Your Leaders in One Room. One Standard They Take Home.
Chris Sund is a leadership summit keynote speaker for company leadership summits, health system and community leadership summits, and the leadership track of larger meetings. A summit gathers the people who set the tone for everyone else: managers, directors and executives. Chris gives them a shared standard for leading people, delivered by a sitting President and COO who still has to live it on Monday.
Leadership Summits Chris Speaks At
A leadership summit is a different room from an open conference. Everyone in it leads people, and most of them will be asked to carry the message back to their teams.
Company Leadership Summits
The yearly gathering of a company’s managers, directors and executives, where leadership sets the standard for the year ahead.
Health System Leadership Summits
Nurse leaders, department heads and administrators from across a system. For smaller groups, see the healthcare leadership retreat page.
Community & Young Professional Summits
Chamber and community leadership summits, like the YP Summit in Omaha, where Chris has spoken.
Association Leadership Summits
Member leadership summits and the leadership track of an association meeting. For open conferences, see keynote speaker for leadership conferences.
What a Leadership Summit Keynote Has to Do
The keynote at a leadership summit cannot be general inspiration. It has to give leaders something they can say, use and be held to when they are back with their teams. Chris builds it around the EDGE framework from his leadership keynote and the ten principles of his book, turned outward to the people your leaders lead.
- A shared definition of what leading well looks like in your organization
- The EDGE framework: Embrace Ownership, Dare to Stretch, Generate Momentum, Elevate Others
- Why people quit people, not companies, and what every manager controls
- How to spot future leaders before they ask for a title
- The small, everyday leadership moments that decide culture and retention
- One commitment each leader writes down before leaving the room
The Interview Was Last Year
One of the stories summit audiences carry home comes from how Chris promotes people. When someone asks what it takes to earn the next role, his answer is that the interview was last year. The people he promotes are the ones who were already making the team better before anyone gave them a title.
He pairs it with the story of a recruiter he hired for traits rather than a perfect résumé, and why looking for traits changes how a leader builds a team. In a room full of managers, both stories land on the same question: who on your team is already leading, and what are you doing to notice?
Opening Keynote
The first general session, so every later session builds on the same language.
Leadership Track Breakout
A deeper session for one group of leaders inside a larger meeting.
Afternoon Workshop
A half-day in-person Leadership Exchange where leaders practice with each other.
Closing Keynote
When the summit needs to end on a commitment each leader takes home.
Proof: Leaders Who Have Been in the Room
Chris led the Leadership Experience session at the California Staffing Professionals conference, ran his Leadership Exchange for the Greater Omaha Chamber, and has spoken at the YP Summit and Authentica Connect & Inspire.
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 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.
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.
Programs for Leadership Summits
Every session is built with your team around what your leaders need to carry back.
You Are Capable of More: Leadership
The core summit keynote: ownership, stretch, momentum and elevating others, framed for your leaders and your year.
People Quit People, Not Companies
For summits focused on retention: why people stay or leave, and what every manager controls.
The Power of Small Moments
How the ordinary interactions between leaders and their people shape culture and trust.
The Leadership Exchange
The interactive workshop that turns a summit session into a conversation leaders actually take part in.
Who Books a Leadership Summit Speaker
Related pages: Keynote Speaker for Leadership Conferences · Leadership Keynote Speaker · Leadership Development Speaker · Emerging Leaders Speaker · Executive Retreat Speaker · Strategic Planning Retreat Speaker · Partner Summit Speaker · Leadership Workshop Facilitator
What Leadership Summit Planners Ask
What is the difference between a leadership summit and a leadership conference?
A leadership conference is usually an open event where attendees choose sessions from a program. A leadership summit usually brings one organization’s or one community’s leaders together for a shared purpose. Chris builds summit keynotes around what your leaders need to carry back to their teams. For open conferences, see keynote speaker for leadership conferences.
Should the keynote open or close the leadership summit?
Opening is usually stronger, because the keynote gives every later session a shared language. A closing keynote works when the summit needs to end on a commitment. Chris will fit the slot you have.
Can Chris run a workshop as well as the keynote?
Yes. A common format is the opening keynote for all leaders and a half-day or full-day in-person workshop, such as the interactive Leadership Exchange, the same day or the next morning.
Will the content work for new managers and senior executives at the same time?
Yes. The material is about behavior, not title: ownership, how leaders treat their people in ordinary moments, and noticing who is already leading. New supervisors and senior leaders hear it differently, and both can use it.
Can every leader get a copy of the book?
Yes. Many organizations give every summit attendee a copy of You Are Capable of More. See bulk book orders for signed copies.
You Are Capable of More
The bestselling book behind the leadership keynote, an Amazon bestseller and the 2026 Paris Book Festival winner in the How-To category. Its ten principles run across four movements, and the summit keynote turns them outward to the people your leaders lead.
A copy for every leader keeps the summit’s language alive after the event, and Chris can sign copies after the session.
He Leads Leaders Every Week
Chris is President & COO of Uniti Med and GQR Healthcare and COO of Nebula. He helped grow Uniti Med 10x in revenue in two years, earning #3 on the Inc. Regionals list of the fastest-growing companies in the Midwest, and the organization earned Fortune Best Workplaces recognition and Best Places to Work recognition across multiple programs. The standard he asks your leaders to hold is the one he holds his own managers to.
He is the bestselling, award-winning author of You Are Capable of More, an Amazon bestseller and the 2026 Paris Book Festival How-To winner, and he writes for Forbes and Inc. Audiences have also seen him on WOWT, 10/11, WFLA’s Bloom, KXAN’s Studio 512, KCTV5, WOI and Dakota News Now.
Stages I Have Spoken On
Where Leaders Have Heard Chris
Leadership sessions, summits and company meetings where Chris has spoken.
Greater Omaha ChamberLeadership ExchangeCalifornia Staffing ProfessionalsLeadership ExperienceYP SummitYoung ProfessionalsAuthentica Connect & InspireConferenceBeatStars Company MeetingMay 2026Definitive Healthcare SKOBoston, MA · 800+ sellersAlso: Leadership Conferences · Emerging Leaders · All Corporate Events · See all speaking engagements →
Bring Chris to Your Leadership Summit
Tell Chris who your leaders are, what the summit is for and what they need to carry back. You’ll get a fast, straight answer on fit and availability.
Check AvailabilityResponse within one business day · Speaker kit, bio & headshots