Verne Harnish

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Verne Harnish is the founder of two world-renowned entrepreneurship organizations, the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization (YEO) and the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs (ACE).

Verne is presently founder and CEO of Gazelles, Inc., which serves as an outsourced corporate university for mid-size firms and hosts a faculty of well-known business experts including Jim Collins, Geoff Smart, Jack Stack, Neil Rackham, Seth Godin, and Pat Lencioni and sponsors best practices trips to GE, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, and Dell.

The 'Growth Guy' columnist for several publications and a contributing editor for Fortune Small Business magazine, Verne is the author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Fast-Growth Firm, which has been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Named one of the 'Top 10 Minds in Small Business' by Fortune Small Business Magazine (FSB), he appeared on the cover of the magazine.

Verne Harnish chaired the renowned 'Birthing of Giants' entrepreneurship leadership program at MIT for 15 years and the MIT/WEO 'Advanced Business Program'.  He also chaired for many years the leadership program for Canada's prestigious 'Top 40 Under 40' program and is going into his seventh year leading an executive program in Malaysia entitled 'Taipan, the Making of Asian Giants'.  He's also launching similar programs in Australia, India, and Ireland.  Given his expertise in the field of entrepreneurship, he has appeared on several national television and radio programs including Smart Money, CBS News, and Nation's Business Today; and appeared in stories in over one hundred magazines and newspapers including Forbes, Inc., and The Wall Street Journal.

Verne Harnish has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from Wichita State University. Hobbies include piano, tennis, and magic as a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Honors include National Leader of the Year for Omicron Delta Kappa (Leadership honorary organization) and one of the first two recipients of the National Laureate Award for Leadership by Tau Beta Pi (Engineering honorary organization).

As the founder of the prestigious MIT/Inc./YEO Executive Program, founder of Gazelles Inc. and creator of the Master of Business Dynamics program, Verne's mission is to help entrepreneurs of emerging, fast-growth companies increase the value of their firms.


Speaker Topics Include:
Dominating Your Industry: The Four Critical Decisions

Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: Three Key Disciplines for Driving
Execution

Testimonials

Verne is THE guru of fast growth companies. Those who listen GROW and SUCCEED...so listen or read!
- Tom Peters

Verne your talk knocked me out!!! Again! You are without a doubt in the top 3 business speakers I have ever heard. Thanks you for making yourself available & your great wisdom. Feedback was incredible.
- John McGrath, CEO, McGrath Estate Agents

Verne's insights and remarks on Dominating Your Industry: The Four Critical Decisions were enthusiastically received by the audience and helped to make this a memorable event for all involved. His session earned a unanimous 6 out of 6 (the equivalent of a 10), with such comments as Outstanding session!, High energy-high value speaker!, and Should have been longer!
- Joan Walsh Cassedy, CAE, Executive Director, American Council of Independent Laboratories

Verne's presentation received high marks from our attendees… I think it was one of the best!
- Milan Yager, Executive Vice President, National Association of Professional Employer Organizations

Verne really did make a difference! As a speaker, your unique presentation provided immense "take-home" value that the members will be able to apply immediately and directly to both their professional and personal lives!
- Kevin R. Wice, EO Vancouver Chapter President; EO Vancouver 2003 University Chair; President, Xynyth Manufacturing Corp.

We continue to hear how much the members (U.S. Swim School Association) loved your presentation and they were able to take what was learned and put it to use immediately. I personally thought you were one of our best presenters in the past several years.
- Sue Mackie, CEO, Aquatics Unlimited Swim School

Verne Harnish speaker

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