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Inspirational Speakers

Motivate audiences with inspirational speakers whose insights and passions drive your organization to change itself and the world

Inspirational Speakers was last modified: September 16th, 2022 by Stern Strategy Group

Inspirational Speakers

Top Expert on Status, Power, Negotiation and Influence; Organizational Psychologist Who Helps Individuals, Especially Women, Excel in Life and the Workplace With Science-Backed Strategies to Be Confident, Savvy Advocates for Their Own Interests; Award-Winning Professor, University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School; Former Management Consultant, McKinsey & Company; Author, “Likeable Badass” (2024)

Persuasion & Negotiation / Company Culture / Communication Strategy / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Leadership / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Executive Education / Inspirational Speakers / Must-Read Books / Women Speakers & Advisors / New To Stern

Human Behavior Researcher and Happiness Expert Helping Individuals And Organizations Improve Productivity, Well-Being and Decision-Making; Professor of Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science; Author, “Happy Ever After” (2019) and “Happiness By Design” (2014)

Company Culture / Policy & Government / Trust & Empathy / Wellness & Well-Being / Leadership / Psychological Safety / Customer Experience & Consumer Behavior / Change Management / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Inspirational Speakers / International Speakers & Advisors / New To Stern

Influential Speaker Who Brings Fresh Perspectives on Leadership and Teaming by Applying the Knowledge and Skills of Anthropology Into the Business World; Expert on Organizational Culture, Leadership, Diversity and Change Processes; Founder, Human Dimensions; Award-Winning Author Of Bestselling Books Including “Tricky Times,” “The Corporate Tribe,” “Jam Cultures,” and “Deep Democracy”

Company Culture / Leadership / Inspirational Speakers / Change Management / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Wellness & Well-Being / Strategy / Trust & Empathy / Future of Work / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Executive Education / Founders & Practitioners / Navigating Uncertainty / Psychological Safety / Women Speakers & Advisors / International Speakers & Advisors / Must-Read Books / New To Stern
Headshot of Heidi Brooks

Pioneer of “Everyday Leadership” for Fostering Courageous and Motivated Organizational Communities; Global Authority on Culture Change Focused on Individual and Collective Leadership Effectiveness; Top-Rated Senior Lecturer in Organizational Behavior, Director of the Program for the Practice of Everyday Leadership, and Former Director, Leadership Development Program, Yale School of Management; Lecturer, Yale Law School

Leadership / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Company Culture / Inspirational Speakers / Future of Work / Executive Education / New To Stern / Women Speakers & Advisors

Award-Winning Behavioral Scientist Tackling Critical Social and Environmental Challenges with Solutions That Promote Climate and Financial Sustainability; Associate Professor, Psychology and Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), University of British Columbia (UBC); Principal Investigator, UBC Behavioral Sustainability Lab; Co-Creator, “Happy Climate” Workshop; Editor, “Cash Transfers for Inclusive Societies” (2023)

Sustainability, Purpose & Climate Solutions / Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Issues / Wellness & Well-Being / Energy & Renewables / Customer Experience & Consumer Behavior / Financial Services / TED Speakers / Women Speakers & Advisors / Inspirational Speakers / New To Stern
Elizabeth Dunn Headshot Square

Leading Happiness and Well-Being Researcher Who Helps Individuals and Organizations Build Social Connections at Work; Expert on Optimizing the Use of Time, Money, Technology and Carbon to Enhance Happiness; Professor, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia; 2019 TED Curator’s Pick; Co-Creator, “Happy Climate” Workshop; Co-Author, “Happy Money” and “The Joy of Climate Change”

Wellness & Well-Being / Company Culture / Neuroscience / Leadership / Sustainability, Purpose & Climate Solutions / Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Issues / Psychological Safety / Generative AI / TED Speakers / Experiential Programs / Women Speakers & Advisors / Must-Read Books / Inspirational Speakers
Johann Hari Headshot Square

Award-Winning Writer Who Empowers Individuals to Regain Focus, Reconnect with Purpose at Work and Cope With Depression and Anxiety; Bestselling Author, “Magic Pill” (2024), “Stolen Focus” (2022), “Lost Connections” (2018) and “Chasing the Scream” (2015); Executive Producer, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” (2021) and “The Fix” (2022)

TED Speakers / Wellness & Well-Being / Inspirational Speakers / International Speakers & Advisors / Must-Read Books
Tova Friedman headshot

