Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author of the New York Times bestsellers Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit our Addictions and Salt Sugar Fat, Michael Moss is a leading expert on the food industry, health and wellness, and marketing. Taking audiences on an eye-opening journey deep inside some of the world's biggest and most successful companies, he offers audiences an illuminating and surprising look at the researchers, marketers, strategists, and CEOs who seduce us with their products. Moss brings to vivid life the creative ways food manufacturers use the science of human behavior, biology and marketing to hook us. Using humor, case studies, and insight gleaned from investigative reporting that won him a Pulitzer Prize, he shows how companies get consumers to buy, often at the expense of their health.

Informative, engaging and often hilarious, Moss also offers lessons on the new world of health food, smart marketing strategies regardless of industry, and the state of journalism today. Hailed as "extraordinary" (University of the Sciences), "powerful" (Epicure) and "riveting" (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), Moss tailors his remarks to every audience, ensuring they leave deeply informed and with actionable takeaways. 

Joe Lockhart is widely recognized as one of the top communications and public affairs professionals in the world, and offers strategic communications counsel to CEOs, C-suite executives, and Washington's most powerful leaders.  He knows how to handle a crisis and regain control of a narrative, honed through decades of experience in public affairs, corporate communications, administration, and political campaigns. Lockhart is perhaps best known for his service as White House Press Secretary under President Bill Clinton from 1998 to 2000. He has also worked for the National Football League (NFL) as executive vice president, overseeing communications, government affairs, social responsibility and philanthropy, and for Facebook as vice president of global communications. Lockhart's current role is to advise corporations and organizations on their communications strategies and vulnerabilities. He was vice chairman for public affairs at Edelman; he was also previously the founding partner and managing director of the Glover Park Group, and was executive vice president at Bozell Sawyer Miller. 

An award-winning journalist, he is also a frequent contributor to CNN and reflects on the week's news with Katie Barlow as they co-host the Words Matter podcast. 

Former White House Social Secretary and business executive Desiree Rogers has helped major organizations reinvent business models and reach new and more diverse audiences with tangible results. The first black CEO and Co-Owner of Black Opal Beauty and Fashion Fair Cosmetics, the first black female CEO of a Fortune 500 Company, and a former CEO of Johnson Publishing Company, Rogers is heralded for her uncanny business acumen and innovative approach to marketing and brand development. Beyond her experience in the private sector, Rogers was appointed by President Obama as White House Social Secretary, re-positioning the White House as the “People’s House” and implementing innovative events.

Named to the "50 Most Influential People in the Multicultural Market" by WWD, "Top 25 Women to Watch" by Crain's Chicago Business, and "Top 50 Most Powerful African American Business Women" by Black Enterprise, Rogers offers insights on everything from how to make marketing work in a digital and global age, to how to talk about race and foster a positive, inclusive work environment. Sought-out to speak at Chicago Ideas, TED, the Society for Human Resource Management, and more, Rogers has the unique ability to connect with her audience, energize and inspire teams, and illuminate new strategic pathways and operational approaches.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Christine Clifford's experience taught her how to sell products, services and herself. Now an Award-Winning, Professional Speaker, Bestselling Author of You, Inc. The Art of Selling Yourself and Not Now...I'm Having a No Hair Day!, and Industry-Leading Salesperson, Christine Clifford shares her experiences and successes with audiences worldwide.

Andrew Davis is a bestselling author and keynote speaker. Before building and selling a thriving digital marketing agency, Andrew produced for NBC and worked for The Muppets. He's appeared in the New York Times and on the Today Show. He's crafted documentary films and award-winning content for tiny start-ups and Fortune 500 brands. Today, Andrew Davis teaches business leaders how to grow their businesses, transform their cities, and leave their legacy.

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.

Kindra Hall told her first story in the spring of 1992.

Long before storytelling became a business buzzword, Kindra was fulfilling a 5th grade language arts assignment by reading a story to a room full of out-of-control 3rd graders. Instead of reading from the pages, Kindra set the storybook aside and told the story herself. Within the first few sentences, she held those unruly 3rd graders in the palm of her hand and knew, in that moment, she had stumbled upon something powerful.

Since that time, Hall has become the go-to expert for storytelling in business and beyond. She is the best-selling author of Stories that Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business. Stories that Stick debuted at #2 on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller List, and companies like Forbes and Gartner say it “may be the most valuable business book you read.” Her second book, Choose Your Story, Change Your Life is one of the Next Big Idea Club’s top 10 happiness books. Her newest book, The Story Edge, inspires leaders to harness the power of stories to win in business.

Kindra Hall is a sought-after storytelling keynote speaker trusted by global brands to deliver messages that inspire teams and individuals to better communicate the value of their company, their products and their individuality through strategic storytelling. Hall is also the former Chief Storytelling Officer at Success Magazine where she shared the inspiring, often untold, stories of achievers like Daymond John, Deepak Chopra, James Altucher and Misty Copeland in print and on the podcast Success Stories with Kindra Hall.

Kindra lives in Manhattan with her husband, young son and daughter. When she is not traveling the world speaking, Kindra can usually be found at spin class, spending time with friends or exploring the city with her family.

Her recent book, FASCINATE: How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist was a New York Times bestseller. Her previous book, HOW THE WORLD SEES YOU, was a #1 Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestseller. Drawing upon her branding principles, Sally created a method to identify how each person is able to captivate their listeners. The Fascination Advantage®, is the first communication assessment that measures how others perceive you. After researching over one million people, her algorithm can pinpoint your most valuable differentiating traits--not how you see the world – but how the world sees you. At IBMs Smarter Global Business Summit, she shared with the audiences the importance of understanding how their customers see their business.  

In her early career in advertising, Sally quickly skyrocketed to the top, becoming the most awarded advertising copywriter in the U.S. by age 24. Her campaigns for brands such as MINI Cooper, Nike, Godiva and Coca-Cola have fascinated millions of consumers. At the age of 27, she opened her first ad agency and her work still hangs in the Smithsonian Museum of American History. She frequently appears in national media, including on NBC’s Today show and the New York Times.

Named as the No.1 Brand Guru in the World, her practical marketing system now lives inside organizations such as IBM, Twitter, and the YMCA, as well as thousands of small businesses.  Sally is one of only 172 members of the Speaker Hall of Fame®, the industry’s highest award for professional excellence.

Former stockbroker Mark Jeffries has become a much sought-after Keynote Speaker and leading event Moderator/MC across USA, Canada and Europe. Mark has spoken in front of more than 100,000 event delegates, published two books, appeared on Network TV numerous times and now launches his innovative e-learning course - "The Art of Business Influence - Selling without Selling".

In addition to Mark's fantastic keynotes, he has also mastered the art of moderating corporate events.  Mark Jeffries has rapidly become the go-to-person for facilitating, moderating, and ‘MC-ing’ multinational events for organizations around the globe.

As Mark will create an independent and unique presentation from his core keynote for every different client, you can guarantee a session that will feel absolutely dedicated to your people, targets and objectives.

An entrepreneur in every sense of the word, Daymond John is CEO and Founder of FUBU, a much-celebrated global lifestyle brand, and a pioneer in the fashion industry with over $6 billion in product sales. He is an award-winning entrepreneur, bestselling author of five books including his most recent, Powershift: Transform Any Situation, Close Any Deal, and Achieve Any Outcome, and star of ABC's Shark Tank, where millions of weekly viewers tune into the show as John demonstrates his marketing prowess and entrepreneurial insights. His marketing strategies and ability to build successful brands has made him a highly influential consultant and motivational speaker today. 

Each of Daymond John’s keynotes are customized to fit your specific objectives. They are informative yet entertaining and involve: lots of humor, high-energy, and audience-speaker interaction. Daymond uses compelling stories from his rags-to-riches journey to illustrate his points and always leaves audience members with practical, tangible, and invaluable tools to incorporate into their professional as well as personal endeavors. With over twenty years of phenomenally successful business experience, Daymond has the ability speak on a wide-range of business-related matters.

Josh Linkner is a New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, venture capital investor, professional jazz guitarist, and a globally-recognized innovation expert.

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.

