Group, Inc. Dan is currently on the Board of Directors for both Verizon and Cisco. Dan has lead global brands through major periods of transition, consistently delivery results and building a reputation as a difference-maker. With his extensive experience in payments, e-commerce, and mobile technology, Dan is uniquely positioned to speak to the challenges and opportunities facing companies today.
Dan is consistently featured on “Best CEO” lists, including being named one of Glassdoor’s “Top 50 CEOs” and Fast Company’s “Top 100 Most Creative People.” Dan was also named one of Fortune’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” heralded for his willingness to step up and make the world better, inspiring others to do the same. Under his leadership, PayPal was named one of the top companies on JUST Capital and Forbes’ JUST 100 list, featuring “companies doing right by America.” PayPal was named to Morning Consult’s “Most Trusted Brands” list and has also been recognized as a Fortune Change the World company for its work to tackle the biggest challenges facing society today. In sought-after talks, Dan empowers audiences with his insights about the future of money, values-driven business, reimagining how merchants can continually strengthen their businesses, and innovative leadership.
Matthew McConaughey
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Academy Award-winning actor, New York Times bestselling author, and philanthropist Matthew McConaughey is a force of nature both onscreen and in business. He has appeared in over 40 feature films that have grossed over $1B. McConaughey’s first book, Greenlights, became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller and has sold over 3M copies worldwide. His second book, a children’ book titled Just Because, also debuted as an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. In 2019, McConaughey became a professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as Minister of Culture/M.O.C. for the University of Texas and the City of Austin. McConaughey is co-owner of The Austin FC Soccer Club, co-creator of his favorite bourbon, Wild Turkey Longbranch, and co-founder of tequila brand Pantalones. McConaughey is heralded for his constant career reinvention, inspiring audiences globally to chase their dreams.
An outspoken advocate for public education, McConaughey founded the just keep livin’ Foundation to impart students with the tools to lead active lives and make healthy choices for a better future through after school fitness programs. McConaughey has spoken on empowerment, education, and achievement to AMC, Credit Suisse, the Texas Apartment Association, and many more. In engagements equally empowering and entertaining, McConaughey shares lessons from his life and career, the impact of his philanthropic efforts, and the importance of following passion.
Cole Imperi
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Thanatologist, chaplain, deathworker, author, and entrepreneur Cole Imperi is one of America’s leading experts on death, dying, and grief. A triple-certified thanatologist, someone who studies death and dying, Imperi is the Founder of the School of American Thanatology, which serves students from 20 countries. She is has pioneered the fields of Thanabotany, Deathwork (including Death Championing), and developed Shadowloss, Shadowlight, and Dremains. She has also served as President of the Historic Linden Grove Cemetery & Arboretum, works with death-related businesses through her consulting firm Doth, and publishes death and loss-related resources. Prior to her work as a thought leader and entrepreneur, Imperi worked as a chaplain-thanatologist in one of America’s 25 largest jails, served as a mortuary college professor, a crematory operator, hospice volunteer, grief support group leader for children and adults, and served on the board of a green burial startup. Her first book, A Guide to Your Grief, walks everyone through what they need to know about loss. Imperi is a compassionate expert on death, grief, and loss, and offers practical advice about cultivating empathy and resilience to overcome adversity.
Mara Brock Akil
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Groundbreaking Hollywood visionary and power player Mara Brock Akil is the writer and producer of nearly 400 episodes of television, truly leaving her mark on the industry. A trailblazer in many ways, Akil created the seminal television series Girlfriends-- a witty, intelligent and honest exploration of the many facets of black womanhood. Additionally, Akil developed the spin-off series The Game, which became the most-watched scripted-series premiere ever on ad-supported cable. The series continued on for a total of 9 seasons, earning praise throughout its run for its verisimilitude and, during the reality television boom, as one of the few shows on television that felt truly specific to its moment. Akil is also the creative force behind BET’s Being Mary Jane, which further cemented her ability to tell powerful and engaging stories that speak to women through honest, true-to-life reflections, The CW’s Black Lightning, and OWN’s Love Is___. Now, she is co-executive producing Netflix's adaptation of Ibram X Kendi's three anti-racism books, which will be a mix of a documentary and scripted features.
A regular on the Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment Power100, Akil is a leader in her field. She's been honored with the prestigious Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award; the American Black Film Festival's Industry Visionary Award, Essence magazine’s Visionary Award; named to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter’s Showrunner Power Lists; and been inducted into Northwestern’s Medill Hall of Achievement.
