Jim VandeHei

Connect with your members, customers, or board in real-time and interact with some of today’s foremost experts. If you’re looking to relay the most up-to-date information to an audience, Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen deliver compelling briefings on the current political climate and the ever-evolving world of work. Choose one of the following sessions:

• Political Briefing with Jim and Mike: A behind-the-scenes analysis of what’s going on in Washington and the important issues shaping our world.
• “War for Attention” Briefing with Jim and Mike: Strategies to communicate your culture, mission, and other key messages — internally and externally — in the social, mobile, disruptive age.

One of the key components to Axios quickly becoming a powerhouse media company is “Smart Brevity,” the transformative approach for punching through the noise to get people to pay attention to what matters most in your message. In this talk, Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei shares powerful communications lessons from his decades of experience in media, business, and communications, while providing the essential outline for how Smart Brevity can be implemented into any message in a concise and visual format to elevate its impact.

In his book Just the Good Stuff, Jim VandeHei delivers a no-nonsense roadmap for dealing with the complexity of leadership: managing millennials, firing friends, spotting and cultivating super-talents. Through his personal story—from a struggling student to co-founding transformative media giants like Axios and Politico—VandeHei underscores the power of no-BS directness, simplified thinking, and operating at high velocity. He shares actionable insights on thriving in the modern workplace, crafting a meaningful career, and achieving a fulfilling life by focusing on health, happiness, and purpose. This talk will explore his journey, offering key lessons to help anyone chart their path to “the good stuff” in life and work.

Jim VandeHei takes audiences on a full tour of the complex political issues facing America today. As an accomplished former reporter, editor, and founder of POLITICO and Axios, he analyzes the key figures in the White House and Congress, explaining the political background and the goings-on behind the scenes. With a new political reality in Washington, VandeHei gives an engaging, precise, and often humorous take on the decisions of the political newsmakers. Providing up-to-the-minute detail and an insider’s look into the White House, VandeHei discusses the key trends shaping Washington.

In an age of communications chaos, Jim VandeHei co-founder first of POLITICO, and now Axios — has tales and tips from their success in creating and scaling two disruptive businesses in this hyper-competitive environment.

• Fascinating insider stories from interviewing President Trump, Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and many more.
• Real-world ideas for engaging millennials, building modern business cultures, and cutting through the social media noise.
• Unpack the keys to developing and articulating an organization’s higher purpose, and show how crystal-clear one-to-many communication can improve recruiting, retention, morale — and the bottom line.

Jim VandeHei, the founder of two of the decade’s hottest new media companies — Politico and Axios — shares his unique insights on how all business leaders and companies can successfully turn the threats of social media, new technologies, and rapidly changing politics into core strengths for any organization. Jim’s theory is simple: the world has changed quicker than most people can comprehend or master. The trick is quickly understanding three things: the complexities of modern media, with huge audiences living in wildly different ecosystems present new threats and opportunities; the growing life-and-death threat from robotics and new technologies that requires new ways of thinking about talent, culture, and strategic planning; and the new pressures on all leaders and companies to be aware of, and often increasingly involved in, social causes and politics. VandeHei, a reporter turned founder/CEO, offers real-time tactical tips and insights for winning in this era of chaos & disruption. Bonus: his company is one of the most wired media entities in the world, so he always comes armed with gossip and news about the most powerful people in business, politics, the media and technology.

Highly customizable, this speech covers:

• Marketing
• The state of brands
• Communication—both internal and external
• Building an innovative, purpose-driven culture
• Reacting to and getting ahead of disruptive technology

How people consume and disseminate information is changing at an unfathomably quick pace — disrupting businesses. politics as we know it, and the economy and culture. Understanding these trends is essential to navigating life, growth and innovation. Jim VandeHei brings frontline expertise in understanding and mastering the new media ecosystem and how to succeed in a rapidly changing environment. Called one of the most powerful thinkers in the Information Age by Vanity Fair, after co-founding POLITICO and now the successful digital news site Axios, VandeHei provides vital insights into the changing face of business and offers invaluable lessons for rethinking how you communicate and win in this new tech-driven world.