Kelly McDonald is considered one of the nation’s top experts in leadership, marketing, the customer experience and consumer trends. Her client experience includes brands such as Toyota, IIABA, NASA, Kimberly-Clark, Nike, Harley-Davidson, Great Clips, Miller Beer, and Sherwin-Williams. Kelly was named one of the “10 Most Booked Speakers in the U.S.” and ranked #1 on the list of “25 Hot Speakers” by Successful Meetings Magazine. She has been featured on CNBC, in Forbes, INC. Magazine, BusinessWeek, CEO World, Fast Company, and more. She is the author of four bestselling books. Her newest, It’s Time to Talk about Race at Work:  Every Leader’s Guide to Making Progress on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is one of the top Bestselling Business Books in the U.S.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, Melissa Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today's leading organizations faced with the greatest risks.

As a strategic advisor and keynote speaker, Melissa Agnes has worked with NATO, Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, financial firms, technology companies, healthcare organizations, cities and municipalities, law enforcement agencies, global non-profits, and many others, helping them understand risk and build invincible brands that can withstand even the most devastating of events. She has a TEDx talk on the secret to successful crisis management in the 21st century.

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.

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.

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.

Sir John is a globally renowned makeup artist, creative director, and cultural tastemaker whose artistry has shaped defining looks for Beyoncé, Serena Williams, Zendaya, Oprah Winfrey, Naomi Campbell, and Priyanka Chopra. His influence spans from the red carpet to the boardroom, with leadership roles as Editor-at-Large at Allure and Creative Director at Medicube, following collaborations with L’Oréal Paris and Kilian Paris. Known for blending technical mastery with emotional depth, Sir John views beauty as a frequency, a way of living with curiosity, presence, and pleasure. That philosophy, paired with his track record of cultural impact, makes him a trusted guide for audiences exploring identity, creativity, and personal power.

In 2026, he will debut VERSION of SELF, a podcast with iHeartRadio that brings his signature candor and vision to conversations on transformation and belonging. Across every platform, Sir John uses beauty as a language of empowerment, leaving those he engages with a renewed sense of confidence and possibility.

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.

Two-time World Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist, Megan Rapinoe is a true soccer legend. 

A vocal leader in every aspect of her life, Megan helped lead the US Women’s National Team to the 2019 Women’s World Cup Championship, where she took home the tournament’s two top honors – the Golden Boot for top scorer, and the Golden Ball for the best player in the tournament. Megan retired in 2023 and among numerous soccer accolades, is also a New York Times Best-Selling author, one of Time100’s Most Influential People, and a recent Presidential Medal of Freedom award recipient. Rapinoe had her jersey retired by the OL Reign (the first player in franchise history and the second player in the entire NWSL to have this honor) and was inducted into the University of Portland Hall of Fame.  

At the end of 2022, Megan launched A Touch More, a production company focused on elevating stories about revolutionaries who move culture forward. The company champions narratives centered on identity, activism, and underrepresented communities. Their first scripted TV series, Playing the Field—based on the bestselling novel Cleat Cute - is currently in development. The ensemble series is set in the world of women’s soccer and follows a young player navigating life as a rookie, her dream of making the national team, and a budding romance with the team captain.

Megan is renowned for her advocacy in LGBTQ+ rights, racial equality, and gender equity and has been able to intersect her passion for humanity and authenticity. 

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 also the founder of The Book Academy, a program that is on a mission to see more books published by diverse voices. The Book Academy provides courses, masterminds, and book coaching that helps aspiring authors go from idea to ink. 

Brand and design expert, New York Times bestselling author, photographer, and founder Peter Arnell has built a reputation for creating groundbreaking, boundary-averse work for global brands. In 2026, he was named Chief Brand Architect for the United States of America by the federal government. He is the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Creative Officer of PETERARNELL, and the Founder and CEO of Intellectual Capital Investments. Arnell is known for transforming products, brands, and campaigns for the some of the world's most prestigious companies including Chrysler, Pepsi-Cola Co., Reebok, Donna Karan, Unilever, Fontainebleau and more. Arnell created the strategy brand concept and creative for Donna Karan New York and DKNY. He contributed and collaborated with Samsung on the introduction of the company a consumer-facing brand. He designed the global identity and packaging for the Pepsi brand and re-engineered the entire portfolio identity system and has served as Chief Innovation Officer for both Chrysler and The Home Depot. Arnell has been at the forefront of creating, building, and transforming brands, corporations, institutions, and communities for more than 40 years.

Arnell’s work as a photographer has been lauded by critics from Vogue, I-D Magazine, and other leading publications and has been exhibited at group and solo exhibitions around the world. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Shift, which showcases four decades of branding and marketing experience. His work is also the subject of Peter Arnell: Projects 1980-2020, a two-volume book that celebrates over four decades of tireless innovation and an exceptionally diverse body of work. Arnell has also devoted significant energy to the non-profit space. Arnell’s unique interdisciplinary approach to brand uniting graphic arts, communications, photography, filmmaking, experience design, industrial design, product engineering, architecture and more to create holistic solutions that drive enduring brand value. 

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 Air Lines. He also currently serves as advisor to the CEO and Board of Directors of Thanx Inc. 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.

Thai Randolph was most recently CEO of Kevin Hart’s global media company HARTBEAT, fundraising over $100M. As an award-winning marketer, business leader and architect of NextGen media companies, Thai has been honored on Variety and Entrepreneur's "Women of Impact" lists and AdAge's "40 Under 40," to name a few.

She has built her career at the intersection of content, commerce, and community and led the launch of Women Write Now – a first-of-its-kind screenwriting fellowship developed in partnership with the Sundance Institute and HARTBEAT to champion the next generation of Black women in comedy through mentorship, advocacy, production, and exhibition. Continuing her mission to carve out spaces for overlooked – yet influential – voices in the industry, Randolph and co-founder/actress Tika Sumpter also launched Sugaberry, an audio-first media company for and by Black women – and co-host the Gracie-award winning podcast, The Suga.

Thai’s leadership perspective is in demand at high profile events such as Advertising Week, CES, Sundance, SXSW, Cannes Lions Festival, The Wrap’s TheGrill, Variety’s Inclusion and Entertainment Summits, Future of Television Conference, Digital Entertainment World, Adobe’s Digital Marketing Conference, YouTube's Publisher Summit, Cynopsis’ Big TV Conference, and Streaming Media East, among others. As a result-focused and empathetic leader, she continues to advocate for inclusive representation in entertainment and advertising, pay equity across industries and maternal and mental health for women and people of color.

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.

Artist, founder, and mathematician Katy Bohinc is an award-winning data scientist and visionary polymath Fortune 500 marketer. Bohinc began her career as a data scientist for leading marketing agencies, operationalizing big data adoption. Her work garnered Assembly Media (now Assembly Global) Ad Age’s Agency of the Year award. She has published three books of poetry, along with two edited volumes. Bohinc served as Director of Tender Buttons Press (2013-2020). Her latest endeavor as founder & CEO of The Ratio – an AI startup which applies data science to the ancient traditions of astrology – marks her as a leading creative and scientific mind.

Bohinc is a captivating, visionary speaker, bringing her highly acclaimed poet's voice to a powerful and unique weaving of cultural, technological, and marketing insights. Her voice draws from her incredibly diverse background across data science and AI, literature and the arts, world history, and marketing. She has spoken on the intersections of arts, science, and futurism at MoMa Ps1, LACMA, Princeton University, Cambridge University, Ezra Pound’s Castle, and hundreds more. Bohinc's insightful ability to connect seemingly disparate intellectual disciplines into a case study of the human experience opens audiences' minds to new avenues of creativity. 

Award-winning design veteran, podcaster, and author Mauro Porcini is PepsiCo’s first ever Chief Design Officer. Since joining the food & beverage corporation in 2012, Porcini has infused design thinking into PepsiCo’s culture and is leading a new approach to innovation by design that impacts the company’s product platforms and brands. Leading international teams, his focus extends from physical to virtual expressions of the brands – including fashion and art collaborations, retail activation, digital media, and beyond. He is the author of The Human Side of Innovation: The Power of People in Love with People, which focuses on innovation, design and leadership and was named a Gold Winner of the Better Future New York Design Award. Porcini offers insights from his journey across startups and multinational corporations for building high-impact brand and design efforts that put people first.

