Simon Sinek is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.

Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Sinek teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people. With a bold goal to help build a world in which the vast majority of people go home everyday feeling fulfilled by their work, Sinek is leading a movement to inspire people to do the things that inspire them.

Sinek is the author of four best selling books:

• The global best seller, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
• The New York Times and Wall Street Journal best seller, Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t
• New York Times best seller, Together is Better: A Little Book of Inspiration
  
• And his latest book, launched September 2017, Find Your Why: A Practical Guide to Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team
• Simon’s next book The Infinite Game, will be released in October 2018.
  

A trained ethnographer, Sinek is fascinated by the leaders and companies that make the greatest impact in their organizations and in the world, those with the capacity to inspire, he has discovered some remarkable patterns about how they think, act and communicate and the environments in which people operate at their natural best. He has devoted his life to sharing his thinking in order to help other leaders and organizations inspire action.

Simon is also best known for popularizing the concept of Why in his first Ted Talk in 2009. It has since risen to the third most watched talk of all time on TED.com, gathering 31+million views and is subtitled in 45 languages.

Sinek’s unconventional and innovative views on business and leadership have attracted international attention and have earned him invitations to meet with an array of leaders and organizations, including: Disney, jetBlue, MARS, SAP, KPMG, Pfizer, NBC, government agencies and entrepreneurs. Sinek has also had the honor of sharing his ideas at the United Nations, the United States Congress and with the senior leadership of the United States Air Force, Marine Corps, Army and Navy, as well as Special Forces Agencies.

Sinek shares his optimism with all who will listen. He speaks around the globe and has commented for local and national press, including: The New York Times, Inc. Magazine, Forbes, NPR, and BusinessWeek.

Sinek is active on social media and writes his own blog, simonsinek.com.

Sinek is an adjunct staff member of the RAND Corporation, one of the most highly regarded think tanks in the world. He is active in the arts and not-for-profit world, including charity: water, an organization devoted to helping bring clean water to the over 700 million people around the world. He also serves on the board of the Tami Stronach Dance Company and lives in New York.
 

Vice President for Academic Affairs
Maryville University

Cherie Fister is the Chief Academic Officer for Maryville University. She first joined the Maryville community as a Design & Visual Arts faculty member. A lifelong design educator, her passion for learning and creativity fueled multiple leadership roles in both programmatic and strategic initiatives at the University. Most recently she served as the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

Prior to higher education, Cherie worked in corporate and exhibit design. She earned her MFA at Southern Illinois University and was recognized as a Fellow by AIGA, the professional association for design in 2009.

Founder and Executive Director for the Future of Higher Education and Talent Strategy
Executive Professor of Educational Policy
Northeastern University

Dr. Sean Gallagher is founder and Executive Director of Northeastern University’s Center for the Future of Higher Education and Talent Strategy, and Executive Professor of Educational Policy.

He joined Northeastern in 2009 and is a nationally recognized expert with nearly 20 years of experience in higher education. As Chief Strategy Officer for Northeastern’s Professional Advancement Network, Gallagher built a central strategy function unique among universities – working across colleges and academic domains to launch growth initiatives including the development of new campuses and degree programs. Prior to Northeastern, Gallagher worked for a decade at Eduventures, advising executives at hundreds of universities, education companies, and investors. He directed the firm's largest and most profitable business unit, and played an instrumental role in the company’s growth by developing and leading many of its research practices.

Dr. Gallagher is a frequent invited speaker at conferences and events, and his writing and commentary have been featured in leading media outlets such as The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and CBS Television. His research has been cited in numerous academic papers and books. Gallagher's book, The Future of University Credentials: New Developments at the Intersection of Higher Education and Hiring, was published in 2016 by Harvard Education Press. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Bay State College.

Dr. Gallagher holds a Doctor of Education (EdD) degree from Northeastern University; an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology; and a BS in Marketing from Northeastern.

Google Cloud Platform Representative
Future of Education - AI Powered Student Experience

Jim Murphy oversees News and Publishing relationships for Google Cloud in New York City. With over 10 years working in the public cloud sector, Jim helps clients rethink their businesses and guides them through their digital transformations.

Prior to Google, Jim helped grow a start-up from 70 to 300 people at Microsoft working with commercial clients in the Leadership Development program.

Account Executive
Google 

Meredith McNally has worked as a digital media consultant in the education vertical at Google in New York City since 2012. She builds partnerships with national education clients across the K-12 and higher education sectors to provide media and technology solutions. Prior to Google, she worked for New Corporation in the Los Angeles, Toronto, and New York City offices selling advertising solutions within the consumer packaged goods industry. She holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of San Diego. She also holds a leadership role as an alumnae of her sorority,​ ​frequently speaking​ ​at national conferences to empower future women leaders.

Dean
Pearson Business School

Will is the Dean of Pearson Business School (PBS), where he is responsible for operations, working closely with students, the academic team, and industry partners to help ensure an exceptional student experience. Will has worked in professional and higher education over the past ten years. In the classroom, he specializes in teaching accountancy and finance. He is passionate about education, both in the classroom and online, and has taught and trained students and professional accountants around the world. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Business from the University of Birmingham and Montpellier Business School (ESC Montpellier). He qualified as a Chartered Accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers before moving on to Kaplan Financial, where he specialized in synchronous online learning. He was also a Senior Manager at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

VP of Analytics
Pearson North America

Daniel is responsible for bringing an analytical, data-driven mindset and focus on solutions for senior business partners, collaborating across Pearson teams to deliver meaningful value by utilizing data assets and business intelligence.

Prior to joining Pearson, Daniel worked in higher education at Eduventures, where he helped develop the firm’s educational technology practice, and at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he conducted research on strategy, management, and digital business. He has also worked outside education at the United States Senate, in private equity, and as a management consultant for a global strategy firm. Daniel completed an MBA at the Brandeis International Business School and a BA in Government from the University of Virginia, and has published over 15 peer-reviewed articles on management and quantitative methodologies.