As a passionate, dynamic, and empowering speaker, Akil has been sought-out to speak at Google, George Washington University, The Wing, and more. Akil shares remarks on self-growth and love, finding the power to be bold, loving life at every age, and breaking barriers in all facets of life.
Glennon Doyle
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A Phenomenon of Courage, Connection, & Change
Glennon Doyle isn’t just a speaker; she’s a phenomenon. With electrifying authenticity and unshakable honesty, she transcends traditional labels to become a voice of hope, empowerment, and transformation for millions. Doyle doesn’t merely tell people they can “do hard things”—she shows them how, using raw vulnerability, sharp wit, and deeply resonant stories that touch audiences across all walks of life. Her meteoric rise to global influence is no accident—it’s a testament to the power of her message and her extraordinary ability to connect on a profoundly personal level.
Doyle’s influence stems from her unique courage, relatability, and multi-platform presence. Her personal journey is a testament to resilience and authenticity, inspiring millions to live unapologetically. Her bestselling book UNTAMED, which sold over 2M copies, sparked a global movement, encouraging readers to break free from societal expectations and embrace their truest selves. Glennon doesn’t just speak about bravery—she lives it, becoming a living example of what it means to lead with heart and truth. Her most recent book, WE CAN DO HARD THINGS: Answers to Life’s 20 Questions, created with Abby Wambach, Amanda Doyle and Treat Media, is being hailed as “the guidebook for being alive.”
Her themes of authenticity, vulnerability, mental health, relationships, and social justice are not only timely but vital in today’s complex world. Glennon captures the spirit of the moment with unmatched clarity, offering solace, guidance, and inspiration in times of uncertainty. Her words are universal yet deeply personal, making her a beacon of hope for those navigating personal challenges, seeking social change, or striving for clarity amidst life’s noise.
Beyond the stage, Glennon’s impact extends through her bestselling books (UNTAMED, LOVE WARRIOR, and CARRY ON, WARRIOR) and her acclaimed podcast, WE CAN DO HARD THINGS. She is one of the 40 Most Powerful People in Podcasting. Her massive social media following and ability to trend with every new release have solidified her status as one of the most influential voices of our time. Whether making audiences laugh, cry, or feel seen, Glennon Doyle’s transformative impact is undeniable.
Glennon is more than a speaker—she’s a global movement. She’s the trusted friend, fearless leader, and relentless advocate for truth the world needs. Whether inspiring a room of 50, reaching thousands at a conference, or connecting with millions through her books and podcasts, Glennon leaves her audiences braver, stronger, and ready to embrace their own “hard things.” It’s no wonder she’s one of the most sought-after voices in the world today.
Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH
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Former Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Dr. Rochelle Walensky is a renowned expert exploring the challenges and gifts of what it means for leaders, organizations, and the world to protect public health. Dr. Walensky was the chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and served as the 19th director of the CDC and the ninth administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Having received an M.D from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she also trained in internal medicine and earned an MPH in clinical effectiveness from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2001. In the earliest part of the pandemic, Dr. Walensky served on the front lines, taking care of patients, serving on the Massachusetts General Hospital incident management team, and conducting research on vaccine deliver and strategies to reach underserved communities. Dr. Walensky’s tenure at the CDC began on January 20th, 2021, when she led the nation - and the world - through unprecedented times, facing the largest density of infectious threats likely ever seen in this country.
Dr. Walensky has worked to improve HIV screening and care in South Africa, led health policy initiatives, and researched clinical trial design and evaluation in a variety of settings. She was chair of the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council at the National Institutes of Health from 2014 to 2015. She has also been a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents and had been co-director of the Medical Practice Evaluation Center at Massachusetts General Hospital since 2011 before assuming the position of CDC Director. She is currently current Menschel Fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Sought-after for her perspective on public health and crisis management, Dr. Walensky has spoken for groups including Boston University, Northeastern University, Bloomberg, Milken Institute, Aspen Ideas, and more.
Matt Abrahams
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As a Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, Matt Abrahams teaches popular classes in strategic communication and effective virtual presenting. Abrahams hosts the popular, Webby award-winning podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart: The Podcast, which is the #1 Careers podcast in 95 countries including the US, UK, India, China, Mexico, and Brazil.
