Fresh from delivering his fantastic keynote address at the GACEP Spring Conference in April, Evolutionary Biologist, TV Host, Keynote Speaker, and Bestselling Author, Dan Riskin, Ph.D. shares how principles from evolutionary biology and human behavior can help organizations design more connected, memorable customer engagements. From the role emotion and curiosity play in how people learn and retain information to the impact of active problem-solving and diverse team dynamics, we discussed how brands can create experiences that deepen engagement, strengthen relationships, and influence buying decisions. Known for blending humor with science-backed insights, Dan brings a unique perspective on human behavior, communication, and connection that organizations can apply today

Highlights

• Emotion
  • Experiences like Adrenaline - stimulates the amygdala
  • When emotionally connected, more memorable
  • Brain works better when have an emotional connection
  • Examples of how we connect when take a journey
    • Sports highlights, comedy, crying at movies
• Curiosity
  • Don’t just tell your guests the answer
  • Engage them and let them figure it out
  • Science conservation example
    • Have students or guests get involved, then explain why
• Teamwork
  • Teams with conflict are better able to find solutions to complex problems
  • Embrace diversity and different points of view
  • Board games: safe ways to find smart and calm team members
  • New paper: people work better together if in sync (i.e. singing)
    • Check out ‘The Bat Signal’ Newsletter

Resources

• Dan Riskin’s Webpage
  • The Bat Signal - Weekly Newsletter (be sure to subscribe)
  • Science TV Shows
  • Wildlife Tours

Guest Thought Leader

Dan Riskin, Ph.D., Evolutionary Biologist, TV Host, Keynote Speaker, and Bestselling Author, Noctillo.com

Dan is an evolutionary biologist turned science journalist whose career spans research, media, and public engagement. Dan did his PhD at Cornell, studying how vampire bats move on the ground. Then he worked at Brown University, flying bats in wind tunnels, trying to understand how they fly, maneuver, and land. His research earned international recognition, and Dan took that opportunity to slide into science TV. He has since become a prominent television personality, hosting shows on the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, National Geographic, the Smithsonian Channel, and elsewhere. Beyond television, Dan is a bestselling author and sought-after keynote speaker known for using humor to translate science into insights people can apply to everyday life.

Our latest episode derives from a series of LinkedIn articles that highlight ‘Influences that Create Thoughtful Leaders.’ Amos Wampler, former Director of the Executive Briefing Program at Gore, shares how his life and career experiences shaped his leadership style and passion for the briefing profession. Building on principles like continuous improvement and beginning with a clear intent, Amos offers real-world insights showing how effective leadership is grounded in adaptability, trust, and self-awareness. He emphasizes the importance of identifying your team’s strengths while supporting their growth, embracing diverse viewpoints, and earning credibility through consistent action. At its core, strong leadership means elevating others' voices, fostering an environment where people can thrive, minimizing distractions, and having the courage to push boundaries, all while staying anchored in the values that shape meaningful outcomes.

Highlights

• ‘Begin with the End in Mind’ (Peter Bay Method) - orchestra practice
• ‘What if the Baton Goes Missing?’ - the team executes on their own
• ‘Holmes & Watson: Data vs Stories’ - a Watson among the Holmes
• Diversity Mentoring for Development (DMD) - mentors understand mentees' backgrounds
• “Leadership Comes From Followship” - help others believe, then lead
• “Innovation From Collaboration” - the “Lattice”, develop the next great idea
• ‘The Slide and the Show - Parts I, II & III’ - always prepare for your audiences
• ‘Be true to yourself and you will never fall’ - Beastie Boys

Resources

• University of Chicago Leadership Lab - The Craft of Writing Effectively
• Annotated Beastie Boys
• Impact Podcast
• Amos’ LinkedIn Articles
• The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday
• The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Guest Thought Leader

Amos Wampler, Former Director, Executive Briefing Program at Gore

Amos’s career has spanned classrooms, manufacturing floors, and analytical labs with a consistent track record of making meaningful contributions in each space. For the past several years, he led a high-visibility executive briefing program, overseeing thousands of interactions annually with customers, partners, board members, legislators, and media. His work operates in close partnership with senior leadership and spans strategy, operations, content, technology, facilities, and team development. It’s a role that demands sound judgment, discretion, and the ability to deliver high-stakes moments with consistency and impact at scale.

Born from a passionate presentation sharing his joy for creative technology, our latest episode features Matteo Mosca, CEO and Founder, at Leva (Impossible) Engineering. Matteo shares how crafting meaningful moments pushes their team to explore how people process the world around them; how the brain interprets movement, light, sound and space, shaping emotion and memory. He explains how each project begins by understanding what the client wants their guests to feel, remember and carry with them long after they leave. In our discussion, Matteo defines key elements to designing kinetic environments that bring guests into an ‘awake state of wonder’, capturing their attention and fostering greater participation. He also encourages us to think of this approach as a new language that speaks to both logic and emotion.

