Keynote speakers Archives - Keynote Speakers Experts

Top Female Business Keynote Speakers

While there are many top female business keynote speakers, these women are among our favorites. They have overcome adversity and obstacles to deliver their unique brand of insight and perspective to the corporate world, and now engage global business audiences on a wide range of topics

Bethenny Frankel

Bethenny Frankel is a businesswoman ahead of the curve, who has always identified and capitalized on business opportunities. She was runner up on Martha Stewart’s The Apprentice, a star on the Real Housewives of New York, the founder of Skinnygirl, and virtually created the low-calorie cocktail category. She is also a five-time New York Times bestselling author. Bethenny speaks on the topics of leadership, branding, and work-life balance for female business moguls.

Padmasree Warrior

Cisco Chief Technology & Strategy Officer Padmasree Warrior is charged with aligning technology development and corporate strategy to enable Cisco to anticipate, shape, and lead major market transitions. Prior to Cisco, Padmasree was executive vice president and CTO of Motorola. Forbes has named her one of the “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” for two years running.

Kim Scott

Kim Scott is the co-founder and CEO of Radical Candor, Inc which builds software tools for managers.Known for her ability to generate billions of dollars in revenue from millions of small customers while keeping her team happy and margins high, her unofficial title was High Priestess of the Long Tail. She is also the author of Radical Candor: How To Be a Kickass Boss without Losing your Humanity. As a top female business keynote speaker, Kim speaks on the topics of leadership, human resources (HR), and communication.

Joan Kuhl

Joan is the Founder and President of Why Millennials Matter, an international keynote speaker, consultant on career and leadership trends. Why Millennials Matter is a training, research and consulting agency based in New York City that focuses on raising awareness to employers about the value of investing in their future workforce. Joan has over 13 years of corporate management experience working in the roles of sales, marketing, organizational effectiveness, training and development at Eli Lilly, Forest Laboratories and Actavis (now Allergan).

Juliet Funt

Juliet Funt is the CEO of WhiteSpace at Work, a training and consulting firm that helps organizations, their leaders and employees flip the norms of business in order to reclaim their creativity, productivity and engagement. Juliet helps attendees learn the pivotal difference between activity and productivity. She teaches them a streamlined method for personal process improvement – leading to more creativity and engagement.WhiteSpace can change the negative patterns and behaviors that prevent them from achieving optimum results. As a top female business speaker, Juliet speaks on topics like corporate culture, focus and productivity, and creativity.

Dambisa Moyo

Dambisa Moyo is a global economist and author who analyzes the macroeconomy and international affairs. Dambisa Moyo serves on the boards of Barclays Bank, the financial services group, SABMiller, the global brewer, and Barrick Gold, the global miner. She was an economist at Goldman Sachs and a consultant to the World Bank in Washington, D.C.She is a four-time New York Times bestsellers author of Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working, How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly and the Stark Choices Ahead, and others. This top female business keynote speaker, speaks on global shifts in economics, politics, and business, global resources, and emerging global markets.

Patty McCord

Patty McCord is a top female business keynote speaker. She served as Chief Talent Officer of Netflix for fourteen years and helped create the Netflix Culture Deck. Sheryl Sandberg called Patty’s Netflix Culture Deck “the most important document to come out of Silicon Valley.” Her background includes staffing, diversity, communications, and international human resources. Her book, “Powerful. Teams, Leaders and the Culture of Freedom and Responsibility” was recently published in the fall of 2017.

Jamie Naughton

Jamie Naughton is the Chief of Staff and Speaker of the House at Zappos. She works directly with CEO Tony Hsieh, focusing on the culture for which the company has become known. Her role is essential in creating and driving the architecture of the dynamic culture as well as focusing on culture R&D to ensure Zappos.com always stays relevant to both the employees and their customers. She speaks on culture, branding, and engaging both customers and employees.

Sara Blakely

Sara Blakely is the founder and CEO of Spanx. She came up with the concept when she wanted footless bodyshaping pantyhose to wear with her cream-colored pants and open-toed shoes, but she couldn’t find them anywhere. Frustrated consumer turned entrepreneur, Blakely took $5,000 in savings and began her adventure in the $2 billion male-dominated hosiery industry. Sara Blakely’s SPANX revitalized an industry in a 10-year slump. Her SPANX footless pantyhose even captured the attention of Oprah and landed on Oprah’s “Favorite Things” list. All of this makes her one of our favorite female business keynote speakers.

Polly Labarre

Polly Labarre is a founding member of Fast Company Magazine. A top female business speaker, Polly helps make organizations more resilient, innovative and inspiring–and to embolden and equip leaders at every level to make a meaningful impact. She also co-authored the bestselling book Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win which has been published in 16 languages. She speaks on leadership, innovation, and cultural and organizational change.
To learn more about these and other top female business speakers, contact the Keynote Speaker Experts. We’ll help you find the perfect speaker for your next event.

Human Resource Keynote Speakers

Human Resource Keynote Speakers are recognized experts, executives, researchers and authors in the fields of leadership, communications, interpersonal skills, and much more. They’ve are often responsible for establishing and driving the talent management initiatives, performance management processes, career development, executive staffing, coaching, and diversity and inclusion efforts of the world’s top companies, as well as pioneering the latest trends in human resources and talent management.