Prior to joining PepsiCo, Mauro served as the first ever Chief Design Officer at 3M, where his mission was to build and nurture a design sensitive culture in a technology driven global corporation. He is also the author of L’età dell’eccellenza: Come innovazione e creatività possono costruire un mondo migliore, which is in its fifth reprint, and hosts the successful video podcast In Your Shoes - with Mauro Porcini, where he interviews inspiring personalities from the creative community worldwide. Mauro has been a presenter and judge on CBS’ New York by Design and Amazon’s America by Design. He has been on the board of directors for several organizations, and currently serves as the President of the Politecnico of Milan Foundation in the United States (Fellows of Politecnico), sits on the board of directors of the Design Management Institute, and on the advisory council of other design, art, innovation, and business institutions.

The fastest-growing audiences in America are reshaping the market, and Chad Easterling helps brands keep up.

As co-Founder and CEO of Obsidianworks, the agency he launched with Michael B. Jordan, Easterling operates at the intersection of culture and commerce. His work with brands including Target, Marriott, Coach, Meta, and Jordan Brand reflects a clear thesis: growth follows cultural fluency. Drawing on more than a decade inside Nike and Jordan Brand, where he led global moments and shaped strategy for signature athletes, Easterling brings both enterprise experience and lived perspective to every stage.

In his speaking engagements, he offers leaders a direct lens into the economic power of emerging audiences and the discipline required to earn trust in a shifting marketplace. Audiences leave with sharper insight into relevance, resonance, and what it truly takes to build brands that move with culture rather than chase it.

Cynthia Rowley built a global consumer brand by trusting instinct where others waited for proof. She started as a painter at the Art Institute of Chicago, landed in New York with barely enough money to stay afloat, and turned a creative point of view into a company with real cultural and commercial weight that continues to evolve.

Her label broke through traditional categories, introducing surf-leisure before the market had language for it and moving early into e-commerce to build direct relationships with customers. From cereal boxes to Band-Aids for Johnson & Johnson and Barbies for Mattel, Rowley consistently pushes beyond narrow ideas of what her brand is “allowed” to be. Along the way, Rowley became a bestselling author of the Swell books, dressed celebrities like Julianne Moore, Kim Kardashian, Alan Cumming, and became a familiar face on television, including guest judging on Project Runway and appearances on late-night talk shows.

As a speaker, Rowley explores what it really takes to build and sustain a business without a roadmap. She speaks about judgment under pressure, embracing fear, and pushing boundaries when playing it safe can stall progress. Audiences gain access to the thinking behind a brand that learned how to move early and keep its edge.

Award-winning journalist, editor, and author Phillip Picardi is known for his role in revolutionizing Teen Vogue, Allure, and Out Magazines. Under Picardi’s leadership, the digital audience of Teen Vogue grew from just 2M unique visitors per month to over 12M, making the Condé Nast title the fastest-growing women's magazine in America for two years running. He was then appointed by Anna Wintour to oversee the digital operations of Allure, where he concepted “The End of Anti-Aging,” an industry call to action for brands to eradicate the shame and stigma around getting older. Dubbed “the prince of Condé Nast” by The New York Times, Picardi went on to launch a community-driven platform for LGBTQ+ youth called them. From building empowered and diverse teams to generating disruptive and out-of-the-box ideas, Picardi’s speaking engagements offer an abundance of insights.

Picardi went on to rebrand and relaunch Out Magazine, the largest and most influential publication for the queer and trans community. An expert in building empowered teams, he assembled and led the most diverse staff in the brand’s history. During Picardi’s career, he has been a sought-after consultant for clients like Levi's, Ralph Lauren, Lego, Burberry, and Nike. He is also the recipient of multiple awards, including Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People, the Forbes 30 Under 30, the AdWeek Hot List, a GLAAD Award, and more. Picardi recently graduated from Harvard Divinity School, where he was one of eleven students selected for the inaugural Masters of Religion and Public Life program. His studies inspired a podcast about religion and spirituality from Crooked Media called Unholier Than Thou, and his Substack newsletter Religiously Blonde. He is currently working on his forthcoming memoir based on his thesis, “Is Jesus Kinda Hot?” In motivational events, Picardi shares his expertise that resonates with corporate leaders as well as college audiences, and moderates powerful conversations with cultural luminaries.

Writer, commentator, and venture capitalist Blake Newby is a longtime beauty industry expert who bridges the gap between culture and capital. Blake has had bylines across major publications including The Zoe Report, Allure, Cosmo, NYLON, Essence, and Hello Giggles. After joining Essence as an intern in 2012, she rose to become the publication’s Beauty & Style Editor – writing, conceptualizing, and reporting as a beauty industry expert and brand leader. A 360° industry authority, Blake serves as a Beauty Venture Scout for a major investment fund. Blake speaks to the cultural and commercial storytelling in the beauty and fashion industries, inclusivity as a brand and team leader, and lessons for organizations looking to grow and connect with their audience.

With a gift for nailing viral interviews with celebrities including Lori Harvey, Jack Harlow, Halle Bailey, and Rihanna, just to name a few, Blake is in-demand as a host and moderator. She has been a frequent guest on shows such as Good Morning America, Access Hollywood, and The Tamron Hall Show. Blake is also a member of the Board of Directors for Iced Media, serving on their Growth Advisory Board. As a sought-after host and speaker, Blake has shared her informative and engaging perspective at events with groups such as CultureCon, Target, Association of National Advertisers, Dark & Lovely, L’Oreal, Unilever, and more.

Two-time NCAA National Volleyball Champions and identical twins Audrey and Nicole Nourse are a powerhouse duo of motivational speakers with a unique perspective on teamwork. The pair of star student-athletes, who are poised to be the next big names in their sport, are both students at the University of Southern California. They are the two-time NCAA National Volleyball Champions and their playing ranks and experience include: NFHS, NCAA, FIVB, and AVP. In addition to dominating the competition in the sand, the Nourse twins are also on a journey to become successful entrepreneurs, focusing their studies on business and sports media industries. From their inseparable life as student-athletes to their unbelievable journey to the top of their sport, the Nourse twins share the lessons they’ve learned in collaboration, building a winning team, and setting and achieving major goals.

The Nourse Twins are also the co-Founders of UNCUT Los Angeles, a non-profit media organization dedicated to giving student-athletes a platform to share their stories and build their brands – through their own words. As Head of Athlete Engagement (Audrey) and Head of Brand Management (Nicole), they have established themselves as young leaders in the industry and sports media moguls in the making. At engaging events with groups like UnCut Los Angeles and USC Trojans LIVE, the star athletes make a memorable impact with their drive and dedication, sharing insights on topics like motivation and teamwork, nutrition and fitness, and marketing from their unique Gen Z perspective.

Author, speaker and Age Wave co-founder Maddy Dychtwald is a leading expert on the changing demographic trends—both generation- and gender-related—shaping the marketplace, the workplace and our lives.

A high impact speaker, she has addressed more than 300,000 business and social service leaders worldwide for organizations such as Blue Cross of California, Chevron, Direct Marketing Association, Fidelity Investments, Lincoln Financial, LPL Financial, Global Women Leadership Network, Mastercard, National Association of Educators, Network of Executive Women and the World Future Society.  Maddy has been regularly featured in prominent media worldwide, including: Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Newsweek, TIME, U.S. News & World Report, Fox Business News, CNBC and NPR.  She is also a popular contributor to The Huffington Post and ThirdAge.com.

World-renowned, award-winning Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse is one of the foremost experts on the business of entertainment, media, and sports. Her research examines what drives success in creative industries, with influential work on superstar talent, digital-media strategy, and high-performance management. Her work has been published in Harvard Business Review, Marketing Science, the Journal of Marketing, and other leading publications. Her bestselling book, Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment, explores the strategies behind some of the world’s biggest hits and most successful brands.

At Harvard Business School, Professor Elberse teaches “The Businesses of Entertainment, Media, and Sports,” one of the School’s most sought-after and longest-running electives. More recently, her work has expanded into the management principles behind the world’s highest-performing teams. In partnership with Mercedes Formula One team principal Toto Wolff, she developed “High Performance Management: Leading a Formula One Team,” an MBA course that examines what it takes to build and sustain exceptional performance under intense pressure. She also chairs “Crossover Into Business,” a semester-long mentoring program designed for professional athletes.