Highlights

• Approach to designing memorable experiences - ‘Suspension of disbelief’
• Designing spaces to bring people into an ‘Awake State of Wonder’
  • Wonder is intense presence
  • Predictability kills wonder
  • Movement triggers attention
• Emotionally charged information is more memorable and builds stronger human connections
• Use technology to tell the story, speaking to both logic and emotion
• The discovery phase: strategy before technology and using movement to amplify meaning
• Best Practices shared: ‘Stop Selling, Start Storytelling’, ‘Use Edutainment to Make Learning Stick’, and ‘Shake People Awake, Intentionally’
• ‘Safe Ideas are Forgettable’ - Differentiate your brand from others
• Turning motion into emotion - see Resources to visualize

Resources

• Leva Reel 2026: Motion into Emotion
• Leva in EBC
• Aramco EBC (Visitor Center Kinetic Welcome Wall)
• Microsoft EBC (Experience Center One)
  • Kinetic Smart Board and Kinetic LED Wall

Guest Thought Leader

Matteo Mosca, CEO and Founder, Leva (Impossible) Engineering

Matteo is a founder and media engineer working at the intersection of creative technologies, design and communication, with a focus on interactive environments that foster meaningful human connections.

At Leva, Matteo leads a multidisciplinary team of engineers and creatives designing custom kinetic and immersive installations that blend mechanical movement, motion content and spatial storytelling. Their work turns physical, brand spaces into responsive, participatory environments that people can explore and connect with, not just observe.

Matteo also spearheads Leva’s strategy, developing marketing and business growth initiatives, while building the structure that allows technical experimentation to become scalable, real-world solutions. With a background in computer engineering and a strong creative drive, he brings a structured, results-oriented approach to innovation, combining technical rigor with a strong understanding of customer and market needs.

His goal is to help organizations leverage cutting-edge technology to connect with audiences, support growth and drive long-term competitiveness – with the type of experiences that break through the noise and reshape the way people interact with brands.

In our latest episode, Imogen Broomhead, Senior Director, Global Executive Experience Program, shares how she and her team built ServiceNow’s global program strategy, with a focus on Location and Investment Strategy. From defining primary pillars and KPIs with executive leadership to establishing a six-element infrastructure, Imogen outlines the consistent, data-driven methodologies behind their approach. She explains new center eligibility criteria, her partnership with Workplace Services (WPS) to create Global Playbooks for new builds, and how red/amber/green assessments give executives a clear view of Innovation Center health and upgrade needs. The result is a scalable model for building and managing a global program that showcases ServiceNow’s value to current and prospective customers.

Highlights

• Growth from 3 Centers/4 team members to 10 Centers/50 team members by December 2026
• Developing a Global Program Strategy
  • 3 Pillars (set with CMO)
    • Program: Immersive Storytelling
    • Place: World-Class Experiences
    • People: Elite Team
      • Must have: team member onboarding program - 6 months
• Location and Investment Strategy
  • Innovation Center Global Map
  • Alignment
    • Marketing does not decide innovation center locations
    • Work with Execs in Sales and Go-to-Market teams
    • Complex RACI model
    • Don’t open centers too fast
  • New Center Eligibility Criteria
    • Pipeline/TAM data in region - opps, industries, etc.
    • Success metrics - capacity targets per location
    • KPIs for Areas - High volume accounts
    • Budget, Ops Resourcing, SMEs, etc.
  • Specs Overview
    • WPS Global Playbook - templatized
    • Define ‘Apple Store’ look & feel
    • Set consistent specs for architects to work from
  • Center Upgrades / Business Case Process
    • Map capital works plans with WPS Teams
    • Red/Amber/Green assessments - clear picture for executives
    • Process to seek funding to insert centers into capital works plan
  • Retiring Centers + Supporting the Field
    • Sunsetting strategy
    • Out of Center offerings “Beyond the Briefing”
• Global Non-Negotiables
  • Program, Place and People
  • Deliver elite experiences w/storytelling & technology
  • EBC - in service of customers
• Capturing Impact
  • Quality not quantity - influence most strategic accounts
  • Host C-Suite only - Focus on closing business
• Be ‘Yes’ People, Be Creative and Customer-focused
  • AI Networking Breakfast, Wine Club, etc.

