Peak Performance

Key speaking topics In extremis leadership Leadership in crisis and high-risk environments Leader development in higher education Military leadership principles for business Organisational leadership capability building Executive coaching and performance under pressure Ideal for Senior executives and C-suite leaders Boards and governance groups Leadership development and talent teams Organisations operating in high-risk or high-stakes sectors Audience outcomes Clear understanding of leadership principles in extreme conditions Practical frameworks for leading under pressure Insight into structured leader development models Greater clarity on building leadership capability across institutions Why organisations work with Thomas Kolditz Combines senior military command experience with academic leadership and research expertise. Brings cross-sector credibility spanning defence, higher education, and executive coaching. Provides structured, research-informed approaches to leadership development. Offers practical insight into preparing leaders for complex, high-consequence environments. Biography Thomas Kolditz brings together senior military command, academic leadership and executive coaching to help organisations strengthen leadership capability in high-stakes environments. A retired U.S. Army Brigadier General and social psychologist, he is widely recognised for his work on leadership in extreme and crisis conditions. He is the founding Director of Rice University’s Ann and John Doerr Institute for New Leaders, where he shaped a comprehensive, institution-wide approach to developing leadership at scale. His work in higher education also includes serving as Professor in the Practice of Leadership and Director of the Leadership Development Program at Yale School of Management. Earlier in his career, he led the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, overseeing the development of leadership education within one of the world’s most established military institutions. His experience also includes service in Pentagon policy analysis and concept development roles focused on leadership and human performance. Kolditz is the author of In Extremis Leadership, a study of leading in life-threatening and high-risk situations, and co-author of Leadership Reckoning, which examines how higher education can more effectively develop the leaders society requires. His research includes work conducted during combat operations in Iraq and has contributed to the understanding of leadership under pressure. A Fellow of the American Psychological Association, he is a recipient of the U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal and the Warren Bennis Award for Excellence in Leadership. He holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Missouri, a BA from Vanderbilt University, three Master’s degrees, and an ICF coaching credential, and has received an honorary doctorate from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Through Saxon Castle LLC, he advises senior leaders and institutions on building resilient, principled leadership in complex, high-consequence contexts.

Felipe Gomez: Igniting Excellence Through Virtuoso Leadership We call a supremely talented person in the arts and sports a virtuoso. Keynote pianist Felipe Gomez believes the term also applies to business. Felipe has an impressive decades-long business history as an entrepreneur and senior executive in multinational firms, but his passion has always been music. Obsessed with learning the habits of virtuoso musicians, Felipe believes applying the virtuoso mindset is the key to achieving breakthrough success in business and life. In 2014, Felipe combined his business experience with his passion for music and began his speaking career full time. He has gained worldwide recognition, inspiring audiences on five continents and in 33 countries with his dazzling musical interpretation of the traits that define a virtuoso. Charismatically commanding the audience from his grand piano, Felipe’s presentations are fun, interactive, and deliver great content in both English and Spanish. The author of two books on exceptional performance, Felipe uses his music and business insights to help unleash the individual and collective virtuosity in organizations. Born in Colombia, Felipe began playing piano at the age of four. He came from a musical family – there was always music in the house. After graduating Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota, Felipe pursued a career in business, becoming known for his strategic vision and ability to innovate across diverse industries. At Compass Group, the world’s largest food-catering company, Felipe served as the Managing Director for the operation in Colombia. There he led initiatives that not only tripled the division’s revenue but also increased operating profits by 130% through keen strategic acquisitions and a focus on operational improvements and innovation. He later served as the Innovation and International Business Development Director for Latin America. Felipe led the launch of Farmacity in Colombia, establishing it rapidly as a dominant force in the pharmacy retail sector by opening 12 stores in just 20 months and positioning the brand as a leader in the market. He co-founded Azurian, a pioneering internet consulting firm in Latin America, guiding its expansion into seven countries and driving its rise as a significant regional consultancy firm. Beyond his corporate success, Felipe founded Allegro, a non-profit organization that brings therapeutic live music to hospital settings like