


Verne's Bio
Verne Harnish is founder of the world-renowned Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), with over 20,000 members worldwide, and founded and chaired for fifteen years EO’s premiere CEO program held at MIT, a program in which he still teaches today.
Founder and CEO of Scaling Up, a global executive education and coaching company with over 290 partners on six continents, Verne has spent the past four decades helping companies scaleup.
He’s the author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits; authored The Greatest Business Decisions of All Times, for which Jim Collins wrote the foreword; wrote Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) which has been translated into 26 languages and has won eight major international book awards including the International Book Award for Best General Business book; and is the co-author of Scaling Up Compensation. His latest book is Start to Scale.
Verne serves on several boards including vice chair of The Riordan Clinic; co-founder and chair of Geoversity; and board member of the social venture Million Dollar Women. A private investor in many scaleups, Verne enjoys piano, tennis, and magic as a card-carrying member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.


Recognised among the Top Inspiring Business Leaders
IndustryWired named Verne to its Top Inspiring Business Leaders of the Year 2020 — an annual listing of leaders driving significant business transformation, opening new ways to create value, and facilitating effective decision-making across organisations globally.
His book Scaling Up has won eight major international book awards, including the International Book Award for Best General Business book.
What event organizers say
“Verne’s opening keynote address to our audience of over 850 Entrepreneurs was phenomenal. Of the 18 other celebrity and high profile keynote and breakout speakers, Verne was the highest rated (9.4 out of 10) and most talked about the speaker of the entire event. Verne’s amazingly insightful presentation drew a standing ovation, set the tone for the entire event, and left everyone feeling ready to learn even more. Verne absolutely ROCKED Nashville Nerve 2015.”
“Verne’s insights and remarks on Dominating Your Industry: The Four Critical Decisions were enthusiastically received by the audience and helped to make this a memorable event for all involved. His session earned a unanimous 6 out of 6 (the equivalent of a 10), with such comments as Outstanding session!, High energy-high value speaker!, and Should have been longer!”
“Verne keynoted our Growth Summit in Ulaanbaatar where he presented via a video call to audience of over 600 top CEOs and executives in Mongolia; after his speech of about 45 min +15 min Q&A, there was standing ovation from the entire audience. It was fantastic. I’ve never seen such standing ovation from so many executives before, let alone for a presentation done over video call!”
“Verne your talk knocked me out!!! Again! You are without a doubt in the top 3 business speakers I have ever heard. Thanks you for making yourself available & your great wisdom. Feedback was incredible.”
“Verne, I can’t thank you enough for the amazing keynote you gave at our conference to close our event! Everyone was engaged right until the end, and of course, your level of energy was the same coming off the stage as it was when you first stepped on the stage 90 minutes earlier! The reports back from our partners and my executive team alike was astounding as witnessed by the standing ovation you received.”
“Verne was pure shock and awe – he inspired and opened peoples’ minds to what is achievable and provided a robust framework through Scaling Up on how to succeed. He rocked the house!”
“NAEA has hosted events for thousands of business-minded real estate professionals and Verne Harnish was a great decision for the keynote. Our attendance was at an all-time high, the quality of attendee was unmatched, and his keynote shared many practical tools and techniques in a humorous and engaging manner bringing our audience to their feet at the end.”
“We continue to hear how much the members (U.S. Swim School Association) loved your presentation and they were able to take what was learned and put it to use immediately. I personally thought you were one of our best presenters in the past several years.”
“Verne really did make a difference! As a speaker, your unique presentation provided immense “take-home” value that the members will be able to apply immediately and directly to both their professional and personal lives!”
“Verne’s presentation received high marks from our attendees… I think it was one of the best!”
“Thank you for being such an integral part of our Secret Service Summit again. Your content is brilliant, inspiring and necessary. I’ve learned a great deal from you (and your books) over the years and am grateful for everything you so graciously share with your audiences.”
“Verne is THE guru of fast growth companies. Those who listen GROW and SUCCEED . . . so listen . . . or read!”
“This is THE field book for any growth business.”
“The undisputed expert in helping entrepreneurs, I had him address the firm I merged with AOL; he was the first speaker we invited when we launched what has become AOL University, and now he’s bringing his powerful ideas to you.”







Fees, accommodation, and everything the keynote includes.
Of 19 keynote and breakout speakers at Nerve 2015 in Nashville — an audience of over 850 entrepreneurs — Verne was the highest rated, at 9.4 out of 10.
The energy in minute 90 is the same as in minute one.
Start with the 90-second reel, then watch full segments from two very different rooms — 7,200+ in an Amsterdam arena, and a 2,500-strong virtual summit alongside Jim Collins, Pat Lencioni, and Ram Charan.
Bestselling Author
More than 750k copies sold — the tools in these books have helped over 102,000 firms scale.

Scaling Up (Revised Edition)
How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't (Rockefeller Habits 2.0)
Buy the book →
Scaling Up Compensation
5 Design Principles for Turning Your Largest Expense into a Strategic Advantage
Buy the book →
The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time
How Apple, Ford, IBM, Zappos, and others made radical choices that changed the course of business
Buy the book →Press kit
Verne Harnish is founder of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (20,000+ members worldwide) and founder and CEO of Scaling Up, whose tools have helped over 102,000 firms scale. He is the author of five books, including Scaling Up — translated into 26 languages, winner of eight international awards — and his latest, Start to Scale.










Get in touch.
For speaking inquiries, use the form below.
Ask Verne to speak at your event
Tell us about the event and we’ll take it from there.


