Smiley is one of the top future of work, company culture & workplace belonging keynote speakers in the world for the technology and AI industry.
Technology & AI Keynotes
↓ INDUSTRY CLIENTS ↓
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“Smiley helped our team come up with new and exciting ideas for how to recruit and retain top talent.”
- Scott Leatherman, Vice President, SAP -
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“Smiley’s talks were fun and insightful. He shared excellent stories and practical tips for our team on how to build human connections, support compassion and empathy in the hybrid world. Feedback from our global team has been incredibly positive. As a business partner, Smiley was top-notch. It was fun and easy to work with him. He took the time to understand our audience, objectives, and tailored his narrative to meet our needs. We’d love to work with him again.”
- Veronica Rodriguez, Sr. Manager Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Xilinx
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“Your keynote was absolutely phenomenal – so well received by our audience and it hit home so much for me personally as well! I was also grateful you were able to join us for more of the event as well including the drone show.”
- Megan Howse, Senior Vice President, Marketing, iQMetrix
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“Smiley was wonderful to work with during all 6 global sessions he did for EO's virtual Future of Work Lab. He shared cutting-edge data, insights, and actionable tips on navigating the multigenerational workforce, hybrid work, AI's impact on employees, and how to build a culture of belonging in challenging times. Smiley also dedicated additional time to interviewing multiple EO members, integrating their insights on work culture into the content to tailor it for our audience. Best of all, many of our members have already begun implementing Smiley's ideas and strategies at their companies. We would love to work with him again in the future.”
- Jess Owens, Learning Manager, Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) -
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“Smiley delivered an engaging virtual talk on Public Speaking on live stream! With his practical, inspiring presentation, we would welcome Smiley back to Google for future sessions.”
- Bianca Fernandez, Google -
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“I first saw Smiley speak at Culture Summit, and knew he was the perfect person to speak to the rest of MailChimp about having a career with purpose. The office was buzzing all afternoon after Smiley's Coffee Hour talk. I was thrilled that we brought Smiley in to speak to our employees.”
- Ashley Wilson, Employee Engagement Specialist, MailChimp -
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“Amazing! So positive and engaging.”
- Jill Musser, Senior Director of Benefits, Penn State University
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“Smiley was a great speaker! He was energetic, motivational, and was able to engage with a room of over 100 people of all ages and levels of experience. As a company that is scaling fast, it was great to have Smiley help us all think a little bit more about our individual sense of purpose and how we can most effectively collaborate across generational groups."
- Brett Chereskin, Chief of Staff to the Chief Revenue Officer, Affirm
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Future of Work Keynote Speaker for Technology and AI Companies, Specializing in Workplace Culture, Team Connection & Belonging
Belonging is the Future of Tech
The tech industry in 2025 is driven by a commitment to attract and retain top talent and increased competition for skilled talent, amidst rapid technological advancements, new investments in power and data infrastructure, evolving regulatory conditions, and ethical and security considerations regarding AI. AI is rapidly transforming tech, from data to SaaS, IT and cybersecurity, yet prioritizing human connection remains essential. Flexibility, curiosity, empathy, coaching, and emotional intelligence skills are paramount to engage the multigenerational hybrid workforce, navigate complex cultural and global environments, and prioritize employee well-being and mental health in the age of distraction and overwhelm.
Tech leaders have a critical role in the Age of AI and Overwhelm: to harness the power of human connection to drive profitable growth and business innovation. With so many coworkers and colleagues not seeing each other regularly in a hybrid workplace, connection is the most valuable currency at work. Companies that treat culture like a product will thrive. Ones who don’t evolve their culture will fail. Culture isn’t just HR’s job. Culture is everyone’s job.
In a nonstop, disengaged, overwhelmed workplace; the value of meaningful human connection increases exponentially and business is about building belonging for your people, your organization, and your community. High-levels of employee belonging create a 56% increase in job performance, lead to a 50% drop in turnover risk, and can save a company $52 million a year.
Smiley’s practical keynotes provide an actionable toolkit for technology and AI leaders to drive positive cultural transformation, enhance the employee and customer experience, attract and retain Gen Z talent and talent across generations, increase employee connection, innovate our products, engage high-performing teams, and create a workplace culture of belonging for our teams, customers, and the communities we serve.
Speaking Reels and Event Sizzles
Belonging in the Future of Work: Event Recap
Culture of Human Connection: Event Recap
2025 Keynote Preview: Smiley’s Most Requested Keynote
2025 Speaker Reel
Keynote Topics for Tech & AI Industry.
How Tech Leaders Can Foster Innovation, Drive Collaboration, and Build Belonging in An AI-Driven World
Creating Cultures of Employee Connection and Human-Centered Innovation in an Era of Disruption, AI, and Overwhelm
How to Attract, Retain, and Engage Talent and Drive Innovation Across Generations
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Building High-Performing, Super-Connected Teams to Embrace Disruption, Transform Culture, and Thrive in an Ever-Evolving Workplace
Building a Culture of Care to Improve Collaboration, Support Employee Well-Being, Reduce Burnout, and Foster Creativity and Connection in the of Era of Disruption
Speaking Videos
The Power of Talking to Strangers
Leading Teams in the Age of AI
Loneliness at Work
Team Psychological Safety at Work
The Power of Making the Ask
Why Belonging Matters
Generational Differences
Flexibility at Work
Belonging is Everyone’s Job
Start Caring for Others
Build a Culture of Care
The Power of Belonging
The Business Value of Belonging
Culture Transformation
From Hustle to Human Connection
The Myth About Workplace Belonging
Audience Customization Example
Hybrid is How We Connect
8 Reasons to Book Smiley to Speak
Smiley’s practical keynote talks are action-based and designed to increase workplace connection and build better relationships starting today.
All smiles, humble, kind, and drama-free.
Smiley delivers a memorable performance.
Seasoned Future of Work thought leader, trusted by the world’s leading technology and AI leaders.
Resonates across generations with youthful expertise, positive energy, and practical tips.
Globally recognized expert on friendship, workplace culture & belonging and human connection.
Champion for human connection and building high-value relationships in the Age of AI.
Smiley goes above and beyond.
“One of the Top Human Resources Keynote Speakers.”
“One of the Top 12 Speakers who will inspire you.”
Empowering Tech & AI Leaders to Thrive
Next Steps to Book Smiley as your Technology & AI Industry Keynote Speaker
Reach Out
Complete the Speaker Request Form to share your event details and confirm Smiley’s availability.
Prep
We’ll schedule a pre-event call so you can share your event’s goals and how Smiley can best customize his presentation to meet your audience’s unique needs and priorities. If needed, we’ll also schedule a prep call two weeks before the event to go over logistics and A/V, and make sure everyone is ready to go.
Customize
Smiley will schedule several additional calls with leaders, clients, key stakeholders, or employees, so he can build their personal stories and wisdom into his presentation, to make it resonate perfectly with your audience.
In addition to delivering an outstanding and highly actionable motivational keynote presentation, Smiley will show up for your people. Whenever possible, he’ll stay for client dinners, attend post-event cocktail receptions, moderate Q&As or discussion groups, sign books, do video interviews or podcasts, and make cross-promotional social media posts.
Show Up
After his presentation, Smiley will share his slides and create a custom 1-pager with key takeaways, article links, recommended books, and follow-on resources for audiences to engage with after his talk. Smiley will review audience feedback, and is happy to discuss planning a 6-month follow-up discussion group or interactive workshop, so your team can keep fostering belonging at work, long after Smiley’s keynote.
