It is rare to find a true Renaissance man anymore, but that’s just that you get with Ben Utecht. Ben has always chased his dreams, finding his way from a small river town in Minnesota to a Super Bowl championship field. Whether it was becoming a world champion in football, singing with major symphonies, serenading Muhammad Ali on his 70th birthday, or stepping into a national advocacy role, Ben has found success in many realms. He honed his already keen public speaking skills at the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with a degree in communications and even started a master’s degree in sports management before being swept up into the NFL.

Ben has established himself as a prominent national leadership and motivational speaker for corporations, conventions, and non-profit events. Both of his programs, The Champion’s Way™ and The MVP Program™, stem from lessons he learned in the locker room with Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy and in the huddle with future Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning. The Champion’s Way™ spotlights and breaks down “The 4 Ls” of leadership: listening, learning, language, and love. The MVP Program™ comes from Ben’s experience with concussions. It inspires audiences to truly care about their minds and to discover how integral memory is to identity. Both programs illuminate dynamic ways to succeed in business and life.

”I believe, as a speaker, that vulnerability equals connectivity. This is why I approach my keynote presentations with a mission of bringing you on an emotional journey through my life, into a hall-of-fame huddle, and onto a field of high-impact lessons. All our lives tell a story, and this is how I tell mine!”

As an influential advocate for brain health, Ben served as the national spokesperson for the American Academy of Neurology and currently sits on the prestigious board of the American Brain Foundation. Ben was given the AAN’s most esteemed honor, the Public Leadership in Neurology Award, in 2014. Also at that time, Ben released a music video for his song “You Will Always Be My Girls,” written as a love letter to his wife and daughters with the goal of emotionally connecting people to the importance of their memories. The video has impacted the lives of many, garnering over 1.3 million YouTube views to date.

Ben can now add “author” to his résumé, with the release of his new book Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away, published by Simon & Schuster. The book is the first memoir from a former NFL player who left the game as a result of concussions. It takes the reader on a heart-felt journey through the ups and downs of Ben’s life with faith, family, and football. Ben has a message of hope that has reached a nation-wide audience, inspiring people to value every moment to its fullest.

Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away is available in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook formats wherever books are sold. Links to online retailers are available on Ben’s website at www.ben-utecht.com

Kris Paronto—“Tanto” as he is affectionately known in security contracting circles—is a former Army Ranger from 2nd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment and private security contractor who has deployed throughout South America, Central America, the Middle East and North Africa. He also worked with the U.S. Government’s Global Response Staff conducting low profile security in high threat environments throughout the world.

Paronto was part of the CIA annex security team that responded to the terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, helping to save over 20 lives while fighting off terrorists for over 13 hours. Paronto’s story is told in the book 13 Hours, written by Mitchell Zuckoff and his five surviving annex security team members, and in the 2016 major motion picture of the same name.

Born in Alamosa, Colorado, Paronto obtained his Bachelor’s Degree from Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado and Master’s Degree from The University of Nebraska at Omaha. He served 4 years in the U.S. Army and an additional 4 years in the U.S. Army National Guard, reaching the rank of Sergeant then becoming a commissioned officer in 2003. He started contracting for Blackwater Security Consulting in 2003 and continued to deploy on various security contracts, to include the Global Response Staff until 2013. He is also the author of the 2017 motivational book The Ranger Way.

For more than 10 years, Paronto has been involved in security operations in hostile environments and his team’s involvement with the September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. special mission in Benghazi, Libya was paramount in the saving of U.S. lives and assets. He is a proven leader, teammate and friend to those who have deployed with him, and a devout father to a loving wife and two remarkable children.

