A Keynote Speaker for Columbus, Nebraska.
Keynotes, breakouts, and leadership workshops for the manufacturers, utilities, hospitals, and associations that meet in Columbus.
Columbus is a manufacturing and agriculture town that punches well above its size, and the leaders here deal with the same hiring and retention pressure as any big-city employer. Chris Sund is a bestselling author and keynote speaker who lives in Fremont, about an hour east on the US-30 expressway, so bringing him to Columbus is a same-day drive rather than a travel project.
The plant floor in Columbus runs on people who could work anywhere. Keeping them is a leadership job, not an HR job.
Rooms on his calendar close to home.
Recent and upcoming sessions across Nebraska and western Iowa, for audiences much like the ones that meet in Columbus.
Nebraska Cooperative Extension Association
The You Are Capable of More leadership workshop for University of Nebraska Extension faculty and staff at their statewide conference.
emPower Breakfast Lincoln
The featured talk at the October breakfast at the Talon Room in downtown Lincoln, on handling objections with the LAARC method.
MICA Fall Business Meetings
Closing the Midwest Insulation Contractors Association program with Take Back Your Time with AI, a live working session. Every attendee went home with a copy of the book.
Iowa Health Care Association
Two sessions at one statewide convention for long-term and post-acute care leaders from across Iowa: The Power of Small Moments keynote and the You Are Capable of More: Leadership workshop.
Crawford County Memorial Hospital
The keynote for a rural western Iowa hospital’s recognition dinner, with the HR director on record about the result.
A working town with real meeting space.
Columbus sits where the Loup River meets the Platte, and its economy leans on manufacturing and agriculture. Employers here include Becton Dickinson, Behlen Mfg. Co., Vishay Intertechnology, and Loup Power District, and that mix of plants, utilities, and farm business is exactly the audience Chris speaks to most.
The city has around ten hotels and meeting space for groups from fifteen people up to about a thousand. The Ramada Columbus Hotel and Conference Center is the largest dedicated conference space in town, the Platte County Ag Park hosts Extension programs and community meetings, and Harrah’s Columbus Racing and Casino, home to the longest thoroughbred track in the state, gives out-of-town attendees something to do in the evening.
Ramada Columbus Hotel & Conference Center
About 20,850 square feet of event space across ten meeting rooms, with room for up to 800 conference guests or 700 at a banquet.
Platte County Ag Park
The county’s agricultural park, where Nebraska Extension and local groups hold trainings and community meetings.
See the full media hub →A name your members may already know.
Chris has talked about You Are Capable of More on WOWT 6 News in Omaha, Iowa Live on Local 5 in Des Moines, and My KC Live on KCTV5 in Kansas City, and he writes for Forbes and Inc. For a Columbus audience, a familiar face from Omaha television makes it a little easier to fill the room.
Five things a Columbus event gets from him.
Whether it is a chamber annual meeting, a plant leadership day, or a statewide association, the speaker should make the day easier rather than harder.
- An easy drive, not a trip. Chris lives in Fremont, at the east end of the 47-mile US-30 expressway that runs to Columbus. He can drive in that morning or come the night before, with no flights to work around.
- More than one session on the same day. Many groups pair a general session keynote with a breakout or a half-day leadership workshop for supervisors. He did exactly that for the Iowa Health Care Association, and a full-day workshop is available too.
- Content your people can use on Monday. Every program runs the ten principles of You Are Capable of More, with practical tools for leading people, keeping good employees, and growing sales.
- Someone who builds businesses today. As President and COO of Uniti Med and GQR Healthcare and COO of Nebula, he helped grow Uniti Med 10x in revenue in two years. He talks about leadership from inside it, not from a distance.
- A book for every attendee if you want one. Signed copies of the Amazon bestseller and Paris Book Festival winner make a natural welcome gift or sponsor giveaway, and the free toolkit keeps the conversation going afterward.
On speaking to manufacturing and ag audiences
Built for the groups that gather here.
Each program below has its own page with formats and answers to the questions your committee will ask.
State Associations
Annual conventions, general sessions, and leadership tracks for statewide professional and trade associations.
HR & SHRM Conferences
HR conferences and chapter meetings on hiring, retention, and leading people well.
Healthcare
Hospital and long-term care leadership days, where Chris also leads companies that serve the field.
Banks & Credit Unions
Bank leadership retreats, branch manager meetings, and customer events.
Agriculture & Cooperatives
Co-op annual meetings, commodity groups, and the farm businesses that anchor the Columbus economy.
Utilities & Electric Co-ops
Public power and electric co-op manager programs, employee days, and member events.
Cities, Counties & Schools
Municipal, county, and school district leadership events across Platte County.
Company Meetings & Kickoffs
Leadership offsites, company kickoffs, and all-hands meetings for Columbus employers.
Manufacturing
Plant leadership days and supervisor training for the manufacturers that make Columbus run.
More Nebraska pages.
If your meeting rotates around the state, or you are comparing host cities, these pages cover the rest of it.
Also serving Platte County, Schuyler, David City, Albion, Fullerton, and the surrounding towns. If your community is not named here, the answer is still yes.
Four movements. Ten principles.
Every session runs the same architecture as the bestselling book, which is what lets a chamber luncheon, a school assembly, and a company all-hands build on each other across a community.
The Foundation
Ownership and time. What is still inside your control in a year mostly spent reacting.
The Breakthrough
The comfort ceiling and the inner voice. The section every room goes quiet for.
