Ken Schmidt | Authentic Leadership and Customer Loyalty Expert

Booked by: Bombadier, Westrock, Pacific Life Insurance Company, Barrons

It’s an impersonal world, where so many products and services are seen as easily-replaced, indistinct commodities. Whether you stand out or get lost in the crowd is a choice. A mindset. Ken Schmidt faced those same challenges himself and gained acclaim for his role in the extraordinary turnaround of the legendary Harley-Davidson Motor Company. That transformation was based on a change in mindset and a focus on answering three key strategic questions. While times have changed, what humans want and need from the businesses they buy from and work for hasn’t.

In his high-energy speeches, Ken inspires companies and individuals to shift their thinking and ride a path to success by becoming memorable – not for what they do or what they make, but for how they connect with people.

Ken is author of Make Some Noise: The Unconventional Road to Dominance. He’s also host of the Tailgating with Geniuses podcast and co-founder of Torque Sessions Leadership Training. In all of his endeavors, Ken brings an unconventional perspective that helps organizations and individuals reframe how they engage with their marketplace.

More about Ken: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/ken-schmidt/

Lior Arussy | Speaker and Author on the Customer-Service Experience

Booked by:  IBM, Accuity, Mercedes Benz, Cognizant

Lior Arussy is hailed as one of the leading global authorities in the fields of Customer Experience, Employee Engagement, and Strategy Execution. He is a Corporate Culture expert, a ‘success accelerator’ – and a proven, passionate change agent. Called a “triple threat of transformation” by William Taylor, co-founder of Fast Company magazine – Lior has helped many of the world’s top brands achieve unprecedented goals in customer satisfaction, growth – and profitability. Among these are Mercedes-Benz, Johnson & Johnson, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Thomson Reuters, HSBC, E.ON, FedEx, SAP, and the University of Pennsylvania – to name a few.

His insights and methods have been successfully put into practice in over 200 corporate transformations worldwide, making Lior not only a forerunner in the field – but a proven practitioner. And that’s what truly sets him apart – where other speakers simply talk of change, Lior makes it happen time and time again. As inspiring as he is passionate, Lior’s unique and critical voice continues to drive people across the globe to achieve their ultimate success.

More about Lior: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/lior-arussy/

Colette Carlson | Author & Motivational Speaker on Human Behaviour and Communications

Booked by: Boeing, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Federal Express

At the heart of every sale, every interaction between a leader and a team member, every conversation with a customer… is a connection. How to make those connections effective, and leverage them for greater success, is the thread woven into every one of Colette Carlson’s presentations.

Colette teaches audiences how to transform relationships through the power of connected conversations. Her keynote programs are so personalized, attendees often assume Colette is one of them. She has the outstanding ability to connect through engaging content and laugh-out-loud humor.

With a Master’s Degree in Human Behavior, and more than 20 years of experience helping individuals change behaviors that impact their success, Colette understands the psychology, mindset, and skills required to make positive, long-lasting change.

More about Colette: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/colette-carlson/

Jay Baer | Best-selling Author on Customer Experience & Customer Service, Renowned business strategist

Booked by:  Corteva, Purina, American Express, Bentley

Jay Baer is a customer experience and digital marketing pioneer, expert, advisor, researcher, and analyst. He has spent nearly 30 years helping the world’s most iconic brands gain and keep more customers. A 7th-generation entrepreneur, Jay has written six best-selling books, and founded five, multi-million dollar companies.

Jay is an inductee into the halls of fame for professional speaking and word of mouth marketing, and the creator of multiple award-winning podcasts. He is also one of just two people in the world listed as one of the top 30 “Global Gurus” in two different knowledge categories (customer service and internet marketing).

He founded the strategy and analysis firm Convince & Convert and is a board member of Experience Dynamic, a full-stack customer experience services collective.

Media outlets like CNBC, NPR, Fox Business, and The Wall Street Journal frequently rely on Jay to comment and contextualize top trends. His very popular twice-monthly newsletter is at TheBaerFacts.com.

