MONDAY
OPENING GENERAL SESSION
Monday, 9:00 AM
SARAH WELLS
Sarah Wells missed the Olympics by half a second. Literally the time it takes to clap twice (go ahead, try it). A spectacular face-plant taught her what many of us desperately need to understand: excellence isn't about avoiding failure or collecting trophies, it's about who you become while chasing ambitious things.
Don't worry, she DID make the Olympics too (so she's not just here teaching you how to fail spectacularly), but she knows the truth: both the triumph AND the face-plant are just data points in your evolution. In the end, excellence isn’t about medals or avoiding failure. It’s about earning the right to lose because you dared to chase something ambitious!
EXCELLENCE ISN’T JUST WHO SHE IS. IT’S WHAT SHE HELPS UNLOCK IN YOU.
Sarah doesn’t just talk about overcoming adversity — she hurdled it on the world’s biggest stage. She even raced across deserts, mountains, and international airports on The Amazing Race — proving once again that grit, adaptability, and a little bit of laughter go a long way. Her mission? To prove that excellence is not exclusive — it’s contagious.
Sarah’s philosophy centers on the idea that excellence isn’t about perfection—it’s about breaking free from limiting beliefs and constantly striving to outperform who you were yesterday. She believes that when you dare to break the blueprint, chase crazy ideas, and focus on doing the small things exceptionally well, excellence becomes contagious, elevating not just your life but those around you.
TUESDAY
GENERAL SESSION
Tuesday, 9:00 AM
KEYNOTE Q&A
Tuesday, 10:00 AM
MICHAEL MASLANSKY
Michael Maslansky advises Fortune 500 corporations, industry associations, major litigation practices, and non-profit organizations on Language Strategy and messaging issues. How CEOs, companies, and entire industries communicate—whether during crises, in advertising and public relations campaigns, or with investors, Congress or the American people—often means the difference between success and failure. Clients from PepsiCo to eBay to Microsoft to Starbucks turn to Michael to understand the public mood, challenge conventional wisdom and transform not just what they say to key audiences—but how they say it.
Michael shares with clients his in-depth understanding of the communication challenges that companies and industries face today and offers proven tools for building trust and credibility with consumers, regulators and the general public. Over the years, he has helped Fortune 500 companies position and differentiate their brands and products during good times, and protect their reputations during crisis.
His strategic analysis builds on insights from his unique combination of expertise: battle-tested communications experience combined with a deep understanding of public opinion. He has conducted hundreds of research projects in over 20 countries using his firm’s trademarked polling and focus group methodology, lauded by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, 60 Minutes, Nightline and PBS’s Frontline, among others.
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