Captivating, Powerful Storyteller and One of the Youngest Living Survivors of the Holocaust Sharing Her Vivid Memories to Speak Out Against Extremism and Violence; New York Times Bestselling Author, “The Daughter of Auschwitz” (September 2022); Clinical Therapist, Social Worker and Former Executive Director, Jewish Family Center of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties, New Jersey; Board Member, Institute of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Raritan Valley Community College; Former Educator, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Inspirational Speakers / Must-Read Books / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Women Speakers & Advisors
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New York Times Bestselling Author and Leading Authority on Stress, Well-Being and Optimal Aging; Corporate Advisor Who Teaches Leaders How to Apply Research-Backed Science to Scalable Interventions that Bolster Organizational Resilience; Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Vice-Chair for Adult Psychology, University of California, San Francisco; Director, Aging, Metabolism and Emotions Center; Author, New York Times Bestseller “The Telomere Effect” (2017) and “The Stress Prescription” (2022)

Company Culture / Health Care & Medicine / Inspirational Speakers / Longevity & Aging / Moderators / Psychological Safety / Wellness & Well-Being / Must-Read Books / Women Speakers & Advisors / Neuroscience / Experiential Programs / Executive Education

Foremost Expert on the Psychology of Harnessing Fear and Cultivating Courage; Award-Winning Neuroscientist Uncovering Mechanisms for Increasing Empathy and Altruism; Director, Georgetown University’s Laboratory on Social and Affective Neuroscience; Award-Winning Author, “The Fear Factor” (2017)

Company Culture / Wellness & Well-Being / Trust & Empathy / Psychological Safety / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Health Care & Medicine / Neuroscience / Communication Strategy / Inspirational Speakers / Women Speakers & Advisors / TED Speakers / Must-Read Books
Christian Stadler Headshot

Internationally Renowned Strategy and Leadership Expert Whose Practical Frameworks Help Organizations Leverage Input From All Levels of Their Business To Create Successful Long-Term Strategies; Groundbreaking Researcher Demonstrating How to Leverage Generative AI for Competitive Advantage; Skilled Facilitator of Interactive Scenario Planning Workshops; Strategic Management Professor, Warwick Business School; Forbes Contributor; Bestselling Co-Author, “Open Strategy”

Leadership / Strategy / Generative AI / AI, Robotics & Automation / Company Culture / Entrepreneurial Thinking & Investment Strategies / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / International Speakers & Advisors / Inspirational Speakers / Executive Education / Must-Read Books
Dolly Chugh headshot

Award-Winning Educator and Renowned Expert on Leadership, Being a Great Boss, and Inclusion; Researcher of Unconscious Bias and Psychology of Good People; A Top-Rated Professor, New York University Stern School of Business; Professor of Management and Organizations; Bestselling Author, “The Person You Mean to Be” and “A More Just Future”

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Psychological Safety / Trust & Empathy / Leadership / Company Culture / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Executive Education / Experiential Programs / TED Speakers / Inspirational Speakers / Must-Read Books / Moderators / Women Speakers & Advisors
Katharine Wilkinson Headshot

Renowned Climate Change Strategist, Author and Expert on How Organizations and Changemakers Can Lead on Climate; Trusted Advisor to Business and Government Leaders, Investors, Organizations and Communities; Senior Writer, New York Times Bestseller “Drawdown” (2017); Editor-in-Chief, “The Drawdown Review” (2020); Co-Editor, “All We Can Save” (2020); Co-Host, “A Matter of Degrees” Podcast; Co-Founder, The All We Can Save Project; One of 15 “Women Who Will Save the World,” Time Magazine

Sustainability, Purpose & Climate Solutions / Entrepreneurial Thinking & Investment Strategies / Leadership / Policy & Government / Strategy / Emerging Technology / TED Speakers / Women Speakers & Advisors / Inspirational Speakers / Must-Read Books / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Energy & Renewables / Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Issues / Founders & Practitioners

Applied Futurist and Social Systems Expert Who Teaches Leaders How to Understand, Create and Execute Strategies That Ensure Positive Long-Term Generational and Environmental Impacts; Founder and Executive Director, Longpath Labs; Founder and CEO, Synthesis Corp.; Former Adjunct Associate Professor, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs; Host, PBS’s “A Brief History of the Future” (2024)

