Michael J. Durant is the best-selling author of In the Company of Heroes and the inspiration for the movie Black Hawk Down. He was the sole survivor of the helicopter crash caused by a Somali-fired grenade and held as a prisoner of war for 11 days. Prior to his time in Somalia, Durant had participated in combat operations in the Persian Gulf, Panama, and Kuwait. A highly-decorated soldier, his awards include the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Medal. He addresses leadership, teambuilding, growth, and his experience as a soldier and as a hostage.

Multimedia presenter whose presentations feature funny video clips and a high degree of audience interaction. Ross Shafer has the most intriguing Comedy & Business background of any speaker on leading through change, reinvention, and resilience. Ross’s funny and energetic style was honed as a headlining comedian and host of TV’s Match Game (ABC), The Late Show (FOX), Almost Live! (NBC and Comedy Central) and Love Me, Love Me Not (USA). Embracing his humorous world view explains why Ross risked buying and selling 23 companies (each rescued from bankruptcy) and earning the savvy to author ten insightful business books. Ross’s fresh takeaways are fun and sticky … and he delivers the creativity to ignite and inspire front line staff as well as senior executives.

Throughout his action-packed, hair-raising combat career, retired Navy SEAL Commander Rorke Denver successfully led his troops through unforgiving special forces missions in challenging, do-or-die environments in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and other international hot spots. Having overseen every phase of training for the U.S. Navy SEALs, Denver has lived what it takes to succeed in fast-moving environments where chaos is all around you and there’s no guarantee that you’ll live to fight another day. Denver’s own experiences provide the basis for the sough-after lessons he shares with audiences as he helps teams and individuals live and perform at their highest level, even when it seems like everything is working against them. The principles he shares are also featured in his New York Times bestseller Damn Few: Making the Modern SEAL Warrior and in his second book, Worth Dying For: A Navy SEAL’s Call to a Nation. He is also widely recognized as one of the stars of the Hollywood action film “Act of Valor,” and has also been featured alongside John Cena on FOX’s hit show, “American Grit.”