Keynote Speakers Like Simon Sinek: Trust & AI Alternatives
Simon Sinek taught the world to Start with Why. That single idea reshaped how a generation of leaders thinks about purpose, motivation, and organizational culture.
If Simon is on your wishlist, I know what your organization needs. You need a speaker who connects purpose to performance. Who helps leaders understand that the "how" and the "what" only work when people believe in the "why." Who makes your audience rethink what leadership actually means.
The reality is that Simon's fees and availability put him out of reach for most events. But the problem he addresses — how do leaders inspire trust and commitment in a world that is moving faster than anyone can keep up with — is the defining leadership challenge of the next decade.
Here are five speakers who bring that same combination of purpose-driven thinking and practical leadership strategy.
Kim Scott
Kim wrote Radical Candor and changed how managers think about feedback. If your leaders are avoiding hard conversations, giving vague praise, or managing through niceness instead of honesty, Kim's framework gives them a new operating system.
Best for: Management development programs and leadership retreats focused on communication.
2. Jacob Morgan
Jacob is a futurist and author focused on employee experience and the future of leadership. If your organization is trying to understand what leadership looks like in five years — not just today — Jacob brings data, trends, and forward-looking strategy.
Best for: Innovation conferences and forward-looking leadership events.
3. Julissa S. Germosén
Simon Sinek taught leaders to start with why. I teach leaders what happens when the why is clear but the trust is broken.
Because here is what I have watched happen over 20 years at Microsoft and Salesforce. Leaders have the vision. They have the purpose. They have the strategy. And the rollout still fails. The team still resists. The deals still stall. Not because people do not believe in the why. Because they do not trust the people delivering it.
Purpose without trust is a poster on the wall. Trust without purpose is loyalty without direction. You need both.
My Currency of Connection™ framework picks up where "Start with Why" leaves off. It maps the journey from relational bankruptcy — where most organizations are today — to relational capital, the trust you build on purpose, to relational currency, the flywheel where trust compounds and directly accelerates deal velocity, team retention, and leadership influence.
Simon inspires leaders to find their purpose. I give leaders the trust infrastructure to execute it.
Best for: Enterprise leadership summits, association conferences, AI and innovation events, sales kickoffs, and any organization where the vision is clear but the execution is stalling because trust has eroded.
4. Liz Wiseman
Liz wrote Multipliers and studies how the best leaders amplify the intelligence around them rather than being the smartest person in the room. If your leadership culture rewards individual heroics over collective intelligence, Liz helps shift that dynamic.
Best for: Leadership development programs and organizations transitioning from command-and-control to collaborative cultures.
5. Seth Godin
Seth is the marketing legend who has spent decades teaching people to lead by making a difference, not by following the crowd. His work on tribes, permission marketing, and the practice of shipping creative work has influenced millions. If your audience needs to think differently about what it means to lead in a noisy world, Seth delivers.
Best for: Creative industries, marketing conferences, and events focused on innovation and standing out.
How to Choose
Simon Sinek built the foundation. The speakers on this list build on it in different directions.
If you need better feedback culture, Kim Scott. If you need future-focused leadership trends, Jacob Morgan. If you need to multiply collective intelligence, Liz Wiseman. If you need creative courage, Seth Godin.
If you need the leader who takes purpose and connects it to trust at the exact moment your organization is navigating AI, disruption, and transformation — and who will customize every word for your audience — that is where I come in.
AI is commoditizing. Trust is the new moat. And purpose without trust is just a speech.
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