Past Speakers
Mark Brunell Former All Pro Quarterback
January 6, 2017
Curt Menefee – FOX NFL SUNDAY CO-HOST
February 17, 2017
Mary T. Mack – Senior Executive VP & Head of Community Banking Wells Fargo & Company
March 10, 2017
Senator Scott Brown
April 7, 2017
Jon Dorenbos – Magician, NFL Player & Domestic Violence Prevention Advocate
May 12, 2017
Scott Rissmiller, MD, Carolinas HealthCare System
September 8, 2017
Rodney Bullard, Vice President of Community Affairs at Chick-fil-A, Inc. and Executive Director of the Chick-fil-A Foundation
October 27, 2017
James Kane – Renowned Loyalty Expert
November 10, 2017
Jeff Saturday – Super Bowl champion and six-time Pro Bowl center
January 15, 2016
William Espey, Branding Visionary, Chipotle Mexican Grill
April 8, 2016
Gary McCord – Golf Celebrity
May 6, 2016
Brad Wilson – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
September 9, 2016
Michael Steele – MSNBC Political Analyst
October 7, 2016
Kris “Tanto” Paronto – Former US Army Ranger
November 10, 2016
Troy Vincent – Former NFL All Pro & Current NFL Executive VP of Football Operations
January 9, 2015
Jim Knight – Culture, Branding and Customer Service Catalyst
February 13, 2015
Jim Morgan – Chairman – Krispy Kreme
March 6, 2015
Woody Durham – “Voice of the Tar Heels”, former play-by-play radio announcer at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
April 2, 2015
Nick Faldo & Ian Baker Finch – CBS Sports Golf Analysts
May 15, 2015
Elizabeth Smart – Abduction survivor and Founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation
September 11, 2015
Jonathan Karl – ABC News’ Chief White House Correspondent
October 9, 2015
Michael Leiter – Former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
November 13, 2015
Herm Edwards – ESPN NFL Analyst
January 10, 2014
Michelle Gay – Event Canceled
February 14, 2014
Martha Raddatz – ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent
March 14, 2014
Chad Knaus – NASCAR Crew Chief
April 9, 2014
Nick Faldo – PGA Tour Television Commentator
May 2, 2014
Michele Gay – Sandy Hook Mom
August 8, 2014
Education Summit
September 12, 2014
Ambassador John D. Negroponte
October 10, 2014
Leif Babin – Former Navy SEAL/Co-founder of Echelon Front
November 14, 2014
Mark Schlereth – ESPN NFL Analyst and Entrepreneur
January 11, 2013
Bob Woodruff – ABC News Worldwide Reporter
February 8, 2013
Ron Rivera – Carolina Panthers NFL Head Coach
March 1, 2013
Jeffrey Ma – Event Canceled!
April 12, 2013
David Feherty – Pro Golfer and PGA Announcer
May 3, 2013
Dr. Derek Raghavan – Internationally-Renowned Cancer Researcher, Medical Oncologist and President of Levine Cancer Institute
September 13, 2013
Kyle Maynard – Motivational Speaker, Author, Entrepreneur and Athlete
October 11, 2013
Peter Bergen – CNN National Security Analyst and Best-Selling Author of Holy War, Inc. and Manhunt
November 7, 2013
Trent Dilfer, Former Super Bowl-Winning Quarterback and ESPN Analyst
January 13, 2012
Wes Moore – Youth Advocate and Author of The Other Wes Moore
February 10, 2012
Gregory Zuckerman Writer for the Wall Street Journal & Author of The Greatest Trade Ever
March 9, 2012
James E. Rogers – Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
April 13, 2012
Jim Nantz, Emmy Award Winning Voice of CBS Sports
May 4, 2012
Chef Jeff Henderson – NY Times Best-Selling Author and America’s Most Inspirational Culinary Star
September 14, 2012
Lisa Ford – Customer Service Expert & Best Selling Author
October 12, 2012
Kirk Lippold – Inspirational Leader & Commander of the USS Cole
November 8, 2012
