As a renowned author, speaker, television and radio personality, Les Brown has risen to national prominence by inspiring others to shake off mediocrity and live up to their full potential. With no formal education beyond high school, Les has distinguished himself as an international authority on harnessing human potential.

Born a twin in low-income Liberty City in Miami, Florida, Les and his twin brother were adopted when they were six weeks old by Miss Mamie Brown. As a single woman with a big heart, Miss Brown had very little education or financial means. With young Les' inattention to school work, his restless energy, and the failure of his teachers to recognize his potential, Les was misdiagnosed as educable mentally retarded. Suffering for years by the label and the stigma, Les was nevertheless driven by his passion to learn and his hunger to achieve his goal as a radio disc jockey.

In a humorous twist of fate and cunning, Les rose from a hip-talkin' morning DJ to a broadcast manager; from voracious reader to author; from community activist to community leader; from political commentator to three-term state legislator; from a banquet and nightclub emcee to a premier keynote speaker for Fortune 100 companies.

In 1986, Les entered the public speaking arena on a full-time basis and formed his own company, Les Brown Enterprises Inc., aimed at individuals and organizations, the company provides motivational products, personal development programs, speaker development workshops, keynote presentations and interactive business trainings.

In 1989, Les received the National Speakers Association's highest honor: The Council of Peers Award for Excellence (CPAE). In addition, he was selected one of the World's Top Five Speakers in 1992 by Toastmasters International and became the recipient of the Golden Gavel Award.

Commencing in 1990 and recording the first in a series of six PBS specials, Les launched You Deserve which was awarded a Chicago-area Emmy. It became the leading fundraiser for pledges to PBS stations nationwide.

In 1993, Les became the host of his own nationally syndicated daily television talk show, The Les Brown Show, in which he focused on solutions to the day's challenges rather than the problems.

Recognized internationally, Les is the author of three bestselling books: Up Thoughts for Down Times, Live Your Dreams, and It's Not Over Until You Win. With his Sunday morning radio talk show, Chicago Speaks with Les Brown, Les' outreach embraces the homeless and the world's most powerful leaders.

A leading authority in understanding and stimulating human potential, Les' electric and powerful delivery, stage presence and personal insights have built his international brand of "What's Possible". Les' customized presentation is driven by his approach to each unique audience. Before he gives a speech, he builds a speech. The end result is that Les teaches and inspires each audience to new levels of awareness and achievement.

• Talks about how great brands deliver excellence to nurture customer relationships

• Audiences learn how to achieve greater results by eliminating “ordinary" thinking and mastering the habit of excellence.

• Former marketing executive who built a little-known family business into the #1 franchise in their industry with annual revenues exceeding $2 billion.

• Past clients include: American Express, Delta Airlines, Nationwide, H&R Block, PayPal, New York Life, Million Dollar Round Table, Southwest Airlines, Merck, Atrium Health

Kevin Brown’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 helped transform SERVPRO® from 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.

As a highly sought-after keynote speaker, Kevin has had the privilege of speaking to a wide variety of organizations including American Express, Delta Airlines, PayPal, ExxonMobil, Nationwide, H&R Block, Sprint, Ernst & Young, Million Dollar Round Table, Merck, Booz Allen Hamilton, and many more.

Kevin is the bestselling author of The Hero Effect® (2017/2019). In his second book, Unleashing Your Hero (Harper Collins Leadership/Nov 2021), Kevin shares how the heroes who transformed his life are people just like you. People who were willing to use their gifts and abilities to serve others at a high level. This book is a guide to help everyday people discover and unleash their hero at work and in life.

Kevin has received numerous honors, including being named one of the ‘Top 30 Motivational Speakers in the world for 2024 according to Global Gurus’. Kevin entertains, inspires, and challenges people to show up every day and make a positive difference at work and in life!

Check out Kevin Brown additional speaking video here.

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.

After making it through that horrific experience, David decided in that moment, that life is short and dedicated himself to helping others. He looks at this life event as a “blessing” because it has led him down the path to be here with you on your journey.

David believes that we all deserve to be successful in life and business. He also believes that each one of us has the power to create a positive ripple effect of kindness and respect for one another through our interactions. We make this impact, one person at a time.

He currently lives in San Diego, CA with his wife and two children.

Fun fact: David is the biggest winner in the history of the Hollywood Squares Game Show on CBS with Whoopi Goldberg.

• Marcus talks about how managers can create environments in which individuals thrive, discover their talents and use their best selves daily.

• Audiences learn the four key demands a manager must fulfill in order to provide the kind of environment that enables people to achieve peak performance on a regular basis.

• Marcus Buckingham is the author of more than 10 books and is the author of two of the best-selling business books of all time. He is the co-creator of the StrengthsFinder tool, and CEO and found of The Marcus Buckingham Company.

• Past clients include: Toyota, Facebook, lululemon, Coca-Cola, Box, Master Foods, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, and Disney.

Marcus Buckingham has dedicated his career to addressing the complex issue of a workplace ruled by efficiency and competency - and where personal strengths fit in. Using his nearly two decades of experience as a Senior Researcher at Gallup Organization, he has challenged entrenched preconceptions about achievement to get to the core of what drives success. As a speaker, Buckingham offers important insights into maximizing strengths, understanding the crucial differences between leadership and management, and fulfilling the quest for long-lasting personal satisfaction in work and in life.

The definitive treatment of strengths in the workplace can be found in Buckingham's best-selling books: First, Break All the Rules (co-authored with Curt Coffman); Now, Discover Your Strengths (co-authored with Donald O. Clifton); The One Thing You Need to Know; Go Put Your Strengths to Work; The Truth about You and Find Your Strongest Life. His latest book Nine Lies about Work: A Freethinking Leader's Guide to the Real World (co-authored with Ashley Goodall) speaks about how the time has come for a manifesto for truth and change at work - and reveals the unimpeachable data about how humans actually work.

A recent project and best-seller listed on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, StandOut, is a book and strengths assessment combination that uses new research methodology to reveal your top two strength roles - your areas of comparative advantage. StandOut goes beyond description to give people practical innovations that fit their strengths and provide managers with quick insights on how to get the best from each of their team members.

The goal is to move companies toward greater success and productivity by creating a workplace culture in which employees spend more than 75% of each day on the job using their strongest skills and engaged in their favorite tasks, basically doing exactly what they want to do. Companies that focus on cultivating employees' strengths rather than simply improving their weaknesses stand to dramatically increase efficiency while allowing for maximum personal growth. If such a theory sounds revolutionary, that's because it is. Buckingham calls it the strengths revolution - and he founded The Marcus Buckingham Company (TMBC) in 2005 to help jump-start a worldwide conversation about how to get people focused on their strengths.

As he addresses more than 250,000 people around the globe each year, Buckingham touts this strengths revolution as the key to finding the most effective route to personal achievement and the missing link to the efficiency, competence, and high performance for which companies constantly strive. He challenges conventional wisdom and shows the correlation between engaged employees and business fundamentals such as turnover rates, customer satisfaction, profits and productivity.

In his role as an author, independent consultant and speaker, Marcus Buckingham has been the subject of in-depth profiles in The New York Times, Fortune, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. He has appeared on numerous television programs, including The Today Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show, and is routinely lauded by such corporations as Toyota, Coca-Cola, Master Foods, Wells Fargo, Microsoft and Disney - as an invaluable resource in informing, challenging, mentoring and inspiring people to find their strengths and sustain long-lasting personal success.

Marcus Buckingham graduated from Cambridge University in 1987 with a master's degree in social and political science.

Dan Buettner is a National Geographic Fellow, an inspirational speaker, and multiple New York Times best-selling author. He has discovered, through multiple expeditions with teams of research scientists specializing in population studies, the five places in the world - dubbed Blue Zones - where people live the longest, and are healthiest and happiest. His New York Times Sunday Magazine article about these places, “The Island Where People Forget to Die,” was one of the Times’ most popular - as was his National Geographic cover story on longevity, “The Secrets of Living Longer.” A chord was struck, and thus subsequent books and a company which seeks to share the distilled wisdom of Blue Zones cultures with American cities and corporations were born.

Blue Zones, LLC, puts the world’s best practices of longevity and well-being to work in people’s lives at the community level. Buettner works in partnership with Healthways, municipal governments, and various insurance companies to implement the program in more than 20 cities so far - and has dramatically improved the health of more than 5 million Americans to date. Their strategy focuses on optimizing the local environment: walkability for citizens and kids, availability of healthy food options, social connectivity, pursuit of life purpose - and ongoing coaching and support for creating homes which effortlessly bring forth wellness and happiness.

Writing in Newsweek, Harvard University’s Walter Willet called the results “stunning.” In one project alone, Buettner and his then partner, AARP - applied principles of Blue Zones to Albert Lea, Minnesota, and lowered health care costs by 40%.

His books The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest and Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way - have remained best-sellers, along with The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest People. Be sure to mark 03-December on your calendars - the release date of Dan's latest book The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Reach 100. Likely to be his next best-seller, The Blue Zones Kitchen fuses scientific reporting, National Geographic photography and 100 recipes that may help you live to 100. It captures the way of eating that yielded the statistically longest-lived people - and explains, in some detail, why that food has enabled populations to elude the chronic disease scourge that has befallen Americans.

Dan has appeared on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, Dr. Oz, NPR, and Oprah. Voted a Top 50 Influencer in Aging by PBS, Dan also holds three Guinness Book of world records in distance cycling (and is possibly the only person to have cycled through the Sahara desert without sunscreen!) - and has won an Emmy Award for television production. He resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is particularly proud to be the father of three (nearly) grown children.

Scott Burrows is a top inspirational speaker and bestselling author who is a living testament to the power of perseverance, determination, and adaptability in the face of adversity. His unwavering belief in our ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges has touched countless lives and continues to inspire transformation on a global scale.

An accomplished athlete who excelled in both football and martial arts, Scott was just 19-years-old when his life took a tragic turn. Paralyzed from the chest down after a devastating car accident, doctors diagnosed him with quadriplegia and told him he would spend the rest of his life confined to a wheelchair. Despite this, Scott became relentless in pursuit of his goal to stand again.

Drawing on his athletic background and a profound desire to overcome, he found a way to rebuild his life and defy the odds. To help him navigate his challenges, he focused on three foundational principles: Vision, Mindset, and Grit. Along the way, he proved that no circumstances can ever destroy the power of the human spirit.

Today, Scott uses his personal journey to inspire audiences all over the world to take charge when presented with unexpected obstacles. A captivating storyteller, he shares actionable strategies to help audiences embrace change, build resilience, and push past their perceived limitations to achieve remarkable success.

In a world where setbacks are inevitable, Scott stands as an embodiment of the possibilities that emerge when we choose to reshape our perspectives. His bestselling book, Vision Mindset Grit, chronicles his unforgettable journey and serves as a reminder of the incredible strength that resides within us all. With determination, adaptability, and a positive mindset, we CAN stand up to any challenge.

• Trusted by Industry Leaders – Advisor to Google, Microsoft, Deloitte, and top global organizations.

• Disruptive Innovation Expert – A leading authority on AI, automation, and exponential technologies shaping the future.

• Strategic Foresight & Innovation – Actionable insights to anticipate disruption and create competitive advantages.

• Author of seven books,  including The New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller Flash Foresight; One of the world's leading futurists who the New York Times called “…one of the top three business gurus in the highest demand as a speaker…”

• Master of Hard Trends – Navigate uncertainty with confidence using proven anticipatory strategies.

Click Here to Watch Daniel's Virtual Presentation

Daniel Burrus is considered one of the World’s Leading Futurists on Global Trends and Disruptive Innovation. The New York Times has referred to him as one of the top three business gurus in the highest demand as a speaker.

He is the author of seven books, including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller Flash Foresight and his latest Amazon No. 1 bestseller, The Anticipatory Organization.

He has delivered over 3,000 keynote speeches worldwide and is a strategic advisor to executives from Fortune 500 companies, helping them to develop game-changing strategies
based on his proven methodologies for capitalizing on technology innovations and their future impact. His client list includes Lockheed Martin, Verizon, Microsoft, VISA, Deloitte,
Google, Procter & Gamble, KPMG, Honda, FedEx and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Burrus is an innovative entrepreneur who has founded six businesses, four of which were U.S. national leaders in the first year. He is the CEO of Burrus Research, a research and consulting firm that monitors global advancements in technology-driven trends to help clients profit from technological, social and business forces that are converging to create enormous, untapped opportunities.

He is the creator of the Hard Trend Methodology, the Anticipatory Organization® Business Model, used by leading organizations worldwide, and he is a founding member of the
Department of Defense Joint Services Futures Group.

His accurate predictions date back to the early 1980s, when he became the first and only futurist to accurately identify the 20 exponential technologies that would become the driving
force of business and economic growth for decades to come. They included digital electronics, AI, distributed computing, genetic engineering, lasers, optical storage, photovoltaics,
fiberoptics and nanotechnologies to name a few. Since then, he has continued to establish a worldwide reputation for his exceptional record of predicting the future of technology-
driven change and its direct impact on the business world.

Burrus is a featured writer, reaching millions of monthly readers with his insights on disruptive innovation, exponential change and the future. His work is featured across various platforms, including LinkedIn, where he is a member of an exclusive invitation-only group of experts. On LinkedIn alone, he has built a following of over 1.2 million professionals.

He has been the featured subject of several PBS television specials and has appeared on programs such as CNN, Fox Business and Bloomberg. Burrus has been quoted in a variety
of publications, including Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Fortune and Forbes.

Andrew Busch is the former 1st Chief Market Intelligence Officer for the US government and economic futurist at AndrewBusch.com. For the CFTC, he was charged with improving and enhancing the government’s understanding of the markets and the economy. His job was to take all the news, information and data on the economy and markets; and filter it into condensed, easily understood research; then communicate it to the government and public.

Andy provided economic and market briefings to White House, US House, US Senate, the SEC, the Federal Reserve Board and the US Treasury staff on a wide range of issues including interest rates, inflation, China’s influence on trade, and the impact of technology on the economy.

Prior to joining the CFTC, Mr. Busch was CEO and founder of a boutique financial markets and policy research firm, Bering Productions, Inc (BPI). Before BPI, he was the Global Currency and Public Policy Strategist for Bank of Montreal (BMO) in Chicago. He is author of the book “World Event Trading” covering large crises, like infectious disease outbreaks and war, and their impact on the economy and markets.

Today, he’s a consultant and keynote speaker with a wide range of clients including chemicals, financial services, energy, real estate, manufacturing, construction and agriculture.

A dynamic and insightful speaker, Jeff Bush is known for his unique ability to translate difficult and confusing tax and fiscal information coming out of Washington into winning growth strategies for business owners, executives, and high net worth investors. Jeff is a colleague of Andy Friedman and an integral part of The Washington Update, the non-partisan experts on all things Washington D.C.

Jeff does more than 200 presentations yearly in the US and abroad to a client base that includes a who’s who list of fortune 500 firms from Wall Street to Main Street and everywhere in between. Jeff has been featured in Investment News and has been an analyst on POTUS Sirius/XM radio. While best known as a keynote speaker, Jeff has shared the stage with many notables including former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., Consuelo Mack, host of Wealth Track, Morgan Stanley, Chief Investment Officer, Jeffrey Applegate, Ron Insana, reporter for Market Score Board and former CNBC Senior Analyst.

Jeff is a 28-year veteran of the financial industry. During a 10-year career at Merrill Lynch he was responsible for providing, through 7500 financial advisers, creative investment strategies and effective risk mitigation approaches to private and corporate clients across the US. By the end of his career on Wall Street, he was managing a $50+ billion business. Before that, Jeff was the youngest managing partner in the 150-year history of The New England Financial, an investment and tax risk consulting firm. He began his career at Principal Financial Group, where he handled complex underwriting issues before moving into the areas of research and development.

Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Management with emphasis in accounting and philosophy from William Jewell College. Jeff’s dedication, forward thinking, and strategic abilities have resulted in performance records, industry awards, and leadership accolades.

Michael C. Bush is a global chief executive with over 25 years of experience leading small and mid-sized organizations through transformational growth. Driven by a love of business and an unwavering commitment to fair and equitable treatment, in 2015 Michael acquired ownership and currently serves as global CEO of Great Place to Work® headquartered in Oakland, California with operations in more than 60 countries worldwide. Great Place to Work® is a global people analytics and consulting firm that helps companies of all sizes produce better business results by focusing on the work experience for every employee. Through certification programs, Great Place to Work® recognizes outstanding workplaces and produces Fortune’s annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, the World’s Best Workplaces™ list, the 100 Best Workplaces for Women™ list, the Best Workplaces for Diversity™ list and dozens of other distinguished workplace rankings around the world.

Originally hired to help the founder of Great Place to Work® exit the business, Michael accomplished this successful exit and within six months of taking control set an aggressive new course for the business and brand. This new, market-shifting course began with setting a clear mission for the company: to build a better world by helping every organization become a Great Place to Work For All™ by the year 2030. Re-building the business out of virtual bankruptcy, he created a valuable new set of algorithms and globally launched a new methodology known as “Great Place to Work For All™.” This bold move expanded the market for employee surveys to improve business performance and productivity from employee surveys only for the sake of employer branding. This new For All™ methodology analytically captured renewed interest in the business value that diversity and inclusion bring to innovation. A new SaaS product, “Emprising™” was born in 2018 to enable Michael’s vision for the market shift and transformation of Great Place to Work®’s financial trajectory. Emprising’s remarkably rapid customer adoption rate has resulted in a 15% annual revenue increase with the entire business currently exceeding 100 million dollars annually with EBITDA of 25%.

In addition to the book Michael Bush authored “A Great Place to Work For All™” (2018, publisher Berrett-Koehler), he is a sought after keynoter and regular contributor to Fortune and has been featured along with Great Place to Work® in numerous publications including Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Inc., ThriveGlobal, Chief Executive Magazine, Huffington Post, CNBC, and TED.

Prior to his current role, from 2003 to 2015, Michael led private equity backed turn-arounds. In two different businesses he became the CEO and managed both exits that substantially rewarded all investors and stakeholders. In addition, Michael founded an online training platform for small business entrepreneurs that led to him becoming a member of President Obama’s White House Business Council where he focused on Inner City Job creation.

During this time, 2002-2012, Michael served on the Board of Inner City Advisors – a non-profit helping small business create jobs and pay a living wage. He also founded the non-profit private equity firm Fund Good Jobs in 2012. This fund provides capital to small business who cannot attract capital from the traditional sources.

From 1996 to 2003, Michael spent one year as the COO of Whalen and Company a global telecommunications project management firm that was purchased in 1997 by Tetra Tech Communications. Following that acquisition, Michael was promoted to CEO of Tetra Tech Communications, where revenues grew from 40 million dollars annually to 300 million, until 2003.

Michael was a member of the Board of Directors at Workday, Inc. until September 2021 when Great Place to Work was acquired by UKG, Inc.

Michael Bush received his MS in Management from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business in 1994. Michael is a student and teacher of business having taught Entrepreneurship at Stanford University and Mills College from 2003 to 2015.

Susan Cain is the author of the best-sellers Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, which has been translated into 40 languages, is in its seventh year on the New York Times best- seller list, and was named the #1 best book of the year by Fast Company magazine, which also named Cain one of its Most Creative People in Business. LinkedIn named her the 6th Top Influencer in the world.

Susan has partnered with Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant and Dan Pink to launch the Next Big Idea Book Club; they donate all their proceeds to children’s literacy programs.

Her writing has appeared in the The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. Her record-smashing TED talk has been viewed over 30 million times on TED.com and YouTube combined, and was named by Bill Gates one of his all-time favorite talks.

Cain has also spoken at Microsoft, Google, the U.S. Treasury, the S.E.C., Harvard, Yale, West Point and the US Naval Academy.

She received Harvard Law School’s Celebration Award for Thought Leadership, the Toastmasters International Golden Gavel Award for Communication and Leadership, and was named one of the world’s top 50 Leadership and Management Experts by Inc. Magazine. She is an honours graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School.

