#AASCIFconf
Keynote and General Session Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Presidential Historian, Public Speaker and Author
Monday, July 27 | 10:00 am-11:00 am
Goodwin is a world-renowned presidential historian, public speaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times No. 1 best-selling author, who has spent five decades studying American presidents. Beginning her career as a 24-year-old White House Fellow during the President Lyndon B. Johnson administration, Goodwin later assisted Johnson in the writing of his memoirs while teaching government at Harvard University.
Her first book Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream became a national best-seller and was followed by six additional, critically acclaimed and award-winning books focused on Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Goodwin previously worked with Steven Spielberg on “Lincoln,” based in part on her book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, a biography President Barack Obama has cited as one of his favorite books and was said to have used it as a model for constructing his own cabinet.
Her latest book, Leadership In Turbulent Times, provides an accessible and essential road map for aspiring and established leaders in every field, and for all of us in our everyday lives.
Among her many honors and accolades, Goodwin has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Carnegie Medal, the Lincoln Prize, Charles Frankel Prize, given by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Sarah Josepha Hale Medal, the New England Book Award, as well as the Carl Sandburg Literary Award.
General Session Speakers
Rob Galbraith
Author
Monday, July 27 | 8:30 am-9:30 am
Rob Galbraith is the author of the Amazon best-selling book The End of Insurance as We Know It, which has been sold to insurance professionals around the globe since its release in February 2019. Galbraith has been called "a global insurtech thought leader," "a mentor to many in the insurance industry," "the most interesting man in insurance," "the prophet," and "the WD40 of insurance," for his versatile skills and ability to solve all manner of problems. Galbraith is a popular keynote speaker who has spoken at events around the globe on the topics of innovation, insurtech, and the future of insurance.
Galbraith has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry in a variety of leadership positions with AF Group, USAA, Citigroup, and the Federal Reserve Board. He is a recognized thought leader on P&C insurance who is a frequent media contributor and well-known industry influencer. Galbraith holds a Master of Science in insurance management from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Michigan State University. In addition, he holds the CPCU, CLU, and ChFC professional designations.
Thomas Frey
Executive Director and Senior Futurist at the DaVinci Institute
Tuesday, July 28 | 8:30 am-9:30 am
As the executive director and senior futurist at the DaVinci Institute, Tom Frey works closely with his Board of Visionaries to develop original research studies, which enables him to speak on unusual topics, translating trends into unique opportunities.
As part of the celebrity speaking circuit, Frey continually pushes the envelope of understanding, creating fascinating images of the world to come. His keynote talks on futurist topics have captivated people ranging from high-level government officials to executives in Fortune 500 companies, including NASA, IBM, AT&T, Hewlett-Packard, Lucent Technologies, First Data, Boeing, Capital One, Bell Canada, Visa, Ford Motor Company, Qwest, Allied Signal, Hunter Douglas, DirectTV, International Council of Shopping Centers, National Association of Federal Credit Unions, and many more.
Author of the 2011 book Communicating with the Future, futurist speaker Frey is a powerful visionary who is revolutionizing our thinking about the future.
Due to his efforts in inspiring inventors and other revolutionary thinkers, The Boulder Daily Camera has referred to him as the "Father of Invention," while The Denver Post and Seattle Post Intelligencer have referred to him as the "Dean of Futurists."
Frey currently writes a weekly "Future Trend Report" and a weekly column on FuturistSpeaker.com.
Before launching the DaVinci Institute, Frey spent 15 years at IBM as an engineer and designer, where he received over 270 awards, more than any other IBM engineer to date.
Jeanne Bliss
Founder and President of CustomerBliss, and Co-Founder of The Customer Experience Professionals Association
Tuesday, July 28 | Noon-1:15 pm
Jeanne Bliss is the founder and president of CustomerBliss, and the co-founder of The Customer Experience Professionals Association.
She is one of the foremost experts on customer-centric leadership and the role of the chief customer officer. A consultant and thought leader, Bliss guides C-suite and chief customer officer clients around the world toward earning the right to business growth and prosperity by improving customers’ lives.
Bliss pioneered the role of the chief customer officer, holding the first ever CCO role at Lands’ End, Microsoft, Coldwell Banker, and Allstate. Reporting to each company’s CEO, she moved the customer to the strategic agenda, redirecting priorities to create transformational changes to each brand's customer experience. She has driven achievement of 95 percent loyalty rates, improving customer experiences across 50,000-person organizations.
Her ability to effectively guide leaders and companies to earn customer-driven growth is based on these experiences as a practitioner for over 20 years working across organizations to unite the C-suite and organizational silos.
Bliss is also the author of the groundbreaking book Chief Customer Officer (Jossey-Bass, 2006). The book was the first of its kind to address the role of the customer leadership executive. It quickly became a bestseller and has been translated into eight languages. Her second book, I Love You More Than My Dog: Five Decisions That Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty in Good Times and Bad (Portfolio, 2001), was also a bestseller and translated into five languages. Her latest book, “Chief Customer Officer 2.0” (Wiley),was published on June 15, 2015.
Bliss is a highly sought-after speaker, keynoting high profile conferences and corporate events. She has spoken for clients such as Intuit, Pella Windows, Staples, Activision, MetLife, Zappos, and AARP, and has appeared in major media outlets such as Fast Company, Forbes, MSNBC, The Associated Press and The Conference Board.
Ben Nemtin
Author, TV Star, and Co-Founder of The Buried Life Movement
Wednesday, July 29 | 8:30 am–9:30 am
Ben Nemtin is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of What Do You Want to Do Before You Die? and a star of the MTV show The Buried Life. As the co-founder of The Buried Life movement, Nemtin’s message of radical possibility has been featured on The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, FOX, and NBC News. Oprah called Nemtin and The Buried Life "truly inspiring." An acclaimed speaker, Nemtin has keynoted business conferences and meetings for Fortune 100 leadership teams around the world, garnering standing ovations from AIG, Anthem, Amazon, FedEx, Harvard, Microsoft, Verizon, and more. In 2019 Nemtin was named one of the World’s Top 30 Organizational Culture Professionals by Global Gurus.
It all stems from a battle Nemtin had with depression over a decade ago. In an attempt to feel more alive, he created the world’s greatest bucket list with his three best friends. They borrowed a rickety old RV and crisscrossed North America, achieving the unthinkable. And most importantly, every time they accomplished a dream, they helped a complete stranger cross something off their bucket list. From playing basketball with President Obama to having a beer with Prince Harry, from reuniting a father and son after 17 years to surprising a young girl with a much-needed bionic arm—Nemtin’s bucket list quest has inspired millions to realize their true potential.