Mark French
Mark French is president and CEO of Leading Authorities, Inc., one of North America's top lecture agencies with adjacent business interests in video production and publishing. The company is one of the top agencies in its industry and focuses on helping its clients create high-impact meetings featuring prominent speakers from business, politics, and contemporary life.
Leading Authorities exclusively represents world-class talent, including former presidents and prime ministers, broadcast journalists, leading scientists, best-selling authors, renowned business people, and acclaimed thought leaders. Their speakers include CNN's Anderson Cooper, former Senator George Mitchell, former SEC Commissioner Arthur Levitt, New York Times best-selling authors Marcus Buckingham and Ram Charan, football legends Steve Young and Howie Long, to name a few.
French founded Leading Authorities in December 1990 following more than a decade of achievement with two major national associations. As Senior Vice President of Development of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and Executive Vice President of the ATA Foundation, French was responsible for a major increase in membership and funding for both ATA and the ATA Foundation.
From 1979-1987, French held key positions in the membership and development areas of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He was the Chamber's leading national account manager in 1981 and 1982. In 1982, he was appointed Director of the Chamber's Spirit of Enterprise Capital Campaign. He led a successful effort to raise $35 million for the restoration of the Chamber's historic headquarters across from The White House.
French serves on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and has served on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Speakers Bureaus (IASB), the Associate Alliance of the American Society of Association Executives, and a special IASB-National Speakers Association (NSA) task force. He has participated as a speaker at numerous industry events and is considered a key leader in the speaking industry. His commentary on the speaking industry has been featured in numerous media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN, ABC News, and NBC News, to name a few.
French is a member of the American Society of Association Executives, the City Club of Washington, and Meeting Professionals International.
He and his wife Carol reside in Bethesda, Maryland with their youngest daughter, Lauren. His oldest daughter, Kathleen, graduated from the University of Maryland and lives nearby in Maryland. His son Brian lives in Colorado and attends University of Colorado at Boulder.
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