ICUs, delivery rooms, and cancer treatment areas. Combining his corporate and entrepreneurial experience with his passion for music is Felipe’s greatest joy. He has a gift for empowering individuals and organizations to transform their behaviors, embrace risk, learn from failure, and achieve mastery. Felipe has spoken at prestigious management and leadership conferences around the world, including TED, the Global Peter Drucker Forum, WOBI, the Oslo Business Forum, the World Business Forum, and many more. He has appeared at over 1,000 presentations for corporate, association, and global leadership events and consistently delivers unforgettable experiences that leave lasting impact. Felipe’s first book, published in 2019 is Attitude-E, a bestseller that introduces a powerful framework for success through an entrepreneurial mindset, anchored in six levers: Envision, Energy, Endurance, Ensemble, Elasticity, and Engagement. His second book, Bitacora De Una Pandemia En Quince Conversaciones, was published in Spanish in 2020 and is a collection of conversations he had during the pandemic with a number of thought leaders in different fields. Felipe is now writing his third book, Virtuoso. Felipe currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his family and holds an MBA from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, where he also completed a program on Leading Digital Business Transformation.

Key speaking topics Emotional intelligence in leadership Leadership performance under pressure Team effectiveness High-stakes communication Personal leadership accountability Momentum and performance habits Executive presence and influence Ideal for Senior leaders and executives Leadership teams People managers Organisations focused on performance and culture Audience outcomes A practical framework for managing high-pressure leadership moments Clear strategies to strengthen emotional intelligence in the workplace Tools to improve communication and relationship management Greater awareness of personal leadership impact Practical habits to build performance momentum Why organisations work with Steve Gutzler Combines keynote delivery with executive coaching expertise Provides a structured, repeatable framework for leadership under pressure Aligns emotional intelligence with measurable performance improvement Brings experience working with global brands and professional sports organisations Delivers commercially relevant leadership insights for corporate audiences Biography Steve Gutzler works with organisations seeking to strengthen leadership performance, emotional intelligence, and team effectiveness in high-pressure environments. As President of Leadership Quest, he partners with senior leaders and executive teams to improve how they lead, communicate, and perform when it matters most. His work centres on the practical application of emotional intelligence in business. Through his “17% moments” framework, Steve helps leaders manage critical interactions, reduce reactive behaviour, and build stronger relationships that directly impact performance and culture. A keynote speaker and executive coach, he brings a structured, repeatable approach to leadership development that resonates with board-level audiences, HR leaders, and growth-focused organisations. His programmes are designed to translate insight into measurable behavioural change across teams. Steve is the author of Splash: The Ten Remarkable Traits to Build Momentum in Life and Leadership and co-author of Lead with No Fear. His published materials also include a guided Life & Leadership journal, reinforcing his focus on practical tools for sustained leadership growth. He has delivered presentations for organisations including Microsoft, Starbucks, the Seattle Seahawks, Spotify, Boeing, Cisco, Starwood Hotels, Ritz-Carlton, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, supporting leaders across corporate, government, and professional environments.

Rachel Sheerin: Burnout Speaker and High-Energy Emcee Empowering Audiences to Thrive Rachel Sheerin is an award-winning keynote speaker, emcee, and burnout expert on a mission to help people love their work and their lives. Rachel’s work experience spans both sides of business – sales and operations. She has built multi-million-dollar sales teams that want to grow profits and boost happiness, and trained operations teams that want to influence their sales teams to work better together. Her drive for success led to burnout. More importantly, that burnout was the catalyst that led to a search for answers to help prevent this from happening to others. Before burnout was a buzzword, Rachel made it her mission to understand why high performers suffer from chronic stress and overwhelm – and what individuals and organizations can do to prevent it. A Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst, she blends behavior knowledge with burnout research, creating keynotes based in facts, science, and authentic stories. Rachel motivates and educates high performers so they can level up their success, increase their impact, and live a life they love. Her impressive list of clients includes The Ritz Carlton, WAL-MART, Freddie Mac, Berkshire Hathaway, SHRM, and national associations and franchises. Rachel’s known for delivering high-impact education and motivating audiences from Seattle to Spain. When she’s not taking selfies with event attendees around the globe, Rachel is the Director of Global Awards for the Association for Women in Events. She is also an angel investor who focuses her support on women-owned businesses.

