Mary Kelly

Mary Kelly

Keynote Speaker: Retired US Navy Commander, Economist, Bestselling Author, Former Professor at the Naval Academy & Air Force Academy; 2020 Hall of Fame Speaker on Leadership, Change Management & Planning

Mary Kelly Biography

Commander Dr. Mary Kelly, US Navy (retired) spent 25 years of active duty in the Navy, where she served in various roles including as an intelligence officer, chief of police, HR director, and chief of staff. She was a military professor at the Naval Academy, and a civilian professor at the Air Force Academy and Hawaii Pacific University. She learned lessons in leadership in the first and second Gulf Wars and during 9/11. Her real-world military and industry examples resonate with participants.

From her extensive military background to her role as one of today’s most influential economists, Kelly has carved out an impactful career in leadership. Having trained over 40,000 military and civilian personnel, Kelly is now on a mission to spread her message of success with audiences worldwide, sharing with them the secrets to being a true leader in today’s workplace. She also offers targeted keynotes like "A.R.M.E.D" which focuses on attracting, recruiting, mentoring, evolving, and developing the next generation of leaders.

A high-energy keynote speaker, Kelly is focused on using research, laughter, and experience to show professionals how to excel. Kelly’s relatable, no-nonsense approach inspires audiences to embrace their roles, surpass their goals, and plan for the future. She is known for her engaging and humorous presentation style, which makes her sessions not only informative but also highly entertaining.

Kelly is the author of 13 books on business growth, leadership, and today’s economy, including notable titles like "Master Your World: 10 Leadership Strategies to Improve Productivity, Profits and Communication" and "Why Leaders Fail and the 7 Prescriptions for Success." She is a speaker, coach, and trainer who has worked with hundreds of organizations and companies across the globe, delivering key insights in leadership, productivity, and economic strategy.

Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Mary Kelly and other top speakers and celebrities.

Mary Kelly Speaking Topics

NAVIGATING CRISIS

Navigating Turbulence: Leadership For Guiding Teams Through Crisis, Challenge, and Change

“Navigating Turbulence” equips leaders with the skills, strategies, and resilience needed to steer their teams through times of crisis, overcome challenges, and embrace change.

Strategic Leadership During Crisis

  • Refine the art of strategic decision-making under pressure.
  • Develop crisis communication skills that inspire confidence and maintain team morale.
  • Understand successful crisis management across various industries.

Build Resilient and Happy Teams During Challenges

  • Recognize the psychological dynamics of resilience and its impact on team performance.
  • Foster a culture of adaptability and innovation within your team.
  • Implement strategies to bolster individual and collective resilience.
  • See what happy workplaces are doing right and adapt those techniques.

Embrace Change Management

  • Master the principles of effective change leadership.
  • Use Mary’s toolkit for leading teams through organizational transitions.
  • Gain insights into how to manage resistance.

Using the acronym, P.I.V.O.T. leaders reinvigorate their teams with a sense of purpose; they are prepared to inspire and influence others every day, they assess volatile situations in the right way, they see opportunities when others see only problems, and make sure their teams have the tools, techniques, training, and tactics they need to succeed.

This program is for executives, managers, and leaders across industries committed to enhancing their leadership skills and guiding their teams through the complexities of crisis, challenge, and change.

CHALLENGE AND CHANGE

P.I.V.O.T.: How to Lead Teams through Crisis, Challenge, and Change

Do your people understand the six stages of a crisis?

Do your leaders recognize the stage their people are in and do they react appropriately?

Are your leaders leading, or just hoping for the right outcomes?

  • Understand the six stages of any change, challenge, or crisis.
  • Implement the five ways to P.I.V.O.T. through the crisis.
  • Use the seven leadership reminders to lead out of a crisis.

In order to successfully lead people through and out of a crisis, first, we have to understand the 6 stages of the crisis. Based on her Navy experiences during the first and second Gulf Wars and 9-11, Commander Mary Kelly articulates the reactions of people in various stages of change, challenge, or crisis.

As effective leaders, we have to be able to help our people P.I.V.O.T. through the crisis, by renewing their sense of purpose, influencing and inspiring others to take the right action, assessing the volatility levels, seeing the opportunities, providing the right tools, techniques, and technology that allow people to succeed. Then we can apply Mary’s seven leadership reminders, using the acronym C.L.A.M.P.E.R. so that we are providing the right response to the right people at the right time to achieve the right outcomes.

PLANNING MADE EASY

Who Comes Next? Leadership Succession Planning Made Easy

We have all seen the news where the head of a very visible corporation suddenly becomes sick, or worse, dies, throwing the organization into chaos. We need to have contingency plans in place for a sudden senior-level departure, but we also need a long-term, strategic plan that includes the routine and scheduled departure of team members. Whether due to promotion, retirement, or other factors, the reality is, people leave organizations. One day you will, too.

