If you dream of inspiring cult-like brand loyalty—the kind that involves mile-long queues and even permanent tattoos—Johnny Cupcakes is for you. The founder of the world-renowned T-shirt brand Johnny Cupcakes, Johnny is known for helping other people create blueprints for building brand loyalty, creating memorable experiences, and inspiring innovation.

Celebrating 23 years as an independent clothing retailer who tricks hangry people, Johnny Cupcakes is a Boston-based, bakery themed T-shirt brand with a frosting scented shop.  Enter his Fakery through a Willy Wonka-like giant secret oven, find T-shirts on display in refrigerators, and your lunch-boxed apparel order comes out of a smoking oven!  While people won't find real food here, 100% of customers leave with an experience and a story to share.

With global store openings, thousands of customers with his logo tattooed on themselves, people who camp out for his products, and high-profile collaborations and brand activations with giants such as The Simpsons, Sesame Street, Nutter Butter, and Nickelodeon — Johnny was named America’s #1 Young Entrepreneur by Business Week, Top Innovator in Retail by The Boston Globe, and featured in INC magazine, FORBES, NPR, MTV, and as a case study in several branding and business books.  Johnny Cupcakes is also a traveling keynote speaker who helps others achieve big ideas by highlighting the importance of surprise and delight.

With decades of experience in the criminal justice system as both an undercover cop and a federal prosecuting attorney, Pamela Barnum shares real-world techniques and strategies to negotiate, influence, and build trust through intentional communication and nonverbal cues.

Barnum spent more than a decade in drug enforcement doing deep undercover work. Her success was dependant on establishing trust with some of the most dangerous people imaginable. This was followed up by a career as a federal prosecuting attorney, where she spent countless hours in the courtroom, perfecting her proficiency as a trust strategist and communications expert.

Having studied corporate negotiations in graduate school, Barnum now shares her expertise with others, teaching them how to improve their communication skills to increase trust inside corporations, associations, and law enforcement agencies. She blends actionable strategies with memorable stories, sharing her experience, research, and expertise with humour, candour, and energy.

Barnum is often a featured expert and contributor in print media and radio and television news programs in Canada and the United States. She has also delivered two TEDx talks, which garnered praise and interest from around the world, and has spoken to audiences ranging from 50 to 12,000 and on countless virtual stages.
 

Manley Feinberg is an award winning international keynote speaker and author.  In 1995 he started Vertical Lessons.  He works with organizations who want to stretch their comfort zones, and lead with impact.

Through gripping keynotes and Vertical Experiences, Manley helps individuals and teams build breakthrough mindsets to step up and reach their next summit.

In fact, he wrote a book titled, Reaching Your Next Summit!  9 Vertical Lessons for Leading with  Impact.

During Manley's eleven years with Build-A-Bear Workshop, his leadership direction helped take the revolutionary retail concept from 40 stores to over 400 worldwide, realizing revenue growth from 55 million to over 474 million, and a successful IPO on the NYSE.  He built an award winning reputation for implementing business solutions and support that produced measurable results every day. Manley's leadership influence contributed to a workplace culture that landed Build-A-Bear on the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® List four years in a row.

Using stories from his personal experiences, Manley weaves together lessons he has learned from the vertical and business worlds and creates actionable lessons which help inspire others to step up and reach their next summit. As a result of his work, people have more focus, more commitment and more momentum.

On a personal note, he likes to sleep on the side of mountains.
More shocking is that his wife has been putting up with that for more than two decades, and his two teens still kiss him on the cheek in front of their friends.
 

David Frum is a writer at The Atlantic and the author of the 2018 New York Times bestseller, TRUMPOCRACY: The Corruption of the American Republic, his ninth book. In 2001-2002, he served as special assistant and speechwriter to President George W. Bush during and after the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

Frum is a recognized intellectual leader of the American conservative movement. His first book, DEAD RIGHT, was praised by William F. Buckley in 1994 as "the most refreshing ideological experience in a generation" and by Frank Rich in the New York Times as "the smartest book written from the inside about the American conservative moment." His memoir of his service in the Bush White House, THE RIGHT MAN, was a New York Times bestseller in 2003.