She lives in the Hudson River Valley with her husband and two sons.

Cassie Campbell is a sought after corporate and keynote speaker, drawing on her accomplishments as the captain of both gold-medal winning Canadian Women's Olympic Hockey Teams (2002 and 2006) - to explore the topics of  leadership, teamwork, determination and coming out of your comfort zone. Millions of viewers around the world heard Cassie's commentary and analysis of Women's Hockey at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

Cassie Campbell won 21 medals with Canada's National Women's teams, including 17 gold medals and four silver medals. She is a six-time World Champion gold medallist - and won silver at the 2005 World Chamionships. Cassie Campbell is the only captain, male or female, to lead Canada to two Olympic gold medals. When Cassie Campbell was dressed for Team Canada, her team had a 129-26-2 record.

As Captain of Canada's National Women's Team from 2001 to 2006 - she is the longest serving captain in Canadian hockey history. She was also an alternate captain with Canada's National Women's Team from 1997-2001 - receiving this honour just prior to her second World Championship appearance.

In 157 career games with Team Canada, Cassie Campbell had 32 goals, 68 assists, 100 points, 66 penalty minutes. (Four of her career goals were short-handed and three were game winning goals). Her 100 points rank her 8th all-time with Team Canada's National Women's program.

In addition to a very successful career in sports, Cassie Campbell was also the first woman to do colour commentating on Hockey Night in Canada on October 14th, 2006 - when the Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Calgary Flames. She currently works as a TV analyst for TSN's women's hockey coverage and for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. Cassie has worked as a colour commentator for TSN, The Score and the NHL Network - and does radio work for Calgary Flames games on the FAN 960. She was one of the voices of Canadian Women's Olympic Hockey at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

Cassie Campbell runs an annual street hockey tournament in Calgary, Alberta to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. Along with Hockey Hall of Famer's Bobby Orr and Mike Bossy - Cassie is a spokesperson and host for Hockey Canada's Chevrolet Safe & Fun Hockey program. She is a Special Advisor to Scotiabank for it's hockey programs and properties, proud supporter of World Vision and spokesperson for Callaway Golf, promoting, amongst other things, women in golf.

Jack Canfield is founder and former CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul™ Enterprises, which encompasses licensing, merchandising - and global publishing activities around the globe. With more than 250 titles and over 500 million copies sold in 43 languages, Jack is a world-renowned expert at warming hearts and changing lives.

But behind the billion-dollar brand Time Magazine called the “publishing phenomenon of the decade” - is America’s leading expert in creating peak performance for entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, managers, sales professionals, corporate employees and educators.

Jack is an in-demand speaker who has brought stadiums of 50,000+ to their feet, cheering his message of The Success Principles - inspiring them to achieve greater success in everything they do by taking on greater challenges, upleveling their efforts, strategic alliances, relationships, attitudes, behaviours, and more.

If more success, career fulfillment, and personal achievement is what you seek as a result of your next meeting – Jack Canfield can help.

Colette Carlson: Human Behavior Expert | CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame | Leadership & Communication Expert | Creator of The Human Edge™

The Human Edge™

Colette Carlson helps leaders and teams strengthen the human skills technology can't replicate—trust, empathy, presence, resilience and influence.

A Human Behavior Expert and CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame inductee, Colette combines research, humor, storytelling and highly interactive experiences to help people communicate more effectively, collaborate more deeply and perform at their best.

Why Book Colette Carlson?

Colette addresses one of today's biggest workplace challenges: people are more connected technologically, yet often more disconnected personally.

She shows leaders, teams and sales professionals how stronger human connection translates into greater trust, engagement, collaboration and performance.

Her presentations are energetic, funny and highly practical. Audiences don't simply listen—they participate, connect and leave with strategies they can immediately put into action.

What Makes Colette Different?

• CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame inductee
• Certified Speaking Professional (CSP)
• Master's Degree in Human Behavior
• More than 20 years working with organizations worldwide
• Trusted by organizations including Microsoft, FedEx, Costco, Procter & Gamble and Fidelity
• Combines humor, storytelling, research and audience interaction
• Conducts extensive pre-event research and audience interviews
• Deeply customizes her presentation to the organization, audience and event objectives

Why Is Colette Right for Your Audience?

Colette is an excellent choice when organizations need people to communicate better, build trust and strengthen the relationships that drive results.

She is particularly effective for leadership conferences, sales meetings, corporate events, association conferences and organizations experiencing change.

Book Colette when your audience needs to:

• Build stronger relationships and trust
• Communicate with greater influence
• Collaborate more effectively across teams and silos
• Strengthen resilience during change
• Create greater engagement and belonging
• Connect across different generations and working styles
• Protect the human advantage in an increasingly AI-driven workplace

Audience Takeaways

Attendees will leave:

• Better equipped to build trust quickly
• More intentional about how they communicate and connect
• Ready to strengthen collaboration across teams
• Better able to navigate difficult conversations
• More resilient when facing change and uncertainty
• Equipped with practical strategies they can immediately apply
• Energized to bring greater humanity to the way they lead and work

Keynote Programs

The Human Edge™ Because Influence Begins With Connection, Not Code

In a world increasingly shaped by technology and AI, Colette shows audiences why human connection has become a critical competitive advantage.

She explores how trust, empathy, presence and emotional intelligence strengthen leadership, teamwork and performance—and gives audiences practical ways to put those skills into action.

Ideal for leadership conferences, corporate meetings and organizations navigating the future of work.

Impactful Leadership

Great leadership isn't simply about communicating information. It's about creating the trust and connection that inspire people to act.

Colette helps leaders communicate with greater clarity, listen more effectively, strengthen relationships and create cultures where people feel seen, valued and motivated to contribute.

Ideal for leadership meetings, management conferences and organizations focused on culture and engagement.

Sales Success

Customers have more information, more choices and more technology than ever before. What still differentiates great salespeople is their ability to create genuine human connection.

Colette shows sales professionals how to build trust, listen more effectively, strengthen relationships and communicate in ways that create greater influence.

Ideal for sales kickoffs, national sales meetings and customer-facing teams.

Why Contact The Sweeney Agency Now?

The right keynote needs to do more than entertain your audience. It needs to connect directly to the challenges they are facing.

Colette is particularly committed to customization, conducting discovery conversations and audience interviews so her presentation feels relevant to the people in the room.

Contact us to:

• Confirm Colette's availability and current fee
• Identify the keynote that best supports your objectives
• Discuss customization around your audience and organization
• Explore keynote, workshop and interactive formats
• Receive comparable recommendations if another speaker may be a stronger fit

Contact The Sweeney Agency to discuss booking Colette Carlson.

• Ram talks about execution as a function that links people, strategy and operations led by deeply and passionately engaged leaders.

