Edward Sullivan Profile Photo

Edward Sullivan

Keynote Speaker

Bestselling Author, Leading with Heart; Elite Executive Coach; Extreme Athlete

Edward Sullivan shares compelling stories from his 15-year career coaching top CEOs and his many adventures around the world to help teams come together, overcome uncertainty, and feel more connected to themselves, their work, and each other.

Request Availability

Edward Sullivan'S SPEAKING FEE $25K - $40K

Edward Sullivan Profile Photo

Edward Sullivan is a bestselling author, elite executive coach, and extreme athlete who is on a mission to help people feel more connected to their work and each other, because when they do, they are not just better leaders and employees, but also better parents, partners, and members of society.

In his Wall Street Journal bestselling book Leading with Heart, Edward and coauthor John Baird provide a timely and fresh perspective that helps leaders get more results out of their teams by having more emotionally authentic conversations with them, in contrast with antiquated “fear-based” leadership styles of the past.

Building upon a 15-year career coaching and advising top CEOs and political figures around the world and a lifetime of adventures as a surfer and snowboarder, Edward encourages his audiences to let down their guards, take the risk to really connect with each other, and rally around their shared purpose. 

If your team is afraid to tell you when they smell smoke, you’ll always be putting out fires.

Edward Sullivan

    While the world is changing faster than ever before and people have never felt more isolated and disconnected from each other, Edward presents his audiences with the simple philosophy that our work, and our entire lives for that matter, are better when we have rich, authentic relationships with each other. And those authentic relationships begin with real conversations. 

    More than giving keynote speeches, Edward calls his talks “keynote workshops.” Through a combination of disarming humor, touching personal stories, memorable frameworks, and powerful questions for the audience, Edward opens up people’s hearts and helps them feel more connected with each other and their shared purpose. His audiences leave his talks feeling inspired and energized to dive into doing great work together.

    Featured Videos

    Edward Sullivan Profile Photo
    Edward Sullivan

    Edward Sullivan on The Crucial Conversations of Leadership

    Edward Sullivan Profile Photo
    Edward Sullivan

    Edward Sullivan on What Would Be Different If We Could Be Ourselves

    Edward Sullivan Profile Photo
    Edward Sullivan

    Edward Sullivan on Leadership in PeeWee League Football

    Edward Sullivan Profile Photo
    Edward Sullivan

    Edward Sullivan on Money Won’t Heal the Great Resignation

    Edward Sullivan’s Speech Topics

    • The Power of Unity in Uncertain Times: How to Come Together Like Never Before

      Today, people are dealing with more uncertainty than at any time in their lives. Sure, Covid was hard, but today uncertainty exists on more fronts than ever before. What will happen with AI? Will regional conflicts spread? What’s happening in the market? Are we prepared for another pandemic? 


      Generally, when people are faced with uncertainty, they either: a) go inward or b) come together. What can leaders do to ensure their teams Choose Unity and Connection in These Uncertain Times? 


      That is precisely the question Edward Sullivan, best-selling author and elite executive coach, addresses in this provocative yet practical presentation. Edward has spent the last 15 years of his career helping leaders at the highest levels of corporate America unify their teams and navigate difficult transformations by building authentic relationships through emotionally honest conversations.


      In this talk, Edward inspires us to redefine our leadership styles and come together to create more connected, compassionate, and creative workplaces. Edward’s insights disrupt the traditional assumptions about leadership, showing that world-class results don’t come from rigid performance management but from fostering authentic, human-centered relationships. 


      Edward’s message resonates with audiences because it connects to the growing concern about isolation in both personal and professional realms, especially post-pandemic. By focusing on the power of connected conversations, he enables leaders to unlock the full potential of their teams, inspiring trust, collaboration, and innovation. This shift is especially crucial now as remote work, AI, and mounting uncertainty in the world conspire to pull us apart. 


      In this session, you will learn: 

      • How to unify your teams by integrating more emotionally authentic conversations into your daily interactions 
      • How to lead with connection and compassion instead corrections and rigidity
      • How fear can erode trust, slow down decision making, and pull your team apart
      • How to create an environment where people feel safe to share their needs and fears 
      • How to foster “flow at scale” and build workplaces where people not only do good work but also feel deeply connected and fulfilled
    • Flow at Scale: How to Make Work as Fun as Surfing and Snowboarding

      In the post-covid era, with people spending 50% of their time working from home, today’s employees feel disconnected from their work and their teams. They miss the excitement of solving hard problems together, being laser focused on a tight deadline, and feeling a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. 


