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Speaker Bio

Dr. Mark DeVolder is a global change management expert and thought leader on transitions and transformation. As a pioneer in the field, Mark launched a new way to navigate change … empowering leaders to move confidently through change.

Mark’s transformational message has inspired leaders and teams at top organizations like McDonald’s, US Air Force, Royal Bank of Canada, PwC, and Bristol-Meyers Squibb. In over 25 countries and on 5 continents, Mark has guided high profile clients through some the most daunting challenges: from coaching NASA rocket scientists in reinventing themselves to steering healthcare professionals through multi-billion dollar mergers, to fostering a safety-first culture in leading oil industry firms.

In his ground-breaking book, “Perpetual Pivot: How the Best Leaders Thrive during Exponential Change,” Dr. DeVolder shares insights and strategies gleaned from years of experience at the forefront of change management. Mark teaches the unique strategy of Empowered Change™, equipping leaders and teams to adapt to change and embrace challenges in order to accelerate growth and transformation.

Mark’s keynotes deliver more than just engagement and insight; they are also fun, packed with practical tips and actionable takeaways that attendees can start using right away. People frequently praise Mark’s high energy, audience engagement, and inspiring message, which not only ignites excitement about the future but also equips them with the practical tools and knowledge to capitalize on opportunities for growth in the midst of change.

Speaker Topics

Future Proof: Navigating Change with Confidence and Excitement

Imagine a new way to change: unhurried, composed, and confident instead of the usual frenzy, chaos, and uncertainty. The Empowered Change strategy presented in this high-impact keynote equips participants to transform the pace of change and drive sustainable success by providing a clear roadmap for navigating the stages of change.

This program is perfect for leaders and teams in the midst of constant change who are:

-Going through organizational growth, such as mergers and acquisitions, leadership changes, restructuring, and digital transformation

-Navigating their team members’ reactions to the volatility, complexity, and ambiguity in their work and life (like frustration, anxiety, confusion, and fear)

-Feeling unprepared for their evolving roles and responsibilities or unable to change at the rate and pace needed to keep up with ever-increasing changes

After this intensely practical session, the audience will leave with:

-A Journey-map framework for understanding any change they experience

-A personal plan for confidently navigating the transitions between each stage of change

-The skills and mindset for boldly mobilizing through disruptive change to accomplish their objectives

Harnessing the Hurricane: Leadership Secrets for Successfully Navigating Change

Drawing from more than two decades of working with global industry leaders, Mark distills the secrets of effective change leadership into the five essential mindsets demonstrated by top leaders.

This program is perfect for leaders and managers who are:

-Leading significant organizational changes that require alignment, buy-in, and engagement

-Struggling to keep up with the constant evolution of work, including remote/hybrid work, digital transformations, and new business models

-Needing to adapt to, anticipate, and initiate disruption in their industry

During Mark’s high-octane presentation, your audience will learn how to:

-Avoid change-paralysis and develop change-ready thinking and behaviors

-Overcome decision-quicksand and make smart decisions faster

-Develop a leadership mindset for navigating themselves and their team through any change

On Fire! Energized Together Everyone, Every Day

This keynote empowers the audience to eliminate the mindsets and actions that extinguish motivation and enthusiasm and instead create life-giving opportunities to energize everyone every day.

This program is ideal for anyone in the organization who is:

-Navigating multiple changes in the organization, some happening simultaneously

-Experiencing change saturation because of the pace and rate of constant change

-Frustrated and stressed about having to do more with less while contending with unclear direction and communication

The audience will leave with: 

-Tools for identifying which of their current behaviors build up and tear down engagement

-Strategies to increase engagement in four key areas: clarity, competence, influence, and appreciation

-A proven plan for igniting every employee’s passion for teamwork, communication, and innovation

Unstoppable Resilience: Developing the Mindset of Champions

Resilience is the quintessential element (aka. secret sauce) behind champions and successful teams. This highly actionable keynote teaches the audience how to instill this mindset into the DNA of their culture and team.

This program is perfect for leaders and teams who are: 

-Responsible for creating unity, well-being, and engagement in their team

-Tasked with delivering profitability and high performance during organizational change and disruption

-Seeking to create a resilient culture throughout their team and organization

The audience will leave with:

-Strategies for increasing elastic thinking, continuous learning, and unstoppable perseverance

-The motivation and tools to increase innovation, creativity, and risk-taking in their personal and professional lives

-The ability to cultivate a growth mindset of unlimited potential in the face of adversity, stress, and disruption

Getting to Target Zero: Developing High-Performance Safety

Hazards and challenges abound in the fast and frenzied pace of business today: potentially dangerous situations, increased regulations, growing mental health issues in the workplace. However, the most common barrier is change itself. This safety keynote addresses the obstacles that cause people to disengage and empowers them to maintain both high performance and safety.

This program is perfect for leaders and teams:

-Working in a highly regulated environment that is under the pressure of constant change and government regulations.

-Dealing with stressful, potentially dangerous, time-sensitive situations and crises.

-Fostering a safer workplace environment such as physical safety, psychological well-being and healthy workplace protocols.

The audience will leave with:

-A framework to understand and navigate the changes they experience through the lens of safety.

-Tools to identify current behaviors and practices that build high-performance safety and which practices tear it down.

-The education and motivation to take the first step toward high-performance safety.

Testimonials

Dr. Mark exceeded our expectations. He really reached new heights in change management.

Saif Al Abr, Senior Manager, Omantel, Oman

Thought-provoking and dynamic. Remarkable energy. Mark was inspiring and kept the audience charged.

Al-Noor Moosa, Manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Mark met all of our expectations, and we are delighted with the work that he did. When someone communicates something with passion, talent and appropriate content, the outcome is perfect.

Rafael Grande, Global Events Manager, Amirall Pharmaceutical, Spain

Our team has always struggled to figure out how to get our members to loosen up…… Mark showed us that they can do it!  I’d highly recommend him to other states looking for a meaningful motivational speaker.

Tracey A. van Marcke - Executive Director, Virginia Hospital Research and Education Foundation

MARK DEVOLDER, you did a fantastic job sharing your wisdom and perspectives on navigating change! You offer a powerful message that has a “hook” right at the end that really seals the message memorably!

Chip McElroy, President & CEO , McElroy Mfg

Dr. Mark’s contribution was really remarkable and it was very effective and exceeded our expectations!

Radwa Alalem, Conference Organizer, Orascom Construction, Egypt

Dr. DeVolder, a huge part of the success of the event belongs to you.

Abdulrahman Al-Saadi, Project Manager, Qatar Petroleum

Mark was terrific! The day exceeded my expectations! We are already actively using his information around engagement to develop a new communication infrastructure and process for the Department.

Dr. Herbert Zeh, Chair of Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center

A great presentation to help our Senior Leadership team with great feedback on his key messages. Mark provided several “take-aways” that the team can leverage as we navigate the changes to our business.

Ned St. Denis, Senior Director, Business Enablement, Royal Bank

Mark DeVolder, you were nothing short of awesome!!!

Maria Sharpe, Chief Personnel Officer, PepsiCo Europe

Mark DeVolder was fantastic, highly engaged with the audience. The best part, we walked out of the room with tools to help us with change management. 

Marlene Stanger, Operations Lead, Monsanto

We all left with a better grip on our own humanity and tools to soar higher.

Spaceport Operations, NASA

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