• Audiences are fascinated by breakthrough ideas on the tools to develop the discipline of execution based on thinking about business in an integrated way.

• Ram Charan is a world-renowned business advisor, author and speaker who has spent the past 40 years working with many top companies, CEOs, and boards of our time.

• Past clients include: Toyota, Bank of America, Key Bank, ICICI Bank, Aditya Birla Group, Novartis, Max Group, Yildiz Holdings, UST Global, Fast Retailing (Uniqlo), Humana, Matrix, and Longfor.

Ram Charan is a world-renowned business advisor, author and speaker who has spent the past 40 years working with many top companies, CEOs, and boards of our time. In his work with companies including Toyota, Bank of America, Key Bank, ICICI Bank, Aditya Birla Group, Novartis, Max Group, Yildiz Holdings, UST Global, Fast Retailing (Uniqlo), Humana, Matrix, Longfor and two of the four largest digital companies in China, he is known for cutting through the complexity of running a business in today’s fast changing environment to uncover the core business problem. His real-world solutions, shared with millions through his books and articles in top business publications, have been praised for being practical, relevant and highly actionable — the kind of advice you can use Monday morning.

Ram’s introduction to business came early while working in the family shoe shop in a small town in northern India, where he was raised. He earned an engineering degree in India and soon after took a job in Australia. When his talent for business was discovered, Ram was encouraged to develop it. He earned MBA and doctorate degrees from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with high distinction and was a Baker Scholar, then served on the faculties of Harvard Business School and Northwestern University before pursuing consulting full-time.

Ram’s work takes him around the globe non-stop and gives him an unparalleled, up-to-date insider view of how economies and leading companies operate. Through keen observation and analysis, he forms powerful insights that help business leaders face their toughest challenges in the areas of growth, talent development, corporate governance, and profitability.

His timely concrete advice is a powerful tool in navigating today’s uncertain business climate.

Former Chairman of GE Jack Welch says Ram “has the rare ability to distill meaningful from meaningless and transfer it in a quiet, effective way without destroying confidences,” while Ivan Seidenberg, the former CEO of Verizon, calls Ram his “secret weapon.”

Ram has coached more than a dozen leaders who went on to become CEOs. He reaches many more up-and-coming business leaders through in-house executive education programs. His energetic, interactive teaching style has won him several awards, including the Bell Ringer award at GE’s famous Crotonville Institute and best teacher award at Northwestern. He was among BusinessWeek‘s top ten resources for in-house executive development programs.

Ram has authored over 30 books since 1998 that have sold over 4 million copies in more than a dozen languages. Three of his books were Wall Street Journal bestsellers, including Execution, which he coauthored with former Honeywell CEO Larry Bossidy in 2002, which spent more than 150 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. He also has written for publications including Harvard Business Review, Fortune, BusinessWeek, Time, Chief Executive and USA TODAY.

Ram was elected a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and has served on the Blue Ribbon Commission on Corporate Governance. He has served on the boards of Hindalco in India, Emaar, Austin Industries, Tyco Electronics, and Fischer and Porter. His upcoming book, Rethinking Competitive Advantage (Currency, April 2021), is a guide for companies on how to gain competitive advantage in the digital age.

• Talks about the birth of "Siri" from concept to implementation and new ways of thinking about AI and how to prepare your business for the continuing AI revolution.

• Audiences leave with an understanding of how to integrate innovation, including AI and new technologies into their organizations in order to prepare for the future.

• Adam Cheyer is a top technology speaker, AI expert and entrepreneur. He co-founded Siri. He has a proven track record of innovation in business, having worked at research labs, startups and some of the largest technology companies in the world, bringing ideas to market to positively impact hundreds of millions of people. 

• Adam is current Vice President of R&D at Samsung.

Adam Cheyer is a top technology speaker, AI expert and entrepreneur. He co-founded Siri, which was acquired by Apple, and later co-founded Viv, which became the basis of the voice assistant Bixby on Samsung phones, TVs, watches, and more. He is also a founding member and first developer at Change.org, the world’s largest petition platform, with more than 300M members.

Cheyer has a proven track record of innovation in business, having worked at research labs, startups and some of the largest technology companies in the world, bringing ideas to market to positively impact hundreds of millions of people. He is also an award-winning magician, having performed for millions on TV and for presidents and heads of state.

Adam Cheyer is currently Vice President of R&D at Samsung. Previously, he was co-founder and VP Engineering of Viv Labs, an artificial intelligence (AI) company acquired by Samsung in 2016.

Adam was also co-Founder and VP Engineering of Siri, acquired by Apple in 2010 to build their virtual personal assistant, which was distributed on more than 1.5B devices. After joining Apple, he became a Director of Engineering in the iPhone/iOS group, leading all AI and server-side aspects of the Siri assistant.

Adam is the author of more than sixty peer-reviewed publications and twenty-five issued patents. He received his bachelor’s degree with highest honors from Brandeis University and his master’s degree with an “outstanding master’s student” award from UCLA.

A pioneer in the frontier of commercial space sector, former astronaut and International Space Station commander Leroy Chiao captivates audience with his amazing stories on space exploration and brings unparalleled insights on leadership, innovation and technology trends .

A veteran of four space missions and a fifteen-year career with NASA, Dr. Chiao most recently served as Commander and NASA Science Officer of Expedition 10 aboard the International Space Station. He has logged over 229 days in space – over 36 hours of which were spent in Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA, or spacewalks). From June through September 2009, he served as a member of the White House appointed Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, and currently serves on the NASA Advisory Council.

Leroy holds appointments at Rice University and the Baylor College of Medicine, and is the special advisor for human spaceflight to the Space Foundation. He has worked extensively in both government and commercial space programs, and has held leadership positions in commercial ventures and NASA. Chiao has extensive experience as a NASA Astronaut and prior to that, as a Research Engineer. Dr. Chiao is a fellow of the Explorers Club, and a member of the International Academy of Astronautics and the Committee of 100. Chiao also serves in various capacities to further space education,

A native English speaker, Dr. Chiao also speaks Mandarin Chinese and Russian. He has flown space missions and worked closely with Russian, Japanese and European Astronauts and their affiliated space agencies. Dr. Chiao is uniquely qualified to speak about the United States, Russian, Japanese, European and Chinese Space Programs. A Space Station Commander and Space Shuttle Mission Specialist, Dr. Chiao was also a certified Co-Pilot of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. He is an expert in all facets of U.S. and Russian EVA hardware and operations and is EVA certified in U.S. and Russian spacesuits, tools, and training programs. In September 2006, Chiao became the first American to visit the Astronaut Research and Training Center of China. There, he met the first two national Chinese astronauts, Yang Liwei and Fei Junlong.

