2015 Keynote Speakers

DREW BOYD, CMCT

Drew Boyd is a recognized authority, thought leader, educator and practitioner in the fields of persuasion, innovation and social media. He is the executive director of the Master of Science in Marketing Program and assistant professor of Marketing and Innovation at the University of Cincinnati.

Boyd retired from Johnson & Johnson in 2010 after a seventeen year career in marketing, mergers & acquisitions and international development. He founded and directed J&J's acclaimed Marketing Mastery Program, an internal “marketing university” benchmarked by companies such as GE, P&G, Kraft and Merck. Boyd's focus was on raising competencies in the areas of strategic marketing, product innovation and principles of persuasion. Of particular focus was teaching employees how to systematically invent new medical products and integrate the inventions into long-range strategic plans. Boyd is an inventor himself, earning his first patent for a device that makes spine surgery easier.

Before Johnson & Johnson, Boyd spent ten years with United Airlines, gaining managerial and leadership experience in sales, marketing and strategic planning. Boyd was one of the early pioneers of strategic partnerships between carriers that led to the creation of the Star Alliance.

Boyd served as an officer in the United States Air Force and completed distinguished tours of duty as a crew commander in the Nuclear Missile Force and a war planning officer of the Strategic Air Command. He was top Minuteman III Crew Commander in the “Top Gun” competition in 1980.

Boyd is a former trustee of the Marketing Science Institute, a member of the Product Development and Management Association, American Marketing Association, National Speakers Association and an affiliate of the Global Executive Learning Network.

Boyd graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1976 with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Management Science and Operations Research. He earned an MBA from the University of Chicago graduating with high honors. In 2008, Boyd joined an elite group of trainers credentialed as a Cialdini Method Certified Trainer (CMCT).

He resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife, Wendy, and son, Ryan.

KATHLEEN PASSANISI, PT, CSP, CPAE

Changing Lives One Laugh At a Time by Creating New Perspectives: Passanisi is an experienced health care professional, successful businesswoman and educator. Recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award in the discipline of therapeutic humor, and a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame, mean that she knows what she’s talking about and she does it better than most!

Passanisi works across the country with clients ranging from the Fortune 500 and major health care systems to trauma teams, seriously ill patients and overly serious patient caregivers.

Passanisi founded NEW PERSPECTIVES in 1987 to address issues in wellness, quality living, stress management, and the link that exists between humor and health. Passanisi is a past-president of the American Association for Therapeutic Humor and served on the adjunct faculty of the Washington University School of Medicine. She is the author of It’s Your Live--Choose Well, and a co-author of Humor Me-America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter.

The self-proclaimed poster woman for the "Sandwich Generation," Passanisi is the funniest woman in Lake St. Louis, Missouri, and possibly the Western Hemisphere.

According to someone who recently attended her presentation, Kathleen delivers an "Absolutely perfect presentation and perfect for the attendee’s related to our professional needs and just every day info. She was delightful, funny, and informative!! An A++++"