Futurists / Sustainability, Purpose & Climate Solutions / TED Speakers / Inspirational Speakers
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Globally Recognized Authority on the Emotional and Social Impact of Technology on Psychology, Society and Business; Sociologist and Licensed Clinical Psychologist Underscoring the Critical Role of Empathy and Human Connection in an AI-Driven Era; Chaired Professor, Sociology of Science and Technology, and Founding Director of the Initiative on Technology and Self, MIT; Author of Pathbreaking Books on the Human Side of Technology, including “The Second Self” and “Life on the Screen,” The New York Times Bestseller, “Reclaiming Conversation,” and The New York Times Editor’s Pick Best Book of the Year, “The Empathy Diaries” (2021)

Trust & Empathy / Generative AI / AI, Robotics & Automation / Emerging Technology / Wellness & Well-Being / Future of Work / Company Culture / Education & Lifelong Learning / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Communication Strategy / TED Speakers / Women Speakers & Advisors / Inspirational Speakers / Must-Read Books
Zeynep Ton Headshot

Award-Winning Operations Strategist Whose Profit-Driving Good Jobs Framework Improves Investor, Customer and Employee Lives; Professor of the Practice, MIT Sloan School of Management; Named One of the World’s 40 Best Business School Professors Under 40, Poets & Quants; Founder, Good Jobs Institute (GJI); Author, “The Good Jobs Strategy” and “The Case for Good Jobs” (June 2023); Named Among the Top 50 Management Thinkers in the World in 2023 and Winner, 2023 Talent Award, Thinkers50

Strategy / Supply Chain Management / Customer Experience & Consumer Behavior / Change Management / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Future of Work / Wellness & Well-Being / Business Model Innovation / Company Culture / Financial Services / Inspirational Speakers / Founders & Practitioners / TED Speakers / Women Speakers & Advisors / Must-Read Books
Henry Timms Headshot

Leading Expert on Building Movements and Transforming Organizations; Co-Author of the International Bestseller, “New Power”; Co-Founder #GivingTuesday; Hauser Visiting Leader, Harvard Kennedy School; Visiting Fellow, Stanford University; CEO, Brunswick Group; Past President and CEO, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

Leadership / Innovation & Design / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Marketing, Branding & Sales / Customer Experience & Consumer Behavior / Strategy / Business Model Innovation / Future of Work / Financial Services / Inspirational Speakers / Must-Read Books / Company Culture / Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Issues / Social Media Marketing & Business Analytics / Founders & Practitioners
Debora Spar Headshot

New York Times Bestselling Author and Top Leadership Advisor Helping Firms Remain Profitable While Working Toward a Better Future; Renowned Executive Educator and Expert on the Unique Areas Where Business, Society and Technology Overlap; Researcher on the Effects of AI in Human Spaces; Senior Associate Dean, Harvard Business School Institute for Business in Global Society (BiGS)

Leadership / Strategy / AI, Robotics & Automation / Future of Work / Emerging Technology / Generative AI / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Inspirational Speakers / Hybrid Work & Work From Home / Trust & Empathy / Must-Read Books / TED Speakers / Women Speakers & Advisors
Anne-Marie Slaughter headshot

Renowned Foreign Policy Expert, Leadership Advisor, Gender Equality Advocate and Entrepreneur Who Is Pioneering New Methods of Domestic and Global Problem Solving; CEO, New America; Former Director of Policy Planning, U.S. Department of State; Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University; Author, “Renewal”

Leadership / Economics, Capitalism, Geopolitics & Globalization / Policy & Government / Trust & Empathy / Cybersecurity / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Future of Work / Women Speakers & Advisors / Founders & Practitioners / Inspirational Speakers / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Must-Read Books / Moderators / Navigating Uncertainty / Asia: Business, Geopolitics & Society
Jason Pontin Headshot

Visionary Futurist and Venture Capitalist Funding Dynamic Breakthrough Technologies in Computing, Energy, Life Sciences and Health Care; Leading Expert on New Technology, Innovation and the Future of Work; Renowned Journalist, Speaker and Moderator; Partner, DCVC; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Strateos

Emerging Technology / Entrepreneurial Thinking & Investment Strategies / Health Care & Medicine / Innovation & Design / Sustainability, Purpose & Climate Solutions / Futurists / AI, Robotics & Automation / Generative AI / Bioengineering, Genetics & Cellular Agriculture / Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies / TED Speakers / Future of Work / Inspirational Speakers / Longevity & Aging / Moderators / Digital Transformation, Information Technology & Data Analytics / Energy & Renewables / Founders & Practitioners
Gianpiero Petriglieri headshot