Dr. Chiao studied Chemical Engineering, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1983. He continued his studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, earning his Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in 1985 and 1987. Prior to joining NASA in 1990, he worked as a Research Engineer at Hexcel Corporation. and then at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Dan Chuparkoff is a trailblazer with over 30 years of experience driving innovation at Google, McKinsey, and more. People call him the practical and understandable Technology-speaker.  His superpower is making complex things simple and useful. He has captivated audiences everywhere from the Fortune 100 to South-by-Southwest. Dan isn’t just a keynote speaker – he’s a technology executive with three decades of hands-on, technology-transformation experience. He will ignite your imagination and give you the tools you need for success & growth in the AI-FUTURE OF WORK.

• Reinvention Labs: AI Education & Research: Today, as CEO of Reinvention Labs, Dan leads cutting-edge research on the impact of technology on that work. With this research, Dan reinvents the way people work with the power of AI, robotics, & more.
• Google: the tech-giant: At Google, Dan led the Mobile Tools and Services team. His products powered more than 60% of the top 10,000 apps on both Android and IOS app stores. Dan works on moonshots and counts his users by the billions.
• McKinsey: the global enterprise: At the prestigious, 100-year-old firm of McKinsey & Company, Dan worked with global leaders to build software to solve some of the world’s biggest problems from healthcare, to manufacturing, to sustainability.
• Atlassian: the $6 billion IPO: At Atlassian, he worked on Jira, the world’s leading tool for planning, managing, & tracking work. While there, he managed multiple acquisitions and lead the preparation for a $6 billion IPO.

Through his informative talks and workshops, Dan Chuparkoff Dan REINVENTS the way we work with the POWER OF AI.

Dr. Robert Cialdini, thought leader in the field of Influence, has spent his entire career conducting, testing, analyzing, and publishing peer-reviewed scientific research on what causes people to say “Yes” to requests. The results of his research, his ensuing articles, and his New York Times bestselling books have earned him an acclaimed reputation as a respected scientist and engaging storyteller. Robert Cialdini’s books, including his New York Times Bestselling Influence and Pre-Suasion, have sold more than seven-million copies in 45 different languages.

Robert is known globally as the foundational expert in the science of influence and how to apply it ethically in business. His Principles of Persuasion have become a cornerstone for any organization serious about effectively and ethically increasing their influence.

Dr Cialdini is Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. Dr. Cialdini received his PhD from University of North Carolina and post doctoral training from Columbia University. He holds honorary doctoral degrees (Doctor Honoris Causa) from Georgetown University, University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Wroclaw, Poland and University of Basil in Switzerland. He has held Visiting Scholar appointments at Ohio State University, the University of California, the Annenberg School of Communications, and the Graduate School of Business of Stanford University.

In acknowledgement of his outstanding research achievements and important contributions to world knowledge , Dr. Cialdini has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.

As a keynote speaker, Dr. Cialdini has earned a world-wide reputation for his ability to translate the science through valuable and memorable stories. These on-stage stories are both dramatic and indelible leading to long-term applications.

Because of this, Robert Cialdini is frequently regarded as “The Godfather of Influence”.

James Clear is a writer and keynote speaker focused on habits, decision making, and continuous improvement. His book, Atomic Habits, has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, has been translated into more than 60 languages and was the #1 best-selling book of 2021 and 2023 on Amazon and #1 audiobook on Audible. Clear is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work has been featured in publications such as Time magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and on CBS This Morning and Today Show Australia. He is a MasterClass instructor, alongside the world’s top experts such as Serena Williams, Neil Gaiman and Gordon Ramsay. His popular “3-2-1” email newsletter is sent out each week to more than 3 million subscribers.

James doesn’t merely report the research of others. He tries out the concepts for himself as he experiments with building better habits as an entrepreneur, writer, and weightlifter. In the end, his talks end up being one-part storytelling, one-part academic research, and one-part personal experiment, forming a colorful blend of inspirational stories, academic science, and hard-earned wisdom.

Some of James’ engagements include Fortune 1000 and strategic clients such as Amazon, KPMG, Microsoft, A&T, Bristol-Myers Squibb, DellTechnologies, Facebook, Google, Liberty Mutual, Pfizer, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Procter & Gamble, Adobe, Cisco, Lockheed Martin, and Wells Fargo.

James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. In his book Atomic Habits, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible.

• Talks about how, as a 5'6" football player, he went on to become one of the CFL's most recognized and beloved players, and eventually Head Coach of the Toronto Argonauts by playing with heart and passion.

• Audiences are inspired by his inspiring story of overcoming the odds of his stature and background to rise to the highest levels of football in Canada.

• Michael "Pinball" Clemons won the Grey Cup in 1991, 1996, and 1997 with the Argonauts, and was honored with the CFL’s “most outstanding player” award in 1990, before becoming Head Coach of the Toronto Argonauts.

• Founder of the Pinball Clemons Foundation, a non-profit organization responsible for the construction of a hospital in Uganda, over 200 schools in developing countries, two orphanages in Haiti, and locally awarded more than 200 scholarships.

Michael "Pinball" Clemons is the former Head Coach of the Toronto Argonauts Football Club. "Pinball" has received numerous awards including the CFL Man-of-the-Year award, the John Candy Memorial Trophy, an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D) degree from York University, Doctor of Humane Letters from the College of William and Mary, the prestigious Order of Ontario in recognition of his dedication and work with charities throughout Ontario and across Canada and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He is also a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and the CFL Hall of Fame

He was raised in Dunedin, Florida by a single Mom and attended the College of William & Mary where he graduated with a degree in economics. Michael's true claim to fame however is being Diane's husband and Rachel, Raven and Rylie’s Dad.

Clemons joined the National Football League in 1987, and CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in 1989. He was nicknamed “Pinball” because of his running style — his diminutive size and extraordinary balance allowed him to “bounce” between defensive players, drawing comparisons to a pinball machine. Clemons won the Grey Cup in 1991, 1996, and 1997 with the Argonauts, and was honored with the CFL’s “most outstanding player” award in 1990, after setting the single season record for all-purpose yards. He played his last game as an Argonaut in 2000, before becoming head coach of the team in the same year. He led the football club to six consecutive East Division Finals, including the 2004 championship, concluding his coaching tenure with 68 wins — the second highest in the team history.

In 2007, Clemons stepped down as head coach to become the chief executive officer, and in 2009, he was appointed as the vice-chair of the team. In 2019, Clemons was named the 20th general manager of the Toronto Argonauts.

Clemons is also the founder of the Pinball Clemons Foundation, a non-profit organization that empowers youth through education. Since it’s founding in 2007, it’s been responsible for the construction of a hospital in Uganda, over 200 schools in developing countries, two orphanages in Haiti, and locally awarded more than 200 scholarships.

