Ken Schmidt

Ken Schmidt is an in-demand speaker, focusing on communications. His wealth of experience comes from being the former director of communications for Harley Davidson. While working for the company, he was responsible for one of the greatest turn arounds in corporate history. After taking their position as market leader lightly and in the face of newer, cheaper alternatives hitting the market, Harley lost their market share dramatically and were later declared bankrupt. With Ken at the helm, efforts were made to turn things around yet it was a story of significant trial and error alongside the need to re-connect with customers the company had previously lost before an upturn in fortunes was apparent.

Ken played a huge role in restoring Harley Davidson to the high-end, luxury model we now see their bikes to be. It is the process behind achieving this that makes up a significant proportion of Ken's talks, and makes him a hugely popular after dinner speaker. Later on in life Ken went on to enjoy an influential position working within a marketing firm called VSA. After many successful years, he sold his shares within the company to pursue his dream of public speaking and to run his own company. Most recently, Ken likes to speak out to businesses and academic groups sharing his knowledge among those who request it. What makes him a truly remarkable character is his interesting take on building relationships, and the unorthodox nature of his techniques that made him such a successful authority within the communication world.