Our Speakers

Our Speakers from the 2022 Customer Service Revolution. Check back soon for our 2023 Speaker lineup!

You deserve expert guides advising on critical topics. That’s why we’re bringing you several Global Thought Leaders! Gain ability to thrive, stimulate new thinking and get inspired with a new lineup every Thursday in October.

Cassandra Worthy

Change Management

Master the Chemistry of Change: Empowerment to Unleash Your Inner Rockstar

Cassandra Worthy is the world’s leading expert on Change Enthusiasm®. She is lighting the world on fire with her refreshingly unique take on not just ‘managing’ but growing through change. Through her consulting firm Change Enthusiasm Global, she has shared this revolutionary approach for not only embracing change but using it to propel you to heights you never imagined with thousands all over the world. She is trusted by clients around the globe including MassMutual, Johnson & Johnson, CVS Pharmacy, Bristol Myers Squibb, SnapChat, and Cisco.

After spending nearly 15 years working as an executive within both Procter & Gamble and Berkshire Hathaway thriving through some of the biggest acquisitions ever recorded in the consumer packaged goods industry, Cassandra decided to cultivate the mindset and tools she had practiced to grow through these disruptions in a way that inspires, invigorates, and motivates others to grow through their change challenges.

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John Ruhlin

Client Retention

REFERRALS WITHOUT ASKING

John Ruhlin is the world’s leading authority in maximizing customer loyalty through radical generosity. He is the founder and author of Gift·ology and has been featured in Fox News, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc and New York Times. While becoming the #1 performer out of 1.5 million sales reps for one of the world’s most recognizable brands, John developed a system of using generosity to gain access to elite clients and generate thousands of referrals. He and his firm now help automate this process for individuals and organizations like UBS, Raymond James, DR Horton, Keller Williams, the Chicago Cubs, and Caesar’s Palace. John and the Gift·ology team can help any individual turn their clients into their own personal sales force to drive exponential growth.

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Jess Pettitt

Diversity and Leadership

Good Enough Now

Jess Pettitt, M.Ed., CSP, has always had a foot in two different approaches to her life. Perhaps it is her Texas roots, but she believes to thrive in this world you have to ride two horses at once – one of humility and one of ego. This is why while hosting and performing stand-up in NYC she also worked as a diversity and inclusion specialist as a day job. She quit her day job after a decade and almost 20 years later still uses humor to deliver actionable content related to everything you ever wanted to know about where leadership and diversity collide but are afraid to ask. Though often referred to as a thought leader, Jess responds that she just makes leaders think. For Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work to stick, the first step is a conversation that matters about what you don’t know you don’t know then you can do the best you can with what you have some of the time without getting sued, losing talent, or failing customers.

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Marcus Engel

Compassion

Change The Things You Can

Marcus Engel, M.S., CPXP, CSP is a Certified Speaking Professional & author whose messages provide insight and strategies for excellent patient care. His keynote presentations have been witnessed by tens of thousands of healthcare professionals and his books are used in scores of nursing and allied health programs to teach the basic foundations of caregiving.

As a college freshman, Marcus Engel was blinded and nearly killed after being struck by a drunk driver. Through two years of rehab, over 350 hours of reconstructive facial surgery and adaptation through a multitude of life changes, Marcus witnessed the good, the bad and the profound in patient care. 

Marcus holds a B.S. in sociology from Missouri State University and a M.S. in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University in the city of New York. And he is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame where he teaches pre-meds the art of “being with.”  

Marcus lives in Orlando, Florida with his wife, Marvelyne, and his Seeing Eye dog, Elliott.

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Sal Valentinetti

Entertainer

How Delivering an Authentic Experience Can be Life-Changing

Sal Valentinetti is a crooner from Long Island, New York. From starting out delivering pizzas, to appearing on reality TV, to selling out shows across the country – his career continues to grow.

Born August 26, 1995, Sal was influenced early on by his Italian-American grandmother to love the musical genius of the classic crooner sounds of Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, and Frank Sinatra.

Sal started in music by playing instruments that included the baritone horn, base trumpet, tuba, and trombone. Ironically, the power of his voice was discovered by accident. During a horn lesson in high school, the instructor asked him to choose a song to play. He couldn’t think of the name of the song his grandmother used to play for him, so he started singing the lyrics to Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife.” Taken aback by his voice, the instructor immediately urged him to start taking singing lessons. With further encouragement from his family, Sal started to take his newfound talent seriously.