His new book Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put on the Spot provides tangible, actionable skills to help even the most anxious of speakers succeed when speaking spontaneously, such as navigating Q&A sessions, shining in job interviews, providing effective feedback, making small talk, fixing faux pas, persuading others. His previous book Speaking Up without Freaking Out: 50 Techniques for Confident and Compelling Presenting has helped thousands of people manage speaking anxiety and present more confidently and authentically.
Abrahams is a compelling speaker for any organization due to his expertise in communication, engaging delivery style, and ability to provide practical strategies for improving interpersonal and professional interactions. His talks garner millions of views online with one talk at over 37M views to date.
Outside of the classroom, Abrahams is a sought-after keynote speaker and communication consultant. He has helped countless presenters improve and hone their communication, including some who have delivered IPO road shows as well as Nobel Prize, TED, and World Economic Forum presentations. He also consults for the United Nations’ Secretary General’s Strategic Planning and Communication Office and many fortune 100 companies. He has spoken to many companies big and small, including Google, Accenture, Apple, McKinsey, Toastmasters, several NGOs (e.g., the United Nations), the FBI, and more.
Sasha DiGiulian
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Elite professional rock climber Sasha DiGiulian is constantly pushing the boundaries of possibility. An Female Overall World Champion, three-time U.S. National Champion, and decade-long undefeated Pan-American Champion, DiGiulian has traveled to over 50 countries while accomplishing 30+ First and First Female Ascents. As a woman making a career within a traditionally male-dominated space, DiGiulian stands for equality in sport, access, pay, and treatment of female athletes.
DiGiulian’s amazing story has been recounted in her memoir, Take the Lead, and the HBO Documentary on her life, Here to Climb. She has been featured in or on the cover of Oprah, Good Morning America, The Today Show, 60 Minutes Sports, Nightline, CNN, BBC, Vogue, TIME, and many more. Deeply focused on giving back to her community, DiGiulian sits on the board of the Women’s Sports Foundation and Ascend Afghanistan and is an ambassador for UN Goodwill, Protect Our Winters, and Right to Play International. She has testified in front of the US House Committee of Natural Resources to support the EXPLORE Act. In motivational talks, DiGiulian offers inspirational and actionable strategies for setting and achieving courageous goals for individuals, teams, and organizations.
Candace Parker
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Entrepreneur, activist, sports analyst, and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Candace Parker is one of the most influential athletes of this generation and one of the most decorated women’s basketball players of all time. A legendary basketball star, Parker has won two WNBA MVP Awards, is a two-time NCAA Champion, as well as a three-time WNBA Champion, leading both the Los Angeles Sparks and the Chicago Sky to victories. She is the only player in WNBA history to win three championships with three different franchises. She is also the first woman and WNBA player to appear on the cover of an NBA 2K game as the central athlete of the WNBA 25th Anniversary Special Edition. Since her retirement from basketball, Parker has stayed close to the game, working as a sports analyst and commentator for the NBA on TNT, NBA TV, and NCAA Tournament coverage. She hosts the podcast Moments with Candace Parker, which celebrates the victories, messy failures, and brave decisions of parenthood. Her book, The Can-Do Mindset: How to Cultivate Resilience, Follow Your Heart, and Fight for Your Passions, shares the mindset that’s served her through many life phases, anchoring her through choppy waters. Parker is a highly sought-after speaker offering bold and inspiring thought leadership and passionate insights about the importance of women’s rights, voting rights, mental health awareness, racial justice, and Black Lives Matter.
Parker was the first woman to join the Social Change Fund, which invests in organizations working to make a greater impact in underrepresented communities of color. She was featured in the Disney+ docuseries Becoming, profiles for The New York Times, Forbes, and more, and was named to TIME's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2022." Parker launched her media company Baby Hair Productions, and has produced a documentary exploring the impact of Title IX. Expanding her entrepreneurial portfolio, Parker and her daughter became co-owners of the Angel City FC National Women’s Soccer League expansion team. Parker gave an electrifying TEDWomen Talk How to break down barriers and not accept limits that went viral instantly with over 1M views, sharing her journey as a trailblazing sports icon, what it takes to break barriers, and the lesson she learned from her daughter about not accepting limitations.
Jen Hatmaker
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New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcaster, and community creator Jen Hatmaker inspires audiences to show up genuinely for their own lives – and believes this will change the world. Jen is the author of 14 books including the NYT bestsellers For the Love, Of Mess and Moxie, and Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire. Her latest book, Feed These People: Slam Dunk Recipes for Your Crew, is jam-packed with easy recipes, big flavors, and Southern wit. Jen is the founder and delighted curator of the Jen Hatmaker Book Club, host of the award-winning For the Love podcast, and she leads a tightly knit online community where she reaches millions of people each week.