Luke Tyburski captivates, entertains, and leaves his audiences challenging their own beliefs of what is possible. Luke’s stories are mind-blowing & the actionable knowledge he delivers is truly insightful. His background as professional athlete & entrepreneur with his captivating delivery as a Keynote Speaker will elevate any companies event, with real actionable takeaways for employees or guests. A former professional athlete and elite ultra-endurance adventurer, who has delivered keynote talks to audiences in 16 countries, across five continents – including the TEDx stage. Luke has spent over two decades sharing his performance mindset principles and lifestyle optimisation strategies with organisations and companies across a variety of industries and to professional sporting organisations as a keynote speaker & performance mindset coach. Luke’s Mindset & Keynote Talks Have Been Shaped By His Extreme Endurance Challenges Of Running: Through the Sahara Desert. Down Mount Everest. Across a tropical forest in China without food, money, or water. He Has Also Completed: A 35-hour non-stop double Ironman triathlon in the Welsh mountains. A world first, 2,000-kilometre, 12-day Ultimate Triathlon from Morocco to Monaco. And overcame seven surgeries throughout these challenges. Luke Independently Crafted A Personal Brand From His Epic Adventures By: Producing documentaries showcased on global film tours. Writing and publishing books. Creating his own events. Delivering Keynote Talks & workshops to organisations & companies across the globe on performance mindset & lifestyle optimisation. Luke’s deep understanding of peak performance is backed by an Exercise Science degree and 20 years of experience working with individuals from the corporate world, and elite athletes. His unique blend of expertise, practical application, and high energy entertainment delivery equips his audiences with tools for long-term success, even beyond his direct involvement. Alongside his extreme global adventures, Luke has struggled with his mental health for many years. He has translated his personal experiences of battling depression alone for nearly a decade, overcoming an eating disorder, insomnia, and twice standing on tops of bridges not wanting to live anymore into insightful and powerful lessons in understanding & taking care of your mental health & wellbeing. Luke’s talks will challenge you, and change how you view, think, and act each day.

Why organisations work with Jeanette Kwakye A working national broadcaster, not a former athlete trading on past results. Buyers get a host who runs live BBC Sport and ITV current affairs every week, with the on-stage instincts that come with it. Rare credibility on women in sport and media. She broke a 24-year drought as a British woman in the Olympic 100m final, then became the first Black female UK presenter to front a terrestrial boxing production. Hosting and moderation experience with Google, Nike, BMW, the IOC and World Athletics, which translates into clean panel craft for senior leadership audiences. Direct, unsentimental on the transition from elite sport to a second career. Useful for talent, learning and DEI conversations that have grown tired of the standard sportsperson keynote. Biography highlights Sixth place in the 100m final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the first British woman in that final since 1984. Silver medallist over 60m at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships, equalling the British record of 7.08. BBC athletics trackside reporter; host of BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast; co-host of BBC Radio 5 Live Weekend Breakfast. Co-host of The Martin Lewis Money Show on ITV1. First Black female UK TV presenter to lead a boxing production on a terrestrial channel, on Channel 5. Appointed MBE in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to sport and sports broadcasting. Loughborough University graduate in Politics and Economics; author of the children’s book Femi the Fox. Biography A British woman had not reached an Olympic 100m final for twenty-four years when Jeanette Kwakye ran 11.14 in Beijing in 2008 and finished sixth. The earlier rounds, not the final, are the part that matters. She trained at Loughborough, came through British championships in both the 100m and 200m, and took silver over 60m at the World Indoors that same year, equalling the British record of 7.08. The second career has the same shape. After retiring in 2014 she went through an NCTJ qualification, started in local BBC radio, and built outwards. She is now a BBC athletics trackside reporter, hosts the Football Daily podcast on BBC Radio 5 Live, co-hosts Weekend Breakfast on the same station, and