Rocky Bleier's life story is truly amazing. The native of Appleton, Wisconsin played football at the University of Notre Dame and collected a National Championship while playing there and served as captain his senior year. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1968 and was drafted in the NFL's 16th round to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In only his rookie season with the Steelers, Bleier was drafted again but this time to the United States Army in December 1968. The Army sent him to Vietnam and Bleier was severely wounded in August 1969 when his platoon ran into an ambush and he suffered severe rifle and grenade wounds that damaged his legs and feet. Bleier was barely able to walk and it looked as if his professional football career was over before it really even began. For two years, Bleier pushed himself and overcame his injuries through a relentless therapy program. The Steelers placed him on the Injured Reserve list in 1970 and the following year placed him on the Taxi Squad. By 1972, Bleier was miraculously back on the active roster for the Steelers and then went on to earn a spot in the starting backfield by 1974. Bleier was a four-time Super Bowl Champion with the Steelers and retired at the end of the 1980 season. He formed his own company upon his retirement, Rocky Bleier, Inc., which he still runs today. Bleier's life was documented in a book and an ABC television movie entitled Fighting Back. He has transformed his motto of Be the Best you Can Be to the business world and has motivated audiences across the country in the very inspiring look into his courageous life.

Brian Smith, Founder of the world-famous UGG Australia Brand.

Graduating in 1978 as a Chartered Accountant in Australia, Brian came to California looking for the next big opportunity to bring back to Australia.

While studying at the UCLA Graduate School of Management he observed that there was no sheepskin footwear in the US.

With only $500 in capital, he imported boot samples and over the next seventeen years built the UGG Australia brand into a multi-million dollar international enterprise. He sold in 1995 and the brand has continued to grow to exceed a billion dollars in annual sales for the past six years.

Brian is one of the most sought after International business leaders in the country today. He is committed to teaching entrepreneurs how to leverage their most precious assets from within, and to recognize and pursue their passions to create a fulfilling and successful life.

Brian has authored the book “The Birth of a Brand – Launching Your Entrepreneurial Passion and Soul”, is a sought-after Keynote speaker and mentors small business owners.

He spends his time with his family and friends in Southern California and enjoys surfing and contributing to humanity.

Chip R. Bell is founder and senior partner with The Chip Bell Group and manages their office near Atlanta. A renowned keynote speaker, his consulting firm focuses on helping organizations create a culture that supports long-term customer loyalty and service innovation. Prior to starting CBG in the ‘80’s, he was Director of Management and Organization Development for NCNB (now Bank of America). Dr. Bell holds graduate degrees from Vanderbilt University and the George Washington University. Additionally, he was a highly decorated infantry unit commander in Vietnam with the elite 82nd Airborne and a guerilla tactics instructor at the Army Infantry School.

Chip is the author or co-author of several national and international best- selling books including The 9 1⁄2 Principles of Innovative Service, Sprinkles: Creating Awesome Experiences Through Innovative Service, Take Their Breath Away: How Imaginative Service Creates Devoted Customers, Wired and Dangerous: How Your Customers Have Changed and What to do about it (winner of a 2012 Axiom Business Book Award as well as a 2011 IPPY Book Award), Magnetic Service (winner of the Benjamin Franklin Book Award), Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service and Managers as Mentors. His newest book is Kaleidoscope: Delivering Innovative Service That Sparkles.

He has appeared on CNBC, CNN, ABC, Fox Business Network, Bloomberg TV, NPR; his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, USA Today, Inc. Magazine, CEO Magazine, Fast Company and Businessweek. For the last three straight years, Global Gurus has ranked him among the top three keynote speakers in the world on customer service—two years in the #1 slot. The Chip Bell Group was in 2014 ranked #6 in North America among mid-sized consulting firms for leadership development.

Chip logs over 100,000 miles a year speaking to organizations on long- term customer loyalty and innovative service. He has served as a consultant or trainer to such major brands as GE, Microsoft, USAA, Exxon/Mobil, Cadillac, Duke Energy, KeyBank, Ritz-Carlton Hotels, IBM, Marriott, Fidelity Investments, Caterpillar, True-Value, McDonald’s, Shell Oil, Harley-Davidson, Dole, Universal Studios, Accenture, Lockheed- Martin, Pfizer, Allstate and Verizon Wireless.