Robert Richman

Robert Richman is a culture strategist and was the co-creator of Zappos Insights, an innovative program focused on educating companies on the secrets behind Zappos’ amazing employee culture. Robert was at Zappos.com before, during, and after the Amazon.com acquisition and helped the company grow from 1200-1700 people during his time there (50% growth). Robert built Zappos Insights from a small website to a thriving multi-million dollar business teaching over 25,000 students per year. Robert is a top human resources speaker and through his work, he has been helpful at improving the employee culture at hundreds of companies like Google, Toyota, Eli Lilly, and Inuit.

Chester Elton

One of today’s most influential voices in workplace trends, Chester Elton has spent two decades helping clients engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. In his provocative, inspiring and always entertaining talks, #1 bestselling leadership author Chester Elton provides real solutions to leaders looking to manage change, drive innovation, and lead a multi-generational workforce. Elton’s work is supported by research with more than 850,000 working adults, revealing the proven secrets behind high-performance cultures.

Liz Wiseman

Liz Wiseman is a leadership and human resources keynote speaker to executives and emerging leaders around the world. She is the President of the Wiseman Group, a leadership research, and development firm headquartered in Silicon Valley. She is the author of three best-selling books: Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work, Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter and The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools. She has conducted significant research in the field of leadership and collective intelligence and writes for Harvard Business Review and Fortune.

Paul Moya

Harvard Multigenerational Expert Paul Moya is best known for his role as CEO of Millennial Labs—a global consulting firm focused on segmentation marketing and generational behavior. His discoveries have impacted leaders in audiences as large as 54,000 and have helped brands such as Visa, Microsoft, General Motors, and the Department of Defense to interpret and act on human behavior in the workplace, marketplace, and voting booth.

Seth Mattison

Seth Mattison is an internationally renowned expert on workforce trends and generational dynamics. As Founder and Chief Movement Officer of FutureSight 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. With his finger on the pulse of today’s changing human resources workforce, Seth blends storytelling from his own personal experience working with category leading brands while leveraging cutting edge research to develop fresh perspectives on the key strategic issues most relevant for today’s leaders.

CEO Keynote Speakers

CEO keynote speakers are true leaders and visionaries of industry. They bring their vast entrepreneurial experience to your company’s event and also a fresh perspective. These CEO speakers are renowned for their innovative ideas and ability to turn any company in any industry around. Bring one of these CEO keynote speakers to your company’s next event or bring them in for corporate advising.

Mitch Lowe

Mitch Lowe invested in and became CEO of MoviePass in June 2016. MoviePass is a movie theater subscription service and is headquartered in New York City. The company has recently gained much media attention over its decision to reduce its monthly subscription fee from $30 to $10, allowing users to watch a movie everyday for an entire month at the cost of a single movie ticket. Prior to MoviePass Mitch served as the President of Redbox in 2003 and was a founding executive at Netflix.

Peter Guber

Peter Guber is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group. Mandalay’s most recent film, The Birth of A Nation, premiered at Sundance Film Festival and swept up top prizes. Prior to Mandalay, Guber was chairman and CEO of SOny Pictures Entertainment, chairman and CEO of Polygram Entertainment, co-founder of Casablanca Record and Filmworks and President of Columbia Pictures. Currently, Guber is the operating owner and co-managing partner of the Golden State Warriors (2015 and 2017 NBA Champions) and owner of the L.A. Dodgers. Peter is a highly sought after CEO keynote speaker.

Bethenny Frankel

Bethenny Frankel is the founder of Skinnygirl Cocktails in 2011, a low-calorie cocktail brand. Since the company’s founding, Bethenny has expanded the Skinnygirl brand into a lifestyle empire offering women practical and healthy solutions. Some of the many Skinnygirl products include non-alcoholic beverages, and low-calorie popcorn, candy, salad dressing, coffee, tea, sweeteners, and water flavor enhancers. A star on Bravo’s of Real Housewives of New York City, Bethenny was also a runner-up on The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. She is also a five-time author and was named one of Forbes “100 Most Powerful Celebrities”.

Daymond John

Daymond John is a self-made business mogul. He is the founder and CEO of clothing brand FUBU. He pioneered the art of integrating fashion, culture, and music into branding nearly twenty years ago. Daymond is also a “shark” on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank and a two-time author. Daymond continues to set standards of excellence while expanding his interests in fashion, branding, marketing, consulting, entertainment, and beyond. This industry leader, best-selling author, and ground breaking entrepreneurial expert has evolved into a highly sought after business and motivational and CEO keynote speaker.

Tan Le

Tan Le is the founder and CEO of Emotiv, a bio informatics tech company. Emotiv’s brain-computer interface technology incorporates human communication cues into human-computer interactions through the use of a wireless headset. The headset makes it possible to control virtual objects as well as physical electronics with mere thoughts and a little concentration. Le was named Young Australian of the Year and voted one of Australia’s 30 Most Successful Women Under 30. Tan is a sought after tech and CEO keynote speaker who also has an inspirational personal story.

Frits Van Paasschen

Frits Van Paasschen is a seasoned global executive. He served as the CEO of Starwood Hotels and Resorts from 2007-2015 and later served as the CEO of Coors Brewing Company for three years. In addition, Frits has also held executive positions at Nike. Frits is also the author of the Amazon #1 Bestseller The Disruptors Feast. As a CEO keynote speaker, Frits is also passionate about advising and consulting on strategic direction.