In 2016, NBC’s hit show America’s Got Talent was taken by storm by Sal “The Voice” Valentinetti. His audition went viral and reached over 100 million views on YouTube.

The then 20-year-old college student was now in the global spotlight. After belting out the classic Frank Sinatra hit, “My Way,” Sal not only received a standing ovation from the audience but was awarded the coveted “Golden Buzzer” from supermodel judge, Heidi Klum. As a finalist who reached the top five on the show, Sal later performed a holiday duet of “Santa Baby,” along with Klum.

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Dan Thurmon

Leadership

Positive CHAOS

Dan Thurmon is the founder and President of Motivation Works, Inc, a company that helps leaders and their organizations move confidently through change and transformation, so they become, achieve, and contribute MORE. 

His clients include Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Honeywell, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Marriott, Microsoft, Procter& Gamble, Prudential, State Farm, and Walmart. Dan is an expert speaker and performer. He’s delivered thousands of presentations across six continents for audiences including world leaders, Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, educators, and even troops on the front lines of battle in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2011, he was inducted into the prestigious Speaker Hall of Fame — and is one of fewer than 200 living speakers to have received this honor. Dan has served as the President of the National Speakers Association. During his tenure, he led the Board of Directors and the 3,000+ member organization through a critical transformation, which included new governance; new mission, vision, and values; higher member value; and greater financial accountability.

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Judson Laipply

Motivation

The Evolution of Service

Judson Laipply M.Ed, CSP is an enigma wrapped in an anomaly contained inside a quandary. Combining comedy and content, laughter and learning, energy and engagement Judson gives his audiences both immediate joy and lasting impact. He helps audiences understand the difference between change and evolution while teaching them to embrace struggle, engage choice, and ultimately evolve. He’s been featured on the Today Show, Ellen, Oprah, GMA, and more. He is the world’s first YouTube Celebrity and his finale “The Evolution of Dance” has over a billion impressions and was the first video ever to hit 100 million views. He’s been speaking and performing for over 20 years and has been all around the globe. He is also an Ironman Triathlete, terrible singer, and reformed Kool-Aid eater. Learn more at www.judsonlaipply.com. 

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Ryan Magnon

Chick-fil-A

Create a Culture of Genuine Care

Ryan Magnon is a recognized leader in service excellence, hospitality operations and quality management practices.  He currently serves in the role of Sr. Operations Lead, Field Operations for Chick-fil-A.  Ryan’s primary responsibilities include partnering with Chick-fil-A Restaurant Franchisee Owner/Operators across the chain to help them develop effective operational strategies in order to grow sales and improve the customer experience within a meaningful Brand.

Ryan has enjoyed a successful career, beginning with his service as a Quality Officer in the U.S. Air Force after selection to US Air Force Flight School.

Prior to Chick-fil-A Ryan served as Vice President of Quality for The Capella Hotel Group, joining forces with the former creator and leaders of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company to build a new luxury hotel brand, Capella Hotels and Resorts.

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Jared Green

Employee Engagement

The Engage Equation

Jared Green is a speaker, author, and executive coach, who is most known for bridging the gap between human engagement and organizational development through his company, Engage 365. Jared focuses primarily on the areas that bring fulfillment to people’s lives (even at work) like values, purpose, culture, and innovation. These are the essentials of engagement that optimize and retain talent for companies like Chick-fil-A, Salamander Resort & Spa, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and Premier Automotive. In 2020, Jared launched “Huee”, an employee engagement app that transforms the employee experience with technology and gamification. His mission is to reimagine and redesign the employee experience with people strategies that best support business strategies.

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Joel Sylvester

Contact Center Customer Care

How to Build a World-class Call Center: Technology You Need to Implement Right Now

With over 20 years of crafting exceptional customer experiences under his belt, Joel Sylvester has an unsurpassable passion for customer service. His career spans hundreds of companies, working with brands like Mayo Clinic, Wells Fargo, South Carolina Parks, Ohio Parks, and Fellowes, helping each enhance their customer experience. Joel has recruited, trained, and coached award-winning customer service teams across the world in retail, banking, healthcare, and manufacturing. He is a graduate of the University of South Dakota, and during his career was named Wells Fargo Star Performer, and led teams named to the Inc. 5000, as Fellowes Partner of the Year, and recipients of the South Dakota Governor’s Award.