Every organization needs to plan for leadership succession, but few leaders know how to start the process. This program, based on the award-winning book, Who Comes Next? Leadership Succession Planning Made Easy simplifies the succession planning process and gives you the framework and the tools you need to build and implement your leadership succession planning.

Whether you are part of a small family business or a Fortune 500 company, you need to start planning out for who comes next.

Specifically, this program identifies:

  • How to start a customized succession plan ready for immediate incorporation and implementation
  • Proven methodologies for building your leadership bench so top talent can step into increased roles and responsibilities
  • Powerful techniques to build long, loyal, and highly-engaged leaders
  • Secrets to aligning your succession plan to your strategic objectives
  • Innovative strategies to get you out of the “urgent” phase, and into a culture of continuous leadership development

LEADERSHIP SUCCESS

Why Leaders Fail and the 7 Prescriptions for Success

Why Leaders Fail and the 7 Prescriptions for Success is a corporate training and conference keynote that is based on data and delivered in a way that entertains and engages audiences of all levels.

Great leadership, if you are doing it right, is hard. Being a great leader is more than just showing up, going through the motions, sitting in the big chair, and getting paid.

Great leaders are always thinking about how they can become even better for their organizations, their people, and themselves. Our goal with this research was to identify areas where great leaders can become even better.

We surveyed over 100,000 employees in over 70 different industries. We asked a variety of questions, such as:

  • “What gets in the way of you doing your job more effectively?”
  • “What could leadership do at your organization that would help you be more productive?”
  • “What tools or training do you need so that you can function more efficiently?”

And delved into specific frustrations:

  • “Have you ever seen a really good person be promoted to a leadership position and struggled?”
  • “Why did they struggle?”
  • “What does your leadership do that frustrates you?”
  • “What are your leaders and managers doing that cause them to sabotage their own success, even though they may have the best of intentions?”

We gathered the data and then categorized it into seven critical areas which define successful leaders. The 7 critical areas are Vision, Trust, Teamwork, Empathy, Fairness, Humility, and Decision-making.

In this highly engaging and deeply effective book and program, leaders will gain insights to:

  • Understand why your top talent is not performing up to their top potential
  • Learn specific actions that lead to both short-term and long-term success
  • Control and manage how you are perceived by your team, your peers, and your leadership
  • Identify small actions that sabotage the loyalty and productivity of the people around you

Using the 7 Prescriptions for Success Assessment, leaders are able to focus their energies on the activities that maximize their time and resources.

This program comes with a vault of materials that includes:

  • The 7 Prescriptions for Success course handout
  • The 7 Prescriptions for Success workbook
  • The 7 Prescriptions for Success Assessment
  • The 12-Month Business Success and Accountability Planner
  • The 90-Day Business Bootcamp Project Management tool
  • Resiliency: 7 Skills to Bounce Back During Tough Times and more!

THE ECONOMY AND ECONOMIC FORCES DEFINED

Futurenomics: The Economic Snapshot You Need to See Today

Leaders develop stronger strategies, better decisions, and achieve faster results when they understand economic forces. Changes in interest rates, imports, investments, housing trends, trade, and tariffs…do today’s news headlines have your stomach in knots? What do the changes in the current economy mean for your business?

What do they mean for your own career?

What do they mean for your family?

Join Dr. Mary Kelly, one of the world’s most influential economists, as she exposes the true meaning of the current economic situation and what this means for your organization’s future.

  • Learn to operate and make decisions from facts and data, not emotions
  • Understand what the changes in international trade mean for your industry
  • Gain a valuable understanding of today’s economy to improve profits and safeguard your businesses’ bottom line
  • Prepare your team for what is to come in 2025 and beyond

For meeting planners:

  • No economic overwhelm here – this session is funny and informative – and is very different from any your members have seen before!
  • Popular with organizations that highly value economic information, such as manufacturing, medical, and financial associations
  • Economic information plus bonus productivity and profitability tips
  • Perfect for an opening or closing keynote, providing profitable information your attendees need to take back to the office.

Mary Kelly Videos

Mary Kelly - Top Secret Leadership - Leadership Keynote Speaker
Leading Through Crisis, Challenge, and Change with Mary Kelly, PhD, BF
Dr. Mary Kelly's Virtual Programs, Virtual Events, and Virtual Summits

How do I book Mary Kelly to speak at my event?

Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Mary Kelly for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Mary Kelly, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Mary Kelly or any other speaker of your choice.

How much does it cost to book Mary Kelly for a speaking engagement?