Marissa Mayer

Marissa Mayer is the former president and CEO of Yahoo. Her first job out of college was with Google in 1999, where she became the company’s first female engineer and involved work on some of the company’s most recognizable features to date, such as Google Maps, Google Earth, Street View, Google News, and Gmail. In 2012 she was appointed the president and CEO of Yahoo and was tasked with course-correcting the company besieged by declining stock prices. She was also one of only 20 women to run a Fortune 500 company.

Motivational Business Keynote Speakers

Motivational speakers are a great way to inspire and spark the flame in your team, but sometimes, all that built up inspiration and drive has no direction moving forward and then eventually dissipates. This is why motivational business keynote speakers are often the better choice for corporations.

An article defines motivational business keynote speakers as a speaker who motivates your team with their story of overcoming adversity to reach their dreams and achieve success while reinforcing their message by providing “actionable insights from their highly tuned business acumen.”

Motivational Business keynote speakers have beat the odds and have overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, though they also usually have a background in or prior experience with the business world, which makes their motivational story particularly applicable to a business-centric audience.

Here are some of the top motivational business keynote speakers:

Isaac Lidsky

Isaac Lidsky played “Weasel” on the 1990’s “Saved by the Bell” spin-off series, graduated from Harvard College at the age of 19, and later graduated from Harvard Law School magna cum laude. He served as a supreme court clerk for Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, started a tech company that sold for $230 million and transformed a struggling $15 million concrete subcontractor into an industry-leading $150 million construction services company in five years. Perhaps most striking, Lidsky is only 37, and he is blind. He was born with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare degenerative disease of the retina, though neither his youth nor his blindness has limited him. Motivational business speaker, Isaac Lidsky has been recognized for his achievements dozens of times and his leadership is routinely sought after for keynotes and corporate consultations.

Robyn Benincasa

Robyn Benincasa is a World Champion Eco-Challenge Adventure Racer, a CNN Hero, and a full-time firefighter with a background in corporate marketing who advises organizations on how to build a world class team of their own. She and her teammates have competed at the front of the pack in the most unique and compelling locations on earth–the jungles of Borneo, the Himalayan peaks of Tibet, the rivers of Fiji, the rainforests of Ecuador and the desert of Namibia–studying the good, the bad, and the not-so-pretty in extreme teamwork. Through these challenges, she has mastered the skills required to inspire a group of semi-exhausted people through a seemingly endless series of checkpoints, in pursuit of a seemingly impossible goal. Motivational business speaker Robyn Benincasa offers a refreshing and truly unique perspective on what it takes to build the kind of world class team that succeeds against all odds.

Bert and John Jacobs

Motivational speakers, and brothers, Bert and John Jacobs have an inspirational story of turning their dream into a socially conscious business. The duo launched their retail company, Life is Good, with $78 in their pockets, by selling T-shirts on the streets of Boston. Today, Life is Good is a $100 million positive lifestyle brand sold by over 2,000 retailers across the US and Canada. The founding of Life is Good is more than just an inspiring tale, it’s also a lesson in building a business in the 21st century. The brand has built itself on the tenants of co-creation with its customers and focusing on corporate social responsibility (CSR) as ways of building a loyal community of customers. This makes Bert and John the perfect combination of motivational and business speakers.

Colin O’Brady

In 2008 Colin suffered a tragic accident. He was severely burned in a fire, with burn injuries covering nearly 25% of his body and primarily damaging his legs and feet. Doctors told him he may never walk again, but Colin beat the odds, and then some! Last year Colin broke two world mountaineering records (three if you count Snapchatting from the summit of Mt. Everest!): conquering the speed records for the Explorers Grand Slam and Seven Summits, which entail climbing the tallest mountain on every continent including Mt. Everest and skiing the last degree of latitude to the North and South Poles. Before attempting the Explorers Grand Slam Challenge Colin built social media buzz and gained sponsorship from Nike and Columbia, among others, through a series of well orchestrated social media marketing campaigns. As a motivational business speaker, Colin will motivate your team while also providing them with insights into social media marketing.

Tan Le

Tan Le is an innovator, entrepreneur, and the co-founder and CEO of the bioinformatics company EMOTIV. In her motivational keynote speech, “My Immigration Story,” Tan recounts her childhood experiences fleeing from war-torn Communist Vietnam with her mother, and sister at the age of 4, to their life in Australia as refugees. Despite immense financial and emotional hardships, Tan explains how her single mother was able to support her and her sister and provide them with a good education. Audiences will be motivated by the tenacity of this young entrepreneur and all that she has accomplished, and inspired by her courage and grace in any situation.

Faith Keynote Speakers

Faith keynote speakers inspire audiences with their real life stories of perseverance and how they kept their faith in the face of great adversity. Here are some of the top faith keynote speakers:

Nick Vujicic

Nick Vujicic was born without arms or legs. He has had to learn to adapt to this, and he has learned to become almost entirely independent. He loves to swim, fish and play soccer. Nick has brought back that refreshing positive focus to many employees of companies who value the importance of keeping their team motivated. He has spoken at annual conferences and at business-related seminars. He is also a powerful Christian and faith keynote speaker and has spoken at churches across the country. Nick Vujicic shares the key turning points in his attitude from depression to joy to truly inspirational. Nick is the author of Life Without Limits, and the founder of Attitude Is Altitude and Life Without Limbs.

