Her work has been published in top-tier journals such as Management Science and Harvard Business Review and spans a wide variety of industries, including tech, retail, healthcare and global multi-brand organizations. She has published more than fifty case studies on companies ranging from eBay to Oracle to the Cleveland Clinic.

Professor Frei has been widely recognized for her dynamic teaching style. She developed one of the most popular courses at HBS, which investigates how organizations build business models that reliably delight customers. She also led the development of HBS’s innovative FIELD curriculum, which focuses on learning experiences that are experiential and immersive, with the goal of advancing the School’s mission to develop leaders who make a difference in the world. She has also developed breakthrough leadership courses optimized for rapid, lasting impact. These include Why You Should Care: Creating a Culture of Excellence, Leadership Lessons from Ancient Rome, Women on Boards and The HR-Executive Suite Connection.

Professor Frei actively advises organizations on how to address issues of excellence, leadership, and strategy. She works regularly with family businesses on the challenges of growth, succession planning, and the development of next-generation leaders. Her recent focus includes increasing the diversity of organizations as a means to significantly enhance organizational performance.

Professor Frei serves on the Board of Directors of Blue Buffalo and Viewpost. She has a significant personal and professional investment in GenePeeks, a computational genomics company with a mission to protect future generations from life-altering and life-threatening diseases. She received her Ph.D. in Operations and Information Management from the Wharton School. She holds an M.E. in Industrial Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, and a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania

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Nick is a groundbreaking theorist and practitioner of transformational and adaptive leadership and the disruptive innovations, high-performing teams, and net-positive strategies that it unlocks. A Cambridge-educated medic who has developed a theory of change based on cutting-edge brain and behavioral science—and a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded five purpose-led enterprises—Nick has advised 100,000+ senior leaders in organizations as diverse as Nike, Novartis, and No.10 Downing and has led 100+ breakthrough innovation projects for firms like Microsoft, Unilever, and Diageo (including catalyzing the most successful TV show of all time).

Nick is a dedicated, sought-after, and highly-experienced professional keynote speaker renowned for his enlivening, incisive, and actionable talks at the intersection of technology, transformation, and commercial realities.

In a speaking career spanning over twenty years—in which he has crafted a unique fusion of exhilarating ideas, evocative stories, and an energizing stage presence—he has delivered keynotes for orgs like Google, Pfizer, LEGO, Tesco, Kellogg’s, NHS, Schroder’s, WWF, and CHRO Summit. Nick motivates, inspires, and transforms senior leaders, people managers, and diverse conference audiences—across the US, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and AsiaPacific—with powerful, moving, and interactive keynotes.

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During his military career, Rich was intimately involved in the world-renowned SEAL selection process, which whittles exceptional candidates down to a small cadre of the most elite optimal performers.

But Rich was often surprised by which recruits washed out and which succeeded. Someone could have all the right skills and still fail, while recruits he might have initially dismissed would prove to be top performers. The seemingly objective criteria weren’t telling him what he most needed to know: What does it take to be one of the highest-performing teams in the world?

Eventually, he cracked the code. Through years of observation, Rich learned to identify a successful recruit’s core Attributes, the innate traits for how a person performs as an individual and as part of a team. As well as understand once you build a high-performing team you must understand how to move through stress and uncertainty to become resilient. That same methodology can be used by anyone in their personal or professional lives.

Upon retirement in early 2017, Rich started working as a speaker, facilitator, and consultant with the Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute and Simon Sinek Inc. to teach corporate teams how to become high-performing.

In 2021, he launched his first book: The Attributes, 25 hidden drivers of optimal performance. He also launched his own consulting business, The Attributes Inc, and developed the revolutionary selection technique, The Attributes Discovery, to help organizations select and assess the right people and form the best teams.

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Since 2007, Richard has been the lead futurist at Intelligent Future Consulting, a futurist enterprise that focuses on emerging trends and technologies and their implications for industry and government.

He has more than 30 years of experience as a Systems Analyst Programmer for Acumen Computer Services and over a decade of experience as a Science Program Writer, Editor and Videographer for Crosswind Productions. He served as a Computing/AI Contributing Editor for The Futurist magazine and an Executive Board Member/Treasurer for the Association of Professional Futurists.

As a keynote speaker, Richard has lectured extensively at various universities and colleges around the world, including Georgetown University, University of Washington, University of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and University of Turku (Finland).

In 2020, Richard published Future Minds, an investigation into the numerous ways in which our world is growing increasingly intelligent. This book is a follow-up to the 2017 Heart of the Machine, which examines the evolution of computers and robots and their ability to recognise, interpret and respond to emotional stimuli. Both books focus on the future of artificial intelligence and are international bestsellers.

As a leading expert and pioneer in emerging technologies and trends, Richard has written for top publications such as Fast Company, World Future Review, GeekWire, Scientific American, Salon, and American Cinematographer. His work has been featured and quoted in other publications such as Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The New York Times, BBC News, Wired, Puget Sound Business Journal, Singularity Hub and Investor’s Business Daily. He has also made guest appearances on radio programs and podcasts.

Richard is a keynote speaker who has appeared at various speaking conferences, including TEDx, where he examines emerging technologies across all sectors, from agriculture to education, healthcare, government, and information technology. By exploring potential scenarios and changes in emerging technologies and envisioning unanticipated consequences of those changes, Richard has helped companies such as Samsung, Amazon and Xero identify their preferred futures.

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A native of Phoenix, Woodson played football at Maryvale High School as a running back and linebacker. He attended Arizona State University, where he was a converted linebacker for the Sun Devils and earned his Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies.

