Hall of Fame keynote speakers, every one seen live
The best keynote speakers have proven themselves on stage after stage, and the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame recognizes exactly that. These are the 28 Hall of Fame keynote speakers I have personally watched present, each with a different specialty, from leadership and sales to cybersecurity, humor and science.
Every year, planners ask me the same question: who would you book? This page is my honest answer. Not a ranking of fame or fees, but the Hall of Fame speakers I have seen hold a room, and the room each one is right for. If you want to know what sets speakers like these apart, I break it down in the six traits great keynote speakers share.
The CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame is the National Speakers Association’s lifetime honor for professional speakers, and inductees are chosen by their peers. I was inducted in 2025, which gives me a front-row seat to some of the best speakers in the world, and a strong opinion about which ones would fit your stage.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame honors keynote speakers for a career of excellence, chosen by their peers.
- Every keynote speaker on this list is a Hall of Fame inductee I have seen present live.
- Choose by fit, not fame: each speaker has a lane and a “best for” line to match your room.
- The list spans leadership, sales, customer experience, AI, resilience, humor and interactive entertainment.
- Many of these speakers also appear on my topic lists, linked under each profile.
28 Hall of Fame keynote speakers worth booking
A note on selection and order: every speaker here is a member of the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame, and I have personally seen each of them present. That is my bar. They are listed alphabetically by last name, not ranked, because this is a curated selection rather than a leaderboard. And yes, I have included myself.
Jump to a speaker: Ross Bernstein · Colette Carlson · Christine Cashen · Bill Cates · Jeff Civillico · Sylvie di Giusto · Jason Dorsey · Meridith Elliott Powell · Tim Gard · Stacey Hanke · Sally Hogshead · David Horsager · Phil M. Jones · Carey Lohrenz · Joe Mull · The Passing Zone · Vince Poscente · Clint Pulver · John Register · Sam Richter · Mark Scharenbroich · Marilyn Sherman · John Sileo · Terri Sjodin · Steve Spangler · Mike Staver · Brian Walter · Don Yaeger
Ross Bernstein
The integrity coach. Best for: Organizations building a winning culture without cutting corners
Ross has interviewed more than a thousand champions and turned what he learned into The Champion’s Code: the unwritten rules that separate teams that win from teams that win the right way. The stories come straight from the locker room, but the throughline is pure business: accountability, integrity and the standards a great culture refuses to lower.
Colette Carlson
The human behavior expert. Best for: Sales and leadership teams that need to connect, not just communicate
Colette holds a master’s degree in human behavior, and it shows. Whether the room is a sales force, a leadership cohort or a women’s initiative, she helps people understand why conversations go sideways and how to have the ones that build trust instead. She is funny, warm and pointed, which lets her lessons on connection land without a hint of fluff.
Christine Cashen
The humorista. Best for: Teams running on empty that need energy and real takeaways
Christine calls herself a humorista, and her stand-up-level comedy is the delivery system for practical content: working smarter, communicating better, handling difficult people and beating burnout. Audiences laugh for an hour and leave with tools they actually use. For a conference that needs its energy back without sacrificing substance, she is the one.
Bill Cates
The referral architect. Best for: Advisors and client-facing teams that grow through introductions
Bill has built his career on one of the most measurable outcomes in business: referrals. His Radical Relevance work shows how being genuinely useful to the right people turns satisfied clients into active advocates, and gives teams the exact language to earn introductions instead of awkwardly asking for them. Financial advisors in particular treat his ideas as a playbook.
Jeff Civillico
The entertainer with a message. Best for: Events that want laughter, audience participation and a meaningful close
A longtime Las Vegas headliner, Jeff blends comedy, juggling and stunts with audience members pulled on stage, so the room becomes part of the show. Underneath the fun is a real message: the work each of us does matters, and our actions ripple further than we think. He is also an experienced emcee, which makes him easy to build a whole program around.
Sylvie di Giusto
The human edge. Best for: Organizations asking what makes their people hard to replace
Full disclosure: that is me, and yes, I am including myself on a list of my own Hall of Fame peers. My keynotes, Forever Human and The Power of Choice, look at what makes people and organizations irreplaceable in an age of automation, and at the everyday choices that decide who gets chosen. I deliver both as an immersive 3D experience or as a traditional keynote.
Jason Dorsey
The generational researcher. Best for: Leaders who need to understand how Gen Z and Millennials buy, work and decide
Jason runs a generational research firm, and his keynotes run on data, not stereotypes. He shows audiences how Gen Z and Millennials actually buy, work and make decisions, and where long-held assumptions are quietly costing sales and talent. High energy, funny and backed by research, he hands leaders a lens they keep using long after the event.