Antonia Colibasanu is Senior Geopolitical Analyst at Geopolitical Futures and Senior Fellow for Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. She has published several works on geopolitics and geoeconomics, including "Geopolitics, Geoeconomics and Borderlands: A Study of a Changing Eurasia and Its Implications for Europe" and "Contemporary Geopolitics and Geoeconomics". She is also lecturer on international relations at the Romanian National University of Political Studies and Public Administration. She is a senior expert associate with the Romanian New Strategy Center think tank and a member of the Scientific Council of Real Elcano Institute.

Prior to Geopolitical Futures, Dr. Colibasanu spent more than 10 years with Stratfor in various positions, including as partner for Europe and vice president for international marketing. Prior to joining Stratfor in 2006, Dr. Colibasanu held a variety of roles with the World Trade Center Association in Bucharest. Dr. Colibasanu holds a master’s degree in International Project Management, and she is an alumna of the International Institute on Politics and Economics at Georgetown University. Her doctorate is in International Business and Economics from Bucharest’s Academy of Economic Studies, and her thesis focused on country-level risk analysis and investment decision-making processes by transnational companies.

Click Here to Watch Geoff's Virtual Presentation

Experience counts in serious times. For four decades at Fortune, Geoff Colvin has covered the economic, political, technological, and competitive forces disrupting business and how top leaders and companies adapt and transform to win in spite of them. The big takeaway, Geoff says, is that winning companies and leaders summon the courage to act –they stop protecting the past and start inventing the future –and they confront this reality faster than the competition. As business leaders face their biggest challenge ever, Geoff Colvin is the voice of experience who shines a light –revealing a clearer path for an uncertain future. His columns and cover stories for Fortune have earned him millions of loyal fans. Many of them also hear him dispense critical business insights on the CBS Radio Network, where he reaches seven million listeners each week. Geoff’s bestselling books include The Upside of the Downturn, Talent is Overrated, and Humans are Underrated. A keynote speaker with compelling content, Geoff Colvin is also a brilliant panel moderator and interviewer.

As Fortune‘s senior editor-at-large, Geoff Colvin is now in his fourth decade at Fortune. He is one of business journalism’s sharpest and most respected commentators on leadership, management, globalization, government regulation, corporate governance, competition, the economy, the infotech revolution, human performance, and related issues.

In addition to his daily CBS Radio Network segments (he’s done over 15,000 since 1995), Geoff has appeared on Today, Good Morning America, Squawk Box, CBS This Morning, ABC's World News Tonight, CNN, PBS's Nightly Business Report, and dozens of other programs. He also served as anchor of Wall $treet Week with Fortune on PBS.

In addition to speaking, Geoff is also a brilliant panel moderator, emcee, and interviewer whose subjects have included Madeleine Albright, Ben Bernanke, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Bill Gates, Timothy Geithner, Alan Greenspan, Henry Kissinger, Henry M. Paulson, Colin Powell, Robert Reich, Condoleezza Rice, Desmond Tutu, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, Jack Welch, Janet Yellen and many others.

Geoff is a respected author whose groundbreaking international bestseller, Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, has been published in a dozen languages. The Upside of the Downturn: Management Strategies for Difficult Times was named “Best Management Book of the Year” by Strategy + Business magazine. Geoff’s latest book is Humans are Underrated: What High Achievers Know That Brilliant Machines Never Will. It’s based on the idea in his wildly popular Fortune article “In the Future Will There Be Any Work Left for People to Do?” It looks at the trend of advancing technology performing ever more tasks better than people perform them, and the ways humans will create value for their organizations and their careers in the changing economy. The ideas he shares have profound implications for every business and industry.

A native of Vermillion, South Dakota, Geoff Colvin is an honors graduate of Harvard with a degree in economics and has an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Click Here to Receive Your Customized List of Speaker Ideas

Virtual Events can:

1. Reach a wider audience
2. Offer a great experience at a much lower cost
3. Create long term impact with recorded elements that allow for content to be watched over a period of time
4. Have an increased impact over time, as viewers re-watch, discuss and connect over social media and other channels

And, most importantly: offer the ability for inspiring and impactful presentations to connect in a one-on-one way, directly to the attendee.

WHO is your audience?

Who are your virtual event attendees? Are they across a specific group within your organization, or are you serving clients across a wide range of levels? Determining who you are speaking to will help you determine a format for your event that will captivate your audience.

WHAT is your key message?

Are you focusing on change? Innovation? Leadership?

Creating a single focus or mission will allow you to hone in on the type of speaker(s) you need to engage your audience and help event producers to format the event into a dynamic program that balances inspiration with information and audience interaction.

WHAT type of event suits your audience?

• Virtual Conference
• Webinar
• Hybrid Event

Virtual event technology has come a long way over the last few months, offering a huge range of different options from pre-recorded webinars, to multi-day virtual conferences, to hybrid events with some attendees in the audience while the event is live streamed.

OUR ADVICE

A COMBINATION of live and pre-recorded elements will allow your virtual event to run smoothly and stay on time.

Many of our clients are also opting for multi-day virtual conferences with shorter segments spaced over a few days.

This allows some flexibility for attendees in different time zones and accommodates different teleworking situations for attendees, allowing them to tune in when it is convenient.

WHERE? It’s all about Tech.

Virtual meeting technology has exploded over the last few months as teleworking became the norm.

Consider your needs:

• Interactive elements like breakout rooms, polls & Q&A
• Seamless blend of live & pre-recorded elements
• Ability to replay segments
• Live tech support

If you plan for rain, it’s likely the sun will shine…

Tech isn’t perfect so don’t forget to test, rehearse and have a back up plan ready to go for your virtual event.

Pro Tip: Think of a virtual presentation like a podcast. Viewers can view the content multiple times and refer back to it.

  WHEN? A Date… or Dates?

As we have all noticed, our attention spans for meeting in real life versus meeting online are a lot longer.

When deciding on a date, consider spreading your virtual event out over a few days, with a variety of speakers, interactive elements and information.

The benefits of a multi-day format:

• Viewers watch content fresh for a short period every day
• Allows attendees in different time zones to stay on top of the content
• Attendees can review & re-engage with content

Virtual Event Checklist:

Is your event?

• Interactive?
• Informative?
• Able to be rewatched?

WHY? Pandemic 2020

Just because you are online instead of in person, it doesn’t mean you are missing out on connection.

Using the technology that we have become so accustomed to over the last few months, our keynote speakers have the ability to connect to your viewers one-on-one, in a way that was impossible in live events.

FIND YOUR WHY…

What do you want the audience to leave thinking at the end of the presentation?

Apply this question to all the presentations and segments in your event to create a cohesive, impactful virtual event.