A highly sought-after motivational speaker, Jen shares uplifting messages about leadership, well-being, authenticity, and finding yourself that resonate with an audience of millions.
Kim Scott
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Leadership & culture expert Kim Scott is the author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss without Losing your Humanity, which launched a global management revolution. Kim is the co-Founder of Radical Candor®, LLC – a company dedicated to helping organizations and teams move from a culture of command and control to one of collaboration. Previously, Kim led AdSense, YouTube, and Doubleclick Online Sales and Operations at Google, and then joined Apple to develop and teach a leadership seminar. She has been a CEO coach at Dropbox, Qualtrics, Twitter, and several other tech companies.
Kim was the co-Founder & CEO of Juice Software – a collaboration startup, and led business development at Delta Three and Capital Thinking. Earlier in her career, she worked as a senior policy advisor at the FCC, managed a pediatric clinic in Kosovo, started a diamond cutting factory in Moscow, and was an analyst on the Soviet Companies Fund. Kim is the author of three novels, and her book Just Work: How To Root Out Bias, Prejudice, and Bullying to Create a Kick-Ass Culture of Inclusivity (which is being re-released as Radical Respect in May 2024) is an essential guide leaders and their employees need to create more just workplaces and establish new norms of collaboration and respect.
Joel Bervell
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Ghanaian-American doctor and science communicator Joel Bervell is known as the ‘Medical Mythbuster’ for creating viral medical content on social media that is at the forefront of conversations about racial disparities in healthcare, the hidden history of medicine, and overlooked biases in the healthcare industry. After entering medical school, Bervell became a highly respected TikTok and Instagram creator, with over 1M+ combined followers and 300M+ views. In his videos, as he does in speaking engagements, he breaks down complex topics about how healthcare fails to serve marginalized groups. A gifted educator and engaging speaker, Bervell has been sought after to share his unique and inspiring perspective with groups like Novartis, Meta, Google, TikTok, the Clinton Foundation, General Electric, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and on behalf of the Congressional Black Congress, among others.
Bervell has been featured in the New York Times, on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Good Morning America, Business Insider, NPR, YahooNews, WebMD, and more, and has advised organizations like TikTok on efforts to increase Diversity & Inclusion. The Medical Mythbuster serves on councils including the White House Office of Public Engagement’s Health Care Leaders in Social Media, the Council for Responsible Social Media, and the World Health Organization’s ‘Operation Fides’. He has collaborated with brands including Neutrogena, Google, Samsung, Listerine, Gushers, the American Medical Association and numerous others. Bervell’s work earned him the honor of being named a Seattle Forbes 30 Under 30, Smithsonian Channel ‘Cyclebreaker’, a Scientific American ‘Revolutionary’, a 2022 National Minority Quality Forum “40 Under 40 Leader in Minority Health,” the 2022 recipient of the American Medical Student Association’s Racial Justice in Medicine Award, and a 2024 TED Fellow.
For leaders and organizations looking to understand diversity, equity, and inclusion in healthcare, increase understanding of overlooked stories, or examine the changing landscape of social media, Bervell offers an unparalleled perspective that will resonate with audiences.
Scottie Pippen
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Basketball icon Scottie Pippen is one of basketball’s most talented, versatile, and successful players. An incredible come-up story, Pippen walked onto the team at an NAIA school after a slew of Division 1 rejections and was drafted fifth overall in the 1987 NBA Draft. Quickly establishing himself as leading talent, he played a critical role in elevating the Chicago Bulls into a championship team, effectively reigniting worldwide passion for the NBA during the ‘90s. Over 17 seasons in the NBA, Pippen won 6 NBA championships, 2 Olympic gold medals, and was named one of the NBA’s “50 Greatest Players of All Time.” He is also a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. After retiring, Pippen released his instant New York Times bestseller, his memoir, Unguarded. Beloved both by his community and basketball fans across the world, Pippen is a leading figure providing motivation, promoting sportsmanship, and sharing the story of his unlikely success.
Scottie Pippen is regarded as one of the best players in the NBA not only for his skill on the court, but also for helping build one of the first and most dominant basketball dynasties in the last half century. Pippen’s perspectives on teamwork, grit, and resilience have been sought by hosts including IMG Academy, Strategic Education, Johnson & Johnson, and more.
