Innovation Is a Habit, Not a Department.
An innovation speaker for conferences, leadership meetings and company events, for organizations that want new ideas tried on Monday morning instead of admired in a slide deck.
Chris Sund is an operator, not a futurist. As President and COO of Uniti Med and GQR Healthcare and COO of Nebula, an AI talent sourcing company, he spends his weeks deciding which new ideas get tried, which ones get funded and how a team actually adopts a new tool. His creativity and innovation keynote shows how ordinary teams surface better ideas, test them without fear and turn the good ones into new ways of working.
Every breakthrough starts as a bad idea to somebody. The leaders who innovate are the ones who make it safe to say the idea out loud.
Innovation from someone who has to make it work.
Plenty of innovation talks are about the future in general. Chris talks about the kind of innovation that happens inside a working company, where the payroll still has to be met while you try something new. His examples come from launching new service lines, bringing AI into daily work and growing a company quickly enough that standing still was never an option.
- New service lines, built from the inside. Growth often comes from noticing a need your customers already have and building a way to meet it. Chris shares how his teams have taken that step, and what it takes to launch something new while the core business keeps running.
- AI adoption that people actually use. Through Nebula and his own operations, Chris works with AI as a daily tool rather than a talking point. He shows how teams start small, prove value quickly and build the habit before the hype fades.
- Ideas that look bad at first. Most good ideas sound strange the first time someone says them. Chris helps leaders build the kind of team where people raise those ideas early instead of keeping them to themselves.
- Innovation as a people skill. New ideas come from people who feel trusted and who believe they are capable of more. That belief is the foundation of his book and of every innovation session he gives.
Chris wrote about this in Every Breakthrough Starts As A Bad Idea To Somebody, and planners who want a full session on artificial intelligence can see his AI keynote speaker page. The innovation keynote draws on both, with a wider focus on how teams create and adopt new ideas of every kind.
Growth that came from trying new things.
Innovation is easiest to believe when it shows up in results. Here is what changed at the company Chris helps lead, alongside what his book research found about people.
revenue growth at Uniti Med in two years. Growing that quickly meant trying new things constantly and learning which ones to keep.
on the Inc. Regionals list of the fastest-growing companies in the Midwest, earned during that stretch of growth.
of the more than two hundred working adults surveyed for You Are Capable of More said they are capable of more. Most of the ideas your organization needs are already in the room.
The moments that call for new thinking.
An innovation keynote works best when an organization knows it needs to change how it works and wants its people leading that change.
Rolling out AI
When leadership has bought new tools or is about to, and wants people curious and confident about using them instead of anxious.
Launching something new
When a company is opening a new service line, entering a new market or rethinking a product and needs the whole team behind it.
Strategy and planning meetings
When leaders are setting priorities for the year and want ideas from every level of the organization, not only the top.
Innovation and technology conferences
When attendees have heard plenty about the future and want practical examples from someone using these tools in a business today.
From a bad idea to a better way of working.
The keynote follows a practical arc, and the examples are chosen for your industry after a planning call with your team.
Start with an idea that looked wrong
Chris opens with examples of ideas that seemed foolish at first and later became the obvious way to do things, so the room relaxes about sounding strange.
Find the ideas already in the room
Most teams have someone who already sees a better way to do something. Chris shows leaders how to ask for those ideas and listen when they arrive.
Test small and fast
Practical ways to try an idea on a small scale, learn quickly and decide whether to grow it, without betting the business.
Put AI to work
A grounded look at using AI for real tasks your audience does every week, drawn from Chris’s own companies and from Nebula.
Make it a habit
He closes with how leaders keep innovation going after the event by recognizing the people who try things, including the experiments that do not work.
One story Chris tells is about a hire that might have looked like a bad idea on paper. He brought on a recruiter with no background in recruiting because he was humble, driven, emotionally intelligent and honest. With training he became a top producer. Innovation in hiring, Chris says, is often just being willing to look at people differently, and he still asks candidates, “What’s the hardest thing you’ve done in your life?”
Programs that work as an innovation keynote.
Each program can be shaped around creativity and new ideas. These are the ones planners pick most often for an innovation slot.
Take Back Your Time with AI
A hands-on session on using AI for everyday work, so people reclaim time for the thinking only they can do.
TeamsYour Team Is Capable of More
How teams that believe in each other bring forward better ideas and act on them together.
CultureYou Are Capable of a Better Culture
The SPARK framework for a workplace where people feel safe to try something new.
LeadersYou Are Capable of More: Leadership
For leaders who want to draw new ideas out of their people rather than supply all of them.
Signature KeynoteYou Are Capable of More
The belief behind every innovation: that people are capable of more than they are doing today.
From a spark to a working plan.
Innovation works as a keynote to open minds, and as a workshop where teams leave with ideas they have already started testing.
Keynote
The main-stage session that gets the whole room thinking differently about new ideas and new tools.
Breakout
A smaller, deeper session, often focused on practical AI or on leading teams through change.
Half-Day Workshop
Teams surface ideas, choose a few worth testing and leave with a small experiment to run next week.
Full-Day Workshop
A full working day for a leadership team building an innovation and AI adoption plan for the year.
Fresh thinking, in their words.
Chris demonstrated exceptional knowledge and expertise in using AI in recruiting, captivating the audience with his engaging delivery and insightful content.