Meridith Elliott Powell
The uncertainty strategist. Best for: Sales and leadership teams facing an unpredictable market
Meridith bridges sales and leadership with a specialty almost every industry needs right now: thriving through uncertainty and change. She shows teams how to stay confident and proactive when the market refuses to cooperate, with strategies they can apply the same quarter. Whether the room is a sales force or an executive team, she turns anxiety about the future into a plan.
Tim Gard
The stress-buster. Best for: High-pressure professions that need to laugh and reset
Tim uses humor as a serious tool: to reduce stress, defuse conflict and help people stay resilient when work gets heavy. He teaches audiences to develop what he calls a comic vision, spotting the funny in difficult moments and using it to stay effective. Rooms full of overstretched professionals leave lighter, and with a technique they can use the very next morning.
Stacey Hanke
The influence builder. Best for: Leaders whose message gets lost between meetings
Stacey’s work centers on influence that holds up Monday to Monday, not just on the day of a big presentation. She helps leaders communicate with clarity, confidence and presence so their message is consistent in every interaction, from the boardroom to a quick hallway conversation. Her approach is practical and specific, which is why audiences put it to work immediately.
Sally Hogshead
The fascination scientist. Best for: Teams and individuals who need to stand out and be chosen
Sally built her work on original research into what makes people fascinating, and how each of us can use a natural advantage to be remembered and chosen. Her assessment gives every audience member a personal takeaway, which makes her keynote feel individual even in a ballroom of thousands. She is equally strong with sales teams, leadership groups and brand-focused audiences.
David Horsager
The trust researcher. Best for: Executives who want trust treated as a measurable driver of results
David built his career on one idea: trust is the bottom line. His Trust Edge framework turns trust from a soft value into eight pillars leaders can actually measure and improve. Data-minded executives appreciate the research, and everyone else appreciates how practical it is. For organizations struggling with low trust in teams, leadership or customers, he brings the blueprint.
Phil M. Jones
The words expert. Best for: Sales and client-facing teams that need the right words in the moments that matter
Phil is the go-to speaker on exactly what to say. His work gives audiences short, memorable phrases for objections, negotiations and decisive moments: language simple enough to recall under pressure and persuasive enough to change the outcome. Salespeople love him, and so does anyone whose job depends on getting to yes.
Carey Lohrenz
The fighter pilot. Best for: Teams that must perform under pressure and high stakes
As one of the first female F-14 Tomcat fighter pilots, Carey knows exactly what performing under extreme pressure looks like. She translates flight-deck discipline into fearless leadership: clear communication, sharp execution and courage when the stakes, and the speed, are at their highest. Her stories make leadership feel urgent and concrete.
Joe Mull
The retention specialist. Best for: Organizations quietly losing good people
Joe tackles one of the costliest problems in business: good people leaving. His Employalty work shows managers how to become bosses worth staying for, and makes commitment, not just engagement, the goal. He is refreshingly specific about what managers should do differently on Monday morning. He is also one of my 2025 Hall of Fame classmates.
The Passing Zone (Jon Wee and Owen Morse)
The teamwork showmen. Best for: Events that want unforgettable entertainment with a teamwork message
Jon Wee and Owen Morse are Guinness World Record holders who wrap death-defying comedy juggling around real lessons on teamwork, trust and risk. Volunteers come on stage, so the audience becomes part of the act instead of watching it. The laughs never stop, and yet the teamwork message lands, which is exactly why planners keep booking them.
Vince Poscente
The Olympian. Best for: Teams that need to move faster without burning out
Vince went from recreational skier to Olympic speed skier in four years, and he brings that same acceleration to the stage. His Age of Speed message helps teams turn urgency into an advantage instead of a source of stress. He is also one of very few speakers inducted into both the U.S. and the Canadian Speaker Halls of Fame.
Clint Pulver
The Undercover Millennial. Best for: Leaders who want to keep and connect with their best people
Clint went undercover to learn what employees really think about their managers, and built a movement around what he heard. His message is simple and backed by those conversations: people stay where they feel seen, heard and valued. An Emmy winner and a drummer, he brings energy that pulls a room to the edge of its seats. He is also one of my 2025 Hall of Fame classmates.
John Register
The resilience strategist. Best for: Organizations going through hard change
A Paralympic medalist and Army veteran who lost his leg after a hurdling accident, John teaches resilience as a discipline, not a slogan. His Amputate to Elevate framework helps leaders decide what to let go of so their teams can move forward. He is living proof that a setback can be re-engineered into an advantage.
Sam Richter
The intelligence expert. Best for: Sales teams that want to know more about their buyers than the competition does
Sam shows client-facing teams how to use online intelligence and AI to research prospects, personalize every conversation and walk into a meeting more relevant than anyone else in the room. His programs are often built around the audience’s own real prospects, so the techniques are usable the same afternoon. Practical, fast and genuinely useful.