Drawing on extensive research and case studies across sports, entertainment, and business, Professor Elberse gives audiences a research-driven look at what separates the best from the rest. On stage, she translates lessons from extraordinary organizations and leaders into practical insights for managing talent and building teams that perform at the highest level.

Ricky Strauss, a 36-year entertainment industry veteran, most recently served as Head of Global Marketing for Apple TV+, overseeing marketing strategies for acclaimed titles such as Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon, and The Morning Show. Prior to Apple, he was President of Programming for Hulu and Disney+, where he led strategic content vision, production partnerships, and content acquisitions.

As Disney’s first President of Content & Marketing for Disney+, Strauss collaborated with various Disney content groups to develop a high-quality portfolio of films and series. His tenure as President of Marketing for The Walt Disney Studios saw the successful global marketing of blockbusters like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Frozen, and The Avengers. At Participant Media, Strauss produced socially relevant films like An Inconvenient Truth and The Help, before founding Sony-based Ricochet Entertainment. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and theater from the University of Vermont.

Steven Bartlett is a visionary entrepreneur, bestselling author, sold-out speaker, investor, and host of The Diary of a CEO (DOAC), the world’s second-largest host-led podcast. With over 16 million subscribers on Youtube alone. At just 28, he became the youngest investor on BBC’s Dragons’ Den and is now considered one of the most influential voices of his generation.

 
Steven Bartlett is a visionary entrepreneur, investor, and one of the most influential voices in modern business and media. He is the creator and host of The Diary of a CEO (DOAC), one of the world’s most successful podcasts. Steven is the youngest-ever Dragon on BBC’s Dragons’ Den and his investment in the beverage brand PerfectTed became the show’s most successful to date, with the company now valued at more than £140 million. Appearing in more than 50 episodes, Steven has invested £1.4 million across 30+ businesses on the show. 

As of October 2025, The Diary of a CEO (DOAC) has surpassed one billion YouTube views, reaching over 35 million followers, now 15 million YouTube subscribers, and more than 60 million monthly listens and views. The show continues to grow rapidly, adding an average of 600,000 new YouTube subscribers every month, and has featured some of the world’s most prominent figures, including Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama, Trevor Noah, Matthew McConaughey, and other notable names.

Steven is the founder of Steven.com, a creator-focused holding company valued at $425 million following one of Europe’s largest-ever funding rounds for a creator-led enterprise. Steven.com incorporates established divisions FlightStory, FlightCast and FlightFund - empowering creator media companies and creator ventures that scale globally and develop world-class creator IP and creator commerce eco-systems.

FlightStory, a global media and publishing company founded in 2024, develops influential IP and scales audiences using the proprietary methodologies that powered The Diary of a CEO’s success. The company has launched several hit formats — including We Need To Talk with Paul C. Brunson and Begin Again with Davina McCall — both debuting at #1 on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and reaching over 2.5 million combined followers. Through its publishing arm, in partnership with Ebury (Penguin Random House), FlightStory has brought to life Steven’s Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life — the fastest-selling book in its category since records began.

FlightCast, co-founded with former MrBeast engineer Rox Codes, is a next-generation podcast and video creator platform. Designed to help creators grow, monetize, and scale their content, it combines studio production, AI-driven tools, and audience support to empower storytellers to focus on creativity while building global reach.

FlightFund backs high-growth ventures in the creator economy, tech, and media sectors — providing both capital and strategic support to accelerate innovation and collaboration within the Steven.com ecosystem. The $100 million global investment fund has, to date, invested in more than 40 companies, including SpaceX, Whoop, MrBeast, Replit and more.

Steven is also the co-founder of Thirdweb, a San Francisco-based software company valued at $160 million and backed by Shopify, Coinbase, and Mark Cuban.

In 2025, Steven was named a Forbes Top Creator and featured on the TIME100 Creators list as one of the most influential digital voices in the world. That same year, he made his U.S. daytime and late-night television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and TODAY.

Scott Galloway is Professor of Marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business and a serial entrepreneur. He was named one of the world’s best business professors by Poets & Quants. Scott has founded nine companies, including Prophet, RedEnvelope, L2, and Section School, where he also teaches. He is the New York Times–bestselling author of The Four,The Algebra of Happiness, Post Corona and Adrift: America in 100 Charts, and the upcoming Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula for Financial Security, forthcoming from Portfolio in April. Scott has served on the boards of directors of The New York Times Company, Urban Outfitters, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Panera Bread, and Ledger. He has won multiple Webby and Best Podcast awards, and his books have been translated into 28 languages. Across his Prof G and Pivot podcasts, No Mercy / No Malice newsletter, and his YouTube channel, Scott reaches millions. 

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.

Matthew Luhn, Former Pixar Story Artist, is a writer, story consultant, creative writing instructor and keynote speaker with over 25 years' experience creating stories and characters at Pixar Animation Studios, The Simpsons, and beyond.

Matthew trains Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, and other professionals on how to craft and tell stories that bridge the gap between business and heart to build stronger brands and business communication.

Matthew Luhn heard thousands of great ideas while working at Pixar, The Simpsons, and ILM, but how is it that some of these ideas make great movies and TV shows, while others don’t make the cut? The answer: the best innovators and directors have developed a process that focuses their team’s creativity into not only creating great ideas but also fleshing them out – something Matthew has experienced firsthand.

Does your brand have 'groupies?' Do your customers obsess over your product or service? Do you have raving fans spreading the word worldwide? This level of hysteria is what drives the planet's fastest-growing brands. Named America’s #1 young entrepreneur by Business Week, profiled in the New York Times, NPR, MTV, Forbes, Newsweek and The Boston Globe, and featured in Inc. magazine as one of the world’s fastest-growing independent businesses—there is only one man that knows the answer to that question—JOHNNY EARLE, the founder of Johnny Cupcakes.

After 5 global store openings, he inspires fans to camp out for weeks ahead of time and high-profile collaborations such as The Simpson's, Looney Tunes and Nickelodeon. Johnny is now sharing his secret recipe for viral business and marketing success through his high impact keynote speeches.

If you dream of inspiring cult-like brand loyalty—the kind that involves mile-long queues and even permanent tattoos—Johnny Cupcakes is for you.

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.

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.    

Charlotte Jones, Dallas Cowboys Owner, Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer, oversees all business operations, strategies and applications surrounding the team’s brand as it is presented to fans worldwide. Working in the executive office since 1989, Charlotte’s experience has propelled her forward as one of the most innovative and versatile executives among women in professional sports and executives as a whole. Charlotte’s vision and direction leads the Cowboys in brand marketing, fan engagement, stadium design, entertainment, licensed apparel, cause marketing and community relations.

Jones played an instrumental role in the design and development of The Star in Frisco, the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters, team training facility and event center located in Frisco, Texas. Opened in 2016, the 91-acre mixed-use development serves as the team’s headquarters and a destination for shopping, dining, nightlife, athletics, fitness, events, hotel, luxury residential living and commercial real estate.

She played a prominent role in shaping the design, décor, sponsor integration and overall presentation of AT&T Stadium, the renowned state-of-the-art venue that opened in Arlington, Texas in 2009. Under Jones’s guidance, the venue has played host to some of the highest profile sports and entertainment events in the world – among those are Super Bowl XLV, the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Final Four, the annual Cotton Bowl Classic and the first-ever College Football Championship game in 2015. She was instrumental in bringing the Academy of Country Music Awards to AT&T Stadium to celebrate the 50^th anniversary, breaking ratings and attendance records, as well as WrestleMania 32 which broke WWE’s all-time attendance record.

Charlotte Jones travels across the country speaking on philanthropic initiatives, brand innovation and cultivating the most valuable sports franchises in the world.

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 8^th 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.