In the 1992 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys selected Woodson in the second-round (37th overall). Throughout his 12 seasons (1992-2004) with the Cowboys, he earned a reputation as one of the hardest hitters and most ferocious safeties in the NFL.

Woodson retired in 2004 as the Cowboys’ All-Time Leading Tackler with 1,350 career stops and registering career totals of 11 sacks and 23 interceptions. Throughout his NFL career, his dependability, athleticism and aggressiveness helped lead the Cowboys to three Super Bowl Championships (Super Bowl XXVII, XXVIII and XXX) – securing him an elite position in the club’s history. In 2015, Woodson was inducted into the prestigious Cowboys “Ring of Honor.” He was also named to the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame (2009) and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2017).

Upon retiring from the NFL, Woodson joined ESPN as an NFL analyst in 2005. He appeared on “NFL Live” and “SportsCenter” and also participated on the network’s coverage of the Super Bowl, NFL Draft and NFL training camp specials. After 14 years with the network and commuting weekly to Bristol, Connecticut, Woodson announced his retirement in 2019.

Transitioning from the NFL to a post-playing career is not easy for most athletes —but Woodson has found consistent success. Woodson joined ESRP Advisory Dallas, LLC, “esrp”, in 2017 and bridged his storied football career and entrepreneurial spirit with commercial real estate. In May of 2022, esrp merged with Cresa, the world’s only global commercial real estate advisory firm that exclusively represents occupiers and specializes in the delivery of fully integrated real estate solutions operating from over 380 offices in 15 territories.

Woodson offices at the Dallas Cowboy World Headquarters – The Star, Cresa’s primary office in the Dallas-Fort Worth region as a Managing Principal and is an active Board member where he is directly involved with the firm’s overall vision, growth, and strategy. Woodson focuses on locating, developing, and defining business relationships across a variety of industries and markets. He brings his innate leadership skills and passion for creating winning strategies to meet clients’ real estate needs, while delivering a high-level of service. Clients include NTT DATA, Argo Data, ExamSoft and MTX Group.

Beyond his remarkable talents and dedicated leadership, Woodson has made significant contributions to his community and is an active board member at C5 Youth Foundation of Texas. C5 Youth Foundation helps high potential youth with limited resources become successful and responsible leaders in their communities. Since its inception, over 600 Texas youth have experienced C5 Texas’ life-changing program and leadership experiences.

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A seasoned business researcher, Matt has been involved in dozens of original quantitative and qualitative research studies on topics ranging from customer experience strategy to customer service and sales effectiveness. His first book, The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation (Penguin, November 2011), was a #1 Amazon and Wall Street Journal bestseller and has sold more than half a million copies worldwide. The Challenger Sale has won acclaim as “the most important advance in selling for many years” (SPIN Selling author Neil Rackham) and “the beginning of a wave that will take over a lot of selling organizations in the next decade.” (Business Insider). Matt is also a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, having been published more than twenty times in both HBR’s print and online editions. Among his noteworthy HBR articles are “Reinventing Customer Service” (November-December 2018), “Kick-Ass Customer Service” (January-February 2017), “Dismantling the Sales Machine” (November 2013), “The End of Solution Sales” (July-August 2012) and “Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers” (July-August 2010). His two most recent books are The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty, (Penguin, September 2013) and The Challenger Customer: Selling to the Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results (Penguin, September 2015).

Matt is a sought-after speaker and advisor to management teams around world, having presented his findings at a wide range of industry conferences as well as to hundreds of senior executive teams around the world, including those of many Fortune 500 companies.

Matt holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh as well as a B.A. in International Studies from Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He currently resides in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and four children.

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Yawn, always the professional, earned a United States Coastguard Masters of Oceans 1600T/3000T and the United States Coast Guard and Maritime Coast Guard Agency Class IV CEC. She values professional organizations and remains an active member of the Captain’s Advisory Council for SeaKeepers Society, International Super Yachts Society, United States Super Yacht Association, and the Professional Yachting Association.

The undeniable resilience Yawn possesses has not only pushed her to the top of the yachting industry but also allowed her to focus on philanthropic collaboration, ocean advocacy, and children’s education. Yawn is an active board member or advisor for many philanthropic groups including the Jacksonville School for Autism, a not for profit organization that Yawn’s sister founded for the captain’s nephew, Nicholas.

Yawn continually uses her experience and life’s trials and tribulations to educate and help others. She survived a life threatening motorcycle accident, threat of pirates, and even cancer. She appeared on the Emmy Award winning talk show The Doctors in hopes of sharing her personal experiences to educate others about cancer and health.

Yawn is currently the captain on Bravo TV’s reality show Below Deck Mediterranean. Yawn’s unique leadership style of embracing teachable moments to train and educate her staff have earned her fan favorite accolades. Yawn is a hands on type Captain who leads by example and is not afraid to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

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Dr. Wiens is an executive coach, national speaker, and organizational change consultant. Her coaching practice is deeply grounded in emotional intelligence, burnout, and resiliency research and methods. She is passionate about designing and delivering coaching and learning experiences that help people live their values and perform at their best.

She holds a doctorate from the Penn Chief Learning Officer executive doctoral program at the University of Pennsylvania, an M.B.A. from the University of Oregon, and a B.S. in business administration from Montana State University.

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In 2005, Cat Cora made television history when she became the first-ever female Iron Chef on Food Network’s hit show: Iron Chef America. Since then, she shattered the glass ceiling as one of the first females to dominate the historically male culinary industry. After Cat’s Iron Chef debut, she was featured extensively on a number of television shows, including as co-host on BRAVO’s “Around the World in 80 Plates” as well as FOX’s “My Kitchen Rules.” and ABC’s “Family Food Fight”.

