Speaking Duos

Colin Coggins and Garrett Brown are agents of change who are known for their surprising and entertaining approaches to purpose-driven leadership and igniting culture shifts that reposition organizations to scale growth and make a profound impact in their teams, and with their customers. At the foundation of Colin and Garrett’s philosophy is the idea that the most successful leaders and teams are the ones who are able to evolve transactional encounters into transformational experiences where connections are made, solutions are created, and value is felt. After decades of collective experience as sales professionals, leaders, and executives, Colin and Garrett’s paths crossed at enterprise software company Bitium, where they played key roles in growing the business from relative obscurity to a prominent acquisition by Google. They now serve as adjunct professors of entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, where they teach the hugely popular, first-of-its-kind class, “Sales Mindset for Entrepreneurs.”

Colin Bryar is a business advisor and technology leader whose career has focused on optimizing business strategy and operations. He is a former top-level executive at Amazon, where he spent more than 12 years – much of it in the early aughts during the company’s period of unmatched innovation – leading the operations for IMDb.com, as well as working directly with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to help with overall business strategy, technology, and operations. Bryar is the co-author of Working Backwards, along with former Amazon executive Bill Carr, which provides an insider's breakdown of Amazon's approach to culture, leadership, and best practices. Taking audiences inside the room, Bryar demonstrates how the principles and practices key to “Being Amazonian” can be scaled and applied to any organization. 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.

Childhood best friends, Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman, were just twenty-two when they co-founded the now iconic junk removal and moving company, College Hunks Hauling Junk. Starting as an idea to earn some extra money over college break in a beat-up cargo van, the duo has grown College Hunks into a $300 million national franchise with more than 100 locations – truly demonstrating what it means to be both bold risk takers and modern leaders. The company and founders have been widely recognized and acclaimed for their world-class culture and service, as well as their progressive approach to doing business in the 21st century. Through lessons-learned from their monumental business growth, the pair discuss what it means to create a purpose-driven, customer-centric organization, while also sharing their secrets to success: patience, persistence, and standing out in a crowded landscape. Building their company around visionary leadership, Friedman and Soliman showcase how to craft a world-class organization by developing an entrepreneurial culture of strong, reliable teams.

Charlie Cook and Stu Rothenberg are synonymous with the highest-caliber election forecasting and analysis in the business. For decades, they have been Washington’s most trusted – and most accurate – voice on all things political. Using poll numbers, economic indicators, historical data, and entertaining anecdotes, they address the fortunes of each Party in a balanced, non-partisan way.

Donna Brazile and Ana Navarro bring their political clout, unparellled insights from the world of politics, and candid stories from behind the scenes to deliver an entertaining and practical talk about the hottest political topics. Despite hailing from opposing political parties, these pundits join forces to give audiences the latest in geopolitics, election forecasting, and much more.

Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen are two of the nation’s most influential journalists. For years, they worked together building the nationally renowned digital media company POLITICO, transforming it from a newcomer on Captiol Hill to the website and accompanying newsletter that all of Washington considered a “must-read.” Now, they are co-founders of disruptive media company Axios, delivering quick, punchy news and insights on politics, business, media, and technology to a smart and highly-engaged audience. The company has already proved a disruptive force in the digital media space, specializing in high-quality news and analysis easily shared across social platforms by the country’s influential readers.

Gen. Allen, the former Presidential Special Envoy to Counter ISIL and Ken Pollack, a former CIA official and senior fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute deliver a detailed presentation on the challenges in the Middle East and what it means for business in America. Their perspectives, a meld of military, diplomatic, intelligence, and policy points of view, allow them to deliver a uniquely well-rounded analysis that helps audiences breakdown the current environment and think about the short-, medium-, and long-term risks and rewards.

Ana Navarro and Bakari Sellers are highly-respected political analysts and operatives who boast deep ties within their respective parties and the Hispanic and African American communities. Passionate debaters who regularly appear on CNN, Sellers and Navarro are not afraid to address disagreements head-on while retaining the eloquence and intelligence they have come to be known for. Larger-than-life, witty, and ready to dig deep into an arsenal of material to support their views, this duo delivers a heavy-weight presentation full of insight, humor, and healthy debate of deeply-held political values.

Stephanie Cutter and Nicole Wallace bring Oval Office clout—and anecdotes—to their sharp political commentary and analysis. Cutter, a former deputy senior advisor to President Obama and CNN political commentator, and Wallace, a best-selling author and former White House director of communications, cut through political spin for a straight-forward, insider’s look at the issues that matter most in Washington.