The Ideas Leaders Are Actually Wrestling With. Delivered Without the Hype.
The best speaking engagements don't leave audiences inspired and unchanged. They leave them thinking differently about a problem they already knew they had.
I speak to senior leaders, executive teams, and professional communities on the forces reshaping how organizations compete, how leaders develop, and how AI is quietly reordering who creates value and how. My background spans twenty years in the C-suite, doctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania, a decade on the faculty at Georgetown, and a published body of work at the intersection of AI strategy, workforce transformation, and emotionally intelligent leadership.
I bring that depth to keynotes, executive sessions, panels, and workshops — not as theory, but as practitioner insight grounded in real organizational experience. The goal in every engagement is the same: give the audience something they can think with long after they leave the room.
SIGNATURE TOPICS
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Based on Forging Emotionally Intelligent Leaders in the Age of AI — why the organizations winning with AI are defined not by the tools they deploy but by the leaders steering them. The human capabilities that become more valuable as AI scales, not less, and how to develop them deliberately.
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The workforce upskilling conversation is missing the point. This session reframes what AI readiness actually requires — and why organizations investing only in technical fluency are building on a foundation that won't hold.
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Why the limiting factor in every major transformation is almost never the technology, and what leaders can do differently before, during, and after deployment to make change actually stick.
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Why the limiting factor in every major transformation is almost never the technology, and what leaders can do differently before, during, and after deployment to make change actually stick.
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The Web of Minds: Where AI Orchestration Is Going — and What Leaders Need to Decide Now
Most board conversations about AI are still centered on tools, vendors, and adoption rates. That is the wrong conversation — and by the time most organizations realize it, the window to build strategic position will have narrowed considerably.
This session is a grounded, practitioner-led look at where AI systems are actually heading: from today's workflow automation through autonomous agent coordination, and toward something more consequential — AI systems that don't just execute tasks but form coalitions, negotiate resources, and operate across organizational boundaries without human instruction at every step.
The goal is not to alarm. It is to orient. C-suite leaders and boards who understand this trajectory can make smarter infrastructure decisions today, ask better questions of their technology teams, and build the governance frameworks that will determine whether their organization captures the advantage or scrambles to catch up.
Attendees leave with a clear mental model of the three phases of AI orchestration, a practical framework for evaluating their organization's current position, and a set of decisions that belong at the leadership level — not the IT level — right now.
WHO I SPEAK TO
C-suite executive teams and corporate leadership offsites seeking a practitioner's perspective on AI strategy, transformation, and the leadership capabilities required to navigate both.
Boards of directors preparing for governance conversations about AI risk, opportunity, and organizational readiness.
Industry conferences and association events where senior leaders need rigorous insight, not vendor-sponsored talking points.
Executive education cohorts and global leadership development programs where the audience demands research-grounded thinking they can apply immediately.
Higher education institutions and academic summits at the intersection of technology, workforce, and the future of learning.
Government agencies and nonprofit leadership communities navigating transformation with constrained resources and high public accountability.
PAST AUDIENCES & PARTNERS INCLUDE
Featured Platform: Forces of Change Podcast
Where ideas collide—and the future takes shape.
In addition to keynote stages and executive briefings, I host Forces of Change—a podcast that decodes disruption at the intersection of technology, policy, and purpose. Each episode features conversations with leading academics, corporate executives, government officials, and social changemakers tackling the most urgent questions of our time.
READY TO BOOK?
Interested in booking Dr. Mikah Sellers for a keynote, panel, executive session, or custom speaking engagement?
Let’s talk about how to make it meaningful for your audience.