Merril Hoge, Analyst, ESPNs NFL Tonight, Former NFL Star and Cancer Survivor
January 14, 2011
J. Bradley (Brad) Wilson, President and CEO BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina
February 11, 2011
“Common Ground”, Bob Beckel & Cal Thomas of USA Today’s Common Ground Column
March 11, 2011
Erik Qualman, Author of Socialnomics and Social Media and Technology Expert
April 8, 2011
Wes Moore, Youth Advocate and Author of The Other Wes Moore
May 13, 2011
Jerry Richardson, Owner, Carolina Panthers
September 9, 2011
Tobin Smith FOX, Business Analyst and Co-host of FNC’s “Bulls and Bears”
October 8, 2011
Matt Eversmann, Hero of Black Hawk Down and The Battle of Mogadishu
November 11, 2011
Trey Wingo, Host of ESPN’s NFL Live
January 15, 2010
Steve Hildebrand, Deputy Campaign Manager for Barack Obama
February 12, 2010
Tierney Cahill, Teacher, Motivational Speaker, & Former Congressional Candidate
March 12, 2010
Daniel Shapiro, Founder & Director, Harvard International Negotiation Initiative
April 9, 2010
Chip R. Bell, Founder, The Chip Bell Group, A Customer Loyalty Expert & Best Selling Author
August 10, 2010
Hugh McColl, Chairman, The McColl Group, LLC
September 10, 2010
Frank Abagnale, World’s Foremost Authority on Fraud and Identity Theft, Author of Best-Selling Book & Subject of Movie, “Catch Me If You Can”
November 12, 2010
Mike Tirico, Play-By-Play Commentator for Monday Night Football
January 9, 2009
Stuart Varney, Business and Financial Journalist for FOX News
February 13, 2009
John Moore, Marketing Mastermind from Starbucks and Whole Foods
March 13, 2009
Bobby Martin, Motivational Speaker
April 3, 2009
Dr. Ben Carson, World-renowned Pediatric Neurosurgeon
September 11, 2009
Soledad O’Brien, CNN Special Correspondent
October 9, 2009
General Hugh Shelton, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
November 13, 2009
Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN Sports Analyst and Former Star Quarterback
January 11, 2008
Ari Fleischer, Former Whitehouse Press Secretary
February 7, 2008
Pat Croce, Entrepreneur and Motivational Speaker
March 14, 2008
Chief Richard Picciotto, Highest-Ranking Firefighter to Survive WTC Collapse
April 18, 2008
Lee Woodruff, Public Relations Executive & Freelance Writer
September 12, 2008
Doug Lipp, Former Head of Training at Walt Disney University
October 10, 2008
Dick Hoyt, Team Hoyt- Motivational Speaker
November 14, 2008
Mike Singletary, Pro Football Hall of Famer, Assistant Head Coach, San Francisco Forty-Niners
January 12, 2007
James Carville, Media Personality and Political Icon
February 9, 2007
Ron Insana, CNBC Senior Analyst and Financial Expert
March 9, 2007
Liz Murray, Homeless to Harvard- A Remarkable Journey
April 13, 2007
Rich Karlgaard, Publisher, Forbes
September 14, 2007
Michael Powell, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
October 12, 2007
Lloyd Trotter, Vice Chairman, GE; President & CEO, GE Industrial
November 9, 2007
Horst Schulze, Founding President and Former COO, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
January 13, 2006
Dr. William Freund, Chief Economist Emeritus, The New York Stock Exchange
February 10, 2006
Joe Theismann, ESPN NFL Analyst and Washington Redskins Star Quarterback
March 10, 2006
Tucker Carlson, Host CNBC,The Situation with Tucker Carlson
April 7, 2006
Kyle Maynard, ESPN 2004 ESPY Award Winner, Success without Excuses
May 12, 2006
Geoffrey Colvin, Senior Editor at Large, FORTUNE Magazine
September 15, 2006
Howard Putnam, Former CEO of Southwest Airlines
October 13, 2006
William Shipman, Expert, Social Security and Retirement
November 10, 2006