Amplify Speakers
Keynote Speakers for Board Retreats & Executive Offsites
A board retreat or executive offsite is a fundamentally different room from a company-wide keynote, and it needs to be booked differently. Ten to thirty people, high seniority, low tolerance for a generic motivational arc, and usually a specific strategic question underneath the surface agenda.
The right speaker here is judged on substance within the first few minutes, not stagecraft. We match these events to speakers with genuine executive-level credibility rather than a general keynote roster.
What Kind of Offsite Is This?
Strategic Planning & Growth Retreats
Leadership teams working through the next one to three years, often wanting an outside perspective on sequencing and scale rather than a motivational session.
Board Governance & Oversight Sessions
Board-specific programming focused on governance, risk, and organizational oversight, a genuinely different audience from an executive team offsite.
Post-Transaction or Post-Restructuring Offsites
Leadership teams regrouping after an acquisition, merger, or major reorganization, where trust and direction matter more than energy.
Founder & Family Business Leadership Retreats
Owner-operators and family enterprises working through growth, succession, or the transition from founder-led to professionally managed.
What This Room Actually Needs
Fewer people, higher stakes, and the real question underneath most executive offsites is sequencing rather than direction. Leadership teams usually already know what needs to change; what they need help with is what to do first and how to bring the rest of the organization along.
The briefing question that matters most
What has already been decided, and what is genuinely still open? A speaker briefed honestly on both will be useful in the room. One briefed on the polished version of the strategy will not, and a room this senior will notice within minutes.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do you have speakers specifically for board and executive audiences?Yes, in the sense that several of our leadership and strategy speakers have genuinely operated at that level themselves. We'll match based on the specific strategic question your offsite is working through.
How is this different from a standard leadership keynote?Smaller room, higher seniority, and far less tolerance for a generic motivational arc. The speaker is judged on substance within the first few minutes.
What do keynote speakers cost for board retreats and offsites?Standard market rates apply, typically $15,000 to $35,000 for established professionals and $35,000 or more for high-profile names. Executive audiences typically warrant the higher end of the market.
How far in advance should we book?Ninety days or more, though many executive offsites are scheduled with less lead time and can still be accommodated.
BROWSE MORE
Leadership | Innovation & Entrepreneurship | Futurist | All Topics | Full Roster
SPEAKERS WHO WORK WELL IN BOARD AND EXECUTIVE OFFSITE ROOMS
Each of these speakers already appears on the Amplify categories linked above. Follow any name for the full bio, topics, and video.
Jaime Taets
Award-Winning Leadership & Culture Keynote Speaker · Minneapolis, MN
Jaime, the Founder and CEO of Keystone Group International, is a driving force in leadership development, organizational strategy, and change management.
Sean Fisher
CEO and Owner of The Fisher Mediation Group · Detroit, MI
When communication breakdowns, workplace tension, or cultural friction threaten your organization’s momentum, you need more than a traditional presentation—you need a keynote speaker who can shift mindsets, inspire action, and deliver lasting impact.
Simon Luthi
Former Fortune 100 Chief Strategy Officer (JPMorgan Chase & American Express) · Phoenix, AZ
Simon Luthi is a former Fortune 100 Chief Strategy Officer at JPMorgan Chase and American Express who is now a bestselling and award-winning author, keynote speaker, and creator of Transmutation Design™.
Jamie Getgood
Australian Leader of the Year Award Recipient · Adelaide, South Australia, California, USA, and Manila, Philippines
Awarded Australian Leader of the Year at the Australian Excellence Awards, Jamie Getgood travels the globe as an international keynote speaker, sharing people focused approaches that have transformed the many organizations he has worked in.
Jay Kiew
#1 Best-Selling Author of Change Fluency · Vancouver, BC
Jay Kiew is an innovation strategist and the world’s leading expert on Change Fluency, with more than 15 years of transformation experience.
Tim Arnold
Leadership Keynote Speaker · Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tim Arnold has spent over two decades helping leaders navigate complexity, build effective teams, and drive results within organizations such as the United Nations, World Vision, UPS, Allstate Insurance, and Stanford Medicine.
Jay Abbasi
TEDx Speaker · Lyndhurst, NJ
Jay Abbasi is a global keynote speaker, TEDx speaker, coach, and former Tesla leader who helps professionals thrive under pressure without burning out.
Howard C. Fero, PhD
Known as The Leadership Doc · Trumbull, CT
Dr. Howard Fero, known as The Leadership Doc, is an award-winning author, dynamic keynote speaker, professor, consultant, and executive coach who helps people in every field unlock their leadership potential and elevate their impact.
Robert Mack
Former Big Five Management Consultant & Positive Psychology Expert · Miami Beach, FL
Robert Mack is a former Big Five management consultant with an MBA and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. He led a 90-minute leadership session on reinvention and sustainable performance for Google's CAM Summit.
Erica Dhawan
Teamwork, Collaboration & Innovation Authority · Tampa, FL
Erica Dhawan, named the "Oprah of Management Thinkers" by Thinkers50, gives executive teams a Decision Filter for what to automate, augment or keep human in the age of AI. Mike Fucci, Chairman Emeritus of Deloitte, said "Our leaders were very engaged and had immediate practical takeaways."
Ramy Nassar
Futurist & Former Head of Innovation at Mattel · Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario
Ramy Nassar is a futurist and author of the forthcoming book The World After AI who still builds enterprise AI agents hands-on. His keynote "The Future-Proof Leader: Strategic Foresight in an Age of Disruption" gives boards and executive teams a foresight lens for long-range decisions, drawn from work with more than 250 organizations including Apple, Disney, TD Bank and the Government of Canada.
Thomas Thorndike
Former U.S. Treasury Special Agent & Union Carbide Executive · Milford, CT
Thomas Thorndike is a former U.S. Treasury Special Agent who later served as Union Carbide's Director of Africa and Middle East Operations across seven countries, reporting to the Chairman. His keynote "Leadership Under Institutional Betrayal" draws on a 35+ year career and five years in federal prison on charges he maintains were fabricated.
Cathy Christen
Culture Architect & Executive Leadership Strategist · Two-Time Bestselling Author
Cathy Christen is the Founder and CEO of Elevated You and creator of The SCALE Framework™. Her keynote "The Cost of Almost Aligned" is built for leadership teams that are talented and working hard but still not executing together, and it gives founder-led companies a path to growth that does not depend on any one leader.
Strategy retreat, board session, or post-transaction offsite?
Tell us what's already decided and what's still open. That shapes the brief more than the agenda does.