co-presents The Martin Lewis Money Show on ITV1. In 2020, she became the first Black female presenter on a terrestrial UK boxing production. Her hosting and moderation portfolio outside broadcast covers Google, Nike, BMW, the International Olympic Committee and World Athletics. Senior audiences hire her because she runs a room cleanly, pushes panellists, and brings a working journalist’s instinct to questions of representation and performance rather than a retired-athlete reflection. She was appointed MBE in 2021 for services to sport and sports broadcasting. She is also the author of the children’s book Femi the Fox. Key speaking topics Representation in sport and media Women in broadcasting and elite sport High-performance mindset Career transition from elite sport Olympic preparation and selection Sports broadcasting and journalism Resilience after injury Ideal for Conference and summit organisers needing a host or moderator with senior on-stage credibility DEI, talent and people leaders running events on representation and women’s progression Sports industry, federation and rights-holder events Internal kick-offs and leadership offsites looking for an Olympic-finalist perspective on performance under pressure Audience outcomes A clearer picture of what representation actually changes inside elite environments, told from inside two of them A working definition of high performance that survives contact with injury, deselection and reinvention Practical ground for talent and DEI leaders considering how the pipeline into senior visible roles really moves A panel or fireside that lands cleanly, with a host who keeps senior speakers honest

Why organisations work with Abigail Ireland She bridges two audiences most performance speakers cannot. As a Chartered Banker who originated private equity deals before retraining as a Master Personal Trainer and nutrition coach, she speaks to a finance or executive room without losing them on the physiology, and to an operational room without losing them on the commercial logic. The Performance Advantage methodology gives clients a single framework that covers mindset, energy, and focus rather than three separate vendor relationships for coaching, wellbeing, and productivity. Practical content rather than inspiration. Sessions translate into specific changes an executive can apply to a working week: sleep, nutrition, recovery, focus blocks, calendar discipline. Track record with demanding corporate environments including The Walt Disney Company, Discovery, Lloyds Banking Group and Lyft, where the brief is sustained output under pressure, not motivational lift. Biography highlights Chartered Banker (MCBI) with a First Class BSc (Hons) in International Management Former private equity professional and international banking strategy and business management lead Creator of the Performance Advantage methodology, used in keynotes, workshops and coaching engagements Master Personal Trainer (Australian Institute of Fitness), Pn2 Precision Nutrition Coach, NLP Practitioner, Mind Gym Coach, DISC Practitioner Corporate clients include The Walt Disney Company, Discovery, Lloyds Banking Group and Lyft Contributor and featured expert across GQ, HR Magazine, ILM publications, Skillshare, AAT, ACCA Student Accountant, NatWest, and CMI Workplace Biography Most corporate wellbeing programmes are built on the assumption that the workforce needs encouragement. Senior leadership teams need something different. They need to know how to operate at high cognitive load, week after week, without their judgement or stamina degrading. That is the operational question Abigail Ireland’s work addresses. Her route to the question is unusual. She began in private equity deal origination, then moved into international strategy and business management roles in banking, qualifying as a Chartered Banker along the way. The shift into peak performance was not a pivot away from finance. It was a recognition that the performance variable inside those firms was personal, not structural, and that nobody was treating it with the same rigour as a transaction. The Performance Advantage methodology is the result. It treats mindset, energy, and focus as a single integrated system, drawing on her training as a Master Personal Trainer, Precision Nutrition coach, NLP Practitioner, and Mind Gym coach. The content is calibrated for senior corporate audiences, with named clients including The Walt Disney Company, Discovery, Lloyds Banking Group, and Lyft. What separates her sessions from the broader wellbeing market is the level of specificity. Audiences leave with concrete adjustments to their week, not a renewed commitment to self-care. The work has been picked up by GQ, HR Magazine, ILM, CMI