Christopher Kolenda
Accelerate sustainable growth with Christopher Kolenda, speaker and strategic leadership expert. Christopher works with CEOs and senior leaders who want to drive sustainable growth. His battle-tested, business-proven 3-Discipline Leadership System™ builds unshakeable endurance and lasting success under any market conditions. His clients measure their results in the tens of millions of dollars.
Wisconsin, United States
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As a trusted advisor to multiple four-star generals, Cabinet officials, and the Pentagon’s highest levels, Christopher influenced national security strategy through bold, unconventional thinking. His expertise has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and The Economist, while his book Leadership: The Warrior’s Art has sold over 60,000 copies.
Today, Christopher helps organizations achieve enduring success through his Lead Significantly system, which equips leaders to thrive in any market condition. His approach combines strategic foresight with practical execution, guiding CEOs and executive teams to develop unbeatable positioning, build unstoppable workforces, and lead with unwavering inspiration. These principles, drawn from decades of leadership experience, have helped clients unlock over $100 million in new growth and create cultures that sustain performance through change.
Audiences gain practical frameworks for navigating uncertainty, fostering alignment, and transforming obstacles into opportunities. Christopher’s engaging presentations show how sustainable growth depends on clarity of purpose, adaptive strategy, and leadership that empowers people to contribute their best.
Book Christopher to equip your organization with the foresight, resilience, and strategic edge needed to build success that lasts.
Topics, Sessions And Talks
Christopher Kolenda shares insights from his 1,700-mile bike journey honoring fallen soldiers, revealing how to achieve transformational goals. He emphasizes that comfort zone habits won't lead to significant change; instead, embracing discomfort is essential for growth. Attendees will learn to envision their transformation zone goals, develop strategies to overcome challenges, and activate resilience. By the end, participants will confidently articulate their goals and implement actionable strategies to inspire success within their organizations.
Christopher Kolenda explores how organizations can unite teams around a shared purpose by creating cultures of trust and accountability. Drawing on battlefield lessons that turned adversaries into allies, he reveals the ABCs of leadership—Accountability, Buy-in, and Clarity. His insights show how these principles reduce workplace friction, strengthen engagement, and inspire people to contribute their best to the common good, equipping leaders to transform tension into cooperation and performance into purpose.
Christopher Kolenda shares insights gained from his experiences in Afghanistan. He highlights how disagreement is inevitable, but conflict is a choice. Christopher reveals that traditional conflict resolution methods often fail, costing organizations valuable time. He offers unconventional strategies to transform adversaries into allies, fostering cooperation and innovation. Attendees will learn practical techniques to resolve workplace conflicts efficiently and secure lasting buy-in for organizational harmony.
Looking for a custom keynote or workshop designed around your company’s goals and culture? The expert will create a tailored, interactive session that aligns with your objectives, values, and strategic priorities. From leadership and innovation to wellbeing and collaboration, each experience is built from the ground up to deliver measurable impact and lasting change.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about booking an expert speaker, facilitator, host or entertainment for your event.
- If you'd like to book one of our expert speakers, email us at hello@peptalk.com, send us a chat message or give us a call, and we’ll help you out.
- We’ll take your event details — topic, audience, budget, date, and location — and create a custom speaker proposal for you within 48 hours.
- If you already have someone in mind, that’s okay too; just let us know their name! Even if they aren't listed publicly on our website, we have a huge network and work with almost everyone.
- Once you've reviewed our speaker propsal and have selected and expert shortlist, we'll double check availability and fees with your chosen expert.
- You're welcome to have a chemistry call with the speaker before making the final decision, too.
- Next, we'll send out contracts to confirm the booking. One of our experienced event producers will liase with both you and the talent on the finer details, and arrange travel if necessary, taking the stress off your plate.
Not necessarily. While the speakers listed on our website may not have worked with PepTalk in the past, they are recognized professionals in the industry and known to engage in similar events and engagements. We work with a wide variety of speaker agents and talent agencies to ensure we have the best selection of speakers, hosts, comedians and entertainers available.
We do not accommodate requests for birthday messages or any other personal, non-commercial contact with the speakers, comedians or entertainers.
We work with speakers across a variety of fee ranges, giving you the flexibility to choose someone who fits your event's needs. Virtual keynote fees in the UK and Europe typically start at £2,000, while in-person top-tier speakers can reach £25,000. In the US, virtual in-person fees range from $5,000 to over $100,000, depending on the speaker and format, such as after-dinner talks, conference keynotes, Q&As, or podcasts. Comedians generally start at £1,500 or $2,000 for a 20-minute set.
Our goal is to help you find the speaker who best matches your event’s goals and budget. We take the time to understand your event, objectives, and audience to recommend the right fit. The most expensive option isn’t always the best one, and our priority is finding the ideal speaker or expert for your needs; not the highest-priced one.
Reach out for personalised recommendations and detailed information on specific speaker fees. We’re here to offer a tailored service and are always happy to discuss your unique requirements!
There’s no additional cost for our services beyond the speaker fee — simply contact us to find the right speaker for your next business or team event. We can also work with your corporate procurement team to negotiate favourable long-term rates, simply email hello@getapeptalk.com for more information.
Partnering with PepTalk means elevating your events with our curated roster of top motivational speakers, industry experts, delivering punchy keynotes that leave a lasting impact. From talent selection, to contracts and logistics, we handle it all. We have global expert network, with over 3000 speakers from over 33 countries on our line-up.
We also provide a full range of talent, from event hosts and moderators to interviewers and corporate entertainment, ensuring your event’s success from start to finish.
PepTalk workshops are interactive learning experiences for leaders at all levels, blending theory with practical insights from industry experts. These programs, led by experienced facilitators, are designed to drive real mindset changes and equip participants with actionable skills. Workshops can be customised to meet your organisation's specific needs. Explore our workshop examples and contact us today to learn how your team can benefit.
If you notice something that needs attention or have any queries regarding an expert speaker profile, feel free to email us at experts@getapeptalk.com, and we’ll be happy to assist.