Planning an executive retreat, leadership retreat, leadership offsite, board meeting or client advisory board? The guest speaker and facilitator caliber is of vital importance. Below you’ll see our top resources, with parameters to consider when choosing a professional speaker or facilitator.

• Working knowledge of your industry gleaned from ownership, startup, executive, advisory and speaking experience.
• No hidden agendas to sell their products or services to your company or risk of backing out at relative last minute (e.g. “free” speakers from vendors, sponsors or customers).
• Strategic, futurist outlook.
• Deep Experience with complex business issues.
• Can apply insights from outside your industry.
• Proven ability to influence senior executives, founders, board members with power, strong personalities.
• Superior Conflict management capabilities, able to move a group towards outcomes.
• Experience operating in longer form, small group, interactive settings.
• Customized content.
• Willingness to provide adequate pre-meeting interviews, conduct primary/secondary research.
• Comfort interfacing with homogenous and heterogenous groups.
• Agility: addressing shifting meeting objectives, other parameters after contracting.
• Able to maintain confidentiality.
• ICF certified coach or trained facilitator (more important for facilitation).
• Elevate Presentation Skills with these Trainers & Coaches

Note – Where pricing is noted, it is posted by each speaker and may not be current. It typically reflects standard keynotes – not more labor intensive executive retreats and board meetings:

Leadership, Strategy, Teamwork, Engagement, Innovation, Diversity & Inclusion, Productivity, Uncertainty/Change, Crisis Management, M&A Integration, Culture, Governance, Transformation: 

 Rhonda Vetere – Seasoned C-suite technology executive, Author and global leader with 25+ years of experience managing large, global teams, M&A and Digital Transformation.

   Andrea Flack-Wetherald – Social Worker Turned Comedian, Speaker & Bestselling Author of Mindful Improv Thinking™?    

  Cassie Kozyrkov – CEO of Kozyr, AI Luminary, Former Chief Decision Scientist at Google, and Pioneer of Decision Intelligence

 Timothy Papandreou – Global thought leader on emerging technologies, moonshots, smart cities and the future of life & work.

 Elizabeth (Liz) Ngonzi AI & Workforce Transformation Strategist | Global Speaker | Executive AI Advisor Founder & CEO, The International Social Impact Institute® Board Member & Chair, Ethics & Responsible AI Committee, American Society for AI Award-Winning Adjunct Assistant Professor, NYU Center for Global Affairs

   Ginger Hardage – A foremost global authority on building and sustaining organizational culture. Responsible for the activities at Southwest Airlines that nourished the culture and the internal and external communications function.

   Michele Wucker – Author of The Gray Rhino: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore.

  Dr. Ruth Gotian – Weill Cornell Medicine’s Chief Learning Officer, Author of The Success Factor and other Books on High Achievers, Mentorship and Leadership Development.

 John Manzella – World-recognized speaker and author on global business, trade policy, labor and the latest economic trends.

 Patrick McAndrew – Global Expert on Productivity & Performance

Dorie Clark – Author of The Long Game and Stand Out. Lauded by Thinkers50 and Marshall Goldsmith as a Top Communication Coach

 

Graphic Recorders, Visual Storytellers and Visual Note-Takers

 Zack Kass – AI Futurist, former Head of Go To Market at OpenAI

   Leanne Meyer – Author of Climbing the Spiral Staircase, 30 Years of Fortune 100 Executive Coaching.

   Jez Rose – Behaviour Insight Advisor to most of the Fortune 500 and executive leadership performance coach, Author of Flip the Switch.

 David Allison – Consumer behavior expert, whose Valuegraphics Database helps organizations create exponentially better customer engagement.

 Lindsay McGregor – Co-author of Primed for Performance. Data-Driven Culture Expert.

Tsedal Neeley – Harvard Business School Professor, Author of 2021 Book Remote Work Revolution, Speaker on Globalization and Digital Transformation

 

 Naveen Agarwal – InsureTech, AI and Digital Transformation Speaker. Board Advisor, Former C-Suite Executive in Multinational Public Firms.

   Jay Baer – Hall of Fame Business Growth Speaker, NY Times Best-Selling Author, Internet Pioneer, Serial Entrepreneur, Tequila Influencer.

