Jim Donald – the current co-chairman and former CEO of Albertsons, and the former CEO of Starbucks, Haggen Food & Pharmacy, and Extended Stay Hotels – focuses on innovation, quality, and service. He started his career as a grocer; he was handpicked by Sam Walton to build a supermarket presence for Wal-Mart. He helped Starbucks enjoy record growth and performance and increase its social responsibility commitment. At Extended Stay Hotels, Donald utilizing his reputation for turning around ailing companies. Named one of the “Top 25 CEOs in the World,” he addresses leadership, management, the power of one customer. “The comments about your session were overwhelmingly positive... rarely have we had a speaker do as much research into our members and relate their message so personally. Thanks for a superb presentation!” - F&B Company "The best thing about Jim was that he understood and was so excited about the audience that he catered his presentation to be the most relevant as possible to them.” - Software Company

The first African-American woman to hold the top policing job in Seattle, Washington, Carmen Best served with the Seattle Police Department for 28 years. In 2018, Best was promoted to Chief of Police, a job she called “a dream of a lifetime.” Best quickly began efforts to diversify the police force, which had long been less diverse than the city, recruiting more than 40 new officers of color. Chief Best speaks on diversity, inclusion, and leadership lessons-learned guiding a police department during times of crisis.

One of America’s most widely recognized medical experts, Dr. Vin Gupta, MD, MPA is a tech visionary who operates at the heart of disruption to develop solutions to the most-complex challenges in commerce, communication, healthcare, and society — now, and in the future. Close to two decades of experience as a renowned health policy expert and clinician have led Dr. Gupta to his former role as chief medical officer, Amazon Pharmacy, where he spearheaded cutting-edge programs that are leading us into the interdependent futures of healthcare and technology. A uniquely public-facing figure keeping the world in the know about what’s happening now and next, Dr. Gupta’s forward-looking insights inspire leaders and their organizations to embrace change, think outside the box to break new ground, and create new inroads to innovation and success. "Just wanted to let you know that Vin was the perfect speaker for our group. His energy and positivity is electric and kept our group super engaged! Truly worth every cent, thank you!" - Law Firm

Bill Carr is a strategic business leader who has spent his career at the forefront of tech innovation. He is a former top-level executive at Amazon, where he worked for more than 15 years – much of it in the early aughts during the company’s period of unmatched innovation – launching and managing Amazon’s global digital music and video businesses, including Amazon Music, Prime Video, and Amazon Studios. Under his leadership, Amazon's digital media business grew into a global operation exceeding $1 billion in revenue as the company pushed to compete with Apple, Netflix, and Hulu. Carr is the co-author of Working Backwards, along with former Amazon executive Colin Bryar, which provides an insider's breakdown of Amazon's approach to culture, leadership, and best practices. Taking audiences inside the room, Carr demonstrates how the principles and practices key to “Being Amazonian” can be scaled and applied to any organization.

What makes Mark Bryan one of the world’s leading futurists is his proven mastery advising organizations on the trends and tech that will disrupt their industries, and his inventive approaches for adapting to an ever-evolving business environment. He is the senior foresight manager at the Future Today Strategy Group, a leading foresight and strategy firm founded by world renowned futurist Amy Webb. In his role, he supports leaders and their organizations in developing and implementing customized, forward-looking strategies that position them years ahead of their competitors and expedite their journeys to their desired futures. Bryan’s expertise spans across industries — having worked alongside national retail brands, higher education institutions, nonprofits, multi-family developers, and large corporate clients to evolve them from market leaders to market innovators.

Dr. Christie Smith is a transformational business leader who helps organizations navigate leadership, culture, and workforce evolution in today’s fast-changing world. Drawing from her experience at Apple, Deloitte, and Accenture, she equips executives with practical strategies to build resilient, human-centered workplaces and emotionally mature leaders. As the bestselling author of Essential and founder of The Humanity Studio™, Christie is passionate about creating leaders who focus on well-being, purpose, and connection.

In a public service career that spans more than three decades and includes service in two presidential administrations, as well as two terms in the United States Senate (R-Ohio, 2011-2023) and six terms in the United States House of Representatives, Rob Portman has been among the most influential presences in American politics and policy. He has held various high-ranking government roles through the course of his career. In addition to the aforementioned roles, Portman was the 14th U.S. Trade Representative (2005-2006), as well as the director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush. Portman is known for his civility, successful bipartisan policymaking, work ethic, and extensive expertise of a broad range of complex issues. With more than 220 of his bills signed into law by Presidents Biden, Trump, and Obama during his tenure in the Senate, it is impossible to overstate his impact on American politics.

Ramez Naam is a former Microsoft executive, entrepreneur, inventor, and the Energy Co-Chair at Singularity University. Ramez spent 13 years at Microsoft, where he led teams working on artificial intelligence, big data, and internet search. His software has touched the lives of more than a billion people. He holds more than 20 patents—including several as co-inventor with Bill Gates. Dynamic and personable, Naam speaks around the world, captivating audiences as he illustrates “what disruption looks like” and shares the eight strategies incumbents should draw on to keep the pace of change.

Linda Bernardi lives and breathes technology disruption and innovation. She is currently Co-Founder and CEO of XdMind Inc., a revolutionary company using AI to dynamically adapt music to video gaming. Today, technology is evolving like never before, and Linda is involved in creating cutting-edge technologies across all sectors, including finance, retail, healthcare, high-tech, logistics, automotive, consumer goods, and all others. Her focus is to enable all enterprises to imagine, disrupt, innovate at record pace, and make the impossible become possible. She works with startups all around the globe, as well as large companies, to enable and inspire enterprises to build a culture of mindful innovation. She loves to practice the beautiful Art of Imagination – the first step towards innovation. Linda believes that the best ideas are the ‘crazy’ ideas, stemming from a keen sense of unbounded imagination, and she works to unleash people’s imaginations.

John Foley creates an experience that transcends the traditional keynote. He has been recognized as one of the top ten most in demand speakers because of his high energy content and delivery. Using footage from inside the cockpit of the Blue Angels F-18 and behind the scenes documentary video, John creates an audio visual experience along with his deep knowledge of leadership and high performance.

Amy Harder is executive editor of Cipher by Breakthrough Energy. Amy is one of the top national energy and climate change reporters in the country, having built up a reputation of being a uniquely balanced and influential journalist with respect across the spectrum. She joined Breakthrough Energy in early 2021 to help launch Cipher, a publication covering the opportunities and challenges of the energy transition.

James Gilmore is an expert on innovative thinking and the experience economy. As co-author of The Experience Economy, James Gilmore advises companies on how to turn their goods and services into a remarkable experience for the consumer. He discusses the concept of mass customization and helps businesses envision new possibilities for engaging customers and finding new sources of revenue.