Keynote Speakers Like Brené Brown for Corporate Events
Brené Brown changed the conversation about leadership. She made vulnerability a boardroom word. She gave millions of people permission to lead with honesty instead of armor.
If Brené is on your shortlist, I know what you are looking for. You want a speaker who is real. Who tells the truth on stage. Who does not hide behind slides and statistics. Who makes your audience feel something and then gives them something to do about it.
The challenge is that Brené's availability is extremely limited and her fees reflect her global celebrity status. But the need she addresses — how do leaders show up as humans in a world that rewards performance over authenticity — is more urgent than ever.
Here are five speakers who bring that same combination of vulnerability, substance, and actionable leadership frameworks.
Susan Cain
Susan wrote Quiet (which I have read and LOVED) and fundamentally shifted how organizations think about introverted leaders. If your event is about creating space for different leadership styles and making sure your quietest people are not your most overlooked, Susan's work is powerful.
Best for: Leadership retreats and talent development events focused on inclusive culture.
2. Liz Fosslien
Liz is the co-author of No Hard Feelings and Big Feelings. She makes emotional intelligence at work accessible, visual, and practical. If your audience needs permission to be human at work without it feeling like therapy, Liz delivers with humor and clarity.
Best for: All-hands meetings and culture events where the audience spans multiple levels.
3. Julissa S. Germosén
Brené taught the world that vulnerability is strength. I teach leaders how to use that vulnerability in the middle of an AI rollout, a restructuring, or a quarter when trust has completely broken down.
I spent 20 years at Microsoft and Salesforce. I know what it feels like to walk into a boardroom as a Dominicana, one of just 2% of Latina leaders in corporate America, and be told that your strategic contribution can be summarized in one word: workhorse. I know what it costs to stay human in systems that reward performance over personhood. And I built my Currency of Connection™ framework from that lived experience.
Where Brené opens the door to vulnerability, I walk through it with a blueprint. My framework maps the journey from relational bankruptcy to building relational capital to earning relational currency — giving leaders a system for turning trust into measurable business outcomes such as deal velocity, team retention, and leadership influence.
Best for: Enterprise leadership summits, association conferences, AI and innovation events, sales kickoffs, and any audience navigating disruption and needing both the courage to lead differently and the framework to do it.
4. Dorie Clark
Dorie is a strategy consultant and author who helps leaders think long-term about their careers, their influence, and their visibility. If your event is about building professional capital and playing the long game in a fast-moving world, Dorie brings sharp, strategic thinking.
Best for: Executive audiences focused on career development and strategic positioning.
5. Cy Wakeman
Cy is a drama researcher who helps organizations cut through workplace drama and focus on accountability. If your team is stuck in blame loops, a victim mentality, or resistance to change, Cy's no-nonsense approach clears the fog fast.
Best for: Organizations dealing with change fatigue or accountability gaps.
How to Choose
Brené Brown opened a door that the entire leadership speaking world walked through. The question is which speaker walks through it in the direction your audience needs most.
If you need inclusive leadership, Susan Cain. If you need emotional intelligence made practical, Liz Fosslien. If you need strategic career thinking, Dorie Clark. If you need accountability, Cy Wakeman.
If you need the speaker who has lived vulnerability in the boardroom as a woman of color in tech, who built a proprietary framework for turning trust into business results, and who will customize every word for your specific audience — that is where I come in.
Connection is not a soft skill. It is a growth strategy.
Julissa S. Germosén is the founder of Trust Capital AI and a keynote speaker on trust, human connection, and the human side of AI. She speaks for enterprise leaders, executive teams, and industry associations at leadership summits, AI and innovation conferences, association conferences, sales kickoffs, and Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations. Book Julissa for your next event → https://julissasgermosen.com/contact