Top 10 Opening Speakers
You want to kick off your conference with an impact and leave your audience buzzing about what’s to come; inspired to learn, connect and thrive. Having the right keynote speaker to start your event is essential… and we can help.
A great opening keynote doesn’t just break the ice, it unleashes the intellectual capital of your audience, setting the stage for success.
The following 10 keynote speakers have the highest audience scores as Opening Keynote Speakers:
Ryan Estis – Speaks on Business Performance, Leadership and Sales
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.
Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/ryan-estis/
Combat tests you. Being a beat cop tests you. Life tests you. Three brothers and being the only girl…tests you. Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour has been tested her whole life. A gutsy trailblazer, her resume is an impressive collection of “firsts” including America’s first Black female combat pilot. She served two tours of duty in Iraq as a Marine. She was also a diversity liaison officer to the Pentagon for Headquarters Marine Corps. After her military service, FlyGirl revved up her career in the private sector as an entrepreneur, consultant to business, and author of Zero to Breakthrough, The 7-Step, Battle-Tested Method for Accomplishing Goals that Matter. As a speaker, FlyGirl unleashes hard-hitting advice and amazing anecdotes from her adventures on the battlefield and in business. She helps individuals and organizations Get Gutsy and build a sustainable inner force and conviction, that results in accomplishing significant goals.
Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/vernice-armour/
Dr. Rebecca Heiss – Inspiring Keynote Speaker on Fearless Leadership & Accountability
Rebecca knows fear. As an evolutionary biologist and stress expert, Dr. Rebecca Heiss is dedicated to helping us become self-aware and overcome our instinctual limitations – the ancient, often subconscious fears that hold us back from our optimal performance and our happiest lives. Her research has been designated “transformative” by the National Science Foundation and it is waking up audiences around the world.
Rebecca’s “fearless” message inspires hope and actionable insights to train our brains to work for us, rather than against us in times of uncertainty. With surprising humor and palpable energy, no matter if Dr. Heiss is delivering virtually or on stage, she wins over her audiences with interactive, inspiring, and timely takeaways.
Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/dr-rebecca-heiss/
Seth Mattison – Expert on The New World of Work and Leadership in The Digital
Seth Mattison is an internationally renowned expert and author on workforce trends, generational dynamics, and business strategy. As Founder and Chief Movement Officer of Luminate Labs, Seth advises many of the world’s leading brand and organizations on the key shifts happening around talent management, change and innovation, leadership, and the future of work.
Over the past decade Seth has shared his insight with thousands of business leaders around the world and has received accolades from many of the worlds best brands including: MasterCard, Johnson and Johnson, IBM, The Dallas Cowboys, AT&T, PepsiCo, GE Energy, E&Y, Caterpillar, and The Walt Disney Company.
Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/seth-mattison/
Erica Dhawan – Leading Authority on Collaboration and Innovation
Erica Dhawan is the world’s leading authority on 21st-century Collaboration and Connectional Intelligence. She challenges audiences and organizations to innovate faster and further, together. Her newest book – Digital Body Language – decodes the new signals and cues of effective collaboration and teamwork in a digital-first human workplace.
Erica Dhawan helps companies, leaders, and managers leverage 21st-century collaboration skills and behaviors to improve game-changing performance. She was named by Thinkers50 as “The Oprah of Management Ideas” and featured as one of the Top 20 Management Experts around the world by GlobalGurus.
Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/erica-dhawan/
Chester Elton delivers results when he asks “how do today’s best leaders accelerate business results?” By engaging their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. Chester has spent two decades helping clients engage their employees in organizational strategy, vision and values. In his inspiring and always entertaining talks, Elton provides real solutions for leaders looking to build culture, manage change and drive innovation. His work is supported by research with more than a million working adults across the globe, revealing the proven secrets behind high performance cultures and teams.
Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/chester-elton/
Sara Ross – Speaker on Science-based Leadership & the Future of Work
Sara Ross is on a mission to help organizations and their leaders reignite a sense of aliveness to reshape their work and refuel their life. She and her company do this by using brain science-based strategies to teach people how to amplify their vitality by strengthening their emotional intelligence, resilience, and well-being.
As a recognized leadership expert, Sara’s ideas and research have earned her a reputation as a fresh and thought-provoking voice in discussions focused on the future of work. As such, Sara is called on to work with clients such as Microsoft, PepsiCo., Cisco, Wells Fargo, T-Mobile, Rogers, Bell, Allstate, United Health, Fidelity, BMO, Stanford University, and as diversely as the U.S. Navy SEALs, among others.
You can count on Sara to bring her trademark energy with the integration of relevant, cutting-edge science, relatable stories and idea’s guaranteed to challenge the status quo, provide new insights and inspiration, and most importantly, leave audiences with a blueprint of actionable strategies.
Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/sara-ross/
Janet Lapp – Expert on Change and Employee Motivation
What would happen if everyone in the organization saw the positives and not the problems in change? This question inspired Dr. Janet Lapp and her team to conduct decades of research enacting these types of changes in the workplace, with amazingly positive results. Janet shares the evidence-based results derived from years of experience in both her books and stage performances. She has a professor’s ability to translate complex theory into usable answers, and a humorist’s knack for getting ideas across in an entertaining way.
Dr. Janet Lapp is a psychologist, author, and consultant for workplace transformation. She is known for her ability to create optimism, energy and an intense emotional connection. Her unique interactive approach engages the audience in a change lab,
where they first assess their leadership skills, then leave with tools to transform from where they are to where they need to be.
Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/dr-janet-lapp/
Terence Mauri – Innovation & Disruptive Leadership Speaker
Leaders from Alibaba, HSBC and Facebook choose Terence to ignite Mindset 2.0 – a disruption mindset to break the rules and reimagine your business today.
Terence Mauri is the Founder of global think tank Hack Future Lab and is a Partner with MIT Solve, an initiative to address world challenges. He brings decades of experience and knowledge sharing cutting edge principles on the future of leadership beyond disruption. He is a Bestselling Author and his new book The 3D Leader: Take Your Leadership to the Next Dimension is an actionable and robust guide for ALL people to realize that a new dimension in personal leadership is at the core of creating opportunity. The 3D Leader is for every person who wants to learn three winning mindsets – THINK BOLD, CHOOSE BRAVE, GO BEYOND – that will equip you with a practical set of actions for you to completely reimagine how you lead.
Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/terence-mauri/
Colette Carlson – Author & Motivational Speaker on Human Behaviour and Communications
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.
Video: https://thesweeneyagency.com/speakers/colette-carlson/
