Electrify your venue with an award-winning

Keynote Speaker

Simon T. Bailey ignites audiences with hope that unlocks their brilliance, leaving them empowered and uplifted, ready to express their unique talents in meaningful ways.

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Discover transformative keynote experiences.

Each topic is designed to build upon the pillars of hope, brilliance, and human connection, empowering audiences to unlock their potential, navigate change with confidence, and elevate the way they lead and serve.

experience One

Hope-Powered Leadership

In a workplace defined by exhaustion, rapid change, and AI-driven disruption, organizations need more than efficiency — they need leaders who restore belief, stability, and forward momentum. Hope-Powered Leadership™ is Simon T. Bailey’s groundbreaking framework showing why hope is not soft — it is the ultimate human advantage in the age of AI.

This keynote experience is anchored in Simon’s nationally recognized research, The State of Working America: Thriving in Resilience and Brilliance, and draws from his forthcoming book, Velcro Leader – Amplify Hope in Everyone (releasing Fall 2026).
Rooted in virtue-based ethics and elevated through the Velcro Leadership™ Framework, Simon equips leaders with a future-ready architecture for inspiring people and activating brilliance at scale. This is next-decade leadership design for organizations becoming more human in a high-tech world.
Your leaders will learn how hope functions as:
- An incentive that increases intrinsic motivation, ownership, and collaboration.
- A connector of virtues such as trustworthiness, resilience, courage, and encouragement.
- A strategic lever that strengthens culture, accelerates execution, and unlocks high-performance behaviors AI can never replicate.
Hope as a Strategic Lever of Performance
Leaders discover why hope is a measurable, research-backed predictor of engagement, innovation, and productivity — and how to operationalize it to strengthen culture and accelerate results.
Lead Through Uncertainty with the Velcro Leadership™ Rhythm
Simon reveals a practical rhythm from his upcoming book that stabilizes teams, reduces burnout, and provides structure and consistency in an unpredictable, AI-disrupted workplace.
Three Micro-Habits to Amplify Hope Daily
Your leaders leave with actionable habits that increase clarity, emotional safety, and forward momentum — improving trust, belonging, and team brilliance immediately.

experience two

Amplify Your Brillance™

Amplify Your Brilliance™ is Simon T. Bailey’s signature awakening experience — a dynamic, future-forward keynote that moves beyond inspiration into true activation. Built on more than two decades as an architect of brilliance and the author of Release Your Brilliance, Shift Your Brilliance, and Releasing Leadership Brilliance, Simon now introduces audiences to the next evolution of his life’s work: The Power of Amplifying Brilliance.

The journey starts with each participant taking the 12 Shapes personal quiz, a behavioral system grounded in the science of Axiology. Simon then demystifies the results, removes the fear from “being assessed,” and shows each person how to tap into their SuperPower instead of their self-protection.
Drawing from his work with 2,600+ organizations in 55 countries and over 400,000 professionals reached through his LinkedIn Learning courses, Simon distills key insights into a practical, co-created learning path. Your audience will leave with the mindset, tools, and momentum to awaken the innate genius already inside them — and to accelerate their contribution in a world shaped by AI and human creativity.
The future belongs to leaders and organizations who are ready to accelerate their potential, activate their superpower, and step boldly into what comes next.
A Personalized Brilliance Blueprint for Every Participant
Your people won’t just be inspired — they’ll leave with a personal clarity map rooted in Axiology and the 12 Shapes framework. Decision makers get what they crave: a room full of individuals who better understand how they’re wired, what drives them, and how to show up at their best.
An AI-Ready Human Advantage: Confidence, Creativity, and Agency
Simon equips your teams with a future-facing mindset that transforms AI from a threat into a partner. Participants learn how to bring uniquely human strengths — judgment, empathy, creativity, and courage — to the table, giving your organization a sustainable competitive edge that technology alone can’t deliver.
A Co-Created Development Path That Outlives the Keynote
This isn’t a “one-and-done” event. Simon guides participants to co-create their own learning path, tied directly to your organization’s goals. The result: a scalable, repeatable way to activate potential, deepen engagement, and build a pipeline of leaders who are ready to own the next chapter of your company’s story.

experience three

Create Customers for Life

Few people understand the anatomy of customer experience better than Simon T. Bailey, who brings 37 years in the hospitality industry and his experience as former Sales Director of the Disney Institute, one of the world’s most respected authorities on service excellence.