      Using the metaphor of adventure sports, Edward engages his audience in a conversation about how they can achieve a “flow state at scale” across their entire business. Edward teaches leaders how to keep their teams feeling like the world’s best adventure athletes feel: challenged but not overwhelmed, focused but not blinded to the bigger picture, and satisfied but always ready for more. 


      In this session, you will learn: 

      • What surfing big waves and snowboarding deep powder have in common with working on a fun project together
      • How to keep yourself and your teams at the exciting “learning edge” without getting overwhelmed
      • How to celebrate small wins along the way, because “all marathons have mile markers.”
      • How to use setbacks and failures as springboards for learning and building momentum
    • Finding Our Humanity in the Age of AI: How to Do More of What AI Can’t

      With the advent of AI causing the world to change faster than it ever has before, many leaders today are feeling exhausted, frustrated, and confused just trying to keep up. Fear has entered the American workplace as people worry what all these changes will mean for them. 


      But where others see a threat, Edward sees an opportunity. In this powerful and insightful talk peppered with illuminating stories from the most important technological revolutions of the last 150 years, Edward teaches his audience how the people who have made out the best during each period of transformation have done so by doing the one thing machines could never do: being compassionate, connected, creative, and IN THE ROOM. 


      In this timely presentation, you will learn: 

      • Practical frameworks to get better at the basics of human connection and compassion: things AI will never do
      • How to leverage insights from previous technological revolutions to future proof your career and your business
      • How to use in-person meetings more effectively to 10x your collaborations and creativity
    • From Critic to Coach: Growing Our Teams with Powerful Conversations

      Every leader has experienced the bitter truth behind the old adage, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” Few things are more frustrating than feeling like team members aren’t learning or listening.  


      As a coach to many of the world’s top business CEOs, Edward has heard this complaint more times than he can recall, and he always responds to clients with the same question: Are you correcting them or coaching them? Everything we know about how people developed suggests that transformative growth often lives on the other side of simple, but powerful, conversations, and NOT corrections. So why then, do so many of us resort to being critics rather than coaches? Very likely it’s because investing in coaching conversations takes time and most of us don’t even know where to start. 


      In this lively hands-on workshop, Edward provides his audiences simple tools to begin developing their own coaching skills and provides a safe environment for them to practice with each other.


      You will learn: 

      • What coaching is and what it isn’t
      • Why coaching gets better long-term results than being a critic
      • The five best questions to ask when coaching someone through a problem
      • When to “change hats” and offer a breadcrumb of advice to move things along
      • What it feels like to engage in live coaching conversations with colleagues

    What other organizations say about Edward Sullivan

    Edward Sullivan is one of the MOST DYNAMIC and ENGAGING speakers I’ve ever had the privilege of sharing the stage with. Edward gets people off their phones, on their feet, and fully engaged with his message and each other. I’ve never seen so many smiles and hugs at a conference before!

    Defense

    What other organizations say about Edward Sullivan

    My work with Edward was ESSENTIAL to accelerating my growth as a leader. He coached me around my challenges as the CEO of a fast growing company, but with a focus on me as a whole person. Edward helped me learn to “Lead with Heart” as an authentic leader while navigating an incredibly challenging external environment. I am very grateful for our time together!

    Food

    What other organizations say about Edward Sullivan

    Working with Edward Sullivan has been a GAME CHANGER for us. His expert coaching and offsite facilitation have helped us come together as a team to make better decisions and drive transformation across the entire company.

    Insurance

    What other organizations say about Edward Sullivan

    Edward is TRULY IMPRESSIVE. His energy and ability to engage an audience and keep the conversation fun and dynamic in a room with hundreds of leaders was really something else. Attendees walked away with valuable learnings they could implement in both their professional and personal lives. I can’t wait to partner with him again so others can experience his remarkable presence and energy firsthand.

    Financial Services

    REQUEST AVAILABILITY

    Tell us about your event and the speaker you are interested in booking and we will be in touch right away.