Bethany Hamilton

Bethany Hamilton has become a source of inspiration to millions through her story of determination, faith, and hope. During a surf in 2003, Bethany was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark, which bit off her left arm. But one month after the attack, Bethany returned to the water and just over a year later she won her first national title. Bethany’s story has been told in the New York Times bestselling autobiography, Soul Surfer, and in the 2011 film with the same title. Bethany is a strong Christian and a stirring faith keynote speaker. She is also involved in numerous charitable efforts, including her own foundation, Friends of Bethany, which reaches out to encourage amputees and youth by offering hope to overcome through Jesus Christ.

Adam Christing

Adam Christing is an interactive entertainer, comedian, and magician. His keynotes are a unique mix of leadership, humor, and creative communication. Adam also has a clean comedy routine that “replaces vulgarity with variety” so that you don’t have to worry about embarrassing your organization or upsetting your company’s HR department. Adam is also the author of Comedy Comes Clean: A Hilarious Collection of Jokes, Quotes, and One-Liners; and Your Life is a Joke.

George Foreman

George Foreman was first recognized as a champion boxer who worked his way up from a difficult and disadvantaged childhood. Only to lose it all. He went from broke and disheartened to fight again, becoming the oldest heavyweight champion in the history of boxing. He ventured on to become the wildly successful businessman behind the George Foreman Grill, a preacher, best-selling author, and motivator. He went from broke and disheartened to fight again, becoming the oldest heavyweight champion in the history of boxing. He ventured on to become the wildly successful businessman behind the George Foreman Grill, a preacher, best-selling author, and keynote speaker.

Doc Hendley

While bartending to pay the bills, Doc Hendley noticed the men and women sitting on the stools seemed to want to be part of something bigger and was hit with an idea. He began hosting wine tasting events where people could donate money that would go to charities providing people with clean drinking water, and that’s how Wine to Water got its start. By using wine events to raise money and awareness about the lack of clean drinking water in the developing world, Doc Hendley has harnessed a powerful social force and multiplied the generosity of many. Doc Hendley’s keynote speeches center around the values of charity, community, humility, and generosity.

Inquoris “Inky” Johnson

Fulfilling his childhood dream, Inquoris “Inky” Johnson played college football at the University of Tennessee. One game changed his life forever when a routine tackle turned into a life-threatening injury that paralyzed his right arm. While the injury ended Johnson’s football career, it did not kill his spirits. A man of faith, Johnson is gripped by the promise that God has plans far beyond our own. His book, Inky: An Amazing Story of Perseverance and Faith, details his amazing story and steadfast faith. As a keynote speaker, Inky’s keynotes brings together the topics of faith, perseverance, leadership, and football.

To bring one of these or other faith keynote speakers to your next event contact us here.

Top Commencement Keynote Speakers of 2017

The 2017 graduation and commencement season rounded up some of the most illustrious and timely keynote speakers.

The roster of commencement keynote speakers included figures as Wolf Blitzer, Colson Whitehead, Bernie Sanders, President Trump, Joe Biden, Ron Chernow, and Senator Cory Booker. Here are just a few of 2017’s great commencement speakers:

Will Ferrell, USC

Actor, comedian, and USC alumnus Will Ferrell was the 2017 commencement keynote speaker at his alma mater.

Katherine Johnson, Hampton University

Katherine Johnson, the physicist and mathematician who worked for NASA and was an inspiration behind the film Hidden Figures, was the commencement keynote speaker at Hampton University.

Howard Schultz, Arizona State

Former Starbucks CEO and current executive chairman Howard Schultz spoke at Arizona State University. Starbuck recently unveiled its new employee online degree program in partnership with ASU, making him a good fit as commencement keynote speaker at the university.

Oprah Winfrey, Skidmore College and Smith College

By this point Oprah Winfrey is a commencement keynote speaker expert. Previously having spoken at Harvard, Stanford, and Duke Universities, this year she spoke at two colleges: Skidmore and Smith College.

Mark Zuckerberg, Harvard

Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, spoke at Harvard–the university he dropped out of as a sophomore to launch his company. The last time Harvard had a high school graduate as its commencement keynote speaker was Microsoft founder Bill Gates in 2007.

Hillary Clinton, Wellesley

Hillary Clinton also spoke at her alma mater, Wellesley College. Clinton also gave a commencement speech at Wellesley in 1969 as a graduating student–making her the first student to ever be the commencement speaker at Wellesley College

The Dalai Lama, UC San Diego

The Dalai Lama is scheduled to speak at the University of California, San Diego on June 17th.

Sheryl Sandberg, Virginia Tech

Mark Zuckerberg isn’t the only Facebook executive to grace the commencement stage as a speaker. Silicon Valley living legend Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s COO spoke at Virginia Tech this year.

Top Professional Speakers in 2017

Top professional speakers are they experts in their field who have decades of industry experience, but they have also mastered the fine (and often terrifying) art of public speaking.

With so many professional speakers on the “speaking circuit,” how do you know which is the best professional speakers for your event?

Below is our list of the top professional speakers in 2017:

Mike Walsh

Mike Walsh is a renowned futurist, bestselling author, and the CEO of Tomorrow, a global consultancy on designing business for the 21st century and consumer innovation research lab. As a global nomad, professional speaker and consumer trend scout, Mike Walsh brings a truly global perspective to every event. Rather than focusing on the distant future, Mike focuses on the next five years – scanning the near horizon for disruptive technologies and consumer innovations on the verge of hitting critical mass – then translating these into usable business strategies. Mike Walsh has advised the CEOs and senior management teams at multinational companies including: the BBC, Fujiﬁlm, Richemont, MSN, Star TV, Televisa, Philips, and HSBC.