In 2006, Cat was awarded Bon Appetit Magazine’s “Teacher of the Year Award” and was named the Executive Chef of the magazine. Since then, she has blazed her own trail through the culinary world, becoming the first female inducted into The American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Fame.

Cat has opened more than 18 restaurants across the United States and globally, highlighting her platform on health, wellness and sustainability:

Cat Cora’s Kitchen, and Cat Cora’s Gourmet Market, located in numerous airport locations throughout the U.S., Cat Cora’s Taproom located in the Detroit Metro Airport, Ocean by Cat Cora, an award-winning restaurant in Singapore, Kouzzina by Cat Cora at Disney World, CCQ at Macy’s, Postino in San Francisco’s East Bay, Mesa Burger which can be found in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Montecito, and Olilo by Cat Cora and Wicked Eats by Cat Cora have over 500 pop-ups across the country.

In 2018, Cat partnered with WW on a first-of-its-kind health food destination inside Barclays Center in Brooklyn, called WW FreestyleTM Café: BKLYN. That same year, Cat was also proud to be featured in the permanent collection of the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Museum’s Kitchen Table exhibit in Meridian, Mississippi.

Cat is Little Kitchen Academy’s Official Ambassador, Honorary Head of Recipe Development, and Advisory Board Member. Little Kitchen Academy is the key ingredient for an independent child. The first-of-its-kind Montessori-inspired cooking academy for kids ages three through teen, Little Kitchen Academy is focused on providing a safe, inspiring, and empowering space for children to identify, develop, and refine their senses. Through joy, mindfulness, and learning we are creating a foundation for a healthy lifespan through responsible eating choices: from scratch to consumption.

As if that wasn’t enough, Cora is also a prominent published author of three successful cookbooks, one children’s book and, in 2015, her raw and remarkably candid memoir called Cooking as Fast as I Can: A Chef’s Story of Food, Family and Forgiveness.

Outside the kitchen, Cora is best known for her philanthropic efforts. She is the President and Founder of Chefs for Humanity, a non-profit dedicated to reducing hunger worldwide by supporting humanitarian relief and promoting nutrition education.

In 2018, Chef Cat Cora launched her Women’s Empowerment Culinary Internship Program to mentor, give back and help women succeed in the culinary arts. Each year, Chef Cora and family will host a female student in culinary school for a week in Santa Barbara, CA. The candidate will be given the opportunity to have hands on experience in both the back and front of the house at Chef Cora’s restaurant, Mesa Burger. Additionally, they will experience the daily operations of Cat’s business in its entirety.

President Barack Obama awarded her The President’s Volunteer Service Award for helping to address the most pressing needs in her community and our country and The President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for building a stronger nation through her volunteer service.

Cora currently resides in California with her wife Nicole and their six boys.

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A leading international keynote speaker, Adam has reached tens of thousands worldwide with his message of Resilience as the competitive edge in the face of today’s complex markets. An attorney, entrepreneur and transformational trainer, Adam is a sought-after business culture catalyst who inspires, empowers and guides organizations and individuals to create sustainable, high performance strategies. Adam is also the CEO of More Love Media, which through keynotes, workshops and business mentoring, helps leaders embrace change, cultivate work cultures of greater unity and resilience, as well as strengthen their voice as purpose driven leaders.

Adam credits much of his success to the principles he learned during his 8 years as a Jones Beach lifeguard in New York. As a first responder in a life and death environment, he learned the importance of cultivating a high performance capacity and impeccable teamwork and leadership. He’s found that the principles of this type of culture equally apply to any business that wants to build a sustainable competitive advantage to win.

Since his days on Jones Beach, Adam has spent his life protecting others and bringing them back from the brink of business and professional drowning–including his own. After building a multi-million dollar law firm specializing in finance, commercial and employment litigation, Adam turned a mid-life crisis into a mid-life calling, pivoting his own career path. He became CEO of one of the largest business and personal growth training companies in the world. Here he learned that motivation and inspiration alone are not enough to effectively utilize change; it’s about providing leaders, teams and audiences with tangible, effective takeaways to sustain them over time.

For over a decade, Adam has trained and led programs around the globe in the areas of business and entrepreneurship, resilience, leadership, transformation, relationships and public speaking. As a self-proclaimed “recovering attorney,” he has shared his unique content and heart-led leadership style on four continents, in dozens of countries, and throughout hundreds of cities.

Adam’s powerful and practical talks offer a unique bridge between self-development and business mastery. They are crafted to inspire, empower, and guide people to achieve a greater impact through greater awareness, authenticity and action.

He’s been a keynote speaker and trainer for Fortune 500 companies and conferences including: Herbalife, Henkel, Jack-In-The-Box, Harvard University, Canon, Ingram Micro and the Northeast Business Group on Health. He’s shared the stage with the likes of Tony Robbins, Michael J. Fox, Stedman Graham and was honored to become a member of the prestigious Transformational Leadership Council.

Adam’s extensive experience on global stages translates into a powerful experience for any audience. He is known as one of the most charismatic speakers you’ll ever see, as his talks are interactive, engaging and high energy. Adam shares skills, tools, strategies and practices that can be used outside the event setting to achieve sustainable results. Adam employs “accelerated learning” techniques to ensure that the substance of what is being taught is learned faster and participants retain more of what they learn.

Adam is a recognized expert in reinvention, thriving through change, and the integration of business and personal development. He’s been interviewed by many outlets, including: Fox News, Entrepreneur, INC., and The Wall Street Journal.

Adam holds a BS in English and began his career as a public school teacher. Adam has tremendous and diverse experience in business, leadership, mentoring, and facilitation of experiential programs for large and small groups — and knows what it takes to thrive as an entrepreneur, business owner and corporate leader.