For more than twenty years, organizations across healthcare, hospitality, food service, veterinary science, and professional services have implemented Simon T. Bailey’s SPARK methodology and achieved measurable, bottom-line results:
- A three-year patient experience transformation that made a regional hospital attractive enough to be acquired by a $1B healthcare system.
- A hospitality division that earned Expedia recognition for breakthrough gains in customer satisfaction.
- A national food and facilities management company that licensed SPARK for all 3,500 employees, seeing immediate ROI in engagement and experience scores.
- A leading pet pharmaceutical brand that brought SPARK to hundreds of veterinarians nationwide, helping elevate the client experience and build deeper trust.
SPARK is a human-experience operating system designed for an AI world — where emotion, personalization, empathy, and connection are not “nice to have,” but the defining competitive advantages that AI can never replicate.
Born from what Simon learned during his years with The Walt Disney World Resort® and through work with The Ritz-Carlton Learning Institute, SPARK distills the service philosophies of the world’s most iconic experience brands into a simple, modern, and actionable framework. It reflects the lessons he learned at the feet of the very best—how to anticipate unspoken needs, create emotional resonance, and build loyalty that lasts a lifetime.
At its core, SPARK teaches that emotion is the true currency of customer experience. When a team learns how to consistently create emotional connection, everything changes. SPARK transforms teams, elevates morale, and turns everyday moments into magnetic experiences customers never forget.
Elevate Every Interaction Into a Loyalty-Building Moment
Leaders and teams will learn how to transform routine touchpoints into memorable experiences that create emotional equity, strengthen trust, and keep customers coming back.
Apply the Five Platinum Service Principles Across the Entire Organization
Participants will walk away with a simple, repeatable framework — from frontline to senior leadership — that boosts engagement, accelerates performance, and aligns everyone around a shared service mindset.
Build a Culture That Consistently Sparks Customer Love
Learn how to operationalize SPARK so it becomes a daily habit, not a one-time training. The result: teams that are energized, customers who feel valued, and a brand that thrives even in an AI-driven world.

"On behalf of New York City SHRM, I highly recommend Dr. Simon T. Bailey!”

“Select Dr. Simon T. Bailey as your keynote speaker! Simon presented the closing keynote, “Shift Your Brilliance: Navigating and Flourishing in the Evolving Workplace”, at New York City SHRM’s Annual HR Conference, Navigating NEXT. His message was timely, powerful, and inspirational! His presentation style was engaging and energetic. Add to that a very joyful, infectious laugh and you have presentation gold. On behalf of New York City SHRM, I highly recommend Dr. Simon T. Bailey!”

Janet Hoffmann
President of HR Aligned Design
"Simon is one of the most gifted and charismatic speakers I’ve ever met. "

“His sole purpose in life is to improve the lives of others and bring them to live lives of true brilliance & passion, operating from levels higher than they ever thought possible. He was the keynote speaker for our first-ever True to You Leadership Summit and had everyone in the room engaged and eager for more. His larger-than-life energy engulfed the room and made you feel like he was sharing his wisdom directly with you. Simon is a difference-maker with a very special set of skills. Thanks, Simon for all you do to make us brilliant.”

Camye Mackey
Chief People Officer, Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena
"He set the perfect tone for our conference.”

“It was terrific to have Simon as the host and a keynote speaker at our virtual annual conference. His positivity, joy, and sense of humor are contagious. He’s an energizing speaker with a natural curiosity and he set the perfect tone for our conference.”

Wylecia Wiggs Harris, PhD, CAE
Chief Executive Officer at American Health Information Management Association
"He created emotion, connection, and ultimately a MOMENT."