Cody Keenan
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Cody Keenan wrote alongside President Barack Obama for 14 years, rising from a campaign intern in Chicago and deputy pirate to become Obama’s chief speechwriter at the White House and his post-presidential collaborator. He’s been named the “Springsteen” of the Obama White House, even though he can’t play an instrument, and Obama calls him “Hemingway” for reasons that have little to do with his talent or seasonal beard (ask him sometime). Even British GQ once named Cody one of the “35 Coolest Men under 38 (and a Half),” ahead of Ryan Gosling, but behind Tom Hardy.
Together, Keenan and Obama crafted some of the most unforgettable speeches of our time. From Tucson to Newtown to Charleston, Cody helped Obama fill his role as Consoler-in-Chief. From a sermon in Selma to Obama’s Farewell Address, the two redefined the essence of the American creed and charted an inspiring, optimistic course for a new generation’s active citizenship. Their collaborations have been compared to the work of Abraham Lincoln, described as “the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech for the 21st century,” and categorized even by prominent Republicans as “speeches every child should read in school.”
A sought-after expert on politics, messaging, and current affairs, Cody is now a partner at leading speechwriting firm Fenway Strategies and teaches a popular course on political speechwriting to undergraduates at his alma mater Northwestern University. His first book, GRACE: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America, became an instant New York Times Bestseller.
Cody’s commencement addresses at NYU in 2015 and Northwestern in 2018 were highlighted as some of the year’s best, and in 2020, Northwestern’s graduating class of seniors chose him over all other professors to deliver their “Last Lecture.” He has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Morning Joe, The Today Show, Showtime’s The Circus, and often live in studio after State of the Union Addresses, and he continues to be a sought-after speaker for events with audiences of all kinds.
With his humor, unparalleled insight, and aversion to cynicism, Cody regularly receives rave reviews from his hosts, like this one from Hilton Hotels: “Cody stole the show at our global corporate affairs gathering. He brought his warmth, richness of experience, and incredible sense of humor together to give us the guidance we needed to cultivate authentic storytelling at Hilton. I was not surprised to see that he rated the top speaker in our program.”
Rex Chapman
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Former professional basketball player Rex Chapman’s compelling journey from the court to the screen has made him a beacon of positivity and humor. Chapman was a standout basketball player at the University of Kentucky. He played twelve seasons in the NBA and served in the front offices of several NBA teams. With an illustrious basketball career spanning over a decade, Chapman transitioned seamlessly into his new role as a leading voice in the media, where he has amassed millions of followers.
Chapman has worked as a broadcaster for both professional and college basketball. He has hosted the CNN+ show Rex Chapman as well as the iHeart podcast Charges with Rex Chapman. He currently hosts the Smartless podcast Owned. His memoir, It’s Hard for Me to Live With Me, tells the story of his addiction and recovery in unflinching detail. Chapman’s speeches are a dynamic mix of personal anecdotes, motivational insights, and thoughtful reflections on overcoming adversity, making him an ideal speaker for audiences seeking inspiration and empowerment.
Jana Kramer
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Actress, entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author Jana Kramer is beloved by her fans for her honest vulnerability. She is best known for her TV appearances in One Tree Hill, Friday Night Lights, 90210, and Entourage. Kramer regularly stars in films such as 20th Century Fox’s Heart of the Country, Hallmark Channel's Love at First Bark, and Lifetime’s Christmas in Mississippi. A multi-hyphenate creative, Kramer’s musical career took off with her eponymous debut album, Jana Kramer. Seven of her singles charted on Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay. She won the Academy of Country Music’s “New Female Vocalist of the Year” award for her work.
In 2019, Kramer launched her award-winning iHeartRadio podcast, Whine Down with Jana Kramer, where she shares advice on love, life, and more. Audiences connect with the candid but uplifting transparency she carries through her work. Authenticity, vulnerability, and care are all central to her New York Times bestseller, The Good Fight: Wanting to Leave Choosing to Stay, and the Powerful Practice for Loving Faithfully and latest book, The Next Chapter: Making Peace with Hard Memories, Finding Hope All Around Me, and Clearing Space for Good Things to Come. Drawing on her personal relationships and experiences, Kramer provides spiritual guidance and practical advice to audiences worldwide.
