Adam Markel

Resilience Researcher, AI, Future of Work and Change Management Expert, Bestselling Author

Best Selling AuthorBusiness LeadershipChangeCorporate CultureEmployee EngagementEmpowermentEntrepreneurFuture of WorkInspirational & MotivationalLeadershipMental HealthPersonal DevelopmentProductivityProfessional DevelopmentResilienceStrategyTeamworkTED Speakers

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Adam Markel, Healthcare Keynote Speaker

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Biography

Adam Markel, keynote speaker, workforce futurist and resilience researcher, guides individuals and organizations to tap the power of resilience to master the challenges of constant change. His work redefines resilience and engagement in the workplace and equips organizations to create healthier, happier high-performing work cultures that are truly Change Resilient.

Adam has much to share about resilience, culture and change from his 18 years as a trial attorney building a multi-million dollar enterprise and 20+ years as a CEO in the professional training and development space, as well as researching and consulting with organizations of all sizes and industries. Yet, some of his most enduring lessons came from his years as an ocean first responder – a life and death environment where Adam learned the importance of cultivating high performance capacity and impeccable teamwork.

In his latest bestselling book, Change Proof, Adam shows how those principles of resilience are equally relevant today for any business that wants to move beyond merely managing change to actively embracing it and using times of uncertainty, crisis, and chaos to create opportunities and stimulate individual and team growth.

As one of Huffington Post’s top speakers to see and the #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Pivot, Adam’s messages have inspired tens of thousands worldwide. His keynotes, corporate workshops, and consulting integrate practical business strategies, personal development insights and a unique delivery style to create a high-energy and impactful learning environment.

Adam is currently the Co-Founder and Chief Researcher of WORKWELL, a TEDx speaker and influencer, and host of The Change Proof Podcast, facilitating insightful discussions with business leaders and social innovators and sharing strategies to fully embrace an uncertain world and build Change Proof organizations. 

Adam is continuously inspired by his wife of more than 30 years and their 4 amazing children.

Videos

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Speech Topics

What Adam Markel Speaks About

Adapt to Win: Unlocking the Power of Strategic Resilience to Lead Change and Fuel High Performance
In a world defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), leaders and organizations must go beyond reactive responses to crises and instead build strategic resilience—a proactive, purpose-driven capability to absorb shocks, adapt intelligently, and emerge stronger. This keynote explores how cultivating strategic resilience and adaptability as core strategic assets enables leaders to navigate disruption, empower teams, and future-proof their organizations. Through a blend of real-world examples, research-backed insights, and actionable frameworks, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how to embed adaptive capacity into the culture, operations, and decision-making processes of their organizations. In a world defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), leaders and organizations must go beyond reactive responses to crises and instead build strategic resilience, a proactive, purpose-driven capability to absorb shocks, adapt intelligently, and emerge stronger. This keynote explores how cultivating strategic resilience and adaptability as core strategic assets enables leaders to navigate disruption, empower teams, and future-proof their organizations. Through a blend of real-world examples, research-backed insights, and actionable frameworks, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how to embed adaptive capacity into the culture, operations, and decision-making processes of their organizations. Key Learning Objectives Include: Differentiate Resilience Types: Gain clarity on operational vs. strategic resilience, and why mastering both is critical to long-term organizational success. Lead with Adaptability: Explore leadership practices that build psychological safety, agility, and team-wide adaptability in the face of constant change. Embed Resilience into Culture: Learn how to weave resilience into your organization’s culture and strategy to thrive during times of transformation and uncertainty. This keynote delivers a strategic shift for leaders to embrace resilience not just as a reaction to disruption, but as a proactive driver of long-term success. By integrating strategic resilience into leadership, team dynamics, and daily operations, organizations can unlock greater consistency, adaptability, and impact across every level. With Adam’s powerful insights, attendees will leave inspired, equipped, and ready to lead with confidence, leveraging the strength of their people, the support of their teams, and the adaptability that drives performance across the organization.
Resilience by Design: How to Future-Proof Teams & Thrive Through Uncertainty
Today’s workforce is under unprecedented pressure — rising expectations, constant change, and near-continuous transformation. Performance now requires more than skills; it requires Change Resilience — the ability to adapt, recover, and excel in real time. In this energizing keynote, Adam Markel delivers a powerful, research-backed approach to building resilient people and resilient cultures that perform at the highest levels without burning out. Through compelling stories and actionable tools, your organization will learn how to elevate well-being as a business strategy, reduce turnover, and create a culture where people consistently bring their best — because they have the capacity to do so. This talk is designed for leaders and individual contributors alike, giving everyone a common language and a shared framework for sustainable, repeatable high performance. Key Learning Objectives Include: • Break through change resistance and empower teams to embrace innovation instead of fearing it. • Learn the four domains of resilience — mental, emotional, physical, and spirit-driven — and how they drive sustainable performance. • Discover practical strategies to increase energy, focus, and productivity without sacrificing health or engagement. • Reinforce a culture where well-being is viewed not as a perk, but as a performance multiplier. This is the keynote that transforms how teams work, lead, and grow — not by doing more, but by becoming more resilient by design.
Re-Culture: The Got Your Back Blueprint: Building Trust-Driven Teams That Attract, Retain, and Thrive
At a time when talent is scarce, burnout is rising, and engagement is declining, organizations need more than perks or policies — they need a culture that creates belonging, trust, and loyalty. In this transformative keynote, Adam Markel delivers the central message of his new book Re-Culture: the most successful organizations are those that intentionally design a “Got Your Back” culture, where people feel supported, valued, and safe to perform at their highest level. Adam reveals a practical, evidence-based blueprint for building cultures that attract top talent, strengthen engagement, reduce turnover, and unlock innovation. These are the cultural foundations that turn organizations into talent magnets — and teams into communities that thrive. Key Learning Objectives Include: • Build resilience into your culture, enabling employees to navigate pressure and change with confidence. • Discover why trust and psychological safety are the ultimate differentiators in today’s talent marketplace. • Learn how to significantly boost engagement through belonging, communication, and shared purpose. • Identify early signs of burnout and deploy systems for creating sustainable, high-performing teams. • Activate a culture where retention is the outcome — not the goal. This keynote is a culture-shaping experience that helps organizations create environments where people don’t just stay — they grow, contribute, and thrive.
From Burnout to Breakthrough: Strategies for Protecting Profit, Performance & People
Burnout isn’t just a wellness issue — it’s a profitability crisis. Organizations lose an estimated $322 billion annually to burnout-related turnover, disengagement, and reduced productivity. Yet most leaders still treat burnout as an individual problem rather than what it truly is: a systemic, solvable business challenge with measurable ROI. In this transformative keynote, Adam Markel delivers the business case and the blueprint for burnout avoidance — equipping leaders with research-backed strategies that protect performance, reduce attrition, and unlock sustainable competitive advantage. Drawing from Re-Culture, Change Proof, and two decades of organizational resilience research, Adam reveals why the world’s highest-performing companies embed burnout prevention into their culture, operations, and leadership practices — and exactly how your organization can do the same. This is not a lecture on self-care. This is a strategic framework for building resilient, high-capacity teams that consistently outperform without burning out. Adam shows leaders how to identify early-stage burnout signals, implement tangible energy management systems, and create a “Got Your Back” culture where people feel supported, engaged, and equipped to thrive under pressure. Key Learning Objectives Include: • Understand the true cost of burnout — and the ROI of preventing it, including measurable impacts on retention, healthcare costs, productivity, and innovation. • Learn the four domains of resilience that fuel sustainable performance: mental clarity, emotional regulation, physical energy, and purpose-driven motivation. • Gain practical, immediately actionable tools for reducing team stress, managing workload intensity, and building recovery rhythms into daily operations. • Discover how to build a “Got Your Back” culture that reduces isolation, strengthens trust, and creates environments where burnout is systematically avoided. • Identify burnout warning signs before they escalate — and deploy early intervention strategies that protect both people and performance. • Leave with a repeatable system for embedding burnout prevention into leadership development, team norms, and organizational design. This is the keynote that turns burnout from an inevitable cost into a preventable risk — and resilience into your organization’s most powerful competitive advantage.
What event planners say