Award-winning marketer, bestselling author, and leading authority on personal branding, Aliza Licht transforms how professionals and organizations position themselves for success. Named one of Forbes's "19 Top Global Personal Branding Experts" and "America's Next Top Mentors" by The New York Times, Licht delivers compelling keynotes that combine actionable advice with memorable storytelling drawn from her 25+ years in fashion and media and her award-winning second book, ON BRAND: Shape Your Narrative. Share Your Vision. Shift Their Perception. Named 'Best Business Book by American Book Fest in Marketing & Advertising,' ON BRAND provides a comprehensive roadmap for professionals at all levels to build equity in the name while navigating both corporate and entrepreneurial environments in today's digital landscape.

With over two decades of marketing, communications, and digital strategy expertise, Licht is the Founder of Leave Your Mark, a multimedia brand and consultancy focused on brand strategy and career development. She advises millions through her top 1% career advice podcast and features in Harvard Business Review, WSJ, Fast Company, Inc., Financial Times, and more.

Licht's journey from corporate executive and anonymous social media personality DKNY PR Girl to a founder and recognized brand authority showcases her expertise in personal branding transformation. Her globally recognized reveal as the creator behind DKNY PR Girl generated a full-page feature in The New York Times and hundreds of other publications, garnering over 230M global media impressions and positioning her as a social media pioneer in the fashion industry. This work led to her first book, Leave Your Mark. Referred to as "The Devil Wears Prada meets career advice', Leave Your Mark is required reading in many university communications programs and ranks among Book Authority's "100 Best Career Development Books of All Time."

A dynamic storyteller who has captivated audiences at American Express, LVMH, Richemont, Google, Amazon, Liberty Mutual, LinkedIn, SXSW, Salesforce, and more, Licht brings award-winning branding expertise to every speaking engagement. She's also regularly featured as an on-air expert, appearing on Good Morning America, Bloomberg, and more.

Licht empowers audiences with actionable strategies for leveraging personal branding to accelerate career and business growth and offers motivational keynotes about the importance of shaping your narrative in a world where personal and professional lines are blurred. Her practical frameworks, compelling career story, and bold, authentic presence make her a sought-after speaker for organizations seeking to transform how their teams show up at work and shape their narratives in the digital age.

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.

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.

Maha Abouelenein is a strategic communication expert, best-selling author, and entrepreneur with more than three decades of experience. As the CEO and Founder of Digital and Savvy, a global communications consulting firm with offices in the United States and United Arab Emirates, Maha has been instrumental in orchestrating transformations in communication strategies for clients that include global corporate giants, high-growth startups, sports organizations, top governments, CEOs, and high-net-worth individuals. 

With a reputation for delivering results, Maha possesses a unique blend of creative, strategic, and analytical prowess, enabling her to guide projects from inception to execution. Maha is all about relationships—building, nurturing, and serving them. She is an advocate of value creation and the pursuit of cultural relevance as the cornerstones of effective storytelling and communications. 

This year, Maha released her debut book, 7 Rules of Self-Reliance: How to Stay Low, Keep Moving, Invest in Yourself, and Own Your Future which became a USA TODAY bestseller and provides a transformative guide on mastering self-reliance. It offers practical personal and professional growth strategies, focusing on creating value, opportunities, and relationships. The book dives into the importance of personal branding, reputation management, and lifelong learning—essential tools for thriving in today’s fast-paced world. Maha’s personal journey, from being a caregiver to becoming a global entrepreneur, forms the foundation of her insights, making the book both relatable and inspiring for individuals at every stage of their career. 

Raised and educated in the United States to Egyptian parents, Maha is at home in both Western and Arab worlds, offering a global perspective that translates into her work. She serves as a bridge between cultures, providing invaluable support to companies and high-profile executives seeking to navigate business opportunities in the Middle East market, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. She is active in the tech, sports, entertainment, and gaming industries. Maha is an Advisor to LockChain.io and Global Gaming League, sits on the Global Board of Directors of the Associated Press, and is on the Board of the Animal Humane Society. 

Maha handled communications for some of the world’s largest tech companies in the Middle East—from Google and Netflix to Udacity and Careem (Uber Middle East)—and more. She helped PR giant Weber Shandwick cement their presence in the Middle East, opening 18 offices in the region and leading the Cairo operation. She supported the largest IPO and the largest acquisition in Egypt’s history at Orascom Telecom. She also supported promotions and sports marketing programs & strategic partnerships for the Olympics, NASCAR, ATP Tennis, Women’s Hockey, and the NFL at consumer product giant General Mills before becoming an entrepreneur. 

Maha is a sought-after strategist and speaker who shares her expertise on personal branding,

reputation management, modern communications, and the transformational power of storytelling. She was honored as one of the most influential women in Dubai, named one of the most impactful Egyptians, and nominated as one of the Forbes Power Women of the Middle East. In the U.S., she was named by PR News as one of the Game Changers in the PR Industry and one of Minnesota’s Leading Women in Business by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Journal. Maha is a contributor to Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazine. 

Maha publishes a weekly newsletter, Savvy Talk, and hosts the Savvy Talk Podcast, where she engages in thought-provoking conversations with industry leaders. She passionately advocates for the power of storytelling and self-reliance in the modern age, emphasizing personal branding as a transformative pathway to leadership. Maha is a dual citizen, an avid tennis player, and resides in Wayzata, Minnesota, with her dog, Coco. 

For more information, follow Maha on all social platforms under @MahaGaber and on her website: www.mahaabouelenein.com.

Dan Abrams is the CEO and Founder of Abrams Media, Chief Legal Affairs Anchor for ABC News, and the host of top-rated cable series “Live PD“ on A&E Network. He was previously the co-anchor of ABC's Nightline, host of “The Abrams Report” and the acclaimed “Verdict with Dan Abrams” on MSNBC, as well as the long time Chief Legal Correspondent for NBC News. Dan also served as General Manager of MSNBC, where he presided over a period of unprecedented growth, with ratings and profits each increasing well over 50% during his tenure. During that time Dan was a member of the NBC Universal President’s Council.

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.

Jon Picoult is masterful at helping companies impress their customers and inspire their employees, creating raving fans that drive business growth.  He is a noted authority on customer and employee experience, and the leadership traits needed to excel at both.

From Fortune 500 CEOs to budding entrepreneurs, Jon has advised business leaders worldwide on how to cultivate loyalty in both the marketplace and the workplace – not just by shaping people’s experiences, but also by shaping their memories. 

Using captivating stories and eye-opening studies, he explains the breakthrough, psychology-based strategies that great, admired companies use to turn everyday people into lifelong fans.  Jon leaves audiences enlightened and energized to apply those same techniques in their roles and organizations.

Jon’s insights have been featured by dozens of media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Inc., Fortune and Forbes.  His landmark study on the ROI of customer experience is one of the most widely cited pieces of research in the industry, referenced by firms such as McKinsey, Deloitte, Accenture, Forrester, SAP, and Oracle.

Jon is also the author of the bestselling book, From Impressed to Obsessed: 12 Principles for Turning Customers and Employees into Lifelong Fans, which debuted as an Amazon #1 New Release in its category and was featured in The Wall Street Journal as a top reading pick.  The book has earned praise from business luminaries such as Horst Schulze (co-founder of Ritz-Carlton Hotels), Hubert Joly (former CEO of Best Buy), and Marshall Goldsmith (world-renowned executive coach).

Currently the Founder & Principal of Watermark Consulting, Jon previously held senior executive roles at Fortune 100 firms – heading up service, operations, distribution, technology, sales and marketing.  Early in his career, at the age of 29, Jon earned the distinction of becoming the youngest executive officer in the over 150-year history of a leading global financial services company.

Jon received his bachelor’s degree in cognitive science from Princeton University and his M.B.A. in general management from Duke University.

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

The world’s premier Futurist Faith Popcorn has mesmerized audiences for decades and her Consultancy, BrainReserve, is responsible for adding incremental billions to  her clients’ C-suite portfolios. Her uncanny ability to identify and apply emerging cultural currents at least a decade out is the centerpiece of her legendary career.

Her presentations not only explore how our world will evolve but share category-specific implications that answer the uber question guiding her work: If you knew everything about tomorrow, what would you do differently today? She speaks on an array of provocative topics, including Corona-Cocooning: Our Post-Pandemic Future; The Future of Work; Wellness 2030; The Future of Masculinity, Child-Free by Choice, A Gender-Fluid Future, and The Rise of Plant Foods. 