Barbara Corcoran

Best known as a panelist on ABC’s Shark Tank, Barbara Corcoran is a self-made real estate mogul, entrepreneur, and author. Corcoran’s business keynote tells her inspirational story of turning a $1,000 loan into a $5 billion dollar real estate company. As a business speaker, Barbara Corcoran brings her front-line business experience and infectious energy to every group she addresses. Motivational, inspirational, and sometimes outrageous, Barbara Corcoran’s tell-it-like-it-is attitude is a refreshing approach to business success.

Simon T. Bailey

Simon Bailey is one of America’s top 10 most-booked professional speakers on change, leadership, and customer experience. Simon is the CEO of Simon T. Bailey International, a premium education company specializing in creating learning and development content for individuals and organizations. His keynotes focus on bringing out your brilliance and will teach you how to make something happen instead of just playing it safe. A Simon T. Bailey keynote will inspire and invigorate your team with his brilliant message.

Peter Sheahan

Peter Sheahan is the founder & group CEO of Karrikins Group. Peter is known internationally for his innovative customized professional keynotes and thought leadership and has advised leaders from companies as diverse as Apple, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Hyundai, IBM, Pfizer, Wells Fargo, and Cardinal Health. As a professional speaker at a corporate meeting Peter will advise your company on matter such as, finding opportunity in disruption to create more value, how to turn a challenge into opportunity and disruption into competitive an advantage, and building organizations and teams capable of sustaining growth through a culture of innovation, courageous leadership, and aligned individuals.

Peter Diamandis

In 2014 Fortune Magazine named Peter Diamandis as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. Diamandis is the Founder & Executive Chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, which leads the world in designing and operating large-scale incentive competitions. Diamandis is also New York Times bestselling author of two books: Abundance and BOLD. As an entrepreneur and futurist speaker, Peter is also a sought after professional speaker. This year he spoke at ThoughtWorks’s ParadigmShift, an executive conference that brings together business and tech’s most influential thinkers. Peter often speaks on the topics of technology, future tech and global trends, and innovation.

Peyton Manning

This year football living legend, Peyton Manning, spoke at Entrarta Summit, a four-day corporate conference that offered training courses, breakout sessions, and an impressive roster of keynote speakers, about personal branding and negotiation skills. When the scheduling and budget work out, a celebrity speaker can be a great addition to a conference. Peyton spoke on the importance of leadership, as well as teamwork skills in accomplishing any project. Having a celebrity as your keynote speaker can add some buzz around your event and provide attendees with chance to hear from beloved public figure about how they made it big.

Sallie Krawcheck

As the Chair of a major investing fund, the former CEO of Citi Global Wealth Management, and former President of Global Wealth & Investment Management for Bank of America, Krawcheck knows a thing or two about business and finance. She has been listed as one of Forbes’ and Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women” in business and U.S. Banker’s top “Woman to Watch.” She is a past recipient of CNBC’s “Business Leader of the Future Award,” was one of Time magazine’s “Global Business Influentials,” Fortune’s “Most Influential Person Under the Age of 40” and an “Institutional Investor” top CFO in financial services. She was recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of its Young Global Leaders and has been lauded as an exceptional top female business speaker for businesses and associations. Krawcheck’s business speaker keynotes include a refreshing mix of humor, passion, and invaluable learnings from her extensive business experience.

To bring one of the best professional speakers to your next conference or event, contact us here.

Top Political Keynote Speakers

A political speaker can talk about a number of different topics ranging from healthcare, finance, the environment, education, and more. A political keynote speaker can include politicians, activists, former presidents, and judges. Political keynotes speakers are the smartest minds in Washington and around the world who analyze the decisions and debates from the campaign trail to the halls of Congress and the White House. Their research and experience color their insights with fascinating anecdotes and true insider information.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The world first knew Arnold Schwarzenegger as a famous bodybuilder and a Hollywood action hero, and now as California’s 38th Governor, an environmental crusader, a successful businessman, and a generous philanthropist. Due to Arnold’s busy schedule, he does not book as many speaking engagements per year, but when he does, his political keynote speeches are among the best.

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson Clinton, a seasoned political keynote speaker, is the first Democratic president in six decades to be elected twice, led the U.S. to the longest economic expansion in American history, including the creation of more than 22 million jobs. He is the founder of the Clinton Foundation which focuses on tackling a number of the worlds’ greatest challenges.

Mitt Romney

Widely praised for his leadership as a public servant and businessman, former Governor Mitt Romney was the Republican nominee for president in 2012, running on a platform of creating jobs, reducing the debt, reforming tax law, and healthcare reform. One of Massachusetts’ most successful governors, he established a healthcare law that was the first of its kind in the nation and ensured coverage for all citizens of the state. As a political keynote speaker, Mitt speaks on a number of different topics

Al Gore

An environmental, business, and tech visionary recognized as one of the world’s leading activists and political keynote speakers, Vice President Al Gore offers a unique perspective on national and international issues, including the threats of climate change and the future of tech. Consistently an active leader in technology, Al Gore is uniquely in touch with the opportunities and challenges in charting a new digital society. Vice President Gore’s status as a leader in global politics, technology and business influences his positions as member of the Board of Directors of Apple and a Senior Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Silicon Valley’s preeminent venture firm.