More about Jay: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/jay-baer/

Blake Morgan | Customer Experience Futurist, Keynote Speaker and Author

Booked by: Coca-Cola, AT&T, The Federal Reserve Bank 

Blake Morgan was called “The Queen of CX” by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Her newest book is called “8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules For Building Business Around Today’s Customer” coming out July of 2024. Her bestselling second book is called “The Customer Of The Future: 10 Guiding Principles For Winning Tomorrow’s Business” (HarperCollins), identified by Business Insider as one of the top 20 books executives are reading. In 2021 the book won a top 5 spot on Book Authority’s list of the “Top 100 Future Of Technology Books of All-Time.”

She was called one of the top 40 female keynote speakers by Real Leaders Magazine. Blake is a guest lecturer at Columbia University, the University of California, San Diego as well as adjunct faculty at the Rutgers executive education MBA program. She has worked with companies like Coca-Cola, AT&T, The Federal Reserve Bank and many more. Blake contributes to Forbes and is the host of The Modern Customer Podcast.

She lives in the Southern California with her husband, their two children and two dogs.

More about Blake: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/blake-morgan/

Kevin Brown | Marketing Executive and Speaker on Accountability and Leadership

Booked by:  American Express, Delta Airlines, Nationwide, H&R Block

Kevin’s unconventional path to business and personal success has taught him that winning in business and in life requires anything but conventional thinking. He grew up in Muskegon, Michigan where his blue-collar roots taught him the value of hard work and determination. With a streetwise aptitude and a never quit attitude, he worked his way from the front lines in business to the executive boardroom.

Kevin understands what drives organizational excellence and customer loyalty. He knows first-hand how great brands think, feel and act. He is a branding and culture expert with a 30+ year career in franchise development. He spent the last 20 years of his corporate career as part of a leadership team that built a little-known family business into the #1 franchise in their industry with annual revenues exceeding $2 billion dollars. Since 2016, he has traveled the world pursuing a mission to share The HERO Effect® message with as many people and organizations as possible.

The HERO Effect® is a simple philosophy that separates world-class organizations and high-performance people from everybody else. Kevin is passionate about helping people expand their vision, develop their potential and grow their results. And, as the father of a child with autism, he knows firsthand how the principles of true success reach beyond the boardroom and into the lives of real people facing the challenges of everyday life.

More about Kevin: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/kevin-brown/

David Brownlee | Customer Experience, Communication, and Leadership Expert

Booked by: Harley-Davidson, Oakley, Google, LinkedIn

David Brownlee is the CEO of The Brownlee Group, LLC and founder of the Rockstar Customer Service Training Program. He is a two-time, number one, best-selling author of Rockstar Service, Rockstar Profits and Customer Service Success and has been featured in Time Magazine, People Magazine and others. He is a former business coach and seminar leader for Tony Robbins and has conducted over 5,000 one-on-one coaching sessions with business owners and executives.

He has trained over 2M businesses and individuals from his online courses, keynotes, live events and coaching programs. His clients range from small businesses to large companies – from Harley-Davidson, and Oakley to Google and LinkedIn.

David is a serial entrepreneur and sold his first company in 2005. He then moved to Central America with his wife to take a break and learn his 3 s’s…Spanish, Salsa and Surfing. One night when coming home from dinner in a taxicab, David and his wife were kidnapped at gunpoint. David was robbed, beaten and stabbed in the leg.

More about David: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/david-brownlee/

Ryan Estis | Speaks on Business Performance, Leadership and Sales

Booked by:  Blue Shield, CVS Health, Mayo Clinic, Medtronic

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.

Ryan delivers keynote speeches, courses and online learning with an emphasis on actionable content designed to elevate business performance. His curriculum emphasizes emerging trends influencing leadership effectiveness, sales performance and customer experience. Ryan helps participants prepare to thrive in today’s ultra-competitive, hyper-connected business environment.

Ryan supports the world’s leading brands, including Liberty Mutual, Darden Restaurants, Goodyear, the Dallas Cowboys, Medtronic, ECCO USA and Blue Cross Blue Shield. He is a faculty member for the Institute of Management Studies, a member of the SmartBrief on Workforce Advisory Board and a certified Human Capital Strategist.