Dubbed the “The Trend Oracle" by The New York Times and “The Nostradamus of Marketing” by Fortune, Faith has named and framed such sweeping societal movements as “Cocooning," “99 Lives,"  AtmosFear” and “Vigilante Consumer." During times of uncertainty or short-sighted decision-making, she has propelled global giants such as Allergan, Chipotle, Citigroup, Comcast, Constellation Brands, The Home Depot, Investec, Johnson & Johnson, Nike, PepsiCo, and Tyson. Her legendary leadership has led to double-digit market-share gains, time and time again with her ability to describe Tomorrow in great detail and astounding authority. 

She is a best-selling author of The Popcorn Report, which introduces the world to the practice of future-tracking; Clicking; EVEolution; Dictionary of the Future and the upcoming book The Popcorn Report, 2030. Faith is frequently interviewed and cited in the media by The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, Fortune, “The Today Show," “Face the Nation," and CNN as well as all the social channels. She has launched a podcast entitled Jolty which covers topics help us spot the trends as we live them.

Hailed as the “female Jerry Maguire” by CNN, Molly Fletcher made a name for herself as one of the first female sports agents. During her almost two-decade career as President of CSE, Molly negotiated over $500 million in contracts and represented over 300 of sports' biggest names, including Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz, PGA TOUR golfer Matt Kuchar, broadcaster Erin Andrews, and basketball championship coaches Tom Izzo and Doc Rivers.

As a World's Top 50 Keynote Speaker, she delivers her inspiring message to audiences around the world. She is the author of five books, including The Energy Clock and Fearless at Work, and her latest TED Talk, “Secrets of a Champion Mindset,” has more than one million views.

Molly is the founder and host of the Game Changers with Molly Fletcher podcast, where she interviews experts and celebrities in every field including Arthur Blank, Dabo Swinney, John Mackey, Matthew McConaughey, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Simon Sinek.

Her insights have been featured in prestigious media outlets, including CNN, ESPN, Forbes, Fast Company, InStyle, and Sports Illustrated.

Molly recently launched her first on-demand course, Up Your Game, to help people unlock their drive and up their game. Her company, Game Changer Performance Group, helps clients unlock peak performance through training experiences on Energy, Negotiation, and High Impact.

Alexis Abramson, Ph.D., is a trailblazing gerontologist, sought-after thought leader, and mesmerizing keynote speaker who has revolutionized the nexus of ‘aging and business’ for over two decades. With an unparalleled ability to captivate audiences and empower them to reframe their perspectives on aging, Dr. Abramson's expertise is indispensable in navigating today's rapidly shifting demographic terrain. TIME magazine said: “Few entrepreneurs have focused more sharply on the needs of multi-generations than Dr. Alexis Abramson.”

Dr. Abramson's impressive roster of consulting and speaking clients includes distinguished brands and institutions such as L’Oréal Paris, Walmart, Philips, COMCAST, Marriott, ADP, Duracell, Ameriprise, AARP, Humana, AIG, National Golf Foundation, Kroger, Harvard, BMO Private Bank, Kimberly-Clark, Siemens, AAA, Comfort Keepers, Northwestern Mutual, P&G, Beltone, Subway, Genworth, Arthritis Foundation, and countless others.

As a charismatic speaker and fervent advocate for multi-generations, Dr. Alexis will impart her vast knowledge and experience at your upcoming event. Her keynote presentations offer an exceptional blend of innovative and practical strategies, scientific depth, and real-world insights that inspire transformative change in how we perceive and address aging. Seize this unparalleled opportunity to learn from one of the most dynamic thought leaders in gerontology as she guides you on a journey to redefine aging.

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.

Tru Pettigrew spent four seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx of the NBA and WNBA, and takes great pride in serving as the organizations' first Chief Impact Officer. Pettigrew previously served as the Timberwolves and Lynx Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, and Vice President of Player Programs and Diversity and Inclusion. 

Pettigrew is also a published author. His first book, Millennials Revealed, continues to provide guidance and direction to countless organizations, helping them to understand how to build bridges across the different generation gaps. His upcoming book, We Can All Be Bridge Builders, scheduled to be released in the Fall of 2024, serves as a comprehensive guide for leaders of all levels, equipping them with tools and strategies to help bridge gaps across differences and cultivate genuine relationships and cultures of inclusion.

Tru currently operates his own consulting firm, Tru Access (www.tru-access.com) where he helps organizations build bridges of trust and understanding across various areas of division. This includes but is not limited to racial divides, gender divides, generational divides, and relational divides of all kinds. As a part of his bridge building efforts, he founded Barbershop Rap Sessions, which serves as a platform that leverages barbershops across the country as a trusted venue for hosting facilitated dialogue between law enforcement and communities of color. He has also served as a Subject Matter Expert for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and has shared his bridge building and marketing expertise with brands such as Nike, Adidas, Hennessy, Heineken, Unilever, Timberland, and Ford. 

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.

Award-winning food and lifestyle tastemaker Dana Cowin is an innovator in media, food, and entrepreneurship. Her work spans advising creatives, founders and non-profits as well as creating editorial through podcasts, social, video, zines and books. For 21 years, she served as Editor in Chief of Food & Wine magazine and transformed the magazine into a must-read lifestyle publication and digital outlet. An influencer in the food world, she is a sought-after speaker on topics from trendspotting to lifestyle and motivation, leadership, and branding. And of course, good food! Cowin was the keynote speaker for the Bacardi Spirit Forward first national tour, a frequent judge on Top Chef and Beat Bobby Flay, presenter at TedXManhattan on food waste, interviewed experts at SXSW and Fast Company Innovation Festival, among many others.

Through her brand consulting work, Cowin advises growing companies on storytelling, food, PR, and marketing, lending her expertise to businesses such as Dig Food Group (where she was Chief Brand Advisor), to Neiman Marcus, to the Trust for Governors Island. She is an investor and advisor to startups in the culinary space, has a longstanding commitment to supporting opportunities for economic growth through culinary training. Cowin serves on the boards of Food Education Fund, Hot Bread Kitchen, and the Food Council of City Harvest. Cowin is host of Speaking Broadly, a podcast that features visionary women at the intersection of creativity, sustainability, and food. Inspired by their singular experiences, Cowin selected more than a dozen women to write their own stories in the first Speaking Broadly zine, published spring 2022, and developed the Giving Broadly project - a gift guide highlighting incredible products from women-owned brands.

Social media virtuoso, media innovator, and successful entrepreneur Eric Kuhn has brought some of the world’s largest and most prestigious organizations into the new age while working at UTA, CNN, the NBA, and CBS News. Most notably, he was a Co-Founder and CMO for Layer3TV, a next generation cable provider spearheading a new era of home entertainment. Kuhn subsequently joined United Talent Agency and was dubbed “Hollywood’s first social media agent,” harnessing the power of social media for top industry talent. He is a renowned bridge-builder between Silicon Valley and Hollywood, advising emerging technology companies and Fortune 500 corporations on how to harness content, technology, and social media to accelerate business.

In sought-after and engaging keynotes speeches, Kuhn shares fresh ideas and actionable data that inspire listeners to re-think the way they understand and utilize innovation and technology. He provides real, practical takeaways — in the form of raw industry data, anecdotes, and actionable strategies — that organizations and leaders can readily apply to their own entrepreneurial goals. Kuhn has keynoted and moderated numerous industry conferences and events around the world and regularly speaks with companies and private equity funds to help them better understand technology and innovation.

Lionel Barber was the editor of the Financial Times from 2005-2020, during which time he helped transform the FT from a newspaper publisher into a multi-channel global news organization. 

During his editorship the FT won many international awards for its journalism, including three ‘Newspaper of the Year’ awards in Britain, an unprecedented achievement. During his 14-year tenure, paying readership more than doubled to 1.1m, driven by a digital revolution in the newsroom founded on trustworthy quality journalism. 

Barber has co-written several books, including a history of Reuters news agency, The Price of Truth, and has lectured widely on US foreign policy, economics, finance, new media and the future of capitalism. As editor, he interviewed many of the world’s leaders in business and politics, including: US Presidents Donald Trump and Obama, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President of Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Chinese premiers Wen Jiabao and Li Keqiang 

Throughout his career Barber appeared regularly on radio and television and moderated or spoken at prestigious conferences such as Allen & Co’s Sun Valley, Google Camp, Davos, and the Aspen Ideas Festival. 

