Leland Holt Vittert

This keynote strips the ideology off America’s divisions and reveals the economic incentive structures underneath — why politicians can’t compromise, why the media won’t hold them accountable, and why nothing gets done. Having covered revolutions, wars, and the collapse of governments across the Middle East, Vittert brings a war correspondent’s clarity to Washington: he’s seen what happens when divided countries can’t make peace more profitable than war. This is not a partisan talk — it’s a business talk about politics that calls out both sides equally. Business leaders leave able to read Washington the way they read a balance sheet — understanding where the incentives point, what’s actually going to move, and how to anticipate it before it hits their bottom line.

At age 8, Leland was diagnosed on the autism spectrum with a 70-point IQ spread — the largest the evaluator had ever seen. A psychologist told his parents: “Not much you can do.” His father rejected that answer, quit his job, and spent 15 years as his son’s only friend — teaching social skills through techniques he invented that would later mirror the principles of professional behavioral therapy. Since the book hit the New York Times bestseller list, hundreds of families have written in saying they don’t feel alone anymore. Parents leave this keynote understanding the power of teaching resilience to their kids — and the courage to push them to fulfill their own potential.