The Standard
Truth over praise, and the hidden gear. Who in your life will actually tell you the truth.
The Purpose
Finishing, and leaving people better. The close, and the one people bring up afterward.
A book your people take home.
An Amazon bestseller and the How-To category winner at the 2026 Paris Book Festival. Sponsors often underwrite copies, which turns a giveaway into something attendees actually keep.
You Are Capable of More: A No-Excuses Guide to Becoming Your Best Self. An Amazon bestseller from Game Changer Publishing, with a foreword by Ben Newman, and the winner of the How-To category at the 2026 Paris Book Festival.
Ten chapters across four movements. The free companion toolkit includes a discussion guide, a self-assessment, and a thirty day challenge, none of it gated behind an email address. Columbus employers and associations use it for welcome bags, sponsor giveaways, and supervisor book studies after the event.
The feedback speaks for itself.
At our Leadership Exchange workshop, Chris was able to energize the room, spark conversations, and encourage connections throughout the event. Attendees spoke of how impactful their conversations were, reinforcing just how powerful these moments of connection can be. We are incredibly grateful for Chris and the lasting impact he is making on our community’s future leaders.
Chris Sund’s speaking engagements are truly powerful. His engaging style draws the audience into the conversation, creating a relaxed atmosphere that encourages learning and reflection. You leave not only inspired but equipped with practical leadership insights you’re eager to implement. Chris is a thoughtful, intentional leader who uses his influence to positively impact everyone he encounters.
Chris was an outstanding speaker and a highlight of our 2025 Patient Experience Recognition Dinner. He took the time to deeply understand our organization, our culture, and our specific goals — and thoughtfully personalized his presentation. His message resonated across all roles. Our staff genuinely loved his delivery. We could not recommend him highly enough.
Chris’s Leadership Experience session was one of the highlights of the CSP Conference. His ability to blend real-world experience with authentic storytelling made it relatable and impactful. He was approachable, genuine, and generous with his time. I left inspired, energized, and equipped with insights I continue to reflect on.
Chris consistently brings a wealth of knowledge, insight, and practical advice to every presentation. At our NAHCR Conference he led two impactful sessions, acknowledged the real challenges we face, and shared valuable strategies. His deep understanding of our audience and commitment to the profession elevate the value he brings to every engagement.
At our Leadership Exchange workshop, Chris was able to energize the room, spark conversations, and encourage connections throughout the event. Attendees spoke of how impactful their conversations were, reinforcing just how powerful these moments of connection can be. We are incredibly grateful for Chris and the lasting impact he is making on our community’s future leaders.
Chris Sund’s speaking engagements are truly powerful. His engaging style draws the audience into the conversation, creating a relaxed atmosphere that encourages learning and reflection. You leave not only inspired but equipped with practical leadership insights you’re eager to implement. Chris is a thoughtful, intentional leader who uses his influence to positively impact everyone he encounters.
Chris was an outstanding speaker and a highlight of our 2025 Patient Experience Recognition Dinner. He took the time to deeply understand our organization, our culture, and our specific goals — and thoughtfully personalized his presentation. His message resonated across all roles. Our staff genuinely loved his delivery. We could not recommend him highly enough.
Chris’s Leadership Experience session was one of the highlights of the CSP Conference. His ability to blend real-world experience with authentic storytelling made it relatable and impactful. He was approachable, genuine, and generous with his time. I left inspired, energized, and equipped with insights I continue to reflect on.
Chris consistently brings a wealth of knowledge, insight, and practical advice to every presentation. At our NAHCR Conference he led two impactful sessions, acknowledged the real challenges we face, and shared valuable strategies. His deep understanding of our audience and commitment to the profession elevate the value he brings to every engagement.
Fremont-based. An hour from Columbus.
Chris Sund is a keynote speaker and the bestselling, award-winning author of You Are Capable of More, an Amazon Bestseller and the winner of the How-To category at the 2026 Paris Book Festival.
He builds and scales businesses for a living. He is President and COO of Uniti Med and GQR Healthcare and COO of Nebula, and he helped grow Uniti Med 10x in revenue in two years, earning the number three ranking on the Inc. Regionals list of the fastest-growing companies in the Midwest. The organization has earned Fortune Best Workplaces honors and Best Places to Work recognition across multiple programs.
He writes for Forbes and Inc. and serves as Vice President of the NATHO Board of Directors. He lives in Fremont, Nebraska, and speaks for associations and companies across the state, the Midwest, and nationwide.
Details your committee will ask for.
Columbus planners ask these.
How far is Columbus from Chris?
Which Columbus venues does Chris speak in?
Can Chris do a keynote and a workshop on the same day?
What kinds of Columbus groups book Chris?
How do we check availability?
What he speaks about.
Every program runs the ten principles of You Are Capable of More, built for the specific room.
You Are Capable of More
The flagship keynote behind the book.
LeadershipLeadership Keynote
Leadership as the multiplier.
SalesSales Keynote
For sales meetings, kickoffs, and award trips.
RetentionEmployee Retention Speaker
Why people leave, and what actually keeps them.
CultureCulture Keynote
Build a workplace people never want to leave.
AIAI Keynote & Working Session
Take Back Your Time with AI, live and hands-on.
NebraskaNebraska Keynote Speaker
The whole state, city by city.
AgricultureAgriculture Keynote Speaker
Co-ops, commodity groups, and rural business.
NationwideAll Locations
Every state and international.
Bring Chris to Columbus.
Send your dates, the venue, and what your people are working on. You will get availability and a plan back within one business day.