Kramer’s wonderful stage presence, authenticity, and ability to connect with the crowd leaves audiences dazzled at every engagement.
Ben Sherwood
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CEO of the Daily Beast and New York Times bestselling author Ben Sherwood offers game-changing insights on bold leadership in times of disruption. Most recently, he was the founder and CEO of MOJO, a venture-backed tech and media platform, which quickly won the Webby Award for best sports app on the internet, was named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company and recognized as one of the best employers in sports by Front Office Sports. In April 2024, IAC chairman Barry Diller announced a strategic partnership with Sherwood, naming him publisher and CEO of The Daily Beast, the digital news platform, and a significant shareholder in the company. Previously, Sherwood was co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of the Disney ABC Television Group. There, he oversaw the company’s global television business with 12,000 employees, $12.5B in revenue and 25,000 hours of original programming per year. Before that, Sherwood served as president of ABC News, leading the organization to #1 in the ratings, every major award in broadcast journalism, record profitability, and groundbreaking strategic partnerships with Univision and Yahoo! A compelling keynote speaker, Sherwood regularly receives rave reviews such as: “Ben's message is deep, highly relevant, and of great intrinsic value. He hit the ball deep into the seats.” (The Masters Forum)
Sought after for his masterful storytelling, Sherwood shares the secrets to unleashing creativity and innovation, and leading through disruption. Sherman has also exec produced Good Morning America, senior produced NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, and wrote a few bestselling books, including Charlie St. Cloud (which was made into a Universal feature film), The Man Who Ate the 747 (in development as a Warner Brothers Discovery feature film), and The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life, a New York Times nonfiction bestseller. Consistently ranked in The Hollywood Reporter’s annual list of “Most Powerful People in Entertainment,” Sherwood provides unparalleled insight into leadership, storytelling, and business.
Mark Nepo
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Poet, philosopher, and spiritual teacher Mark Nepo has made a significant impact for over forty years as “one of the finest spiritual guides of our time,” “a consummate storyteller,” and “an eloquent spiritual teacher.” With over a million copies sold, Mark has moved and inspired readers and seekers all over the world with his #1 New York Times bestseller, The Book of Awakening. Renowned for his widely accessible work, he has published twenty-three books – which have been translated into more than twenty languages – and recorded sisteen audio projects. Recent work includes Surviving Storms (2022) and The Book of Soul, named by Spirituality & Practice as one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2020, and the Nautilus Book Award Winners Drinking from the River of Light and Things That Join the Sea and the Sky. Mark devotes his writing and teaching to the journey of inner transformation and the life of relationship, and has been highly sought after as an inspirational speaker for events with groups like the Chautauqua Institution, the Omega Institute, Sun Valley Wellness Festival, Mile-Hi Church, among many others.
In his 30s Mark was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma, a struggle which helped to form his philosophy of experiencing life fully while staying in relationship to an unknowable future. Mark has received numerous awards for his work, including AgeNation’s Life-Achievement Award, and has been named one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People by Watkins: Mind Body Spirit. He was chosen as one of OWN’s SuperSoul 100, a group of inspired leaders using their gifts and voices to elevate humanity, and has appeared several times on Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday on OWN TV. Mark is a regular columnist for Spirituality & Health Magazine, and has been interviewed by Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, among many other media appearances. Audiences leave his talks feeling uplifted, more connected to what it means to be human, and with a fresh perspective on what it means to overcome adversity: "Mark was beyond wonderful! People fell in love with him and were truly and deeply moved by his teaching. I could not be more grateful!" (Chautauqua Institution)
Krisztina 'Z' Holly
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MIT-trained engineer and tech entrepreneur Krisztina “Z” Holly, curator of the first ever TEDx event, has been at the forefront of innovation throughout her career. She started her career as a serial tech entrepreneur in Boston and Silicon Valley before spending over a decade building pioneering innovation centers at MIT and USC. The White House subsequently invited her to help spread her novel model across the United States. Today, she invests in early-stage complex science and technology startups as an operating partner at Good Growth Capital and is a sought-after advisor and speaker to organizations around the world. She has been recognized by Rolling Stone, Forbes, WIRED, and Entrepreneur Mag for her ability to scout and cultivate talent and catalyze global initiatives. With a proven track record of fostering innovation, Z’s insights come from real-world experience.