Speaking fees for Mary Kelly, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Mary Kelly are $10,000 - $20,000 for live events and Below $10,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Mary Kelly, click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.

What topics does Mary Kelly speak about?

Mary Kelly is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Communication, Personal Growth, Motivational, Leadership, Economy, Futurism, Finance, Business, Business Leadership, Thought Leadership, Women's History Month, Female Leadership, Women, Influential Women, Veterans, Military and Change Management.

Where does Mary Kelly travel from?

Mary Kelly generally travels from Colorado, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances.

Who is the agent for Mary Kelly?

AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully secured keynote speakers like Mary Kelly for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Mary Kelly for your next private or corporate function.

What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Mary Kelly or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.

Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

If you’re looking for the best speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.


Mary Kelly is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics including Communication, Personal Growth and Motivational. The estimated speaking fee range to book Mary Kelly for live events is $10,000 - $20,000, and for virtual events Below $10,000. Mary Kelly generally travels from Colorado, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Libby Gill, Dr. Jackie Freiberg and Karen Baetzel. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Mary Kelly for an upcoming event.

Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 04/11/2024.

Mary Kelly Speaking Topics

  • NAVIGATING CRISIS

    Navigating Turbulence: Leadership For Guiding Teams Through Crisis, Challenge, and Change

    “Navigating Turbulence” equips leaders with the skills, strategies, and resilience needed to steer their teams through times of crisis, overcome challenges, and embrace change.

    Strategic Leadership During Crisis

    • Refine the art of strategic decision-making under pressure.
    • Develop crisis communication skills that inspire confidence and maintain team morale.
    • Understand successful crisis management across various industries.

    Build Resilient and Happy Teams During Challenges

    • Recognize the psychological dynamics of resilience and its impact on team performance.
    • Foster a culture of adaptability and innovation within your team.
    • Implement strategies to bolster individual and collective resilience.
    • See what happy workplaces are doing right and adapt those techniques.

    Embrace Change Management

    • Master the principles of effective change leadership.
    • Use Mary’s toolkit for leading teams through organizational transitions.
    • Gain insights into how to manage resistance.

    Using the acronym, P.I.V.O.T. leaders reinvigorate their teams with a sense of purpose; they are prepared to inspire and influence others every day, they assess volatile situations in the right way, they see opportunities when others see only problems, and make sure their teams have the tools, techniques, training, and tactics they need to succeed.

    This program is for executives, managers, and leaders across industries committed to enhancing their leadership skills and guiding their teams through the complexities of crisis, challenge, and change.

  • CHALLENGE AND CHANGE

    P.I.V.O.T.: How to Lead Teams through Crisis, Challenge, and Change

    Do your people understand the six stages of a crisis?

    Do your leaders recognize the stage their people are in and do they react appropriately?

    Are your leaders leading, or just hoping for the right outcomes?

    • Understand the six stages of any change, challenge, or crisis.
    • Implement the five ways to P.I.V.O.T. through the crisis.
    • Use the seven leadership reminders to lead out of a crisis.

    In order to successfully lead people through and out of a crisis, first, we have to understand the 6 stages of the crisis. Based on her Navy experiences during the first and second Gulf Wars and 9-11, Commander Mary Kelly articulates the reactions of people in various stages of change, challenge, or crisis.

    As effective leaders, we have to be able to help our people P.I.V.O.T. through the crisis, by renewing their sense of purpose, influencing and inspiring others to take the right action, assessing the volatility levels, seeing the opportunities, providing the right tools, techniques, and technology that allow people to succeed. Then we can apply Mary’s seven leadership reminders, using the acronym C.L.A.M.P.E.R. so that we are providing the right response to the right people at the right time to achieve the right outcomes.

  • PLANNING MADE EASY

    Who Comes Next? Leadership Succession Planning Made Easy

    We have all seen the news where the head of a very visible corporation suddenly becomes sick, or worse, dies, throwing the organization into chaos. We need to have contingency plans in place for a sudden senior-level departure, but we also need a long-term, strategic plan that includes the routine and scheduled departure of team members. Whether due to promotion, retirement, or other factors, the reality is, people leave organizations. One day you will, too.

    Every organization needs to plan for leadership succession, but few leaders know how to start the process. This program, based on the award-winning book, Who Comes Next? Leadership Succession Planning Made Easy simplifies the succession planning process and gives you the framework and the tools you need to build and implement your leadership succession planning.

    Whether you are part of a small family business or a Fortune 500 company, you need to start planning out for who comes next.