Family is central to Adam’s life and work. He is immensely grateful everyday for his college sweetheart, wife of 30 years and business partner, Randi Markel. Their greatest joy is their four beautiful children, who are all committed to having a positive impact on the world.

Adam has truly reinvented what it means to be a heart-centered and authentic leader. He’s admired for his refreshing and inspiring impact on entrepreneurs, creative thinkers and leaders worldwide. He brings this perspective to his podcast “The Conscious PIVOT”, where he shares his insights on pivoting and resilience in today’s fast paced market and interviews experts, innovators and influencers in the areas of business and life.

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It took two championships at the end of his career to certify his stature, to soften the mark of three Super Bowl losses. After 16 seasons, Elway retired as the starting quarterback with the most wins in NFL history with a 148-82-1 record. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August of 2004.

A renowned scrambler, Elway led 47 winning or tying drives in the fourth quarter or overtime, more than any quarterback. “In tight situations I stop worrying about turnovers,” he said.

Elway became the first quarterback to start five Super Bowls, was selected for the Pro Bowl nine times and in 1987 was voted the NFL’s Most Valuable Player by the Associated Press. By taking risks as a passer, he made plays other quarterbacks couldn’t.

John Elway closed his career with an MVP performance in the 1999 Super Bowl.

Elway was born in Port Angeles, Wash. Growing up, Elway participated in several sports. After moving to the Los Angeles area, Elway starred in baseball and football at High School. Batting .491 as a senior, he led his team to the city baseball championship. As a quarterback, he was a prep All-American, receiving scholarship offers from 60 colleges before choosing Stanford University.

While at Stanford Elway set Pac-10 career passing records for completions, yardage and touchdowns. Said Stanford coach Paul Wiggin: “Every team we play puts up a picture of John and says, ‘That’s our battle cry.’ “Elway was a consensus All-American as a senior in 1982, when he passed finished second to in the Heisman Trophy voting. The Baltimore Colts made Elway the No. 1 pick in the 1983 draft. He used baseball as leverage. The Yankees drafted him in the 1st round.

Fearing Elway might turn to baseball, the Colts traded his rights to Denver. After signing a five-year, $5-million contract with Denver, Elway became a much-admired starter.

In the AFC championship game in Cleveland, Elway did something remarkable when he took Denver on “The Drive,” a tying, 98-yard, 15-play march late in the game. The Broncos defeated Cleveland in overtime, but then lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants despite Elway’s best effort. He became the first quarterback since Pittsburgh’s Terry Bradshaw (1978-79) to lead a team to consecutive AFC titles. Elway got his chance in 1997 when the Broncos team rode to the Super Bowl as a wild card.

Facing the defending champion Green Bay Packers, Denver ended the AFC’s Super Bowl slide with an upset. “That was the ultimate win,” Elway said. In January 1999, the Broncos were again in the Super Bowl, this time against Atlanta and his former coach. Reeves’ game plan: Stop Davis and let Elway beat us. By throwing for 336 yards and one touchdown-and running for another score-Elway led Denver to triumph. “I don’t think there’s any doubt now that he’s a winner,” said his father Jack.

Three months later, keynote speaker John Elway retired at 38 after considering the decision for weeks. “The pressure’s all gone,” he said to his wife the next day. “I can’t believe how happy I am.”

For 16 amazing seasons-234 games that included a NFL-record 148 wins-John Elway was the undisputed leader of the Denver Broncos. He will be forever remembered for his 47 game-winning or game-tying drives in the fourth quarter (another NFL record), his spectacular passing statistics, and his enduring competitive spirit, which led him to ultimate professional and personal triumph in the Super Bowl.

In 2004, in his first year of eligibility, John Elway was elected on the first ballot to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On August 8, 2004, John will be officially inducted in Canton, Ohio, along with fellow superstar classmates, Barry Sanders, Carl Eller and Bob Brown.

John Elway resides in Englewood, Colorado. He keeps very busy, dividing his time between his family, business interests, and the Elway Foundation, a nonprofit organization John started in 1987 to assist in the prevention and treatment of child abuse.

Since his rookie year, John Elway has been very active in the Denver community. In 1987 John decided to start his charity foundation, the Elway Foundation, to join with the community’s efforts to eliminate the dreadful crime of child abuse. John recognized that child abuse was a growing issue in our society and was affecting more and more lives. He made the decision to concentrate the Elway Foundation’s efforts in the area of the treatment and prevention of child abuse and to hopefully prevent future generations from becoming victims of this horrible crime.

John Elway’s second charity is The Heroes Foundation. Heroes Foundation was created to provide support and funding to America’s heroes and their families. Heroes exist everywhere. The Foundation strives to encourage American pride and assist those Heroes, past and present, who contribute to improving society and defending our country’s freedoms. The Foundation will fund numerous programs which recognize the extraordinary sacrifices people make to in order to keep our country great.

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A multi-talented performer, Long launched his successful television and film career after playing 13 years in the NFL for the Los Angeles Raiders. Widely known for his appearances on the big screen as well as the gridiron, he made his feature film debut in John Woo’s box office hit Broken Arrow and has since starred in Firestorm and Dollar for the Dead. Long was also featured in 3000 Miles to Graceland alongside Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell. He was named “Male Star of Tomorrow” for 1997 by ShoWest, sharing the honor with past winners Brad Pitt, Chris O’Donnell, and Will Smith.

A versatile television personality, Long hosted the 20th anniversary special for the re-release of the Star Wars trilogy as well as the TBS special War Games.   He has been featured in national commercials and advertising campaigns including Radio Shack, Coors, Nike, Hanes and Campbell’s Soup. Over the years, his football persona has been used to promote clothing, toy figures, and candy bars.