   Henna Pryor – Workplace Performance Expert, Former Staffing Sales Star, 2x TEDx speaker, Good Awkward Author.
  Jessica Encell-Coleman -Creator at The Magic of Human Connection

   Vito Di Bari – Futurist, Author, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies Speaker.

   Dr. Bertice Berry – Sociologist, best-selling author, lecturer, educator, and political analyst

 Diana Kander – Curiosity’s Contribution to Innovation, Author of The Curiosity Muscle. 

  Tucker Bryant – Former Googler and Stanford poet shares creative tools everyone can use.

Cy Wakeman – Drama researcher, global thought-leader, and New York Times best-selling author who is recognized for cultivating a counter-intuitive, reality-based approach to leadership

Cassandra Worthy – Thrive in the face of merger, acquisition, and significant disruptions like COVID-19 from the world’s leading Change Enthusiast

Terence Mauri – Global Disruption Thinker, Founder, Hack Future Lab, Partner, MIT Solve, Inc. Columnist, Thinkers50 Keynote Speaker, Amazon Bestselling Author, Advisor to Fortune 500 CEO’s.

 Natalie Nixon, PhD – Strategy, Foresight, and Innovation Expert, Award-winning Author, Creativity Guru, Global Keynote Speaker

   Alex Goryachev – WSJ Bestselling Author, LinkedIn AI Top Voice Forbes, Entrepreneur and Fast Company Contributor.

Robert Safian – Long-time editor-in-chief of Fast Company Magazine with a unique focus on innovation, technology and leadership.

 Jean Marie DiGiovanna – Author of Stop Talking, Start Asking. Global Leadership Speaker.

 Justin Jones-Fosu – Leveraging leadership experience with three Fortune 500 companies. Passionate Productivity, Everyday Diversity, and Leading through Respect.

   Julie Holmes – Inventor, Enterprise Software Exec on Innovation & Thriving Amid Change

Sarita Maybin – Author, Say What You Mean in a Nice Way – Communicating with Kindness and Compassion

 

     Kristi Hedges – Author, The Inspiration Code on Leadership Influence

Peter Sheahan – Executive Advisor, Author of 6 books including bestsellers Fl!p and Generation Y. Speakers Hall of Fame, 2,000+ Presentations on Business Trends

 

Beau Lotto – Neuroscientist, 3-Time TED Mainstage Speaker & Author of Deviate

Dr. Jessica Kriegel – Workplace culture strategist. Author of Unfairly Labeled: How Your Workplace Can Benefit from Ditching Generational Stereotypes and upcoming book, The Culture Equation

 

   Jon Levy – Behavioral Scientist, Author of You’re Invited: The Art and Science of Cultivating Influence

Deborah Rosado Shaw – Former SVP, Chief of Global Diversity & Equity, PepsiCo.

 

   Patty Azzarello – Tech CEO, Author of Move and Rise – on Leading Business Transformation

Christopher Littlefield – Employee Appreciation & Remote Team Leadership

 

Dr. Tasha Eurich – Organizational psychologist, researcher and New York Times bestselling author of Insight

 

   Nick Webb – Futurist, Healthcare Inventor, Technologist and Innovation Expert

   Ram Charan – World-Renowned Business & Board Advisor, Execution Expert, and Best Selling Author

   Dr. Tiffany Jana – Author of Erasing Institutional Bias, TEDx Speaker

Juliet Funt – Whitespace Evangelist, Business Culture Speaker, Building Creativity, Engagement and Productivity

 

Kristin Arnold – MBA, Elevating Workplace Team Performance by facilitating high-stakes meetings, speaking/Emceeing at events, & moderating panels (F2F, virtual & hybrid).

 

 Jenn Lim – Co-founder and CEO of Delivering Happiness; Founder of BEYOND HAPPINESS. Pivotal leadership role in the early years of Zappos’ world-renowned workplace culture.

   Riaz Meghji – The 5 Habits of Human Connection That Build Extraordinary Relationships

Kate O’Neill – Author of Tech Humanist, early Netflix employee, Thinkers50 Radar, Fortune 500 advisor.