Authority on Value-Based Leadership and Experiential Learning Who Helps Managers Craft Workplaces That Foster Sustainable Performance, Vital Culture and Well Being; Award-Winning Professor of Organizational Behavior, INSEAD; Named Among the Top 50 Management Thinkers in the World in 2023, Thinkers50; Past Chair Global Agenda Council on New Models of Leadership, World Economic Forum

Leadership / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Future of Work / Navigating Uncertainty / Change Management / Company Culture / Hybrid Work & Work From Home / Trust & Empathy / Wellness & Well-Being / Psychological Safety / Inspirational Speakers / Executive Education / International Speakers & Advisors

Champion for Creating Economic Prosperity Through Innovation; Leading Authority on Market-Creating Innovations; Co-Author, “The Prosperity Paradox” (2019); Director, Global Prosperity, Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation; Adjunct Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University; Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2020; Co-Founder & President, Poverty Stops Here

Innovation & Design / Business Model Innovation / Economics, Capitalism, Geopolitics & Globalization / TED Speakers / Inspirational Speakers / Must-Read Books / Transportation, Micromobility & Infrastructure / Strategy
Lisa Mosconi Headshot

New York Times Bestselling Author and Pioneering Authority on Brain Health, Women’s Brains, and Brain Nutrition; Director, Women’s Brain Initiative at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC); Associate Director, WCMC/New York-Presbyterian Hospital Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic; Author, “The Menopause Brain” (2024)

Health Care & Medicine / Bioengineering, Genetics & Cellular Agriculture / TED Speakers / Women Speakers & Advisors / Inspirational Speakers / Must-Read Books / Longevity & Aging / Wellness & Well-Being / Neuroscience

New York Times Bestselling Author and Leading Expert on Human Performance; Foremost Authority on Harnessing Flow to Amplify Focus, Decision-Making and Productivity; Visionary Thinker on the Future of Technology; Award-Winning Journalist; Three-Time Pulitzer Prize Nominee; Author, “Gnar Country” (2023) and Bestseller “The Art of Impossible” (2021); Executive Director, Flow Research Collective

Neuroscience / Leadership / Longevity & Aging / Wellness & Well-Being / Company Culture / Innovation & Design / Emerging Technology / Entrepreneurial Thinking & Investment Strategies / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Inspirational Speakers / Sustainability, Purpose & Climate Solutions / Must-Read Books / TED Speakers / Founders & Practitioners / Experiential Programs

Pioneering Neuroscientist, Technologist and Multidisciplinary Researcher Focused on Improving the Lives of People with Autism and Complex Neurodevelopmental Differences; Expert on How Genetics Shape Language; Professor of Engineering and Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northeastern University; Researcher, Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital

Neuroscience / AI, Robotics & Automation / Generative AI / STEAM / Health Care & Medicine / Emerging Technology / Innovation & Design / Bioengineering, Genetics & Cellular Agriculture / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Trust & Empathy / Inspirational Speakers / Women Speakers & Advisors

Acclaimed Technology Pioneer in Virtual Reality, Consumer Electronics and Medical Devices; Inventor and Serial Entrepreneur Inspiring Others to Think Bigger and Use New Techniques to Tackle The World’s Toughest Problems; Pioneer in Medical Therapeutics and Diagnostics and Telepathic Technology; Founder, CEO and Chairman, Openwater; Co-Founder, One Laptop Per Child and Architect of the $100 Laptop; High-Level Tech Executive at Google, Facebook, Oculus and Intel; Former Professor, MIT Media Lab; TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World; Forbes 50 Over 50, 2022: Entrepreneurs; CNN Top 10 Thinker

Emerging Technology / Founders & Practitioners / Futurists / Health Care & Medicine / Neuroscience / Innovation & Design / TED Speakers / Inspirational Speakers / Women Speakers & Advisors

Pioneering Digital Learning Strategist Helping Leaders Attract and Retain Elite Talent With Improved Hiring Processes; Upskilling and Reskilling Expert Reframing the Career Progression Model; Award-Winning Author of Six Books on the Future of Work and Learning, Including “Job Moves” (2024); Co-Founder, Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation; Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Advisor, Guild; Co-Host, “Future U” Podcast and Future of Education Podcast

Education & Lifelong Learning / Innovation & Design / Emerging Technology / Future of Work / AI, Robotics & Automation / Generative AI / Inspirational Speakers / Must-Read Books / Founders & Practitioners

Leader of the Bionic Age; Champion for Creating Technology to Improve the Human Body and Redefine Human Potential; Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, MIT; Co-Director, K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics

Emerging Technology / Innovation & Design / Futurists / AI, Robotics & Automation / Health Care & Medicine / Bioengineering, Genetics & Cellular Agriculture / TED Speakers / Inspirational Speakers / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Longevity & Aging

Global Authority on Leading Innovation and Navigating Transitions by Harnessing the Power of Inquiry to Creatively Solve Problems; Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Innovation, MIT Sloan School of Management; Co-Founder, The Innovator’s DNA; Innosight Fellow; Award-Winning Author, “Questions Are the Answer” (2018); Co-Author, “The Innovator’s DNA” (Updated 2019); Named Among the Top 50 Management Thinkers in the World in 2023 and 2021, Thinkers50

Leadership / Innovation & Design / Navigating Uncertainty / Change Management / Strategy / Entrepreneurial Thinking & Investment Strategies / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Future of Work / Company Culture / Digital Transformation, Information Technology & Data Analytics / Psychological Safety / Trust & Empathy / AI, Robotics & Automation / Generative AI / Moderators / Inspirational Speakers / Experiential Programs / Executive Education / Must-Read Books

Most Cited Educational Thinker and Expert on Multiple Intelligences, Five Minds for the Future, The Synthesizing Mind, and Ethics in the Classroom and at Work; Pioneering Researcher Studying What It Means to Be Smart in the 21st Century; Expert on Education, from Pre-School through Higher Education; Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Co-Director, The Good Project; Author of Over 30 Influential Books including “A Synthesizing Mind”

Education & Lifelong Learning / Emerging Technology / Future of Work / Innovation & Design / AI, Robotics & Automation / Generative AI / Neuroscience / Inspirational Speakers / Must-Read Books
Stew Friedman Headshot

World’s Top Expert on Leadership and Performance in All Parts of Life; Influential Innovator in Leadership Education; Award-winning Wharton Professor; Host of Wharton’s “Work and Life” Podcast; Former Senior Executive, Ford Motor Company; 2023 Inductee, Thinkers50 Hall of Fame; Bestselling Author, “Total Leadership” and “Parents Who Lead” (March 2020)

Leadership / Innovation & Design / Wellness & Well-Being / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Future of Work / Company Culture / Trust & Empathy / Inspirational Speakers / Founders & Practitioners / Must-Read Books
Raquel Bono

Changemaker and Trailblazer in Genuine Leadership, Medicine, and Public Health; Retired Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy; Former Chief Health Officer, Viking Cruises; Senior Fellow, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory; Founder, Military Health Corps Female Physicians Leadership Course; Former CEO and Director, Defense Health Agency; Former Director, Washington State Covid-19 Health System Response Team

Health Care & Medicine / Leadership / Inspirational Speakers / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / STEAM / Founders & Practitioners / Women Speakers & Advisors
David Blake

World’s Foremost Expert on Upskilling, the Future of Credentials and Equitable Workplace Learning Initiatives; Leading Authority on Future-Proofing Companies and Their Employees; Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Degreed; Co-Founder, Learn In; Co-Author, “The Expertise Economy” (2018)

Education & Lifelong Learning / Future of Work / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Strategy / Emerging Technology / Business Model Innovation / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Platform Revolution / Inspirational Speakers / Founders & Practitioners / Must-Read Books
Jeremy Bailenson Headshot

Virtual Reality Pioneer and Leading Authority on Immersive Technologies That Are Reshaping Business and Society; Expert on VR and AR Tools That Improve Workplace Training and Culture and Prepare Companies for the Future of Work; Cognitive Psychologist; Founding Director, Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Stanford University; Co-Founder, STRIVR; Author, “Experience on Demand” (2018)

Emerging Technology / Future of Work / Communication Strategy / Sustainability, Purpose & Climate Solutions / AI, Robotics & Automation / Human Resource Management & Talent Development / Company Culture / Customer Experience & Consumer Behavior / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Metaverse / Experiential Programs / Founders & Practitioners / Inspirational Speakers / Must-Read Books
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Transformative, Inspirational Leader and Educator Focused on Helping Organizations Build Collaborative, Inclusive and Purpose-Driven Teams That Consistently Achieve Goals; Multi-Award-Winning Harvard Men’s Basketball Head Coach; Co-Chair, The John McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative; NCAA Champion for Diversity and Inclusion Honoree; Executive Fellow, Harvard Business School; Hauser Leader, Harvard Kennedy School

Leadership / Inspirational Speakers / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion / Company Culture