Frum has served as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, as a trustee of the Republican Jewish Coalition, and as chairman of the board of trustees of Policy Exchange, the leading center-right think tank in the United Kingdom. A native of Canada, he was a driving force in the "Winds of Change" movement that reunited that country's splintered Conservative party in the early 2000s. In 2009-2012, Frum created and edited the FrumForum group website devoted to the modernization of the Republican party. More than a dozen young writers who started their careers on Frum's site have gone on to success in politics and journalism.

Frum was one of the first and foremost conservative Republicans to sound the alarm about the challenge posed by the Trump presidency to US global leadership, open international trade, and democratic institutions. His prophetic 2017 cover story in the Atlantic, "How to Build an Autocracy," has been one of the most cited of the Trump years. 

Frum appears frequently on CNN, MSNBC, and the Australian, British, and Canadian Broadcasting Corporations. A profile in Esquire in December 2017 described Frum as "first among equals" in the conservative anti-Trump movement.

Frum earned a BA and MA in history at Yale, then a JD at Harvard, where he served as president of the Harvard chapter of the Federalist society. He taught history Yale in 1986-87.  Frum is now at work on his tenth book, about how to renew American world leadership after Trump. 

Frum is married to Danielle Crittenden Frum, a journalist, author, and podcaster. They have three children and live in Washington DC and Wellington, Ontario. 

An educational behaviorist (one of very few in the world) and a globally recognized speaker and scholar, Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe is also your friendly neighborhood scientist who makes life make sense! With a treasure trove of awards and a worldwide following, she's on a mission to empower audiences everywhere with practical strategies for fostering resiliency and making stress your ally, not your enemy.

Hanley-Dafoe embodies her teachings by seamlessly blending real-world realities, rigorous research, and profound wisdom with her own personal journey. A mother of three teenagers, a high school dropout turned respected professor, author, entrepreneur and survivor of a life-altering accident, her life story exemplifies her unwavering dedication of spreading resilience. Hanley-Dafoe proves that it is not just a theory, but a transformative skill set.

Known for her engaging delivery, Hanley-Dafoe crafts experiences that integrate scientific research with inspirational narratives into actionable insights across diverse platforms. Her approachability and relatability shine through, inspiring individuals and organizations to face challenges with confidence. 

Jacob Shapiro is a speaker, consultant, author, and researcher covering global politics and affairs, economics, markets, technology, history, and culture. He speaks to audiences of all sizes around the world, helps global multinationals make strategic decisions about political risks and opportunities, and works directly with investors to grow and protect their assets in today's volatile global environment. He is a partner and the director of geopolitical analysis at Cognitive Investments, a registered investment adviser offering wealth management services to individuals, family offices, and institutional investors. Jacob hosts the podcast series "Cognitive Dissidents," which features interviews with subject matter experts in geopolitics, technology, markets, agriculture, economics, and other fields. He lives in New Orleans with his wife and daughter. 

Mr. Tal is responsible for analyzing economic developments and their implications for North American fixed income, equity, foreign exchange and commodities markets. He also acts in an advisory capacity to bank officers on issues related to wealth management, household/corporate credit and risk.

Well-known for his ground-breaking published research on topics such as labour market dynamics, real estate, credit markets, international trade and business economic conditions, Mr. Tal not only contributes to the conversation, but frequently sets the agenda. He has over 20 years' experience in the private sector advising clients, industry leaders, corporate boards, trade associations, and governments on economic and financial issues.

National and global media regularly seek him out for his insight and analysis on economic issues that impact financial markets, consumers, corporations and public policy. He is also a frequent lecturer in the economics programs of various Canadian universities.

Mr. Tal is a member of the Economic Committee of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, The Economic Development Committee of the Toronto Board of Trade. He is also a member of the board of Governors of Junior Achievement of Central Ontario, and a board member of the Toronto Financial Alliance.

He’s called “Electric Bill” for a reason. Bill Williams is on a mission to shock us out of our static daily routines. He is known for his unique brand of electrified methodologies for the workplace, now available to you in electric Life.

Bill’s honest, succinct, and enthusiastic approach to leadership has inspired and reshaped countless national organizations over the span of thirty years. Whether coaching an individual over Zoom, or speaking to rooms of more than a thousand delegates, Bill’s impact is equally felt. His power comes from hearing “No” and reformulating it as “Not Yet.”

Bill is the principal and president of the boutique leadership development firm, The B4 Group Inc, and the host and brand ambassador for  The Art of Leadership Signature Summit / The Art of Leadership Women . Bill caters his solution-based strategies to individuals and corporations in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors.