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Mark C. Thompson  

Bestselling Author, Venture Investor, Former Executive at Charles Schwab

Mark C. Thompson is an accomplished executive and New York Times bestselling author specializing in executive leadership, business strategy, and innovation. Over his career spanning more than 25 years, he has been pivotal in leading teams and nurturing companies from inception to successful enterprises. He delivers actionable, valuable, and practical advice for leaders at various organizational levels.

Having been recognized by Forbes as one of America’s top venture investors with the ‘Midas Touch’, Thompson's notable contributions extend into his authorship with titles such as "ADMIRED: 21 Ways to Double Your Value," "Now Build a Great Business," and "Success Built to Last – Creating a Life that Matters." Additionally, his expertise in innovation leadership is showcased through his columns for Forbes.com, Inc.com, and FastCompany.com.

Thompson's significant roles include serving as the former Chief of Staff and Chief Customer Experience Officer at Charles Schwab, where he was also the Executive Producer of Schwab.com, managing assets exceeding $3 Trillion today. His entrepreneurial spirit is highlighted by his co-founding of Sir Richard Branson’s Entrepreneurship Centres and his advisory roles for Virgin Unite Entrepreneurs. At Stanford University, he contributed as a founding advisor of the Stanford Realtime Venture Design Lab, where he was a visiting scholar and later joined the faculty at international forums such as the World Economic Forum and World Business Forum.

In the investing field, Thompson has been a transformative figure, with early investments in leading companies like Facebook, Netflix, and eSurance, demonstrating his keen eye for potential. As a board member, he has influenced diverse sectors including technology, biotech, and retail through his roles at companies like Best Buy, Korn Ferry, and Interwoven (now owned by HP). Additionally, he served as the Chairman of the Board for Rioport before the era of the iPod.

Thompson's passion for the arts is evident through his engagement with Broadway as a producer, where his efforts have led to ten Tony nominations and five Tony Awards, affirming his impact in the entertainment industry. His role as a founding board member for Smule, a leading music app company, further underscores his diverse interests and contributions across different fields.

Speech Topics

Fanatic Sales Growth - Success Built to Last - Growing from Good to Great to ADMIRED

In this high-impact keynote, Mark reveals the critical drivers behind long-term sales growth and enduring success. He lays out the key factors that differentiate companies that are Good, those that become Great and those that are ADMIRED.

  • How world-class teams generate unstoppable growth

  • Avoiding common mistakes that cut sales in half

  • 5 Tools To Double Sales: Positioning-Pain-Promise-Proof-Planning

  • The customer service strategies that drive customer retention

  • Discovering what your market craves and getting ahead of the curve

Most Admired Leadership: Nobody Does it Alone! Building Great Teams

Mark shares insights into the top leadership qualities of the world’s Most Admired Leaders according to the most engaged employees. In a broad survey of over 10,000 employees in 110 countries, Mark’s research team identified the top eight leadership traits that people want from their leaders. He presents case studies from many of these leaders including his experience working directly with several of them. He outlines how the Most Admired leaders have achieved such enduring success over decades and how they consistently:

  • Recruit, Build and Retain the highest performing teams

  • Create a corporate culture that Inspires loyalty and engagement

  • Face adversity and bounce back from failures

  • Challenge themselves and their teams year after year to outdo themselves and achieve continuous and long-term growth

  • Learn what their MVP’s value and what drives them in their lives and work

Building a Most Admired Brand through Customer and Employee Engagement

Leaders of the world’s Most Admired Companies know that the customer experience IS the brand! Customer engagement is not about transactions, it’s about RELATIONSHIPS - acting as though you’d put your own money on the line in your customer’s company. If you were investing in your customer’s company, you’d think differently about how you deal with them and fight for their success like it was your own. Mark brings many examples of how the most admired brands approach customer engagement and set the standard for lasting customer relationships in their industries. These companies understand four key components that lead to lasting customer relationships:

  • Every touchpoint that a customer encounters is defining your brand

  • Delivering a consistent experience regardless of point of contact or method of communication

  • A high level of Employee Engagement is critical to achieving Customer Engagement

  • Knowing what your MVPs (both customers and employees) value is key

Business Transformation: Drive Change and Create a Culture of Innovation

Disruptive innovation is happening all around us in almost every industry. “Disruptive Innovation” can mean: disrupting your competitors, customer relationships, internal processes, reward systems, management strategy, the status quo and “last century thinking”. But how do you create a culture of innovation that enables a big company to think and act like a small one? Mark shares insights on world-class companies that struggled with change - some that failed to adjust to meet changing markets and others that reinvented their business models and transformed entire industries with disruptive innovations. Mark answers several questions that will help you understand how to:

  • Enable your teams to not only embrace change, but lead business transformation

  • Operationalize innovation while still meeting the demands of Wall Street

  • Remove the fear of failure for disruptive ideas

  • Create incentive systems that reward those that challenge “business as usual”

  • Empower employees at every level to make change happen

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