Z has spoken at Davos, the White House, YPO Entrepreneurial Energy, NBC Universal, and the National Academy of Sciences Innovation Summit; she has facilitated numerous sessions for the World Economic Forum with heads of state and CEOs of Fortune 100 companies. She regularly appears as a public expert and interviewer, leading conversations with tech “rockstars” such as Biz Stone and Tim O'Reilly, interviewing world-famous extreme athletes, and facilitating panels with university presidents and global leaders. Z’s authentic style and tailored messages resonate with a wide range of audiences, from students and aspiring entrepreneurs to academics and top executives.
Quiara Alegría Hudes
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Pulitzer-winning playwright, author and Tony-winning musician Quiara Alegría Hudes offers audiences the opportunity to hear untold stories. Her memoir, My Broken Language, is a lyrical exploration of coming of age against the backdrop of a Philadelphia barrio, with her sprawling Puerto Rican family as a collective muse. Hudes won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for her play Water by the Spoonful. She wrote the script for Tony Award-winning In the Heights, a Broadway play adapted into a major motion picture, in collaboration with Lin Manuel Miranda. The accompanying book, In the Heights: Finding Home, is a New York Times bestseller. Hudes’ screenplay for Netflix, Vivo, is her animation debut. As an essayist, she has written for The Nation, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and more. She is one of the most innovative artists of this generation, expanding the boundaries of storytelling.
Hudes’ material impact as an activist is as strong as her cultural influence as a writer. Hudes and her cousin founded Emancipated Stories, a nonprofit helping people behind bars share one page of their life story with the world. Hudes’ accolades include the USA Artists Fellowship, the Lucille Lortel Award, the HOLA Award, and more. Her work uplifting marginalized communities, sharing often untold stories, and creating brilliant art captivates audiences worldwide. Hudes has been invited to speak for centers of creative innovation such as Vanderbilt University, Americans for the Arts, Google, and more.
Phil Libin
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Digital entrepreneur and venture capital investor Phil Libin is an expert in using technology to enhance humanity, productivity, and business on a global scale. A serial tech entrepreneur, Phil is a co-Founder and the CEO of All Turtles – an Artificial Intelligence (AI) startup studio. He is also the co-Founder and former CEO of the global productivity tool Evernote, which created an epic transformation in workflow and has redefined the way individuals and teams work today. In addition, Phil recently launched mmhmm – a video presentation app that makes you more engaging on video calls and recordings. Sought-after as a leader on innovation, Libin provides audiences with an engaging look at what it takes to reinvent productivity at global scale.
Libin offers audiences an engaging look and insider perspective on new digital technologies and how to take advantage of automation and AI tools to take performance and productivity to the next level. He is also a sought-after visionary who helps people change the world through entrepreneurship and invention. When Phil speaks, he consistently receives rave reviews: ”Phil commands the room and it’s clear he knows what he is talking about” (APEC 020 Summit) and “We are very much satisfied with the work and the speeches of Phil Libin. Especially the fireside chat was very inspiring for the audience.” (Swiss Economic Forum)
George Papandreou
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George Papandreou was Prime Minister of Greece during the eurozone financial crisis, Foreign Minister during the Balkan conflict, and he is the current President of the Socialist International, the world's largest organization of progressive political parties. He is a member of the Club de Madrid, a select group of former heads of state, and he is a member of the Aspen Minister's Forum, a prestigious group of former Foreign Ministers assembled by Madeline Albright under the auspices of the Aspen Institute. He is also a member of the Global Leadership Council of Mercy Corps an international NGO supplying humanitarian relief in nearly every conflict zone around the world. Papandreou is a globally recognized expert on the future of the EU, and on the on-going eurozone financial crisis. He is at the forefront of the discussion of the threat of the dangerous political figures that fuel nativist ethnocentrism and xenophobia. Named as one of Foreign Policy magazine’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers," he speaks with authority on the future of the European Union with regard to the refugee crisis, economic stability, global security and shifts in geopolitical alliances. He was born and educated in the U.S., with degrees from the London School of Economics and Harvard.
Arthur C. Brooks
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Blending cutting-edge research in behavioral science and neuroscience with philosophy and wisdom traditions, Dr. Arthur Brooks teaches people from all walks of life how to live a better, happier life.
Arthur Brooks is a Harvard professor, PhD social scientist, #1 bestselling author, and columnist at The Atlantic who specializes in using the highest levels of science and philosophy to provide people with actionable strategies to live their best lives. Arthur provides happiness training and professional development to businesses, academia, government, and faith communities based on cutting-edge research in social science and neuroscience, as well as philosophy and wisdom traditions.