 

   Pernille Spiers-Lopez – Former IKEA North America President, Admired for CSR/Sustainability, Retail Leadership

   Rich Horwath – bestselling author on strategy has helped the largest, most complex organizations use strategic thinking for business growth

    Robert Cialdini, PhD – Pre-Suasion Author, Preeminent Influence & Persuasion Expert

    Neel Doshi – Co-author of Primed for Performance. Data-Driven Culture Expert

    Liz Wiseman – Author of Rookie Smarts and Multipliers

    Dr. Joan Pastor – Leading in Times of Massive Disruption, Leadership EQ

   Alden Mills— Speaks from the intersection of CEO and Navy SEAL – profile being updated. 

     Dan Chuparkoff – Bringing Innovation to Non-Tech Teams. Former Google Exec shows how to make sense of AI and Harness the Power of Technology.

   Simon T Bailey – Former Disney Institute Exec on Leading Change and Customer Experience

    Lisa Bodell – Author: Why Simple Wins, Kill the Company  

  Dr. Tracey Wilen – Impact of technology on society, work and careers. Author/coauthor of 13 books.

Mark Schulman – World-Class Drummer for Beyonce, PINK, Foreigner on Performing Under Pressure

 

Dr. Daniel Kraft – TED Speaker, Digital Health Futurist, Physician.

 

Jamie Metzl – Technology, AI and Geopolitical Futurist Speaker, Bestselling Author of Superconvergence.

 

John Rossman – Former Amazon Executive, Author and Expert on Digital Disruption

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Futurists, AI, Big Data, Tech & Trends:

   Clara Durodié – A technology strategist specializing in the business and governance of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial services.

   Nikolas Badminton – Futurist with Extensive Corporate Tech and Executive Experience, Author of Facing Our Futures: How Foresight, Futures Design and Strategy Creates Prosperity and Growth.

   Rohit Talwar – AI Expert and Futurist – The Future of Financial Services and Insurance as well as many other sectors.

 Asha Saxena – AI & Big Data Advisor, Columbia University Business School Professor

 

    Jack Shaw – One of the world’s Top 5 Technology Futurists and Long-time Business Advisor to a Wide Industry Range

   Jim Carroll – Global Futurist & Author with Proven Virtual Skills and Pro-Caliber Studio. Rapid business model change, business transformation in a period of economic uncertainty and fast paced innovation

   Mike Walsh – Leading authority on Digital Business Transformation, author of The Algorithmic Leader

   Tom Koulopoulos – Tech Entrepreneur, 11 Books on Digital Business Ecosystems, Cybersecurity 

    Anders Sörman-Nilsson – Futurist speaks about Proactive responses such as Disruptive Thinking, Innovation Strategy, Human Transformation and Digital Adaptation.

Sales, The Consumer, Marketing, Business Growth:

   Bridget Brennan – Author, Why She Buys on the Female Consumer

Sally Hogshead – Bestselling author of How the World Sees You – Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination and Fascinate: How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist

 

    Kelly McDonald – A marketing and communications expert focused on how to connect with people not like you.

Innovation, Contrarian & Creative Thinking: 

 Alana M. Hill – International change leadership expert, engineer, passionate energy industry veteran who has paved the way for women leaders in tech.

Poet Ali – Keynoter on The Human Spirit whose 2014 TEDx Talk has over a million views.

   Maria Konnikova – New York Times best-selling author, Professional Poker Player and Journalist

 Matthew Mueller – Author of The Mindful Innovator, columnist for Innovation Leader and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert working with some of the world’s biggest retail and CPG brands.

   Matthew Luhn – Acclaimed Pixar Creative on Winning Business Storytelling

Rohit Bhargava – Likeonomics, Non-Obvious Trends Author on Future of Healthcare, Building Brands w Personality

 

    Peter Sheahan – Innovation Strategist and Author Flip, Making it Happen, Matter

 Nicholas Webb – Inventor, Best-selling author, one of the most popular innovation, healthcare, future trends, and customer experience speakers

   Ozan Varol – Think Like A Rocket Scientist Author on Innovation and Critical Thinking

Peak Performance: 

   Dr. Rick Jensen – Pro Sports Performance Coach, Author of Drive to the Top

Mark Schulman – World-Class Drummer for Beyonce, PINK, Foreigner on Performing Under Pressure

 

Startup/Entrepreneurship: 

   Linda Rottenberg – Entrepreneur’s Advocate, Author of Crazy is a Compliment

Healthcare:

   Jeff Bauer – Internationally respected futurist and Healthcare-focused economist

 

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