John Boehner

A former small businessman, John Boehner served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives for nearly five years during which he led the drive for a smaller, less costly, and more accountable federal government. Speaker Boehner focused on removing government barriers to private-sector job creation and economic growth, cutting government spending, reforming Congress, and rebuilding the bonds of trust between the American people and their representatives in Washington. As you might have guessed speaker of the house Boehner is one of the most sought after political keynote speakers.

Condoleezza Rice

From January 2005-2009, Rice served as the 66th Secretary of State of the United States, the second woman and first African American woman to hold the post. Political keynote speaker, Rice also served as President George W. Bush’s assistant to the President for national security affairs (National Security Advisor) from January 2001-2005, the first woman to hold the position. Rice served as Stanford University’s provost from 1993-1999, during which she was the institution’s chief budget and academic officer.

Madeleine Albright

Albright was the 64th Secretary of State of the United States. In 1997, she was named the first female Secretary of State and became, at that time, the highest ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government. As Secretary of State, Albright reinforced America’s alliances, advocated democracy and human rights and promoted American trade and business, labor and environmental standards abroad. Madeleine is a highly sought after political keynote speaker, whose keynotes are not to be missed.

Who are the Top 10 Motivational Keynote Speakers?

Are you planning a motivational keynote event for your company or organization?

Research shows that a boost in employee engagement and morale will also boost company productivity and profit. Motivation comes in many forms and goes by many names–motivational speakers have overcome adversity, beat the odds, and invested insurmountable amounts of time and effort to reach for their dreams.

A motivational speaker can inspire, engage, empower, and, of course, motivate your team. But, “Who are the top motivational keynote speakers,” you may ask?

Fear not, we’ve compiled this list for you.

1. Jack Canfield

The originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and a prolific self development author, Jack is recognized as America’s number one motivational speaker. From Jack’s motivational keynote audiences will be inspired to participate more fully in life, show more compassion and caring in their professional relationships, dream bigger, replace blaming and complaining with responsibility, and how to persevere in the face of fear, obstacles, and setbacks. A keynote presentation from motivational speaker Jack Canfield is a once and a lifetime experience not to be missed.

2. Leon Logothetis

Leon is a global adventurer, motivational speaker, and philanthropist. Uninspired at this broker job in London, Leon set out for life on the road. Inspired by the movie The Motorcycle Diaries, Leon traveled across the country in a vintage yellow motorbike relying solely on the kindness of strangers to find food, gas and lodgings, while simultaneously giving life-changing gifts to good Samaritans along the way. Leon’s motivational keynote speech teaches you how to listen to that inner voice that tells you life is yours, that anything you dream is possible, and that the power for harnessing all of this potential has been right in front of you all along through kindness and human connection. Leon has an inspiring and fun story to tell, one that will surely motivate all in attendance.

3. Mel Robbins

Mel Robbins is best known for her TEDxTalk: “How To Stop Screwing Yourself Over.” Mel is a powerful motivational keynote speaker who jumps into your audience (literally); creating motivational experiences with surprising research, vivid imagery, original videos, and music. In her keynote, “The 5 Second Rule”, based off her bestselling book of the same name, Mel points out that as we grow up we have parents, coaches, teachers, mentors, etc. who push us to be better and work harder. But as adults, we often don’t have anyone to push and motivate us but ourselves. Using scientific research on the nature of habits, and drawing on facts from some of the most famous moments in history, art, and business, Mel explains the power of a “push moment” to break the habit of procrastination and self-doubt and become a more confident and productive individual.

4. Brian Holloway

Former offensive tackle for the New England Patriots, Brian Holloway, is the most requested motivational team builder. He understands how to transform thinking within organizations and challenge the competitive spirit of diverse teams. Brian grew up to face and overcome many challenges—he spent much of his youth adjusting to life in 12 different states, even being labeled a “slow learner.” Persistence and an unstoppable spirit propelled Brian through his early struggles and on to academic and athletic success throughout high his school, college, and professional football years. As an international motivational speaker, Brian’s speaking engagements move and inspire audiences to positive change.

5. Tan Le

Tan Le is an innovator, entrepreneur, and the co-founder and CEO of the bioinformatics company EMOTIV. In her motivational keynote speech, “My Immigration Story,” Tan recounts her childhood experiences fleeing from war-torn Communist Vietnam with her mother, and sister at the age of 4, to their life in Australia as refugees. Despite immense financial and emotional hardships, Tan explains how her single mother was able to support Tan and her sister and provide them with a good education. Audiences will be motivated by the tenacity of this young entrepreneur and inspired by her courage and grace in any situation.

6. Magic Johnson

Universally known for his 13 year professional basketball career, which includes 12 NBA All-Star games, an Olympic gold medal win, and a very public diagnosis and battle with HIV, Earvin “Magic” Johnson is also one of our most requested motivational speakers. After retiring from professional basketball, Magic turned his interest toward entrepreneurship and became a leading spokesperson for HIV education. After leaving the ballcourt, Magic turned to the board room. He established the Magic Johnson Development Corporation, which builds commercial property in long-neglected minority urban and suburban neighborhoods. In his keynote address Johnson delivers a passionate message about his life story and how we can all make a difference in our community. Magic is dedicated to developing programs and supporting services that address the educational, health, and social needs of ethnically diverse, urban communities.