As a speaker, Arthur engages his audience with bold, clear, and actionable ideas. Blending cutting-edge science, ancient wisdom, philosophy, music, and art, Brooks reaches listeners in a format that is thought-provoking, unconventional, uplifting — and most of all, useful.
Marra B. Gad
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Award-winning author, filmmaker, and advocate Marra B. Gad offers powerful insights about belonging, overcoming bias, and finding unity in keynotes and conversations that are tailored to each audience. Gad is the author of THE COLOR OF LOVE: A Story of a Mixed-Race Jewish Girl, a powerful memoir about her experience as a transracial adoptee, which won the 2020 Midwest Book Award for autobiography. Describing herself as ‘a grateful child of adoption’, she is a gifted storyteller who shares her experiences being a Black and Ashkenazi Jewish child adopted by a White and Jewish family in 1970. Gad is an in-demand speaker on topics of diversity and inclusion, mental health awareness, and the power of embracing one’s personal history to find belonging.
Gad is a Women’s Empowerment Award recipient from Women of Reform Judaism, which honors “those who strengthen the voices of others, empower women, and promote progressive Jewish values." She is the Founder and President of Egad! Productions, overseeing the development and production of scripted TV series and films across genres. Gad is deeply committed to expanding and exploring the notion of belonging across multiple spectrums, and has shared her uplifting message with groups like the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival, University Synagogue in LA, the University of Maryland Panhellenic Association, FCB Global, and more.
Chad Sanders
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Tech entrepreneur, author, and Hollywood creative Chad Sanders is a thought leader on creating equity in our workplaces, values-driven leadership, and creativity. Chad started his career at Google, later serving as the Head of Expansion for a startup that was eventually bought by Kaplan. But he felt racially marginalized in these corporate environments and pivoted to a creative career in writing. Chad credits this shift to what he calls Black Magic – the resiliency, creativity, and confidence forged in his experience navigating America as a Black man – and he tested his theory by interviewing Black leaders, scientists, artists, activists, and champions. The result is his critically acclaimed book of essays Black Magic: What Black Leaders Learned from Trauma and Triumph. An insightful and motivational speaker, Chad shares his personal journey back to his authentic self, practical takeaways for creating more equitable and welcoming workplaces and teams, and inspires audiences to commit to themselves to experience joy and success.
Chad’s writing has been featured in The New York Times, SLAM Magazine, TIME, Teen Vogue, Fortune, and more, and has been celebrated by literary luminaries such as Brené Brown, Angie Martinez, and Shea Serrano. He has appeared on CBS News, NPR, Dare to Lead with Brené Brown, Harvard Business Review’s IdeaCast, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, among others. Chad has written for ABC Freeform’s Grown-ish and HBO’s Rap Sh!t. He has collaborated with powerhouses such as Spike Lee, Morgan Freeman, and Will Packer, and is the co-host of the Quitters Podcast alongside Julie Bowen. An in-demand keynote speaker, Chad has been sought after for events at Google, Netflix, Target, Twitter, New York University, Columbia Business School, Pymetrics, Berlin questions, The Michelle Meow Show at the Commonwealth Club of California, and many more.
Anders Sorman-Nilsson
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As the Swedish-Australian founder of Thinque, Anders Sorman-Nilsson (LLB MBA) has become a valued strategist to Fortune 500s and ASX leaders, converting provocative questions into proactive, predictive strategies. A global thought leader since 2005, Anders works across four continents as a speaker, futurist and author.
Anders is an active member of TEDGlobal and has keynoted at TEDx in the United States and Australia, was nominated for the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader in 2015, and was the keynote speaker at the G20's Y20 Summit in Australia. His presentations are meticulously researched, highly energetic and always fascinating with content tailored to the audience, which is why clients like Apple, Cisco, Mercedes Benz, Hilton, SAP, Gartner and Macquarie Bank have turned to Anders over the years to help them to push the bounds of the status quo -- translating research into valuable foresight and business impact.
Featured regularly in international media including Monocle, Business Insider, Sky News Business, CIO Magazine and BOSS, Anders has authored two books; Digilogue: how to win the digital minds and analogue hearts of tomorrow’s customer and Thinque Funky: upgrade your thinking. His new book is out and it is called: Seamless: A Hero's Journey of Digital Disruption, Adaptation and Human Transformation.