Long’s sharp wit and keen analysis have prompted him to be recruited by several publications for which he wrote articles including USA Today and Cosmopolitan. He has also written the introduction to the Bo Jackson biography Bo Knows Bo.

In addition to his professional duties, Long has consistently been active in charity work, including being name “Man of the Year” by the Walter Camp Foundation for his local and national contributions to charities. He is also a past recipient of the West Coast Father’s Day Council “Father of the Year” award. He is currently the Honorary Chairman of his local Boys and Girls Club and honorary chairman of “Andrew’s Buddies”, an organization which raises awareness and supports research to defeat spinal muscular atrophy.

In honor of his grandmother, Long has established a scholarship fund at Villanova which benefits underprivileged students. He annually lends his time and talent to the United Way, the Mental Health Association, and the Tracey Biletnikoff Foundation. In 2001, Long and his wife, Diane, were chairmen of Child Abuse Prevention Month in Virginia. He is also a member of the American Cancer Society’s Public Awareness Council and was the founding National Chairman for Athletes & Entertainers for Kids.

In his NFL career, Long twice earned title of Defensive Lineman of the Year and  was elected to the Pro Bowl eight times, tying the Raiders’ all-time record. He was voted Seagrams Defensive Player of the Year by the NFL coaches and general managers in 1985. He has also been named to the first team of the “All Decade Team of the 80s”. In 1983, Long helped lead the Raiders to their Super Bowl victory over the Washington Redskins. In 2000, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Long became the third youngest player ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and is one of only seven defensive ends voted into the Hall.

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Pauline Nguyen is a best-selling author and award-winning businesswoman – and her achievements are all the more impressive for her having escaped Vietnam on a boat and survived a Thai refugee camp. She has overcome these adverse beginnings to transform her approach to success by re-engineering her beliefs, questioning the status quo and hacking cultural norms to become one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs.

As the owner of Red Lantern the most awarded Vietnamese restaurant in the world, in 2012 Pauline won the Australian Telstra Business Award for Medium Business. However, that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Pauline’s achievements; her memoir, Secrets of the Red Lantern, has been critically acclaimed around the world and appeared in numerous bestseller lists. She holds a BA in Communications from the University of Technology, Sydney, and in 2008 won Newcomer Writer of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards.

Pauline has achieved outstanding success as an entrepreneur, author, businesswoman and acclaimed speaker with the unique ability to connect with her audience in a profound way, empowering them to change their story for a better future.

Pauline is an original ‘Rare Bird’ – one of Australia’s top 50 influential female entrepreneurs – and is included in Blackwell and Hobday’s global recognition of 200 Women Who Will Change the Way You See the World.

She has a high-performing Western business background combined with an Eastern slant of spirituality – and her unique philosophy is taught with warmth and humour, telling her own story of what can be achieved through key alignment of thoughts and intentions.

There is no one working in Australia today like Pauline Nguyen. This entrepreneur is one of the country’s leading speakers signed by ‘ODE’, a direct management agency representing 20 of the world’s greatest disruptors, innovators and thought leaders. Pauline is dynamite on the stage, sharing her journey of entrepreneurial success despite all odds. Arriving in Australia as a Vietnamese refugee, Pauline overcame childhood abuse and extreme adversity to rise to renown as a business leader, coach, spiritual teacher and shaman. Combining the latest in neuroscience with spirituality, she teaches others how to design the life of their dreams and marry material success with deep fulfilment. A multi award winning best-selling author as well as the co-founder of the world’s most awarded Vietnamese Restaurant, Red Lantern; Pauline’s keynotes have her audience on the edge of their seats, blazing with new possibilities and ignited with their own potential.

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Born and raised in Plano, Texas to a single mother, Lance Armstrong showed an early interest in sports. Going against the football culture of his hometown, he earned a spot on both the track and swim teams. Armstrong became a state champion swimmer, adding cycling to his repertoire and becoming a professional triathlete at age 15. With the dream of one day competing in the Olympics (triathlon was not yet an Olympic sport), Armstrong turned his focus to cycling.

In 1992, Armstrong represented the U.S. at the Barcelona Olympic Games, turning professional immediately after. In 1993, he won cycling’s “Triple Crown,” the Thrift Drug Classic, the Kmart West Virginia Classic and the CoreStates Race (the U.S. Professional Championship), placed second in the Tour Dupont and competed in his first Tour de France, cycling’s most prestigious event. By 1996, he was an established international competitor, setting a record victory at the Tour DuPont and riding again for the U.S. at the Atlanta Olympics.

Then, the unthinkable happened. After ignoring escalating symptoms, Armstrong, then age 25, was diagnosed with Stage 3 metastatic testicular cancer that had advanced to his lymph nodes, abdomen, lungs and brain. Given only a 40% chance of survival, he underwent surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy. Turning his never-give-up drive to beating cancer, he vowed that he would one day return to cycling.

Armstrong was declared cancer free in February of 1997. That same year, he founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation, later called Livestrong, known for its iconic yellow band bracelets. According to Armstrong, Livestrong has raised over a half a billion dollars to advocate for and support people with cancer.

Despite his odds-defying victory over cancer, Armstrong’s $600k annual sponsorship had been pulled and companies were hesitant to sponsor him. He eventually signed a $200k annual deal with the United States Postal Service team. His return to professional cycling became one of sports’ most legendary comeback stories. In 1999, Armstrong became the second American to win the Tour de France, a victory he repeated the following year. He also won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Over the next five years, Armstrong dominated international cycling, winning the Tour de France a total of seven consecutive times before retiring from the sport in 2005 at the age of 34. In 2009, he came out of retirement to compete in the Tour once again, placing third. In 2010, he competed in what was to be his final Tour, coming in 23rd place, and permanently retiring.