7. Diana Nyad

At the age of 64, Diana Nyad successfully fulfilled her lifelong dream of completing the 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida on September 2, 2013. Never one to quit, this marked her fifth and final attempt. It was in July of 2010, at the age of 60, when she first began her quest of swimming from Cuba to Florida, a task she had failed to finish thirty years prior that. Nyad was unsuccessful in 2010 and tried two more times 2011 and 2012 before completing her historic and victorious swim in 2013. When asked her motivation, she replied, “Because I’d like to prove to the other 60-year-olds that it is never too late to start your dreams.” If Diana’s story doesn’t inspire you to never give up and never stop working towards your dreams, then nothing will.

8. JP Pawliw-Fry

What is it that most often stops us from performing at our best and accomplishing our goals? Dr. JP Pawliw-Fry suggests that it is pressure moments when we feel, overwhelmed and unsure. Using the research and brain science of emotional intelligence Pawliw-Fry explains how your brain works under pressure and how that affects your decision making and your impact on others. JP offers actionable tips on how to view pressure situations as opportunities, instead of obstacles, and provides strategies to manage your emotions so you can be at your best even in your most difficult moments.

9. Allison Massari

In 1998, Allison survived a devastating near head-on car crash where she was trapped in her burning car, conscious the entire time. A selfless onlooker, who was a Vietnam veteran, ran into the fiery scene, kicked the glass out, and saved her life. Just three years later she was hit again at 60 mph and sustained a closed-head brain injury. Allison’s profound journey of overcoming these two life-altering injuries gives her a genuine and direct approach to transcending life’s difficulties. By sharing her story she motivates change in people and in organizations. Her motivational keynote focuses on success, adversity, and personal development to equip audiences with tools they need to effectively manage change and challenges. Alison is also a successful entrepreneur who has built four businesses in 25 years and has been voted top ten motivational speakers in North America for the past three years.

10. Bert Jacobs and John Jacobs

Motivational speakers, Bert and John Jacobs have an inspirational story of turning their dream into a socially conscious business. Bert and his brother John launched their retail company, Life is Good, with $78 in their pockets, by selling T-shirts on the streets of Boston. Today, Life is Good is a $100 million positive lifestyle brand sold by over 2,000 retailers across the US and Canada. The brand developed 10 “superpowers” (gratitude, authenticity, creativity, love, courage, compassion, simplicity, humor, fun, openness) that they not only run their company by, but also live by. These superpowers were inspired by customers’ stories which illustrated the power of optimism in the darkest of times.

With the top ten motivational speakers (or perhaps 11?) in mind, you’re well on your way to planning the most motivational and inspiring keynote event your organization has ever seen!

Top Author Keynote Speakers

Many keynote speakers are also well established and bestselling authors. Author keynote speakers can add a distinctive touch to your event with their in-depth knowledge of their particular subject of expertise. Not to mention picking up a copy of their book can be a nice way to refresh and deepen your understanding their message post event. Here are some of the top author keynote speakers that you should know about.

Kim Scott

Kim Scott is the co-founder and CEO of Radical Candor, Inc which builds software tools for managers. She is the author of a book called “Radical Candor: How To Be a Kickass Boss without Losing your Humanity”, published by St Martin’s Press. Kim is an advisor at Dropbox, Kurbo, Qualtrics, ReelGoodApp, Rolltape, Shyp, Twitter, and several other Silicon Valley companies. She was a member of the faculty at Apple University and before that led AdSense, YouTube, and Doubleclick Online Sales and Operations at Google. Known for her ability to generate billions of dollars in revenue from millions of small customers while keeping her team happy and margins high.

Mel Robbins

Mel Robbins is best known for delivering one of the most popular TEDxTalk’s in the world: “How To Stop Screwing Yourself Over.” Mel is a powerful keynote speaker who jumps into your audience (literally); creating motivational experiences with unforgettable engagement, surprising research, vivid imagery, original videos and music. Mel is a third generation entrepreneur who’s launched and sold two companies and currently owns and operates a multi million-dollar publishing and speaking business. Her provocative and compelling views on leadership, courage and human potential have earned her international attention and invitations to train executive teams at some of the world’s leading brands such as The PGA Tour, Million Dollar Roundtable, PwC, CISCO Systems, YPO, Johnson & Johnson, and Chase Business. Her newest book, “The 5 Second Rule,” has already made multiple best seller lists.

Erik Wahl

Erik Wahl is an internationally recognized graffiti artist, number one best-selling author and entrepreneur. Erik redefines the term “keynote speaker.” Pulling from his history as both a businessman and an artist, he has grown to become one of the most sought-after corporate speakers available today. Erik’s bestselling business book UNTHINK was hailed by Forbes Magazine as “THE blueprint to actionable creativity” and by Fast Company Magazine as “Provocative with a Purpose.” Erik Wahl’s understanding of vision was originally born in the school of disappointment. After an eight-year career as a partner in a corporate firm, he became frustrated by the lack of innovative thought and corresponding profits he saw in business. So he set out to challenge companies to change their way of thinking, while simultaneously pursuing his own individual passions. Wahl’s ther books include “Unchain the Elephant” and his newest bestseller ‘Spark the Grind” was recently released.

