Talks are always tailored to your unique needs. I study the history of your industry and speak with your attendees, so we start with the work they do and the questions they are asking.
Industry Associations
My favorite room.
Your members know their industry. Before I step on stage, I study its history and speak with some of the people who will be in the room. At NTCA, that meant starting with the rural electrification co-ops who came before today’s broadband providers. At AHFA, it meant the furniture makers and stories the industry still carries forward. We build from what your audience recognizes, then ask what they want to do next.
At Flavor Experience, I built From Menu to Memory: The Stories That Drive Loyalty for chefs, menu developers, and food brands. We looked at the choices that go into creating a dish and the story a customer takes home from it, with examples from their own world and a breakout workshop to put the ideas to work.
Conference: Flavor Experience 2026 opening keynote and breakout workshop
At AHFA, I brought Gustav Stickley and The Craftsman into a conversation about what the industry carries forward and what it changes. The room was full of people making those decisions for their own brands. See the official conference speaker listing.
Room: American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA), 2026
At NTCA, I went back to the rural electrification co-ops of the 1930s. Those organizations had to explain what electricity could change in someone’s everyday life. For a room connecting rural communities today, that history gave us a way to talk about the value of their own work.
At Meet Magento, I used Polaroid and Sephora to ask what should guide the technology a business adopts. For the people building the storefront, checkout, and emails, we start with the story the customer needs to hear.
At Intact, I told the story of one of their own team members handing out hand warmers at a freezing hockey game. It gave us a way to talk about how everyday decisions carry the company’s values, and how people explain the brands they trust to someone else.
Presented to teams at Intact Insurance, RBC, US Bank, and TurboTax
A brand historian who has been on the other side of the camera.
As a featured brand expert across three seasons of HISTORY Channel’s The Mega Brands That Built America, I get to tell these stories on screen as well as on stage. In media rooms, I use brand history to explore what makes a story worth remembering and sharing.