Workplace, and ACCA Student Accountant. Key speaking topics Peak performance psychology Energy and recovery for senior leaders Focus and productivity under cognitive load Mindset and limiting beliefs Sustainable high performance Wellbeing as a performance lever Personal effectiveness and time discipline Ideal for Senior leadership teams and executive committees facing sustained delivery pressure CHROs and heads of talent commissioning wellbeing or performance content for high-demand functions Partner and managing director cohorts in professional services, banking and law Sales and deal teams where individual stamina materially affects revenue Audience outcomes A clear set of changes an executive can apply to their week across sleep, nutrition, recovery, and focus A working model for treating mindset, energy, and focus as one system rather than three separate problems Practical methods to manage cognitive load and avoid output decline under pressure Language and frameworks senior leaders can use to discuss performance with their own teams

Why organisations work with Alan Stein Jr. Direct working access to Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Kobe Bryant during their formative years gives him firsthand observation of how the highest performers in modern basketball actually prepare, not the version told in interviews. Three published books (Raise Your Game, Sustain Your Game, Next Play) form a connected curriculum on individual performance, sustained output without burnout, and focus discipline. Leaders can extend a keynote into a longer programme. Translates athletic preparation into language a corporate audience already uses. Sales teams, retail operators, and frontline managers leave with habits they can run on Monday morning. Repeat client list crosses retail, financial services, healthcare, and franchise operations: American Express, Pepsi, Under Armour, Starbucks, Charles Schwab, Orangetheory Fitness. The material travels across sectors. Biography highlights Performance coach at the LeBron James Skills Academy and the Jordan Brand Classic Trained Stephen Curry in the month before the 2009 NBA Draft Author of Raise Your Game (Hachette), Sustain Your Game (Hachette Book Group), and Next Play (Amplify Publishing, 2025) Foreword to Raise Your Game by ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, who also features on the Next Play audiobook Corporate clients include American Express, Pepsi, Under Armour, Starbucks, Charles Schwab, Orangetheory Fitness Host of the Raise Your Game podcast Biography The best basketball players in the world are not the most physically gifted people in the room. They are the most prepared. Alan Stein Jr. spent fifteen years inside that preparation as a basketball performance coach, training Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Kobe Bryant during the years their habits were being formed. That access is the substance of his work. As a coach at the LeBron James Skills Academy, the Jordan Brand Classic, and Mike Jones’s DeMatha programme, Stein watched how elite players approached the unseen hours: warm-ups, recovery, film, the same drills repeated for years. The behaviours were unglamorous and learnable. He now teaches them to senior leaders and their teams. His three books map a single argument across individual, sustained, and focused performance. Raise Your Game (Hachette), with a foreword by ESPN’s Jay Bilas, sets out the habits. Sustain Your Game (Hachette Book Group) addresses stress, stagnation, and burnout. Next Play (Amplify Publishing, 2025) takes Coach K’s two-word philosophy and turns it into a discipline for what to do after a mistake or a win. Corporate clients use the material because it crosses sectors without losing specificity. American Express, Pepsi, Under Armour, Starbucks, Charles Schwab, and Orangetheory Fitness have all booked him. The vocabulary is athletic, but the application is operational: how a sales team prepares for a quarter, how a frontline manager recovers from a bad week, how a leader sets a daily standard the team can see. Key speaking topics Peak performance habits for senior leaders Self-leadership and preparation under pressure Team cohesion and high-performance culture Stress, burnout, and sustained output Sales performance mindset Lessons from elite athletes for corporate leaders Ideal for Sales leaders and chief revenue officers running performance offsites CHROs and L&D leads building leadership development programmes Franchise and retail operations leaders running annual conferences Senior leadership teams resetting standards after a difficult quarter or year Audience outcomes A clear set of preparation habits modelled on how elite athletes actually train Specific routines for managing stress and sustaining performance over a full year, not a quarter A shared vocabulary for accountability and standard-setting that a leadership team can use the next day Concrete examples from named NBA players that make the principles memorable for frontline staff A reframe of “talent” as habit and preparation, useful for managers building younger teams

