Leadership Keynote Speaker

KEYNOTE SPEAKER RICHARD J. BRYAN, CSP

Learn How to Overcome the Roadblocks to Real Growth

What’s the secret to explosive revenue growth? How can leaders inspire their teams to significantly increase bottom-line profits? Richard is the first to admit these business challenges are truly challenging. But he cracked the code! In his inspiring and entertaining keynotes, Richard shares proven strategies – hard-won lessons learned as a young CEO as he led a remarkable business turnaround.

A sought-after international speaker and CEO coach, Richard has held senior leadership roles for 30 years and understands the challenges facing business leaders today. Scroll down to read the keynote descriptions and be sure to watch Richard’s videos.

Keynote #1

TOPIC: BUSINESS GROWTH
TITLE: Strategic Leadership to Unlock Breakthrough Growth

IDEAL AUDIENCE:
This leadership program is ideal for business owners and senior executives who have hit a roadblock when it comes to sustainable growth as well as for those looking to propel “acceptable growth” into “explosive growth.”

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
This engaging and interactive program empowers you to develop into a leader who creates a culture of success. When you put Richard’s tried-and-tested strategies into action, you can start working ON your business, not IN your business. This clears the path for the fresh ideas required to achieve sustainable growth as well as for the breakthrough ideas leading to exponential growth

Richard shares a key tactic he learned as CEO of his $120 million business: Mentor your A-Player team to take care of the day-to-day decisions to run the business, thus enabling you to spend more time growing the business.

You’ll discover how to attract, nurture, and retain A-Players who are eager to win as a cohesive team – a proven game plan that guarantees success for years to come.

Key Takeaways

1. Define your role as a leader: Learn how to leverage your unique talents and focus on what ONLY YOU can do for your organization to be an effective leader while driving year-over-year revenue growth.

2. Hire A-Players: Surround yourself with A-Players who have transferable skills and a winning attitude. Mentor and train them to ensure bench strength for your next generation of leadership.

3. Make tough decisions with confidence: Apply a conflict-resolution and strategic decision-making framework that helps leaders and their teams navigate disagreements, move past bottlenecks, avoid getting stuck, and unlock growth.

“Richard’s an outstanding speaker who utilizes storytelling, practical ‘lessons learnt’ and humor, delivered with real authority and authenticity.”

– Mike Jones, VICE PRESIDENT, NTT DATA

Keynote #2

TOPIC: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
TITLE: Sharpen Your Leadership Edge: Tools to Build Trust, Talent, and Teamwork

IDEAL AUDIENCE
This keynote is perfect for leaders at all levels (supervisors, managers, senior leaders, and C-suite executives) who are committed to developing stronger leaders, elevating performance, and growing a healthy, high-accountability culture.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The most successful organizations don’t just have great products – they have great leaders who know how to unlock the full potential of their people. In this high-energy and practical keynote, Richard shares the leadership strategies he used to transform his own $120 million family business. By putting these strategies into play, he built a stronger leadership bench, increased profitability, positioned the company for sustained success, and realized substantial year-over-year growth.

Richard teaches leaders how to communicate a compelling Core Purpose and bring Core Values to life in everyday behaviors so that trust grows and the culture aligns around what winning looks like. Participants also learn how to use Job Scorecards – a powerful hiring and development tool – to ensure they attract the right people, set clear expectations, and coach toward continual improvement.

This program equips leaders with real-world tools to sharpen their leadership edge, reduce operational friction, and build teams who are motivated, aligned, and accountable.

AUDIENCE BENEFITS

Participants will:

Understand how to build trust that accelerates collaboration and performance
Improve communication across all levels while eliminating unproductive meetings and investing their time where it truly matters
Learn how to use Job Scorecards to hire A-Players who fit the culture and deliver results
Strengthen their coaching skills to retain and develop top talent while growing future leaders
Increase alignment by activating Core Purpose and Core Values across the organization
Walk away energized with tools they can immediately implement for better execution and faster growth

Key Takeaways

1. Trust is the foundation of execution: Learn a simple communication discipline that creates psychological safety, speeds up decisions, and drives accountability.

2. Purpose and values drive performance: Discover how to articulate and operationalize your Core Purpose and Core Values so every team member knows the “why” and “how” behind their role.

3. Grow A-Players using Job Scorecards: Implement a proven framework to hire the right talent, clarify responsibilities and success metrics, and develop people to their highest potential.

4. Win as one team: Remove silos, reinforce shared goals, and build alignment so leaders at all levels spend less time “firefighting” and invest more time on the strategic moves that grow the business.

“Richard delivered an outstanding keynote at our 2025 Leadership Symposium, speaking to an audience of over 120 Ace Hardware retailers—salt-of-the-earth folks who value authenticity and practical advice. He connected eEortlessly, demonstrating a deep understanding of our industry and the challenges our retailers face.”

— Samantha Herrin, Marketing Manager, Ace Hardware

Keynote #3

TOPIC: SUCCESSION PLANNING
TITLE: Succession Without Disruption: A Practical Roadmap for a Smooth & Successful Transition

IDEAL AUDIENCE
Owners, CEOs, and executive leaders of privately held and family-owned businesses as well as advisors supporting leadership and continuity planning

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Succession planning is one of the most important responsibilities of any business leader, yet nearly 7 in 10 US companies have no formal transition plan. That means their future leadership, culture, and financial security are exposed to unnecessary risk.

In this compelling and practical keynote, Richard reveals the exact steps to protect a company’s legacy while preparing the next generation to lead with confidence. Drawing from his personal experience running his family’s $120 million business – where he was thrust into the CEO role at age 28 with zero preparation – Richard shares the real-world lessons he learned while navigating a high-stakes transition in a company with over 100 years of history.

Through humor, storytelling, and actionable frameworks, attendees learn how to develop successors who are truly ready, reduce friction and conflict during the transition, and ensure the business doesn’t just survive succession – it gets stronger because of it.

AUDIENCE BENEFITS

Participants will:

Walk away with a clear blueprint to build – or update – a future-proof succession plan
Learn how to identify, select, and prepare the right successor for the business
Reduce interfamily conflict and decision-making uncertainty with clear communication and expectations
Protect owner wealth while maintaining trust and stability with employees, customers, and key partners
Understand the difference between a contingency plan and a full succession strategy and why both matter
Learn how to keep the founding leader engaged in a way that supports – not overshadows – the new CEO

Key Takeaways

1. Start early: The best transitions happen before you need them.

2. Select the right leader: Skills, Core Values, and cultural alignment matter more than seniority or birth order.

3. Communicate clearly: Transparency prevents conflict and preserves trust.

4. Make it a process: Succession requires milestones, mentorship, and continuous development.

5. Protect the legacy: Build a transition where the founder’s wisdom and the successor’s energy combine to drive new growth.

“Thank you so much for your participation in NAPA NOW Conference! The comments we heard from Auto Care centers regarding your keynote were all phenomenal. Please know how valuable your content was and how much we appreciate your involvement in the NAPA NOW event!”

– Whitney Swingle, NAPA Auto Care