    Specifically, this program identifies:

    • How to start a customized succession plan ready for immediate incorporation and implementation
    • Proven methodologies for building your leadership bench so top talent can step into increased roles and responsibilities
    • Powerful techniques to build long, loyal, and highly-engaged leaders
    • Secrets to aligning your succession plan to your strategic objectives
    • Innovative strategies to get you out of the “urgent” phase, and into a culture of continuous leadership development

  • LEADERSHIP SUCCESS

    Why Leaders Fail and the 7 Prescriptions for Success

    Why Leaders Fail and the 7 Prescriptions for Success is a corporate training and conference keynote that is based on data and delivered in a way that entertains and engages audiences of all levels.

    Great leadership, if you are doing it right, is hard. Being a great leader is more than just showing up, going through the motions, sitting in the big chair, and getting paid.

    Great leaders are always thinking about how they can become even better for their organizations, their people, and themselves. Our goal with this research was to identify areas where great leaders can become even better.

    We surveyed over 100,000 employees in over 70 different industries. We asked a variety of questions, such as:

    • “What gets in the way of you doing your job more effectively?”
    • “What could leadership do at your organization that would help you be more productive?”
    • “What tools or training do you need so that you can function more efficiently?”

    And delved into specific frustrations:

    • “Have you ever seen a really good person be promoted to a leadership position and struggled?”
    • “Why did they struggle?”
    • “What does your leadership do that frustrates you?”
    • “What are your leaders and managers doing that cause them to sabotage their own success, even though they may have the best of intentions?”

    We gathered the data and then categorized it into seven critical areas which define successful leaders. The 7 critical areas are Vision, Trust, Teamwork, Empathy, Fairness, Humility, and Decision-making.

    In this highly engaging and deeply effective book and program, leaders will gain insights to:

    • Understand why your top talent is not performing up to their top potential
    • Learn specific actions that lead to both short-term and long-term success
    • Control and manage how you are perceived by your team, your peers, and your leadership
    • Identify small actions that sabotage the loyalty and productivity of the people around you

    Using the 7 Prescriptions for Success Assessment, leaders are able to focus their energies on the activities that maximize their time and resources.

    This program comes with a vault of materials that includes:

    • The 7 Prescriptions for Success course handout
    • The 7 Prescriptions for Success workbook
    • The 7 Prescriptions for Success Assessment
    • The 12-Month Business Success and Accountability Planner
    • The 90-Day Business Bootcamp Project Management tool
    • Resiliency: 7 Skills to Bounce Back During Tough Times and more!

  • THE ECONOMY AND ECONOMIC FORCES DEFINED

    Futurenomics: The Economic Snapshot You Need to See Today

    Leaders develop stronger strategies, better decisions, and achieve faster results when they understand economic forces. Changes in interest rates, imports, investments, housing trends, trade, and tariffs…do today’s news headlines have your stomach in knots? What do the changes in the current economy mean for your business?

    What do they mean for your own career?

    What do they mean for your family?

    Join Dr. Mary Kelly, one of the world’s most influential economists, as she exposes the true meaning of the current economic situation and what this means for your organization’s future.

    • Learn to operate and make decisions from facts and data, not emotions
    • Understand what the changes in international trade mean for your industry
    • Gain a valuable understanding of today’s economy to improve profits and safeguard your businesses’ bottom line
    • Prepare your team for what is to come in 2025 and beyond

    For meeting planners:

    • No economic overwhelm here – this session is funny and informative – and is very different from any your members have seen before!
    • Popular with organizations that highly value economic information, such as manufacturing, medical, and financial associations
    • Economic information plus bonus productivity and profitability tips
    • Perfect for an opening or closing keynote, providing profitable information your attendees need to take back to the office.

Mary Kelly Videos

Mary Kelly - Top Secret Leadership - Leadership Keynote Speaker
Leading Through Crisis, Challenge, and Change with Mary Kelly, PhD, BF
Dr. Mary Kelly's Virtual Programs, Virtual Events, and Virtual Summits
Commander Mary Kelly, US Navy, PhD, CSP, AAGG on Leadership
  • How do I book Mary Kelly to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Mary Kelly for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Mary Kelly, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Mary Kelly or any other speaker of your choice.
  • How much does it cost to book Mary Kelly for a speaking engagement?

    Speaking fees for Mary Kelly, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Mary Kelly are $10,000 - $20,000 for live events and Below $10,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Mary Kelly, click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
  • What topics does Mary Kelly speak about?

  • Where does Mary Kelly travel from?

    Mary Kelly generally travels from Colorado, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances.
  • Who is the agent for Mary Kelly?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully secured keynote speakers like Mary Kelly for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Mary Kelly for your next private or corporate function.
  • What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Mary Kelly or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.
  • Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

    If you’re looking for the best speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.
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MARY KELLY

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All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.