Resources

• How ServiceNow Uses Executive Briefing Centres to Grow Relationships with C-level Clients

Guest Thought Leader

Imogen Broomhead, Senior Director, Global Executive Experience Program, ServiceNow

Imogen is a dynamic technology leader and customer experience champion with over eight years at ServiceNow. She leads the vision and execution of the company’s global Innovation Centers, transforming them into strategic programs that help customers, account teams, and executives innovate faster. Recognized as a CXO empath, SaaS marketer, and technology specialist, Imogen blends strategic thinking with strong execution. Her leadership is rooted in empathy, collaboration, and delivering measurable outcomes that align executive experiences with business goals and drive meaningful transformation.

In our first episode of 2026, Spencer Waldron, CEO of Cenrox, shares a deeply personal story that led him to uncover ways of managing difficult situations with new behaviors and choices. He walks through many elements that contributed to creating his Resilience Roadmap. From understanding neuroscience and the power of our eight emotions to identifying new habits that offer self care that we need in challenging situations, Spencer offers ways to navigate these situations, i.e. driving our boat while not focusing on the river. He also reinforces the fact that resiliency is not about having it all together. It’s about moving forward anyways and making a daily impact. As he says, ‘we are capable of handling more than we think we can’.

Highlights

• Neuroscience and Emotions
  • Thousands of ‘Feelings’, only 8 ‘Emotions’ which are physical
  • 5 are negative, 2 are attachments: Love/Trust and Joy/Excitement
  • Only 1 other emotion can flip negative to positive
  • Offer ‘Surprise’ early in presentation to establish emotional attachment
  • Aristotle: Emotion + Trust = Persuasion
• Think of presenting as a gift = ‘a present’
• Resiliency from Spencer’s son’s accident
  • Buddhist book: ‘Living a Life With Heart’
    • The river: cannot control where it goes
    • The boat: control what you do
    • In each situation, ask yourself, “Is it the River or Boat?”
• The Resilience Roadmap
  • Resilience is a choice
  • Steps taken to get through - not about perfection, self care and daily impact
  • Put yourself in challenging situations
• PTSD & Psychological Safety
  • Remove from the trauma (i.e. at work: operationalize, relationships, self care)
• Comedy Improv Example
  • Challenging, humor and a form of therapy

Resources

• Resilience Keynote
• Speaking of Success Podcast

Guest Thought Leader

Spencer Waldron, CEO, Cenrox

As the founder of Cenrox, Spencer helps people show up as the best version of themselves when it matters most. He’s best known for his work in Conversational Presenting, helping leaders and teams move away from one-way slide decks and toward clearer, more engaging, audience-led conversations.

Spencer’s work isn’t just based on theory or technique. In the past year, his perspective on communication and leadership has been shaped by navigating a serious family crisis, which led him to explore what resilience really looks like under pressure.

Today, he brings those lessons into his work with organisations, combining clarity, presence, and human connection in high-stakes moments. He’s also a LinkedIn Learning instructor, a TEDx speaker, and a student of improv comedy.

In our final episode of 2025, Liat Scheffer Ben Yakov, Founder of Masters Academy and the CEO of Masters Creation Group LTD, shares the key elements of her Masters of Creation Method including examining the 4 realms, addressing our life purpose, embracing our core values and setting daily intentions that allow us to live our life as the Masters that we are. The perfect guide for evaluating our current path while looking ahead to the New Year!

Highlights

• The body / mind connection - Masters of Creation Method for manifestation
• Importance of duality - positive vs negative gives us choice
• Evaluate our life, what is working, choose to continue to not
• Manifestation - 4 realms:
  • Physical - habits, rewiring our nervous system
  • Emotional - from fear to happiness, influences changes we can make
  • Mental - beliefs, paradigms, what is possible
  • Spiritual - energy, the method starts here
• Get started:
  • Life purpose: Who am I? Why am I here?
  • Core values: What is important to me?
  • Letting go: Trust yourself
• Managing our day to day lives:
  • Know your purpose and what you bring to the room
  • Prioritize your core values, nurture yourself with daily anchors (i.e. morning coffee, breathing, meditation, afternoon break, gym, etc.)
  • Set your intention:
    • For connection but know it has “nothing to do with me”
    • What you want others you interact with to feel
• Embracing AI
  • Shifting to the next era of being paid for our energy / vibration
  • Will not take over, will allow us to decide what we do to be fulfilled
• ‘Live your life as the Master that you are’

Guest Thought Leader

Liat Scheffer Ben Yakov, Founder of Masters Academy and, CEO of Masters Creation Group LTD.