Barber began his career in journalism in 1978 as a reporter for The Scotsman when he was awarded the young journalist of the year in Britain. He then moved to The Sunday Times as a business correspondent and joined the FT in 1985 as a business reporter. During his FT career, he has also served as Washington correspondent, Brussels bureau chief, news editor, European editor, and US managing editor.

Barber has received numerous prestigious awards including the Laurence Stern Fellowship at the Washington Post (1985), a Woodrow Wilson Foundation fellowship (1991), a visiting scholarship at the University of California at Berkeley (1992) and a visiting fellowship at the Robert Schuman Center at the European University Institute in Florence (1996). In 2009, Barber was awarded the St George Society medal of honor for his commendable contribution to journalism in the transatlantic community. And in 2016, he was made a Chevalier in the French Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur for his journalism. 

In 2011, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees at The Tate and serves as a trustee on the board of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He graduated in 1978 from St Edmund Hall, Oxford University, with a joint honours degree in German and modern history and speaks fluent French and German.

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.

Steve Jones is a music biz insider who will change the way you think about business, marketing, creativity, and customer service. As the author of two highly-acclaimed business books, Steve draws upon his 30 years in the music industry to demonstrate how the essential lessons of business can be learned from the bands, songs, and albums we love. He will show you how to build a brand as consistent as AC/DC, as immediately recognizable as Kiss, and as resilient as Fleetwood Mac. His concert-like presentations are filled with music, humor, and engaging backstage stories from the music business. Steve is the author of Brand Like a Rock Star and Start You Up. He has spent over three decades in music and media, witnessing the rise (and sometimes fall) of countless rock legends. In addition to being a popular speaker at conferences worldwide, Steve also works with media brands and companies in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean to turn their customers into raving fans.

Deirdre Van Nest is the go-to expert for financial advisors, leaders, and professionals in a client-facing role, on improving communication skills (whether one-one or with a group). She is a top-rated International Keynoter, and Trainer, and the creator of the Crazy Good Talks® Blueprint, and The Emotionally Engaging Advisor™- 2 practical communication systems that have taught thousands how to bring in business faster and impact more lives through the power of public speaking, storytelling, and making emotional connections.

Deirdre is a regular contributor for Horsesmouth, a faculty member at the Hoopis Performance Network, and is called upon frequently for interviews on podcasts and TV talk shows.

She’s also a Certified World Class Speaking™ Coach, a Certified Fearless Living Coach, a contributing author of the Amazon bestseller World Class Speaking™ in Action and author of “Fire Your Fear™”.

Jay Abraham is known as “The 9 Billion Dollar Man” for adding at least that much in revenue to his clients’ bottom lines. As the founder and CEO of The Abraham Group, Inc, Jay has been recognized as one of the most successful marketing and business strategists on the planet. He has over 25 years of experience solving problems for more than 10,000 clients in more than 450 industries around the globe.

Jay Abraham’s ability to uncover hidden assets, overlooked opportunities, and undervalued possibilities has captured the attention and respect of CEOs, bestselling business authors, celebrated entrepreneurs, and fellow expert marketing consultants; yet, his clients and audiences range from Fortune 100 companies, such as Microsoft, FedEx and General Electric, to small business owners, company employees and college students.

Using various formats, including everything from engaging keynotes, interactive 1/2 and full day workshops, to weekend bootcamps and more, Jay Abraham teaches audiences/clients how to take various, proven success-concepts from a myriad of industries and adopt them to their specific business goals.

He has been featured in Forbes, INC, Success Magazine, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today and many other notable business publications.

In an inspiring program, Uslan takes audiences along on the journey of creating his career to bringing Batman successfully to the big screen. He shares the principles that allowed him to persevere despite repeated rejection and encourages audiences everywhere to reach for their dreams and believe in themselves.

In a different program specifically aimed at corporations, guilds, and business conferences, Uslan uses Batman to discuss the need for the spirit of entrepreneurship and the critical importance of branding and re-branding in business today, and how we all personally need to adapt that concept to our own lives by periodically reinventing ourselves.

In a third program, Uslan addresses the founders of the comic book industry and how, not coincidentally, the majority of them are Jewish immigrants or first generation American Jews. Personally familiar with these legends, Uslan shares their anecdotes and also reveals the connection between the super-heroes created by these men and women and Jewish lore and tradition—i.e. how The Golem spawned The Hulk and just how similar Superman and Moses really are.

Proven to deliver what USA Today hailed as one of the top 10 commencement addresses of all time at Indiana University, Michael Uslan is sure to capture your audience with his devotion and intellect, and inspire them with the wonder and promise of comics universe.

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.

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.

Ken Hughes is now acknowledged as being one of the world’s leading authorities on consumer and shopper behaviour, blending his understanding of consumer & cyber psychology, digital anthropology, behavioural economics and retail futurology to explore the needs of the new consumer and predict the changes to come.

Ken advises some of the biggest brands in the world on customer experience, omnichannel strategy, shopper marketing, retail trends, the millennial and Gen Z shopper and the peer-to-peer economy. As an accomplished author, TED speaker, part-time university professor and actor, his performances are not only insightful and thought-provoking, but are infamous for their sheer energy, entertainment and passion, not to mention his generous Irish wit.

Every year, Ken shares his thought-disrupting insight with tens of thousands of delegates globally as one of the most popular keynote speakers booked on the international conference circuit relating to the future of consumerism.

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. 

Mallory Brown is an impact storyteller. She travels the world to tell real-life stories of human connection. Her goal is to connect audiences to incredible causes and provide a direct means to help. At the age of 33, Mallory has explored over 50 countries and pioneered a new, engaging form of philanthropy. Her story inspires others to live a passionate, generous, and global life.

In eight years of storytelling, Mallory has helped thousands of generous donors directly reach people in need. She speaks to audiences across the globe about the power of empathy and how one individual can truly make a difference in the world. Her efforts have been featured by the Today Show, The New York Times, Crain's Detroit Business, the Huffington Post, and Cosmopolitan magazine.

Jack Tretton is a senior strategic operating executive and interactive entertainment industry veteran with multi-billion dollar P&L/fiduciary accountable leadership experience in a highly discretionary consumer product business. Leveraging 19 years of experience at Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. (SCEA), Jack currently advises large and small companies, investors and management consulting firms, specializing in developing, branding, marketing and selling interactive technology, lifestyle and entertainment consumer products and businesses.

Robin Lewis is the founder and CEO of The Robin Report. He is an author, speaker, and consultant for the retail and consumer products industries. He is frequently requested by C-level management for advice, consultation and strategic presentations: among them are Kohl’s, Bloomingdale’s, JC Penney, Macy’s, Liz Claiborne, VF Corp., Charming Shoppes, Estee Lauder, Ralph Lauren, and Sara Lee, as well as financial firms such as Bear Stearns, The Carlyle Group, Golman Sachs and others.

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.

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).

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.

Lisa Caputo is Executive Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Travelers. She oversees the company’s marketing, research and corporate communications functions. She joined Travelers from Citigroup, where she was most recently Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs.

Lisa founded Citi’s leading women’s financial services business, Women & Co., and was its Chairman and CEO since 2000 when she joined Citi. She also was the Co-Head of Citi’s Women’s Initiative. Her wide-ranging experience throughout her career encompasses marketing, advertising, branding, research, media, digital, sponsorships, external, internal and executive communications, media relations, issues management, crisis management, government relations, grassroots organizing, community and consumer advocate group management, and growing a start-up concept into a revenue generating business. 

Lisa is also a frequent television commentator and public speaker on current events and politics.

One of the most honored communication professionals in America today, Frank Luntz has become the go-to consultant when Fortune 100 companies need communication and language guidance. More media outlets have turned to Dr. Luntz to understand the hopes and fears of Americans than to any other political pollster.

Tony Alessandra shows audiences how to out-sell, out-market and out-service the competition with his high-tech, high-touch sales and marketing techniques.

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 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. 

Emma Grede is the ultimate modern mogul, a self-made entrepreneur who builds category-defining brands and the teams behind them.

