AG Lafley

One of the most celebrated management leaders of the past decade, A.G. Lafley is Procter & Gamble’s former chairman of the board, CEO, and president, serving from 2000–2010. Lafley led a turnaround at P&G that continues to astound competitors and business observers. During his tenure, sales doubled, profits quadrupled, P&G’s market value increased by more than $100 billion dollars, and its portfolio of billion-dollar brands – like Tide, Pampers, Olay, and Gillette – grew from 10 to 24. Consistently praised for his wise, focused, and progressive leadership, Lafley urged P&G to focus on consumer-driven innovation and consistent, reliable, sustainable growth. He broke decision-making into steps and showed keen judgment with moves like the acquisition of Gillette. Lafley was also named to President Obama’s advisory council on jobs and competitiveness.

A.G. Lafley’s presentations are an unprecedented look into the mind behind one of the largest, and most successful, corporations in the world. He helps audiences understand the challenge of achieving sustainable growth – the type of growth that can only be achieved through innovation and by setting and creating goals, strategies, structures, systems, leadership, culture, purpose, and values to support it. A talented and lively lecturer and exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Lafley is perfect for groups of top management teams, global leadership executives, and high-potential leaders who can meaningfully impact the future course of their companies and industries. He is known for his open dialogues during presentations and great for audiences who want more than a canned keynote. Lafley’s areas of expertise include industry and company transformations, business strategy, business models, branding, innovation, and leadership.

P&G Professional. Lafley graduated from Hamilton College in 1969 and joined the U.S. Navy in 1970 where he oversaw retail and service operations in Japan for several thousand Navy and Marine corps and their families. After the Navy, he earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and joined P&G in 1977. Starting in marketing, Lafley moved up through the company’s laundry and cleaning businesses, delivering record results. He went on to run operations in Asia and North America and then started-up P&G’s first global beauty business before his CEO appointment in 2000.

Author and Accolades. Lafley has been honored with some of the highest recognitions in business, including Chief Executive magazine’s “CEO of the Year” and the Peterson Award for Business Statesmanship. He also received the prestigious Edison Achievement Award for Innovation and is one of just a handful of business CEOs to ever receive the honor. In 2011, he was inducted into the IndustryWeek Manufacturing Hall of Fame and received the Warren Bennis Award for Leadership Excellence. Additionally, Lafley is co-author of The Game Changer, a guide to turning innovation into strategic advantage and selected as one of Bloomberg Businessweek’s top 10 business books. He also authored the critically acclaimed Harvard Business Review article “What Only the CEO Can Do.”

Lafley currently is a special partner at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice; a director at General Electric and Dell; and a chairman at Hamilton College. He is a highly sought-after speaker, teacher, consultant, and coach on strategy, innovation, leadership development, and succession.