Liat holds an MBA and a BA in Economics, alongside advanced studies in holistic psychotherapy, and brings more than 20 years of experience consulting with CEOs, senior executives, and entrepreneurs around the world - including leaders in Silicon Valley. She’s a best-selling author, an international speaker, and the host of a long-running podcast now in its fifth year. Throughout her career, Liat has helped thousands of people break through limitations, achieve their goals, and create the life they truly want.

She is also the creator of the Masters of Creation Method, a 12-step framework for conscious reality creation which has grown into a global movement. What began as Masters Academy is now expanding into a larger, bolder, international group with a clear mission: to empower millions with the knowledge, tools, and practical pathways to become the leaders and masters of their own lives. Liat’s work is dedicated to deep personal transformation, global impact, and elevating human potential.

In this episode, Michael Herren, Director, Global Customer Engagement Program at Illumina, shares strategies to deepen partnerships with sales teams and create strong evangelists. He advises to understand sales structures, motivations and pain points, then prioritize the desired outcomes of the partnership. Whether it’s the guidance you provide, tools you offer or ‘rules-of-engagement’ you define, make working with your team as frictionless as possible. Sales engagement must be earned!

Highlights

• Embrace Challenges to Achieve Measurable Successes
• Define Clear Sales Engagement Outcomes
• Understand Sales Structure, Motivations and Pain Points
• 7 Key Sales Engagement Strategies
• Share Key Tools and Collateral
• Develop an Effective Communication Plan
• Define Clear Rules of Engagement

Resources

• 7 Engagement Strategies & Rules of Engagement
• “The Power of Moments” by Chip & Dan Heath
• “The Art of Gathering” by Priya Parker
• A Bit of Optimism - Simon Sinek
• A Good Hang - Amy Poehler

Guest Thought Leader

Michael Herren, Director, Global Customer Engagement Program, Illumina

Michael leads a world-class team dedicated to delivering strategic, story-driven experiences that strengthen partnerships and drive business growth. With over 18 years of experience in the biotechnology, life science, and diagnostics industries, Michael brings a unique combination of technical expertise, operational excellence, and customer engagement strategy to his leadership role.

In our latest episode, Emre Ozbek, Executive Managing Director at BICEP Solutions, shares how customer-facing programs can build repeatable, intelligent systems that free up their best talent to focus on what truly matters: creativity, strategy, and connection. He digs deeper into his ‘touch it once philosophy’ and the ‘lazy approach’, a principle of profound efficiency rooted in automation. Emre advises teams to avoid ‘managing what you measure’, and instead ask ‘why’ to ‘eliminate’ unnecessary metrics and ‘illuminate’ your data. He also suggests how to change our mindset related to AI including the practical step of selecting one small process, then ask ‘why’, and either eliminate or automate. An important takeaway for listeners is the realization that the process of leveraging business intelligence is more accessible than we may have imagined.

Highlights

• The ‘touch it once philosophy' and the ‘lazy approach’
  • A long term strategy, take time to ‘sharpen the saw’
• Auditors review past data, strategists use the data to look to the future
• ‘Garbage In, Garbage Out’ - understand the data before you automate
  • Leading vs lagging indicators
• Avoid ‘Manage What You Measure’ - ‘vanity vs actionable’ metrics
• Ask ‘WHY’ and ‘ELIMINATE’ unnecessary metrics
• Utilize data across customer facing programs: Executive Sponsorship, briefings, meetings at events, CABs, etc.
• Build in processes to keep systems up to date and reliable (i.e. integrate HR employee database into scheduling and CRM tools)
• Automate to spend time for relationship building, critical thinking and creativity
• AI: how to shift from a ‘Fear mindset' to a ‘Partner mindset'
• Start small, start now - strive for clarity over quantity

Resources

• Book: Measure What Matters by John Doerr
• TED Talk: The Beauty of Data Visualization by David McCandless
• HBR Article: Ensure High-Quality Data Powers Your AI by Thomas C. Redman

Guest Thought Leader

Emre Ozbek, Executive Managing Director, BICEP Solutions

Emre is a business and data strategist with a simple but powerful philosophy: if you have to do something more than once, it should be automated. He calls it his "lazy" approach, but it's a principle of profound efficiency that has guided his 30-year, multi-national career helping some of the world's top companies solve their most complex operational challenges.

His journey has taken him through enterprise architecture, business consulting, and innovation leadership across a range of industries. This unique cross-sectional view revealed a universal truth: most businesses are stuck solving the same problems over and over, wasting valuable time and frustrating both employees and customers.

Today, Emre channels this passion through his new company, BICEP Solutions, providing Business Intelligence for Customer Engagement Programs. He now helps program leaders apply the lessons learned from running a world-class customer engagement program, complete with briefing centers, innovation labs, and executive sponsorship, to their own organizations.