I enjoyed meeting and working with Chris throughout DisruptHR Omaha 6.0. He was engaged, responsive, and invested throughout the planning process and created a presentation that resonated with our audience and challenged us all to look at employee retention from a different lens. Chris brought both expertise and authenticity to his presentation while making the most of DisruptHR’s fast-paced five-minute format. I’m so glad that we were able to connect and have him join us!
Chris Sund’s Leadership Exchange was a great experience. It sparked new ideas and got me thinking differently about leadership. I also really enjoyed the conversations with other local young professionals. Definitely worth attending.
I’ve heard Chris present several times. His topics are well researched, his presentation style has a good flow, and he weaves in practical tips and real-life examples that make the discussion realistic and relatable. We would love to have him present again.
I always have takeaways to put into action after attending Chris’s sessions. Whether adapting to last-minute changes or tailoring content to diverse audiences, Chris consistently delivers with professionalism and humility. What sets Chris apart is his genuine passion for the healthcare industry — it’s clear he cares deeply about uplifting the entire profession.
Chris demonstrated exceptional knowledge and expertise in using AI in recruiting, captivating the audience with his engaging delivery and insightful content.
I enjoyed meeting and working with Chris throughout DisruptHR Omaha 6.0. He was engaged, responsive, and invested throughout the planning process and created a presentation that resonated with our audience and challenged us all to look at employee retention from a different lens. Chris brought both expertise and authenticity to his presentation while making the most of DisruptHR’s fast-paced five-minute format. I’m so glad that we were able to connect and have him join us!
Chris Sund’s Leadership Exchange was a great experience. It sparked new ideas and got me thinking differently about leadership. I also really enjoyed the conversations with other local young professionals. Definitely worth attending.
I’ve heard Chris present several times. His topics are well researched, his presentation style has a good flow, and he weaves in practical tips and real-life examples that make the discussion realistic and relatable. We would love to have him present again.
I always have takeaways to put into action after attending Chris’s sessions. Whether adapting to last-minute changes or tailoring content to diverse audiences, Chris consistently delivers with professionalism and humility. What sets Chris apart is his genuine passion for the healthcare industry — it’s clear he cares deeply about uplifting the entire profession.
New ideas, and the confidence to try them.
- Permission to sound strange. People leave more willing to say the half-formed idea out loud, which is where most good ideas begin.
- A simple way to test ideas. Teams learn to try something small, measure it honestly and decide quickly whether to keep going.
- Real uses for AI. Attendees leave with specific tasks they can hand to AI this week, not just a general sense that they should be using it.
- Leaders who listen differently. Managers learn how to ask for ideas and respond in a way that makes people want to bring the next one.
- Momentum after the event. Every group leaves with one idea to test, so the session turns into action rather than a good memory.
Rooms ready to try something new.
The belief behind every new idea.
The keynote grows out of You Are Capable of More: A No-Excuses Guide to Becoming Your Best Self, a book about the gap between what people are doing and what they are capable of, which is exactly where unexpressed ideas tend to live.
The book was published in August 2026 by Game Changer Publishing and was named the How-To winner at the 2026 Paris Book Festival.
Many events give every attendee a signed copy so the encouragement to try something new keeps going after the session. Bulk pricing is available.
On stage and on air.
Conferences, company meetings and AI sessions
Keynotes, breakouts and hands-on workshops on new ideas, practical AI and leading teams through change.
See the events →
Television, radio and podcasts
WOWT Omaha, 10/11 Lincoln, Bloom on WFLA Tampa, Studio 512 on KXAN Austin, My KC Live on KCTV5, Iowa Live on WOI and Dakota News Now.
See all media →
He tries new things for a living.
Chris does not study innovation from the outside. He makes decisions every week about which new services to launch, which tools to adopt and how to help his teams use them, and the stories in this keynote come straight from that work.
He is President and COO of Uniti Med and GQR Healthcare and COO of Nebula, an AI talent sourcing company. He helped grow Uniti Med 10x in revenue in two years, earning a #3 ranking on the Inc. Regionals list of the fastest-growing companies in the Midwest and Fortune Best Workplaces recognition.
Chris writes for Forbes and Inc., is a member of the Forbes Business Council and the Inc. Leadership Forum, and is Maxwell Leadership Certified as a speaker, trainer and coach.
Details your planning team will ask for.
What planners ask about innovation keynotes.
What makes Chris different from other innovation speakers?
Does the innovation keynote cover AI?
Is this a creativity and innovation keynote for non-technical audiences?
What will our people actually do differently afterward?
Can this be a hands-on workshop?
Where audiences have heard Chris.
Conferences, company events and industry gatherings where Chris has spoken on growth, new ideas and practical AI.
Definitive Healthcare SKOBoston, MA · 800+ sellersDisruptHR OmahaFive-minute formatPOWER ConferenceGreater Omaha ChamberemPower BreakfastBusiness breakfast · Lincoln, NEAHCA/NCALNational associationCSP ConferenceLeadership sessionRelated: Every Breakthrough Starts As A Bad Idea · AI Keynote Speaker · Take Back Your Time with AI · Tech Company Keynote Speaker · See all speaking engagements →
Give your people room to try the next idea.
Send your dates, your audience and the change you are hoping to spark. You will get availability and a plan back within one business day.