A leading force in today’s consumer economy, Grede is the co-founder and CEO of Good American, the founding partner of SKIMS, and the co-founder of Safely and Off Season. Across each venture, she has built brands that do not just sell products, but reshape industries around inclusivity, demand, and cultural relevance.

Grede is also a prominent investor and media voice. A recurring Shark on Shark Tank, she made history as the first Black woman to serve as an investor on the show and continues to back founders building the next generation of consumer companies. In her New York Times bestselling book Start With Yourself, she breaks down the mindset and decisions behind building lasting success. Through her podcast, Aspire with Emma Grede, she brings together top leaders to unpack the habits and strategies that drive real results.

Beyond business, Grede plays an active role in global impact efforts. She serves on the boards of the Obama Foundation and Baby2Baby, and is a King’s Trust Ambassador, reflecting her commitment to expanding opportunity and representation across industries.

As a speaker, Grede delivers a candid, practical look at what it takes to build and scale brands today. She shows audiences how to identify opportunity, create products people actually want, and lead with both ambition and purpose.

Internationally recognized chef, TV personality, author, and entrepreneur Matty Matheson has been breaking barriers since his cooking debut back in 2003. He has authored back-to-back New York Times bestselling cookbooks, Matty Matheson: A Cookbook and Home Style Cookery. After achieving fame as host of the cooking shows Dead Set on Life and It's Suppertime! on Viceland, Matheson decided to launch his self-produced, wildly successful YouTube series Just A Dash. A celebrity chef for the digital age, Matty has cemented his place as a heavyweight in the YouTube ecosystem, amassing over 100M views. Whether he’s engaging your audience in a captivating fireside chat, or leading the audience through a high-energy cooking demo, Matheson generates buzz and brings positivity, humor, and cogent business advice to every event.

In addition to five highly successful restaurants, Matheson has leveraged his brand awareness into partnerships with RVCA, cookware manufacturer Castor Design, food company McCain Canada, and launched Rosa Rugosa – a clothing line centered around durable, well-fitted, and Canadian-made workwear. Matty also played a major role in the hit FX series The Bear – serving as co-producer, culinary lead, and playing a small roll not as a chef, but a beleaguered handyman. A recent New York Times profile described Matheson as “an irresistible – and unexpected – celebrity” and Fast Company’s glowing profile was titled “How Matty Matheson is not-so-quietly building the indie food-media empire we all need.” In high-octane motivational events, Matheson shares his insights which represent a case study in discipline, brand-awareness, and impeccable entrepreneurial instincts.

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 latest book, Design In Love (Harvard Business Review Press) uses data to argue that the most effective organizations are not built around processes or efficiency, but around designing work that people genuinely love. 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.

Grammy-nominated music producer, artist, fashion designer, entrepreneur, and NFT visionary Steve Aoki brings a sense of community to all his work – offering shared space and connection. His new album, HiROQUEST: Genesis, is an epic, multi-genre collection of songs with a world-building story that extends beyond the music itself to a new collectible trading card game Aoki co-created with MetaZoo Games in 2021. Aoki boasts 17.2M monthly listeners on Spotify, with a 77M average monthly reach across all his platforms. In sought-after talks and moderated conversations, Aoki shares his insights about entrepreneurship, music, and technology – inspiring his audiences to embrace new frontiers and invest in community.

In 2022, Aoki launched A0K1VERSE, an NFT metaverse membership community, powered by the Passport, that welcomes his fans to both virtual and real-world experiences. For Aoki, it’s essential to remain forward-thinking as he continues to grow his brand. Steve is the subject of the Netflix documentary I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, which focuses on the driving force behind his career: his ambitious father, Benihana founder and perennial daredevil Rocky Aoki. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed memoir BLUE: The Color of Noise and the founder of THE AOKI FOUNDATION, which supports organizations in the brain science and research areas with a focus on regenerative medicine and brain preservation. In every space he enters, Aoki offers a community for those who need it most.

Emmy Award-winning sports analyst and New York Times bestselling author Matthew Berry is universally regarded as “the face of fantasy football.” Berry, also known as ‘The Talented Mr. Roto’, is a fantasy football commentator and analyst for NBC across all platforms, including appearances on Football Night in America, Sunday Night Football Final, a daily audio and video podcast, and a weekly fantasy football show. Previously, Berry was the Senior Fantasy Sports Analyst for ESPN, where he hosted the award-winning Fantasy Football Show with Matthew Berry on ESPN+ and was the most-read weekly columnist on ESPN.com during football season. He won an Emmy for his work on ESPN2’s Fantasy Football Now, and is the author of the New York Times bestseller Fantasy Life, which spent many months on the list. His multi-award-winning podcast Fantasy Focus: Football regularly ranks in the top ten in the sports category. Berry brings his candid and entertaining perspective to memorable events for audiences of all kinds.

Berry was named Marketer of the Year by the Academy of Marketing Science (2013) for his leading role in fueling the national growth of fantasy football. He has also been named one of USA Today’s “NFL’s 100 Most Important People”, Sports Illustrated’s “Top 100 to Follow on Twitter,” and Mashable’s “32 Must Follow Accounts for NFL Fans,” boasting over 1.5M highly engaged social media followers. Berry was named FSTA “Analyst of the Year” by his peers (2017) and is one of only four people to be named to the Hall of Fame for both the Fantasy Sports Trade Association and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association.

Country music singer-songwriter, style entrepreneur, and TV personality Jessie James Decker is a New York Times bestselling author with over 7M social media followers. Signed to Warner Music Nashville, Jessie’s passion for music has made the multi-talented artist one of music’s true breakout firebrands. The singer’s authentic style immediately captivated listeners everywhere on her 2009 self-titled debut. She continued to keep it real with her second studio album, 2017’s Southern Girl City Lights, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Jessie is a four-time host of Dick Clark’s Rockin New Year’s Eve, Presenter at the American Music Awards 2022, and beloved contestant on Dancing with the Stars. 

Decker is the Founder and Designer of Kittenish – a playful fashion line inspired by her personal style. Decker and her brand were profiled in Forbes, which raved: “country star Jessie James Decker was born to hustle.” The multi-hyphenate is also a multi-time New York Times bestselling author. Decker’s first book, Just Jessie, is her guide to love, life, family, and food. In Just Feed Me, Jessie shares her favorite recipes of her family – her husband, retired NFL player Eric Decker, their three children, and now a fourth one on the way. Jessie’s newest cookbook Just Eat is set to release Fall of 2023. An unstoppable force of talent and energy, Decker’s fans love to connect with Jessie through her brands, music, and in unforgettable events.

Award-winning writer, sociologist, and cultural critic Tressie McMillan Cottom is celebrated for her profound yet personal ideas and the dynamic accessibility of her analysis. Dr. Cottom’s first book, Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy, led to appearances on The Daily Show, NPR’s Marketplace and Fresh Air, and has been name-checked by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and activists like The Debt Strike Collective. Since the release of her second book, Thick: And Other Essays, Dr. Cottom’s career has skyrocketed. Thick became a Finalist for the 2019 National Book Award, and the following year Dr. Cottom received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship – known as the ‘genius grant’. Her work is prolific – beyond her books and celebrated New York Times opinion column, she has written a Substack newsletter “Essaying,” is a contributor for Vanity Fair, co-hosted the Black feminist podcast Hear to Slay with Roxane Gay, and has sat in as a guest host for The Ezra Klein Show. Her books have become modern classics, and her commentary is in demand on a wide range of topics like inclusive marketing, creating policy narratives, technology, the future of democracy, and the cultural zeitgeist.

Dr. Cottom is a public academic whose work is as impactful on Twitter as it is in groundbreaking research, and continually reimagines how our society might function better on behalf of the most marginalized. She has a devoted fanbase for her essays (Tressays, as her fans call them), which defy the form – she explores the intersections of race, class, and gender, in the same breath as incisive pop culture critique and personal history. Dr. Cottom is currently a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and is sought after as a consultant for both global brands and on Capitol Hill.  In her writing, as well as in luminous keynotes and moderated conversations, Dr. Cottom tells creative stories of her research and herself – taking theory into real-world understanding for audiences of all kinds.

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.