Robert Cialdini

Extensive scholarly training in the psychology of influence, together with over 30 years of research into the subject, has earned Dr. Cialdini an international reputation as an expert in the fields of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation. His books including, “Influence: Science & Practice and Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” are the results of more than 30 years of study into the reasons why people comply with requests in business settings. USA Today lists “Influence” in their 12 Best Business Books of All Time. Dr. Cialdini’s most recent co-authored book is “The Small BIG, small changes that spark big influence” has been met with rave reviews. His co-authored book, “Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive,” has been on the New York Times, USA Today & Wall Street Journal Best Seller Lists. Dr. Cialdini’s most recent book “Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade” was accepted to the New York Times bestseller list immediately after it was released.

Jack Canfield

As the originator of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series, Jack Canfield fostered the emergence of inspirational anthologies as a genre – and watched it grow to a billion dollar market. As the driving force behind the development and delivery of over 100 million books sold through the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” franchise, Jack Canfield is uniquely qualified to talk about success. Behind the empire Time Magazine called the “publishing phenomenon of the decade” Jack Canfield is America’s leading expert in creating peak performance for entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, managers, sales professionals, corporate employees and educators. Affectionately known as “America’s #1 Success Coach”, Jack Canfield has studied, interpreted and presented what makes successful people different. He knows what motivates them, what drives them, and what inspires them

What is a Keynote Speaker?

The term keynote speaker often gets thrown around loosely and many people have different ideas about what the word actually refers to. When they hear the word keynote speaker, some people think of a motivational speaker, business speaker, industry expert, or a closing speaker. If you’re a business executive or an event planner, what you might actually hear, when you hear the word keynote speaker, is that you need to hire someone who can talk to our audience for about 45 minutes and they will probably cost a lot of money.

In actuality, a keynote speaker could speak on any of the above listed subjects, but what defines a keynote speaker is their ability to capture the essence of your meeting and to highlight it to your audience in a short period of time. In order to capture this essence, the keynote speaker should be willing to spend the time researching your industry, your issues, and your audience.

Once the keynote speaker completes his/her research about your organization, the speaker can then mold the presentation into a unique and distinctive presentation just for your audience. The keynote speaker may incorporate humor, audience participation, or show funny clips to add an extra bit of fun and entertainment to their talk. No matter, what shtick the speaker employs, their job is to weave your keynote message into their program in a fun and memorable way.

This is why choosing the right keynote speaker, who aligns with the message of your organization and the event, is crucial not only to the success of the event but also to how affective and engaging the keynote will be to your audience.

Choosing the Right Event Venue– Advice from Keynote Speakers

Add this thought to you event planner checklist: Does your event space help the keynote speaker to succeed?

The purpose of this article is to provide valuable tips for your event planner checklist. When it comes to booking event keynote speakers, almost nothing is as important to your ROI than the event space. Any event planner checklist should include a few key elements relating to the room and how well it enhances or interferes with the presentations of the keynotes speakers you’ve hired.

Here is some advice straight from the keynotes speakers themselves to consider before booking Your next event venue.

Avoid the outdoors

“Probably the worst was a talk I gave on one of those dinner cruise ships. This was a fairly small group, maybe 30 or 40, and the ship’s dining room was barely big enough to hold them. When I checked it out before the cruise departed, the air conditioning was so loud that I knew I couldn’t be heard — there was no sound system — so I asked that they shut off the AC when I started my talk. When the time actually came, however, the ship was underway and the engines were MUCH louder than the air conditioning. When the staff obediently shut off the AC at the beginning of my talk, it didn’t make a bit of difference to the noise level, but it did cause the crowded dining room to become very hot. I tried to yell my remarks over the sound of the engines, but I doubt if more than half the audience could hear anything. Perhaps the one saving grace was that by that time pretty much everybody, except me, was drunk.”

– Geoff Colvin, Fortune magazine, Author, Talent is Overrated

Odd sized rooms need extra sound reinforcement to compensate

“One time I was invited to speak and receive an award from a university during a reunion. The room was laid out in the shape of a long skinny rectangle, and the acoustics were terrible — so the only people who could hear me were the people at the top of the rectangle. The rest, I imagine, carried on happily reuniting with their former classmates — what else could they have done?”

– Susan Cain, Author, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

Fear the big room half-full

“1,000 people can generate great energy, unless they’re spread out in an NFL football stadium or an arena. I had that experience once. The stage was on the 50-yard line – mid-field and a LONG way from the audience. A great sound system was in place but it was a strange vibe overall in an otherwise empty stadium.

“If you want to meet somewhere like that, fine; give people a tour but then cluster them in a place that can sort of make sense, like behind where the team would sit during the game, and have the speaker up close, not far away and high in the sky. Whenever the room is much bigger than the size of the crowd, rope off the seating area and have the ushers send people forward. It enhances the crowd energy tremendously and makes for a much more successful audience experience.”

–Tom Morris, Noted Philosopher and author, If Aristotle Ran General Motors

Event planner checklist priority: eliminate “the gulf”

“Ask comedians, entertainers, and motivational speakers about the biggest challenge to connecting with an audience and they’ll tell you it’s “the gulf” – the distance from the front of the stage to the first row of seats. The greater the distance, the harder it is to connect, and the lower the energy. It’s no different with speakers. Many of the stories here make that point. Whenever possible, have your audience seated as close to the action as possible. The energy will start up front and ripple through the room. It can literally change the outcome of the presentations and should be a critical goal on any event planner checklist.”

– Tony D’Amelio, Principal, D’Amelio Network