Joel lives in Sioux Falls, SD, with his family, and is the Chief Client Officer at Five Star Call Centers. He serves on the board of the Sioux Empire United Way and has been named their Volunteer of the Year. Joel is an advocate for the employment of those living with disabilities and actively speaks with community groups and businesses on the topic.

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John DiJulius

Customer Experience

The Great Retention

The authority on world-class customer service and John doesn’t just talk about it either – He lives it. John has been a successful entrepreneur of two businesses:

John Robert’s Spa, a chain of upscale Cleveland locations repeatedly named one of the top 20 salons in America.

And The DiJulius Group, a customer experience consulting firm that uses the X-Commandment methodology to providing a World-Class customer experience.

When John’s not running the daily operations of both businesses,He’s also a Keynote speaker, international customer experience consultant and best selling author of five books. Through his expertise, he has had the privilege of working with world class companies like the Ritz-Carlton, Lexus, Starbucks, Nordstrom, Nestle, Marriott Hotel, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Cheesecake Factory, Bausch & Lomb, Progressive Insurance, Harley Davidson, State Farm, Chick-fil-A, Entrepreneurs Organization, YPO, Aveda, and many more!

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Dave Murray

Customer & Employee Experience

Internal Culture

Complaints 101

Dave helps clients generate fresh, game-changing ideas and then turn those into actionable systems.

Dave’s role at the DiJulius Group is that of a facilitator, where he strives to make all participants feel comfortable – creating an ideal environment for idea generation and sharing.

Dave’s passion is helping organizations create new standards that help them deliver a better experience to their customers – and also make the company an even better place to work!

Prior to joining TDG, Dave had 20 years of experience in customer service, marketing, and sales, primarily in the sports and entertainment industry. Dave’s experience varies from leading call centers and front-line team members to working closely with key partners and stakeholders.

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Jess Pischel

Customer & Employee Experience

Customer Experience Executive Panel

As a Customer Experience Consultant with The DiJulius Group, Jess helps clients generate ideas, turn them into systems, and then implement them enterprise-wide. Jess has a passion for working on meaningful projects while creating leaders that move results through their people.

Jess is a strong, critical thinker, whose analytical and strategic skills bring a holistic approach to all projects – leaving nothing to chance.

Jess has been personally trained on the trademarked X Commandments methodology by John DiJulius and uses this methodology regularly with our clients. Jess’s priority in every client engagement is to create new customer experience standards and implement systems that lead to concrete, measurable results.

Jess is also a keynote speaker that loves to share her clients’ best practices and provide content that her audience can apply immediately in both their professional and personal lives.

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Joe Wolfcale

Topic: Coming Soon.

Joe is an executive by experience, and a teacher by heart. Joe finds great satisfaction in helping others turn concepts and ideas into practical reality within their business.

He have been an executive leader for nearly 20 years, including over 10 years as a Chief Executive Officer.  His industry experience ranges from manufacturing to healthcare, with most of his executive experience in healthcare.  Joe’s success is directly tied to servant leadership – serving his customers and team to the highest degree.

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Brittni Walker

Customer & Employee Experience

World Class Leadership - Coaching Culture

Brittni, working at Advance Financial for ten years, leads the company culture as the Director of Experience. She also serves as the Executive Director of Community Outreach promoting community volunteerism as well as building and maintaining non profit relationships across the state of Tennessee.

In her previous role with Advance Financial, she served as the Customer & Employee Affairs Coordinator and then quickly advanced to the management level where she was able to fine tune her skills and refine the Customer and Employee Experience.

Brittni’s passion is helping organizations create and implement systems that will lead to world class service for internal and external customers.

Brittni graduated from the University of Tennessee- Knoxville, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Communications while mentoring young athletes as Head Cheer Instructor of Varsity Brands. In 2018, Brittni took her skills to the next level by earning her Customer experience certification from the Customer experience Executive Academy.

In her spare time, she loves spending time with friends and family, cheering on the Volunteers, hanging out at the lake, and ultimately enjoying life every day.

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