Malala Yousafzai | Nobel Laureate; Founder, The Malala Fund
Courageous at All Costs
From the age of 10, Malala Yousafzai has campaigned for the rights of girls to receive an education. In October 2012, the then 15-year-old Malala was shot by the Taliban while travelling home from school on the bus with her friends. Since the attack, she has become internationally known for her courage in refusing to be silenced and continuing her fight for the right of everyone to receive an education.
Malala’s bravery and unwavering dedication to her cause has seen her honored throughout the world, including being named as one of ‘The 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2013 by Time magazine. She is also the winner of Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. Following the outpouring of support that Malala received throughout her ordeal, she set up an international fund – the Malala Fund – which is dedicated to help promote education for girls throughout the world.
Ed Catmull | President of Pixar & Disney Animation Studios
Creativity + Bravery = Innovation
Ed Catmull is co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and president of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation. For nearly twenty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing fourteen consecutive #1 box office hits, which have amassed $7 billion in combined worldwide ticket sales and garnered thirty Academy Awards. His book Creativity, Inc. is a distillation of the ideas and management principles Ed has used to develop a creative culture. A book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, it also grants readers an all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation— into the meetings, postmortems, and “Braintrust” sessions where some of the most successful films in history are made. Catmull has been honored with five Academy Awards, including the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, a special Oscar for lifetime achievement in the field of computer graphics.
Innovation is a cornerstone of the behavior of bravery. Every once in a while the world is impacted by a unique leader who has the ability to see new possibilities in their industry, and lead their team towards innovation and excellence touches the world. Ed Catmull defines what it means to bravely innovate inside of an established industry. As the co-founder of Pixar, he has revolutionized Hollywood by producing fourteen #1 movies, all from a genre that didn’t exist before Catmull created it.
Rudy Giuliani | 107th Mayor of New York City (1993-2001)
Brave Leadership
Rudolph W. Giuliani is the former Mayor of New York City. After joining the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Rudy Giuliani rose quickly through the ranks, becoming the Chief of the Narcotics Unit at age 29. After the inauguration of Ronald Reagan in 1981, Giuliani was named Associate Attorney General, the third highest position in the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1983, President Reagan appointed Rudy Giuliani as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Giuliani spearheaded successful efforts against organized crime, white-collar criminals, drug dealers and corrupt elected officials. Few U.S. Attorneys in history can match his record of 4,152 convictions with only 25 reversals. In 1993, Rudy Giuliani was elected Mayor of the City of New York. He focused on reducing crime, reforming welfare, and improving the quality of life and was re-elected in 1997.Under Mayor Giuliani’s leadership, overall crime was cut by 56%, murder was cut by 66%, and New York City—once considered the crime capital of the country—became the safest large city in America according to the FBI. Mayor Giuliani also implemented the largest and most successful welfare-towork initiative in the country, turning welfare offices into Job Centers and reduced welfare rolls by 640,000—nearly 60%.
On September 11, 2001, America suffered the worst attack in its history when terrorists crashed planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Mayor Giuliani was widely lauded for his steady hand during challenging times. He was named “Person of the Year” by Time magazine, knighted by the Queen of England, dubbed “Rudy the Rock” by French President Jacques Chirac, and former first lady Nancy Reagan presented him with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Freedom Award. Rudy Giuliani is an American hero. His views on leadership have helped shape our country, and have the capacity to transform the leadership of our organizations and businesses as well.
Andy Stanley | Leadership Author and Communicator
The Brave Ones
Andy Stanley is a best-selling author and communicator and the founder of North Point Ministries (NPM). Each Sunday, more than 36,000 people attend NPM’s six Atlanta-area campuses. In addition, NPM has 30 partners located throughout the world with a combined weekly attendance of more than 24,000. Every month, over two million of Andy’s messages are viewed or downloaded from North Point websites. More than 36 million episodes of the Your Move with Andy Stanley television program have been viewed on NBC in the two years since the initial airing and Andy has written over 20 books.
Andy Stanley has established himself as a person of clarity on matters of leadership. As an organization leader, author, and communicator, he is renowned for his ability to deliver practical leadership principles centered on any theme.
Bill McDermott | CEO of SAP AG
Bold Dreams, Big Ideas
In May 2014 Bill McDermott became SAP’s first non-European, CEO. As a member of the SAP Executive Board and Global Managing Board, McDermott focuses on developing and executing SAP’s strategy. McDermott was first named to the SAP Executive Board in 2008 to manage global field operations. During this time, he has been instrumental in rearchitecting the company’s go-to-market strategy, closely aligning the field organizations with the product development teams. McDermott’s journey is chronicled in his first book, Winners Dream, that was just released October 2014.