Mark Scharenbroich
The connector. Best for: Cultures that have turned transactional
An Emmy-winning writer and producer, Mark built his Nice Bike message around the small acts of acknowledgment that make people want to belong. He shows leaders and teams how genuine recognition builds connected, engaged cultures. He is disarmingly funny, which lets the deeper point land without ever feeling soft, and audiences quote him for years.
Marilyn Sherman
The front-row motivator. Best for: Events that need energy that turns into ownership
Marilyn’s message is simple and sticky: stop sitting in the balcony and get in the front row of your own life and work. She moves leaders and teams from excuses to ownership with infectious energy, and behind the motivation is a real push toward accountability. Audiences leave fired up, and with something specific to do about it.
John Sileo
The cybersecurity storyteller. Best for: Organizations that need their people to take cyber risk personally
John learned about cybercrime the hard way: his identity was stolen and used to embezzle money from his business clients, and he was held responsible. Today he turns that story into keynotes that make cybersecurity human, from social engineering to building a culture of security. Audiences who usually tune out IT warnings lean in for this one.
Terri Sjodin
The persuasion expert. Best for: Anyone who has to pitch, present or win approval
Terri’s specialty is the make-or-break moment: the presentation that decides the deal, the budget or the vote. Her multi-year research behind Presentation Ready identifies the mistakes that quietly cost people the win, and shows how to persuade instead of merely inform. Sales teams love her, and so do leaders who need their ideas approved.
Steve Spangler
The science showman. Best for: Audiences that need wonder, curiosity and learning that sticks
An Emmy-winning science educator, Steve makes audiences gasp with live experiments, then ties the wonder to how people actually learn and remember. The spectacle is real, and so is the point about curiosity and engagement. Education, association and corporate audiences alike leave talking about what they saw, and what it means for how they teach and lead.
Mike Staver
The accountability coach. Best for: Leaders who avoid the hard conversations
Mike literally wrote the book on it: Leadership Isn’t for Cowards. His message is courageous accountability, driving performance by challenging people and confronting problems instead of tolerating them. He is direct and a little provocative, which is exactly what high performers, and the leaders who manage them, respond to.
Brian Walter
The meeting reinventor. Best for: Meetings that need to be un-boring, especially the internal ones
Brian is the master of the un-boring meeting. Game shows, live video bits and his Extreme panel formats turn passive sessions into something the audience plays along with. He is especially brilliant at making internal content like awards, updates and panels genuinely entertaining. If your agenda has a session everyone dreads, give it to Brian.
Don Yaeger
The greatness storyteller. Best for: Teams working on culture and sustained excellence
A longtime Sports Illustrated writer, Don has studied greatness up close for decades and distilled what champions and great teams do differently, every day. He tells it through stories audiences repeat for years. For leaders who want excellence to become a habit rather than a moment, Don delivers.
Why book a Hall of Fame keynote speaker?
A Hall of Fame speaker has done what every planner hopes for, hundreds or thousands of times: walked onto an unfamiliar stage, read a room they have never met and delivered. Inductees are chosen by peers who know exactly how hard that is to do consistently.
That does not make every Hall of Fame speaker right for your event. A sales kickoff needs something different from a leadership retreat, and an awards dinner needs something different from both. That is why each profile above has a lane and a “best for” line. Start with the question your audience is asking, then find the speaker built for it.
Fame fills a seat. Fit fills a room with people who still talk about it next year.
Looking for a specific topic? I keep separate lists of the best keynote speakers on leadership, top sales keynote speakers, AI keynote speakers, customer experience keynote speakers, top women keynote speakers and the most interactive keynote speakers, plus the best innovation and future of work keynote speakers. And to hear from the women of the Hall of Fame in their own words, meet these female Hall of Fame speakers.
New to booking? Start with what a keynote speaker actually does and costs, then follow my steps on how to find a keynote speaker.
Frequently asked questions
What is the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame?
The CPAE (Council of Peers Award for Excellence) Speaker Hall of Fame is the National Speakers Association’s lifetime honor for professional speakers. Since 1977, it has recognized speakers for excellence, professionalism and the impact of their work, and inductees are selected by a council of their peers.
How many speakers are in the Speaker Hall of Fame?
Fewer than 300 speakers have been inducted since the award began in 1977, which makes it one of the most exclusive honors in the speaking profession. A new class of a few speakers is typically inducted each year.
Who are the best keynote speakers to hire?
The best keynote speaker is the one whose expertise matches your audience and your goal. Every speaker on this list is a Hall of Fame inductee I have seen present live, so start with the lane and “best for” line that matches your event, then ask for a full recording and references from planners who booked them.