Through his peak years, Armstrong’s tremendous success was met with rumors of performance-enhancing drug (PED) use. The controversy first surfaced in 2001, when he was linked to an Italian doctor being investigated for supplying PEDs to cyclists. Amidst numerous allegations, Armstrong vehemently denied any drug use. In 2012, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced that Armstrong would be stripped of all of his Tour de France titles, his Olympic medal and all other honors earned between 1999-2005 and be banned from cycling for life. Armstrong later admitted to PED use during a notable national interview with Oprah Winfrey, attributing it to “a ruthless desire to win.”

In addition to losing his titles, Armstrong also lost an estimated  $111 million in endorsements along with legal costs. At his lowest point, with his career in shambles, he worried about how he would support his family. Fortuitously, his situation was turned around when he became an early investor in Uber, and later, DocuSign.  Combining a talent for spotting winners with his lifelong interest in sports, health and wellness, Armstrong founded Next Ventures, a venture capital firm designed to maximize growth opportunities in the exploding sports, fitness, nutrition, and wellness markets.

Armstrong credits much of his current comeback to his keen understanding of  the power of digital media and influencers in brand building. He currently hosts THEMOVE, a podcast that provides analysis of the Tour de France and other cycling, triathlon and endurance races. THEMOVE has had millions of downloads and is one of Apple iTunes’ top 10 sports and recreation podcasts. Armstrong also hosts The Forward podcast, interviewing musicians, athletes, politicians and influencers from all walks of life. Past interviewees have included Matthew McConaughey, Molly Bloom, Charles Barkley, Tony Robbins, and Wolfgang Puck. These popular podcasts are the cornerstone of WEDU MEDIA and the WEDU brand, a content destination for a growing community of endurance athletes and those pursuing an endurance lifestyle. Armstrong also continues to be actively involved in philanthropy, most recently teaming with others to send a bike to every child in Uvalde, Texas as a way to help foster normalcy after the traumatic school shooting.

Regretful about the past, but with eyes firmly fixed on the future, Armstrong shares a story of resiliency and hard-learned lessons that resonate with multiple audiences. Speaking with total candor and making no subject off-limits, he champions the power of mental endurance to overcome any failure, challenge or obstacle. “I’ve landed on my feet,” Armstrong says. “I have five beautiful kids and I’ve been given another chance. I’m extremely grateful for that.”

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Since 2005, when Jonathan took the top leadership position, Habitat’s more than 1,200 U.S. affiliates and over 70 country programs have grown from serving 125,000 individuals each year to helping more than 8.7 million people last year alone build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter.

Jonathan graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where he was a Morehead Scholar. He was also the recipient of a Henry Luce Scholarship, which enabled him to do marketing work for the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee and coach the Korean rowing team in preparation for the 1988 Olympics.

He earned his Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business before spending much of his career in the for-profit sector, including executive and managerial positions at Goldman Sachs, Marriott, The Walt Disney Co., and Best Buy. Following his tenure as executive pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church near Minneapolis, MN, he was appointed CEO of Habitat for Humanity International in 2005.

He serves on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Duke Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Urban Steering Committee for the World Economic Forum.

Jonathan was named the most influential nonprofit leader in America in 2017 by The NonProfit Times. He and his wife, Ashley, have three children and live in Atlanta.

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In 2018, Edgar released his first book, Decolonizing Wealth, which offers hopeful and compelling alternatives to the dynamics of colonization in the philanthropic and social finance sectors. Due to the success of Decolonizing Wealth and the request for programs and education about decolonization,  Edgar launched the Decolonizing Wealth Project (DWP) in late 2018.

In 2019, he founded Liberated Capital, a participatory grantmaking fund directed by DWP that invites individuals and organizations to give through a reparations model that trusts and supports the leadership of those most impacted by historical and systemic racism. The fund welcomes support from all who are committed to collectively healing the wounds of colonialism and white supremacy by using money as medicine to shape an equitable future.

He holds two degrees from the Gillings Global School of Public Health at The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Edgar is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and resides in Brooklyn, NY.

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Grit and hustle are simply not a long-term answer to dealing with non-stop change and stress. Suneel offers leaders and teams a better way to work; one that results in sustainable innovation, productivity, and fulfillment. He arms people with science-based habits that will avoid burnout, boost energy, and improve their professional and personal lives.

Suneel is a business survivor and the author of the international bestselling book Backable (2020). That book is rooted in his inner journey from twice-failed entrepreneur to becoming a leader behind two IPOs and being named “The New Face of Innovation” by the New York Stock Exchange. The book reveals the mindset shifts and hidden habits of people who are extraordinary at pushing new ideas forward.

His next book, due in 2023, will unveil the habits of high-pressure performers, explaining why some people burn out, while others reach new levels of resilience, productivity, and momentum.

As visiting scholar at Harvard Medical School, Suneel researches and teaches the interconnection between inner well-being and outer leadership. He is also emissary for Gross National Happiness between the United States and the Kingdom of Bhutan.

As CEO of RISE Suneel helped thousands of people establish a way to personalize their physical and mental health journey while connecting with certified nutritionists and trainers at an affordable price. The company was named “App of the Year” and partnered with then first-Lady Michelle Obama before being acquired by the NASDAQ-listed company One Medical Group. In 2022, with its acquisition of One Medical Group, RISE is now part of Amazon.

Suneel is currently the host of Business Class, a docuseries created by American Express where he showcases entrepreneurs and business visionaries who embody struggle and resilience. He is joined on the show by guests like Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio, former monk Jay Shetty, and Martha Stewart.

