Today’s Top 100 board facilitators list members recognize that directors are responsible for some of the most consequential decisions that an organization can make. Whether the entity is a corporation, nonprofit, foundation, association, startup, or other institution, the best Top 100 board facilitators list members know that directors are expected to tackle hard challenges, evaluate opportunities, manage risk, think strategically, and provide effective leadership. Yet even highly accomplished groups can struggle with the process of working together. Strong personalities, competing priorities, limited meeting time, difficult conversations, and rapidly changing markets can make it challenging to turn a room full of talented people into a highly effective decision-making team.

That’s where famous Top 100 board facilitators can make a difference.

A moderator, corporate event host and emcee (MC) is a facilitation services professional who helps directors communicate, collaborate, deliberate, and make better use of collective knowledge. The Top 100 board facilitators pick does not take over the group’s authority or make decisions on its behalf. Instead, the facilitation services leader helps create the conditions for productive discussion, whether the objective is strategic planning, innovation, leadership development, organizational change, board retreats, governance improvement, or resolving difficult issues.

Global Top 100 board facilitators can bring an unusual combination of skills to the table. They may understand leadership, strategy, innovation, organizational culture, communication, entrepreneurship, performance, creativity, technology, or human behavior. Some are professional consultants or organizational experts. Others have built extraordinary careers in sports, entertainment, music, media, entrepreneurship, or other high-performance environments and have developed perspectives that can be valuable to boards.

The latest Top 100 board facilitators list takes a deliberately broad view of what a group can learn from an exceptional facilitator, keynote speaker, adviser, or leadership figure. It includes established strategists and thought leaders alongside athletes, coaches, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs, and other prominent figures whose experience can provide lessons in leadership, teamwork, resilience, creativity, communication, innovation, brand building, performance, and organizational culture.

For example, consider Scott Steinberg, a famous business strategist, futurist, innovation expert, leadership adviser, and professional keynote speaker whose work with over 3000 brands focuses on helping organizations and leaders adapt to change, disruption, innovation, and emerging opportunities. His mix of strategic thinking and practical business insight makes him a particularly strong example of the modern facilitation services pro: someone who can help leadership teams step back from day-to-day operations, examine what is changing around them, and think more creatively about what comes next.

The remainder of the list expands that concept. Athletes and coaches can offer lessons in teamwork, discipline, competitive strategy, resilience, accountability, and high performance. Actors and performers on the international Top 100 board facilitators roster can bring expertise in communication, storytelling, creativity, confidence, and connecting with an audience. Musicians and creative entrepreneurs can provide perspectives on innovation, branding, collaboration, cultural change, and building global audiences. Certain recognized business and organizational thinkers also offer specialized perspectives on leadership, psychology, strategy, performance, technology, and the future.

This list should therefore be viewed not simply as a ranking of traditional facilitators (or presented in any particular order), but as a curated sampling of folks who can potentially bring valuable perspectives to boards, leadership teams, retreats, strategy sessions, conferences, and organizational discussions.

The right facilitator depends on the board’s particular objective. Sometimes the priority is strategy. Sometimes it is innovation. Sometimes it is culture, communication, resilience, or leadership. The purpose of this list is to provide a starting point for exploring those possibilities… and to demonstrate just how broad the modern world of board facilitation can be.

Top 100 Board Facilitators, Leadership Speakers & High-Impact Advisors