Pulling from his journey as the owner of a small deli in Long Island to the CEO of the world largest business software company, Bill McDermott knows what it means to have an audacious dream, and chase a big idea. In his short time as the chief leader at SAP, his exciting leadership posture has reinvigorated a workforce of more than 66,000 employees.
Aja Brown | Mayor, City of Compton
Positive Change Requires Extreme Boldness
On June 4, 2013, Aja Brown made history as the City of Compton’s youngest elected Mayor at the age of 31. With over 10 years of experience in community and economic development, Mayor Aja Brown has proven to be a strategic visionary concentrated on improving outcomes through policy reform, innovation and strategic partnerships, proudly serving the citizens of Compton. Since induction, Mayor Brown has made major strides in improving the quality of life for Compton residents and stakeholders alike. Mayor Brown has launched several community initiatives including the “Compton Community Policing Task Force,” a network of law enforcement agencies and community activist that implement gang intervention and prevention strategies, tackling complex social issues such as human trafficking head on.
Mayor Brown has received the prestigious University of Southern California 2014 Young Alumni Merit Award, participated as the 2013 Pat Brown Institute Distinguished Lecturer, is the recipient of the National Action Network Martin Luther King Award and is a strong advocate for youth, women’s rights and equality. Mayor Aja Brown’s bold brand of leadership is turning the tide in one of America’s most troubled cities.
CMDR Rorke Denver | Navy SEAL Commander & Author
Bravery Under Fire
Commander Rorke T. Denver has run every phase of training for the U.S. Navy SEALs and led special-forces missions in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and other international hot spots. He starred in the hit film Act of Valor, which is based on true SEAL adventures. His NY Times Bestseller, Damn Few: Making the Modern SEAL Warrior, takes you inside his personal story and the fascinating, demanding SEAL training program he oversaw.
Some people are born to lead. Rorke Denver is one of those people. Throughout his 13-year career as a platoon commander and training leader with the Navy SEALS, he constantly found himself leading in the face of danger. Denver led more than 190 combat missions and never lost a member of his team. His amazing leadership and bravery led to him running all phases of U.S. Navy SEAL training. Rorke communicates about leadership with unparalleled passion and intensity, rooted in his desire to see everyone lead to the best of their ability.
Seth Godin | Innovative Thinker & Best-Selling Author
Be Bold, Be Different, Get Noticed
Seth Godin is the author of 17 books that have been best-sellers around the world and have been translated into more than 35 languages. In addition to his writing and speaking, Seth Godin was founder of Squidoo.com, a leading site recently sold to HubPages. His blog is one of the most popular in the world. Before his work as a writer and blogger, Godin was Vice President of Direct Marketing at Yahoo!, a job he got after selling them his pioneering 1990s online startup, Yoyodyne. In 2013, Godin was inducted into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame, one of three chosen for this honor.
Any business idea is only as good as the subsequent marketing idea that helps it get noticed. Seth Godin has developed into one of the foremost authorities on ideas of marketing, innovation, and creativity. He’s sold millions of books, 17 of which have been bestsellers around the world. He’s launched multiple companies, and has turned the publishing industry on its head by launching his latest book series via Kickstarter. Godin knows that the best leadership, and the best marketing ideas come from ordinary people who put in the work required to discover the greatness inside of them.
Bill & Giuliana Rancic | Award-Winning Personalities & Co-Hosts of Leadercast
Bill and Giuliana Rancic are one of America’s most beloved couples. They are watched by millions each week on E! on their hit reality show, Giuliana & Bill, which recently debuted its seventh season- the highest rated season to date. Most recently they co-authored the best-seller, I Do… Now What, where the duo shares secrets to everlasting love and a successful marriage. In 2012, they became successful restauranteurs, after joining forces with Lettuce Entertain You, Enterprises (LEYE) to launch the incredibly popular RPM Italian and RPM Steak in Chicago. The couple are incredibly philanthropic, involved in such charities as Operation Smile, Mercy Home for boys and girls in Chicago, among many others. In March 2013, Giuliana launched an initiative she created called Fab-U-Wish, granting fabulousthemed wishes to women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Bill travels regularly on goodwill missions to build homes in Haiti. In addition to their work together, Giuliana and Bill are both successful hosts in their own right. Giuliana is an entertainment journalist, fashion and beauty expert and television personality with 3.5 million Twitter followers. She anchors E! News, hosts the interview series “Beyond Candid with Giuliana,” and has been on the red carpet for every mega-event in the entertainment industry (Oscars, Grammy Awards, Golden Globes). Bill hosts the nationally-syndicated program “America Now” in partnership with ITV and Raycom Media. He is most recently hosted Kitchen Casino on Food Network. He makes regular appearances on numerous daytime broadcasts.