He has partnered with The Second City comedy theater to teach students and executives how to innovate “on-your-feet” during times of rapid change.

Suneel has also personally backed ventures including Impossible Foods, AirBnB, 23&Me, and SpaceX. He was one of the very first investors in CALM, which now helps millions of people achieve a greater sense of work/life balance.

When a reporter once asked Suneel about his purpose, his response was to “find good people, and inspire them to do what inspires them.”

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Troy Aikman was born on November 21, 1966 in West Covina, California. At the age of 12 his family moved to Oklahoma where he earned all state honors in football and baseball at Henryetta High School. He finished his college career at UCLA as the third rated passer in NCAA history and led the bruins to wins in both the Aloha and Cotton Bowls.

Aikman has guided the Dallas Cowboys from the National Football League cellars 0f 1-15 in 1989 to four consecutive NFC Championship Games and three Super Bowl titles. He was named MVP of Super Bowl XXVII. The bigger the game, the better he played.

His six straight Pro Bowl selections (1991-1996) indicate the respect of his peers, as well as securing him a place in the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

In 1992 Aikman established the Troy Aikman Foundation. In 1995 his foundation made a donation to Children Medical Center in Dallas for the funding of Aikman End Zone, an interactive playroom and education center for children staying at the hospital.

In the spring of 1997, Aikman End Zone was opened at Cook Children Medical Center in Fort Worth, and in 1998 he opened one in Oklahoma City. In addition to his foundation activities, Troy set up scholarships at Henryetta High School and at UCLA. Aikman is the recipient of many humanitarian awards. From 1991-96 he was one of the five finalists for NFL Man of the Year, and in 1997 he was honored with the True Value Man of the Year Award, the leagues highest award for community involvement.

Following his 12-year career as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, Troy Aikman is now one of the lead analysts for the NFL on FOX.

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Tania draws from intercultural experiences of travelling to over 80 countries including studying and working in Australia, Japan, Hungary, Spain, China and Switzerland. She is a professionally trained coach from The Coaches Training Institute. She holds an International MBA from Top 25 MBA school ESADE in Spain and Peking University in China.

Tania has thrived in corporate sales and marketing management roles at Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Medtronic, Ecolab, Johnson & Johnson and has led strategic discussions at the World Health Organization in Switzerland. She also leads an Employee Resource Group Leadership Council whereby Fortune 500 companies engage in quarterly diversity roundtables in Toronto. She likes to bring personal stories and best practices into keynotes, trainings, program development and every client consultation. After all, sharing is caring.

Tania’s TEDx talk summarizes her personal mission to empower professionals to be seen and heard. As a global force in creating more inclusion, belonging and diversity in Fortune 500 environments, Tania was voted one of Top 100 Diversity Executives in 2017 by Diversity MBA and one of the Top 101 Global Diversity & Inclusion Leaders by HRD Congress in 2019.

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Ms. King is one of the most illustrious and celebrated tennis players in history and is recognized for spearheading the women′′s movement in tennis and for her life-long struggle for equality in women’s tennis. She empowered women and educated men when she defeated Bobby Riggs in one of the greatest moments in sports history—the Battle of the Sexes in 1973.

In 1990, Life magazine named Billie Jean King one of the “100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century.” In 1994, she ranked No. 5 on Sports Illustrated’s “Top 40 Athletes” list for significantly altering or elevating sports the last four decades.

Ms. King, who resides in New York and Chicago, has been heralded as an ardent defender of equal rights for all humankind. She founded the Women’s Sports Foundation in 1974 to advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity and, in 1987, she established World Team Tennis Charities, Inc. to promote health, fitness, education, and social change.

In 1998, Billie Jean King became the first athlete to receive the prestigious Elizabeth Blackwell Award, which is given by Hobart and William Smith College to a woman whose life exemplifies outstanding service to humanity. In February 1999 she won the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for her fight to bring equality to women’s sports.

Off the court, Ms. King remains active in a number of important causes. She serves as a director on several boards including the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Women’s Sports Foundation.

Ms. King has coached Olympic and Fed Cup teams. She led the U.S. squad to four Olympic medals and the 1976, 1996, 1999 and 2000 Fed Cup titles. In 2003, she was awarded the prestigious Philippe Chatrier Award, the International Tennis Federation’s highest honor and was one of six inaugural inductees into the Court of Champions at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Tennis Center.

Billie Jean King’s biggest honor in tennis came on August 28, 2006, the National Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open, was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in honor of her contributions to tennis, sports and society both on and off the court. On October 17, 2006, she was honored once again when the National Sports Museum and the Women’s Sports Foundation announced that the Billie Jean King International Women’s Sports Center, the first hall of fame dedicated to women’s sports will be housed at the National Sports Museum when it opens in New York City in 2008.

Ms. King won a record 20 Wimbledon titles with six of them in singles, won the U.S. Open four times, the French Open in 1972, and the Australian Open in 1968. She was ranked No. 1 in the world five times between 1966 and 1972 and was in the Top 10 a total of 17 years. She is the only woman to win U.S. Open singles titles on all 4 surfaces on which it has been played (grass, clay, carpet, and hard.) She’s also one of only eight women to hold a singles title in each of the Grand Slam events.

In 1970, Billie Jean King was one of nine players who broke away from the tennis establishment and accepted $1 contracts from tennis promoter Gladys Heldman in Houston. The revolt led to the formation of the Virginia Slims Tour and Women’s Tennis Association. In 1971, she was the first woman athlete to win more than $100,000 in any sport. In 1974, she became the first woman to coach a professional team with men when she served as player/coach for the Philadelphia Freedoms of World TeamTennis.

Ms. King is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She is the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association, the Women’s Sports Foundation and Women’s Sports Magazine.