About Justin Roethlingshoefer Justin was a performance coach in the NHL working on his postgraduate doctoral work in health and performance. He was revolutionizing the way data and personal health was approached in professional sport. He had just won the US Hyrox Games Championships and was heading to the world championships. And he was married to the love of his life. Then he was told he would not live to see 35. Through personal exploration and using the same system he had built for his professional athletes Justin not only redeemed his health, but realized his mission was not to serve the audience he wanted but the audience he was called to: the business leader, the mountain mover, the visionary, the person who felt they needed to trade their health for their mission. This is what he puts all his efforts into today. Justin Roethlingshoefer is the founder of OWN IT Coaching, an eight figure coaching company built to redeem the health of the world. As a former performance coach in the NCAA and NHL, through OWN IT he has made the same ecosystem that is usually only available to the best athletes in the world, now available to you. By utilizing best in class cellular and DNA testing, wearable and health technology, and coaching, he and his team have been able to transform the health and lives of hundreds of thousands of leaders throughout the country, while empowering them on their journey and making the complex topic of health simple, actionable and personal. He is a sought after international speaker and the host of The OWN IT Show podcast. Justin’s latest book The Power of Ownership: Redeem Your Health, Live Life By Design, and Break the Relentless Pursuit of Normal is a USA Today Top 50 best seller and held the 70th position worldwide. He is also the author of three other bestselling books including The Athletic Performance Blueprint and OWN IT. Justin’s passion, energy, and dynamic style engages the audience the entire time while educating, empowering, and equipping them to leave different than when they started.

Key speaking topics Elite sport broadcasting Professional boxing coverage Live sports presentation Event hosting and moderation Media and broadcast journalism Brand partnerships in sport Fitness and sport lifestyle media Ideal for Corporate conferences and leadership events Sports industry events and governing bodies Brand and marketing conferences Client hospitality and awards events Audience outcomes Insight into the dynamics of live sports broadcasting. Perspective on presenting under pressure in high-profile environments. Understanding of how major sporting events are delivered for broadcast audiences. Practical insight into professional event hosting and moderation. Why organisations work with Anna Woolhouse Recognised Sky Sports presenter with frontline experience in major boxing coverage. Experienced live broadcaster accustomed to high-pressure, high-visibility environments. Skilled event host and moderator for corporate and live audiences. Brings commercially relevant insight from sport, media, and brand collaboration contexts. Biography Anna Woolhouse is a respected sports journalist and broadcaster with Sky Sports, recognised for her on-air role within the network’s boxing coverage. She presents and reports around major fight weeks and high-profile events, operating at the heart of elite sport where preparation, precision and performance are critical. Her experience extends across multiple sports within Sky Sports’ output, giving her a broad perspective on live broadcasting, event delivery and audience engagement. Working in high-pressure, high-visibility environments, she understands how complex productions are coordinated and delivered to national audiences. Alongside her broadcast career, Anna is an experienced event host and moderator for corporate and live audiences. She brings professionalism, clarity and presence to conferences, awards ceremonies and client events, ensuring programmes run smoothly while keeping audiences engaged. She has also collaborated with recognised consumer brands on commercial content, reflecting her credibility within sport and lifestyle media. Combining frontline broadcasting experience with live event expertise, Anna offers organisations insight into elite sport, media performance and the realities of presenting at the highest level.

Meet Karen Carney Karen is the lead female analyst and pundit for men’s and women’s football on Sky Sports and ITV. When it comes to tournament football, Karen also leads the coverage for both the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups and UEFA Euro competitions on ITV, most recently the Euros 2024. Karen is now a global ambassador for Pepsi, alongside some of the biggest names in football. In between brand work and leading TV coverage, this Summer was the second year Karen was asked to play in Soccer Aid for UNICEF, at Chelsea’s home ground, Stamford Bridge. In the Autumn of 2022, Karen was announced as the newly appointed Chair of the Future of Women’s Football Review for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, looking into ways the Government can nurture and expand the game in the UK. The report received widespread praise when it was released last Summer, along with a TV series for ITV called ‘Leaders of the Pack’, which saw Karen, take on the role of host and in conversation with key players who were playing in the 2022 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in Australia. Karen is a newly appointed board member at UEFA, where as a governing body, UEFA look to secure the sustainability and future of both men’s and women’s football. With 144 caps Karen Carney is England’s third-most capped player having made her international debut in 2005 at 17. Domestically, she played for Arsenal, Birmingham City, Chicago Red Stars and retired in 2019 as captain of Chelsea, under Emma Hayes. Karen was part of the historic Arsenal side that in 2007, won the unprecedented quadruple and represented Team GB in the 2012, London Olympics. She was awarded an MBE in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List for her services to football which was followed in 2021 with an induction into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame, where judges voted unanimously to include her “in recognition of her outstanding football career, her involvement in advancing women’s football and her overall contribution to the game on and off the field”. In 2024 she was also awarded an OBE after continuing her amazing work.

Joel Zeff Creates Energy He is a dynamic speaker, work culture expert, improvisational humorist, and author. His interactive performances invite members of the audience to participate in hilarious improvisational exercises that illustrate Joel’s central message: That organizations and individuals should CELEBRATE their successes to increase collaboration, productivity, passion, and innovation. Since 1997, Joel has inspired audiences from Wells Fargo to Samsung to KPMG and even the IRS. Yes, the IRS. Joel is a masterful keynote speaker and a nationally renowned motivator, humorist, and improvisational actor. His spontaneous humor and vital messages have thrilled audiences for more than 25 years, and he has shared his insight at more than 2,500 events. His career is a search for fun and passion. He quickly realized the importance of both at his first jobs delivering the hometown newspaper and cleaning up trash at a suburban movie theater. He started his professional career as a newspaper journalist and public relations executive. In 1994, Joel went out on his own as a corporate communications specialist. He helped clients with their internal communications, media relations, strategy, and customer marketing. Throughout the consulting process, Joel realized his clients — many of them high level technology and telecommunications firms — needed more than marketing and public relations strategy. Many of his clients’ employees were starving for fun, passion, and a new perspective on finding success. At the time, Joel was having fun on the weekends as a comedian. Through friends, he discovered improvisational comedy. One of his clients (a large technology company) knew Joel performed comedy on the weekends. The client invited him to entertain and speak to a group of executives before dinner. A corporate speaking career was born. He connects to his audience with humor that has them laughing so uncontrollably that their mascara runs, their cheeks hurts, and their bellies ache. And he does not do it alone. Volunteers from the audience join him on stage and play an integral role in an improvisation game in front of hundreds or thousands of people — something the audience members have never done. He expects nothing less than success. He expects the volunteers to focus and work together as a team; communicate effectively; positively support each other; and take responsibility. Joel makes his audience laugh so hard that they forget about the corporate nonsense of conference calls, “strategic deliverables,” PowerPoint presentations with upside triangles, or “paradigm shifts in a cross-functional organization.” Joel will make you laugh, and he will make you think. His keynotes deliver a combination of inspiration, essential business knowledge, and significant ideas to help audience members reconnect with their own passion and success. As discussed in his book, “Make the Right Choice“, Joel believes that we all encounter choices in our careers. We always can have the opportunity to make the right choice to live a more creative, passionate, and productive life. How do you “make the right choice?” You can choose to provide opportunity. You can choose to provide positive support. And along the way, you can choose to have fun. He has appeared on CNBC and featured in The Dallas Morning News, The Houston Chronicle, The Kansas City Star, and many other media outlets.