“Was thrilled to welcome Simon T. Bailey to our FBX (FAT Brands, Inc. Guest Experience) Huddle where hundreds of Franchisees, General Managers and Cross Functional Teams joined in. Loved his passion for “Plussing-Up” engagement with guests by creating emotion, connection, and ultimately a MOMENT.”

Elaine Patel
Vice President, Guest Experience at FAT Brands, Inc.
"Simon was was nothing short of extraordinary."

“Having Simon T. Bailey, at our ATL Airport District CVB Annual Meeting was nothing short of extraordinary. With his theme “Be the Spark” he delivered a keynote that ignited energy across the room and left our 200+ attendees inspired to take action.”

Mercedes Miller
President, ATL Airport District CVB
"Simon delivered the opening Keynote for our ESPA Conference and what a great start!"

“This was a virtual event so we needed someone with positive energy and enthusiasm to get everyone inspired and capture people’s attention and Simon’s talk certainly accomplished this. Simon was careful to incorporate direct references, tips and take-aways for our industry which was a great strength of the program. He earned great ratings from our attendees. I will definitely consider him for other event opportunities and I highly recommend him for program content on business, communications and leadership topics.”

Lynn McCullough
Executive Director and Meetings Manager of CMA Association Management
"I’ll start with one word, people. Simon invests in people."

“He dedicates his time, his life, and his talents, to developing leaders around the world. We are so blessed to have a relationship with Simon, and what I will say about Simon is he connects with people because of the work he puts in to get to know them. When we first met Simon, he asked about our organization, he asked about our culture, he asked about the needs that our people had. He built a relationship from the beginning so he could connect to the culture and the team within the organization.”

Bill Luth
Executive Vice President, Signet Jewelers
"Simon really nailed all of the things that were important to us."

“After not having a conference for 2 years, I needed someone that was motivational, but on point with what we’re focused on. Our focus right now is about enhancing and elevating our customer experience for our client’s customers, and everything in Simon’s message is what we need our network to hear about sparking that customer experience. Simon really nailed all of the things that were important to us, whether it was communication or the passion that you need to have in customer service.

Larry Thomas
Global President of Platform Solutions, Crawford & Company
"You’re so appreciated Simon and are changing lives."

“As always Simon, you electrified the audience and we love the energy you bring and at the same time the humility and honesty. You’re so appreciated Simon and are changing lives. Thank you for making #APIC a great success. Looking forward to finding more ways to work together in the future.”

Devin Jopp
CEO at Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
"He’s always willing to share all of his experiences, his wins, his challenges."

“The bottom line is Simon is brilliant, and he brings out the brilliance in other people by being 100% present, and he’s always willing to share all of his experiences, his wins, his challenges that he had and has overcome. He shares all of it with you with one purpose. To bring out the brilliance in other people. So, Simon, you know that I admire you, and I am just honored that every time we have a conversation it’s compelling and it helps to bring out the brilliance in me so that I can turn around and give it away.”

Mary Katherine Morales
Speaker and Author
"Simon T. Bailey knocked it out of the park! He received a standing ovation."

“We just ended our huge annual event and Simon T. Bailey knocked it out of the park! He received a standing ovation. People hung around afterward to shake his hand and meet with him, and he reached our audience and connected with them when you can make them laugh and cry and not hear a pen drop, you know you have a winner with Simon.”

Sandra Samargis
Director of Business Strategy at BCEN
"It’s always uplifting to hear Simon’s positive insights!”

“After listening to Simon, I felt stronger to thrive in my circle of resilience. I exist now because I’m needed now- open to new ideas and to celebrate, not just tolerate others. I will take my M.E.D.S. as well as read, write, and reflect every day. I will ensure I made a difference and added value today. What a wonderful speaker! It’s always uplifting to hear Simon’s positive insights!

SHRM Conference Attendee
"His delivery was honest, engaging and personal."

“This session was inspiring because of not only Simon’s messaging, but his delivery which was honest, engaging and personal. He was also able to connect the audience to each other doubling the impact of his message. Align yourself within so that you can embrace change with positivity.”

SHFM Conference Attendee