Testimonials

"It was great working with Adam. The feedback from the participants has been outstanding. One even described it as “life-changing.” His insights and perspectives were very timely for our team - at all levels. Moreover, I loved the roadmap of actionable advice he provided. Thanks again!"
Stephen P., US Bank
"Thank you immensely for your inspiring message at this year’s sales kickoff. Not only was it timely, it was well received by the group. I heard guys saying “I got your back” throughout the rest of the event. I look forward to where our team takes the message."
John B., President, DuraServ
"Adam couldn’t have been a better choice for our event. His message was very well received, as was evidenced by the standing ovation at the end. He really delivered for us, providing a nice toolkit that we could put into action quickly. The attendees felt very resourced in ways to increase performance. It’s clear that Adam is a mature, experienced and well-rounded speaker whose authenticity and transparency ensured his message really resonated and left everyone feeling that we as a company have their back."
Jack A., Service Corporation International (SCI)
"The feedback from all corners is OVERWHELMING. Thank you so much for sharing with us yesterday. I JUST came from yet another conversation where someone said you were the best keynote in the 7 years they’ve been attending. I’ve heard a dozen or more people who have started their day with one or more of your recommendations."
Matt G., Valet Living
"Adam's message really resonated, so much so that it set the tone for the rest of the week, becoming a theme of every presentation and the hallway chatter. It was exactly what we needed at this moment. People were so excited after the event and even told us that this was the best meeting! The takeaways had real impact and, most importantly, fulfilled an important purpose of the meeting - to get buy-in on the future of our organization. You were a big part of that."
Samantha O., Medtronic
"Adam JUST spoke to our group and I've already had people come up and tell me he is the BEST speaker that we have had of all of our sessions…and we've been doing this for over 30 years! He was dynamic and wonderful and we have really appreciated him being here. Thank you, Adam!"
Shelly A., The Imaging Network Group (INg)
"We express our gratitude for such an amazing and inspiring session. We will of course take all of your advice and suggestions to make us more resilient. On top of being an amazing speaker, you and your team are also some of the nicest people that I’ve had the chance to work with. Thank you for that."
Jean T., Mars Wrigley
Published works

Books by Adam Markel

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Re-Culture

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