  HOW? Virtual Event Checklist

To wrap it all up

• TECH: Find the right tech platform & don’t forget to test drive before your event
• AGENDA: Use a mix of live and pre-recorded segments, mixed with interactive elements, to ensure a smooth flow of events & audience engagement
• ANTICIPATION: Build up your event with emails, teasers and sneak peeks into what content will be offered
• NETWORKING: Create and encourage online chat functions, an event specific hashtag or even a dedicated event page to allow attendees to network virtually. Maximize the networking opportunities offered by your tech platform.
• EXTEND YOUR IMPACT: A dedicated social media page is a great place for attendees to connect after an event to discuss ideas and implement some of the learnings from the event.

Offer a password protected, limited time recording of keynote presentations to continue the conversation long after the virtual event has ended.

Continue the conversation with post-event touch points like emails or questions based on the key presentations.

To find a GREAT Speaker for your Virtual event, get in touch.

Daryl Conner is chairman of Conner Partners, an advisory firm that specializes in strategy execution. Daryl and the firm have a steadfast focus: they help clients deliver the promised benefits for the most difficult type of strategic change - change that transforms the business. As an internationally recognized leader in organizational change, Daryl serves as an advisor and mentor to senior executives around the globe.

Over his extensive career, Daryl has worked with many of the most successful organizations in the world, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and nonprofit institutions, to help them achieve the full intent of their most urgent and critically important initiatives. A dynamic and engaging public speaker, he has addressed thousands of executives in corporate settings, national conferences, and public programs.

Daryl grounds his work on a strong foundation of research and extensive consulting. He has authored two books Managing at the Speed of Change (Random House, 1993) and Leading at the Edge of Chaos (John Wiley & Sons, 1998) and more than 250 publications, including journal and magazine articles, monographs, book chapters, and videos. Daryl's blog, Change Thinking, is written for change management professionals who want to raise the level of their game and that of the field of change execution.

Throughout his career, Daryl has documented the actions leaders take that lead to successful and unsuccessful implementation of strategic change. The patterns of successful execution are known, reliable, and replicable. Daryl provides candid guidance and focus around these patterns of success to executives responsible for strategic initiatives and to the teams that support them.

One common thread connects all of Daryl's work: helping businesses operate more effectively in a turbulent world by applying fundamental principles about change.

Quinn Conyers has established a reputation for transforming the speaking and communication abilities of diverse leaders/executives across multiple industries, giving them the courage to be powerful presenters, excel in their careers, and confidently address crowds internally and externally as clear, concise, and compelling communicators.

Quinn is a faculty and founding member of the Black Speakers Network (BSN) and has taught Speech Communications for 5 years at Coppin State University. In 2021 she was named one of 20 Black Women Entrepreneurs to Watch, a Distinguished Alumni from her high school and an AT&T Dream in Black Future Maker alongside Lebron James, Tabitha Brown and Sarah Jakes Roberts to name a few.

Quinn earned a Bachelor's Degree from West Chester University and a Master's from Howard University in Washington DC. Her experience as an entrepreneur, thought leader and business woman transitions well into her role as an Energetic Emcee. She has been serving and speaking for years making her the perfect partner to transform your next event into an EPIC experience.
As a result of Quinn’s business, Emcee and Speaking accomplishments she has been featured on the cover of two magazines, and in various radio, print, podcast and TV media outlets. She is often interviewed about how she is amplifying and illuminating the voices of other entrepreneurs and women in business as well as how she is using language to leave a legacy as a professional Event Emcee and Keynote Speaker.

Anderson Cooper anchors Anderson Cooper 360, an unconventional, wide-ranging news program airing on CNN/U.S. weekdays. Cooper, who joined CNN in December 2001, served as CNN's weekend anchor before moving to the 7 p.m. hour in March 2003 following the war in Iraq.

Since joining CNN, Cooper has anchored major breaking news stories, including Hurricane Katrina and the war in Iraq, as news of the military conflict was unfolding live during the day in Baghdad. Cooper also anchored much of CNN's live coverage of the D.C.-area sniper story and the coverage of the Space Shuttle Columbia explosion.

Because of Cooper's background as a war correspondent for Channel One News, he was sent to Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to report on the U.S. military conflict and to Qatar where he reported on the testing of CENTCOM's new mobile headquarters. Most recently, as a weekday anchor, Cooper was the only Western journalist to interview Liberian president Moses Blah on the day he took office.

Before joining CNN, Cooper was an ABC News correspondent and host of the network's reality program, The Mole. Cooper anchored ABC's live, interactive, overnight news and interview program, World News Now as well as providing reports for World News Tonight, 20/20 and 20/20 Downtown. Previously, he was a New York-based correspondent for ABC News, reporting primarily for World News Saturday/Sunday.

Cooper graduated from Yale University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He also studied Vietnamese at the University of Hanoi. Cooper is based in New York City.

Barbara Corcoran’s credits include straight D’s 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. The Corcoran Group, the largest and best-known brand in the brokerage business, building the largest and best-known brand in the business.

Corcoran is the author of the best seller “Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business!” and host of top business podcast “Business Unusual with Barbara Corcoran.”

Corcoran is a motivational and inspirational speaker. She is a frequent small business and real estate contributor on every major network. Corcoran has been an investor/Shark for the past eleven seasons on ABC’s four-time Emmy award winning show, Shark Tank, investing in over 100 businesses to date. Follow Barbara on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram @BarbaraCorcoran.

Andy Core is a credentialed, award-winning thought leader on increasing employee engagement, productivity, and wellness motivation. His talent lies in helping hard-working, conscientious adults thrive at work and in their personal lives.

He has a master’s degree in the science of human performance and has spent the past 15 years researching ways to become better equipped to thrive in today’s hectic society. Thus helping organizations build teams that cost less, have better attitudes, and accomplish more.

Author of several books including Change Your Day, Not Your Life, Healthy Motivation, and Master Your Body, Andy has also received numerous awards and recognition on his work. He was also the Co-host of the PBS affiliate television show “Fighting Fat”.

Dr. Joseph Coughlin, or as he is most often referred to, “Dr. Joe,” leads the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. Researcher, teacher, advisor, and speaker – his work explores how global demographics, technology and changing behaviors are transforming business & society.

He teaches in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies & Planning. Coughlin advises major companies worldwide, the World Economic Forum, OECD, and has served on advisory committees for the White House and several federal agencies. Coughlin’s current focus is on how longevity and service innovation will transform the business of advice to help people prepare for 100 good years of living. He was named as one of “100 Most Creative in Business” by Fast Company Magazine, and one of Investment News “Icons & Innovators.”

Coughlin is a Senior Contributor to Forbes and writes regularly for the Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch. His recent book, The Longevity Economy: Unlocking the World’s Fastest Growing, Most Misunderstood Market – was named a CEO READS Best Seller and is on the required reading lists of Fortune 500 corporate boards and executive leadership at firms such as Ally Bank, Best Buy, Humana, Marriott International, Lowe’s, Pulte Group, and others. His new book, with MIT AgeLab colleague Luke Yoquinto, is Longevity Hubs: Regional Innovation for Global Aging.