More about Ryan: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/ryan-estis/

Sally Hogshead | Speaker on Innovation in Customer Service and Marketing

Booked by: Cisco, Human Business World, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, Wall Street Journal

Sally Hogshead is a Hall of Fame speaker, international author, and the world’s leading expert on fascination. Growing up with the last name Hogshead would give anyone an unconventional point of view. After graduating from Duke University and starting in advertising, Sally was named the most successful junior copywriter of all time. At age 27 she opened her first agency, and went on to conquer the worlds of branding and marketing.

Over the past decade, Sally’s research has uncovered surprising trends. In today’s distracted world, people have a 9-second attention span. With only 9
seconds to communicate value, we must use our advantages to immediately break through. Sally teaches how to break through the distraction and competition by creating moments of intense focus.

When you fascinate a customer or employee, you create exciting moments of connection. Your listener is far more likely to remember and value you.

In her research, Sally has measured over 100,000 people to identify a scientific approach to personal branding.

More about Sally: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/sally-hogshead/

Doug Lipp | Speaker on Leadership, Customer Service and Change

Booked by:  McDonald’s, Verizon Wireless, Google, Best Buy

Candid. Passionate. Relevant. Doug Lipp is on a crusade to help organizations strengthen their corporate culture, boost business performance, and unapologetically, have fun while doing it.

Doug is a distinguished international consultant, eight-time author, and former head of training at the legendary Disney University. His latest book is the best-selling Disney U: How Disney University Develops the World’s Most Engaged, Loyal, and Customer-Centric Employees.

At age 29, Doug’s celebrated talent catapulted him to the helm of the legendary Disney University training team at Walt Disney corporate headquarters.  Fluent in Japanese, Doug also helped Disney open its first international theme park as a member of the Tokyo Disneyland start-up team.

Drawing on his 30 plus years of combined experience at Disney and in private practice, Doug inspires and challenges hundreds of organizations worldwide. In presentations, he shares how Disney overcame spectacular strategic challenges to unleash one of the most improbable success stories in corporate history.

More about Doug: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/doug-lipp/

Brett King | Speaker on financial services and customer experience

Booked by:  Sapient, WiPro, Oracle, Microsoft

Brett King, the best selling author of the groundbreaking book BANK 2.0, is the founder of the first direct mobile bank in the US and UK (Movenbank) and a strategic advisor to the world’s leading financial services organizations. He is an International Judge for the GSMA Global Mobile Awards, the Asian Banker Retail Excellence Awards and for the MiddleEast Business Achievement Awards.

A speaker at global events for financial services and innovation, King is a sought after expert on
innovation, technology disruption, customer experience and channel distribution strategy. He publishes regularly in his role as industry advisor on The Huffington Post, Internet Evolution, FinExtra and his personal blog Banking4Tomorrow.com. He has recently been featured on Bloomberg TV, BBC, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, etc.

King also a runs a niche strategic advisory firm, User Strategy and is a Board Advisor at Geezeo, a leading software services provider for banks and credit unions. He also advises IAFM, the International Academy of Financial Management (previously known as the American Academy of Financial Management). As one of the founders of IAFM, one of the world’s fastest growing professional associations with more than 200,000 members, associates and affiliates in 145 countries,King was instrumental in the development of the worldwide certification training provided by IAFM.

More about Brett: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/brett-king/

Scott McKain | Dynamic Speaker on Innovation, Sales & Customer Service

Booked by:  BMW, Colgate, Fidelity Investments, Intel

Scott McKain is globally recognized as an authority on how organizations and professionals create the distinction required to attract and retain customers and employees.

Scott’s presentations benefit from over three decades of experience, combined with his innate talent for articulating successful innovative ideas. McKain has spoken and consulted with leaders of the world’s most influential corporations, presenting his business strategies in all fifty states and twenty-two countries… from Singapore to Sweden; from Mexico to Morocco… from the White House with the President in attendance – to conferences in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

McKain’s latest book, released by an imprint from Simon & Schuster, titled “ICONIC: How Organizations and Leaders Attain, Sustain, and Regain the Ultimate Level of Distinction” was released to rave reviews from the world’s leading executives and thought leaders – and was named a “Top Ten” pick of the year by Forbes.com.

More about Scott: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/scott-mckain/