With more than 20 years of industrial engineering and plant management experience at European, Chinese and US-owned companies in a variety of industries, he’s seen just about everything the business world can throw at you. From frenetic growth and high volume, to cutting out fat, cutting into muscle and cutting your own throat.

Todd is a long-time lean operations practitioner and six sigma black belt. He’s started up a billion-dollar semiconductor fab, improved factory performance so it just hums along, integrated operations after mergers and acquisitions and outsourced production overseas laying off hundreds of employees and closing plants.

In 2000, Todd started the Maverick Institute to pioneer the application of lean production principles to training and development. Throughout his career, Todd’s seen that effective knowledge transfer and sharing of expertise are critical elements to success. Today, the blistering pace of change, the globalization of business and the explosion of learning technologies requires organizations adopt a new learning framework.

Rich Horwath is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today best selling author on strategy. As the CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute, he leads executive teams through the strategy process and has helped more than 50,000 managers around the world develop their strategic thinking skills. As a former chief strategy officer and professor of strategy, he brings both real-world experience and practical expertise to help groups build their strategy skills. Rich's work has been profiled on CNBC, Investor's Business Daily, CBS, NBC and FOX TV.

Deborah Mackin is a successful international consultant, trainer, author and presenter whose work has involved travel throughout the United States and abroad. When asked what distinguishes Deborah from other professionals in the field, clients cite, again and again, her keen insight and depth of experience as the key factors that make the difference. Our clients repeatedly report how much they benefit from her flexibility. She is able to move from one area of an organizations' concern to another — providing "just-in-time" training or consulting as the need arises.

Maya Townsend, MSOD, founder and lead consultant of Partnering Resources, specializes in helping leaders meet complex change and collaboration challenges. The practice is based on understanding how to leverage networks: the complex, interrelated, and often messy webs of relationships that drive all organizational activity.  

Kevin Carroll is the founder of Kevin Carroll Katalyst/LLC and the author of three highly successful books, Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, What's Your Red Rubber Ball?! and The Red Rubber Ball at Work, published by ESPN, Disney Press and McGraw-Hill. As an author, speaker and agent for social change (a.k.a. the Katalyst), it is Carroll's "job" to inspire businesses, organizations and individuals—from CEOs and employees of Fortune 500 companies to schoolchildren—to embrace their spirit of play and creativity to maximize their human potential and sustain more meaningful business and personal growth. With his consulting endeavors, Carroll has helped turn creative ideas into reality for organizations such as the National Hockey League, ESPN, Nike, Starbucks (his words appeared on 17 million Grande cups), The National Basketball Association, Walt Disney Company, Mattel, Hasbro, Procter & Gamble, Discovery Channel, Capital One and many others. Raised by his grandparents in Philadelphia, Carroll spent endless hours at the neighborhood playground where he found his calling: a red rubber ball. His subsequent pursuit of play and his "red rubber ball" took him overseas with the Air Force, where he served as a language interpreter and translator, gaining fluency in Croatian, Czech, Serbian and German. After serving in the Air Force for ten years and earning his college degree, Carroll became an athletic trainer at the high school and collegiate levels in Philadelphia. His expertise in sport performance recognized by the 76ers organization and led to his job as the head athletic trainer for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1995. While at the 76ers, Nike tapped Carroll to bring his unique experiences to the sneaker giant in 1997. Although no job "officially" existed at the time, Carroll was directed to create a position at the company that would add value to the overall mission of the brand. Carroll accepted the challenge and stayed for seven years as "Katalyst" (the 'K' is for Kevin)—a creative change agent. At Nike he was instrumental in helping the company develop a deeper understanding of athletic product performance, team dynamics and interpersonal communication. Carroll left Nike in 2004 to create his own company, Kevin Carroll Katalyst/LLC, committed to elevating the power of sport and play around the world. Carroll has dedicated his life to advancing sports and play as a vehicle for social change. He partners with non-governmental organizations and businesses around the world that share his vision and goals. He was honored to address the United Nations as part of the UN Year of Sports for Development and Peace in 2005 and to serve as the host of the Beyond Sport Summit & Awards that featured Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 2009. Carroll holds a MS in Health Education from St. Joseph's University, a BA in Speech Communication with a minor in Physical Education from Angelo State University and an Associates Degree in Interpreting and Translating from the Community College of the Air Force. Carroll is a frequent visiting professor across the United States.

Jane McGonigal is a visionary game designer and futurist, and she is harnessing the power of the Internet games in new ways to help solve some of the biggest challenges facing our world today and tomorrow.

John Jacobs is the Chief Creative Optimist of The Life is good Company. A $100 million privately held business based in Boston, MA, Life is good® spreads positive vibes with its colorful collection of apparel and accessories. Jake, Life is good’s iconic hero with the contagious smile, teaches men, women and children that optimism is fun, healthy, and empowering. John created his first poorly spelled and crudely drawn book at the age of five. He’s been writing and drawing ever since, graduating from the University of Massachusetts in 1990 with dual degrees in English and Art. He immediately began designing and selling tee shirts after college and worked as a substitute teacher to supplement his income during Life is good’s infancy. In 1994, with a combined sum of just $78 in the bank, John and his brother Bert officially launched Life is good. Today, Life is good products are sold by over 5,000 retailers nationwide, and in 32 countries worldwide. John, Bert, and The Life is good Company are living proof that “Optimism can take you anywhere.” Believing that consumers are already overwhelmed by too much “noise” in the marketplace, Life is good has never spent a penny to advertise its products. 100% of the company’s growth is attributable to consumer word-of-mouth. In 2006, at the Life is good Pumpkin Festival on Boston Common, Life is good broke the Guinness World Record for the most carved, lit pumpkins in one place at one time. Because Life is good considers children its ultimate source for inspiration, the company is totally committed to helping kids who face unfair challenges. 100% of all funds raised from Life is good Festivals as well as 100% of profits from a growing number of Life is good products benefit the Life is good Kids Foundation. Bert and John are the youngest of six siblings from Needham, MA. They credit their mother with teaching them to face the bumps in the road with a smile. The Jacobs brothers see simplicity, humility and a sense of humor as the three keys to Life is good’s continued success. When John is not evolving the brand for future seasons, he enjoys any game under the sun, film, music, and diving into the water to catch things. He lives in his favorite sports town, Boston, with his wife Jessica and their recently christened King of the Castle, Oskar.