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He is founder of Geolab, an innovation research and leadership development firm focused on coaching, strategy, and design. A former executive director of the XPRIZE Foundation and Singularity University, Kian has coached the leadership teams of dozens of Fortune 500 companies, unicorns and startups on disruptive innovation, exponential technologies, leadership and the future of work.

Kian has been featured widely in global media, and is a sought-after keynote speaker, emcee and facilitator for marquee events globally, including the World Economic Forum, SXSW, the Tokyo Motor Show, and dozens of global organizations.

He is co-author of the bestselling book “Competing in the New World of Work” with Keith Ferrazzi, which was published in 2022 by Harvard Business Review Press. He is a graduate of Northwestern, the London School of Economics, and Harvard Business School.

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As President and CEO of Cirque du Soleil, Daniel Lamarre is responsible for nurturing the delicate balance between the company’s global strategy (across five continents), its financial growth and stability, and the integrity of its culture and values. Among his greatest achievements include the execution of complex negotiations resulting in signed agreements with The Beatles and Michael Jackson’s estate. Cirque du Soleil’s production of ‘LOVE’ based on The Beatles’ music is the only live show ever agreed to by the iconic group. The celebration of Michael Jackson’s life and work ‘ONE’ was produced after competing with other entertainment giants who had established relationships with Michael Jackson’s estate. Both accomplishments required outstanding business skills to be brought to the fore.

Daniel’s strength is his ability to marry the needs of disparate groups and interests, finding positive solutions and outcomes for all. A skill he has fine-tuned throughout his career, with TVA Broadcast Group, NATIONAL Public Relations, and Burson Marsteller.

In 2012 he collaborated on the creation of C2MTL Conference, a one-of-a-kind coming together of the creative and business elite of the world. It is a platform for exploring creative answers to commercial questions. In line with his belief that without creativity, there is no commerce.

He has been honored with Doctorates from the Faculty of Law, McGill University, and his alma mater the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Arts.

Daniel’s outlook is resolutely international, but his roots are firmly in his tiny hometown of Grand-Mère, a small town located in the French part of Canada. This strong sense of self and values is fundamental to how Daniel does business, but is also a source of great personal satisfaction

Father of two grown children, and grandfather to three lovely grandchildren, Daniel enjoys a happy life with his wife the photographer Emmanuelle Dupérré and her two sons.

Concerned for education, and health and welfare matters, he supports a variety of charities. For 12 years, Daniel has been involved with Cirque du Monde, a worldwide social circus program which targets at-risk youth. He has been a Founding Member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for the Montreal Heart Institute since 1994.

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His time now sees him work with organizations at the forefront of global innovation and excellence including Microsoft, Deloitte, Google, TUI and Morgan Stanley, Visa, Puig, Telefonica and Technicolor. He has also worked with some of the world’s most iconic retail organizations including Harrods in London. His unique experience and insight into realizing human potential also finds him working in elite sport; with Olympic and Paralympic coaches, EPL Soccer coaches, England Golf and professional cricket teams. He has served as a Board member on everything from billion-dollar businesses to start ups, not for profits and Universities.

He has worked with an extraordinary range of people including former US President Barack Obama, The Dalai Lama, Prince Charles and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

He has two of the most popular LinkedIn Learning courses in the world, covering overcoming complexity and mental toughness.

Gerver’s unique insight into our development from infants to adults helps us to understand the nature of our personal and professional responses to risk, change, creativity and development. His ability to connect experiences across many often, seemingly different environments, helps people to expand their thinking and their own perception of their potential.

With his trademark humor and insight, Gerver shares his experience on cultural and organizational transformation, human development, and management with groups around the world. Thanks to his own story and his authentic first-hand experiences, Gerver has been described as one of the most inspirational leaders of his generation, he however, argues that his work is focused on three words; Communication, Empowerment and Impact.

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With an extensive experience from Unicorn Start-ups to Fortune 500 companies in multiple industries from Internet-based, E-Commerce, Retail, Cars, Pharmaceuticals, Government, Telecom, Bank and finance, Media and more.

With a burning interest in the growth of global E-Commerce and retail, Karl started to study customer behaviour and customer psychology to understand more about the difference between a customer and a window shopper. But also, to understand why E-Commerce conversion is around 3% as compared to the retail conversion of around 57%. Which led to the role of a speaker, where Karl is invited to speak all over the world.

He started his first business at age 16, today 25 years later he has helped organizations like H&M, Spotify business, AstraZeneca, 3, Tele2, TUI, Volvo and many more to scale their business, convert bottlenecks into opportunities and build both internal and external success factors. Karl has helped over 1000 ecommerce stores increase their conversion and market growth.

It all started back in 1996 when Karl as a 16-year-old kid started his first IT Consultant company. Just a few years later in 2001 Karl started the first Nordic online interior design store. He developed a unique ecommerce engine and growth model connected to both consumer behaviour and robot behaviour.

Since then, Karl have helped companies worldwide to operate more efficiently and generated over 300% in increased conversion for companies with a global footprint.

In addition, Karl Lillrud is a bestselling author of 6 booksand two times TEDx speaker. He has been honoured as one of the world’s top 50 ecommerce experts and world’s top 30 ecommerce influencers. He is also named as one of the world’s top 50 speakers on online growth and ecommerce, and on the Top 30 list of the best Business coaches.

As a speaker, Karl empower his audience by sharing his passion and experience to empower the audience. He makes sure that the audience have a great deal of new knowledge, methods, and tools that they can apply in their environment to make their companies grow faster than before.

Karl work globally both as an on-stage professional speaker at events but also as a professional virtual speaker, meeting your needs to make the event in the most professional way.

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