A speaker who's lived the room he's standing in.
Marcus G. Phillips brings nearly two decades of executive leadership experience to keynotes that go beyond inspiration — into the kind of thinking that actually changes how leaders operate.
Most leadership talks are delivered by people who've studied leadership. This one is delivered by someone who led.
Executive Fluency
Marcus has operated at the highest levels of organizational leadership — managing P&Ls, directing global teams, and advising C-suite executives across five continents. When he speaks about identity stagnation and leadership growth, he's speaking from inside the experience. Not about it.
A Framework, Not Just a Story
Every keynote is built on the Zone Shift™ framework — a coherent, three-part system that gives audiences a vocabulary and a process, not just anecdotes. Attendees leave with tools they can use Monday morning.
Outcomes, Not Ovations
The goal is not a standing ovation. The goal is that someone in that room uses a word, makes a decision, or starts a conversation they wouldn't have had otherwise. That's the measure Marcus holds every session to.
Nearly two decades of executive experience — brought into the room, not read from a slide.
Marcus G. Phillips led a $1.6B global business unit as Segment CMO — managing teams across five continents, directing a $50M budget, and navigating the kind of organizational complexity most keynote speakers have only read about.
He speaks from the inside of that experience. Not about it.
Available Keynotes
All keynotes are tailored to your audience, industry, and event theme. Marcus works with event organizers ahead of every engagement to ensure relevance and resonance.
The Identity Tax: What Comfort Is Costing Your Leadership
Your audience already knows something is off. They're delivering results, showing up, doing the work — and quietly wondering why it doesn't feel the way it used to. Some have felt it in a LinkedIn post that stopped them cold because it finally named what they'd been carrying. Others feel it in the growing sense that their contributions aren't landing the way they once did. Others have a passion or direction they keep postponing because the next step feels too large to take without knowing where it lands. This keynote gives that feeling a name, a framework, and a next step they can use the same week.
What Audiences Will Learn
Download the Keynote One Pager
A one-page overview of The Identity Tax — perfect for sharing with your event team.
Unsaid at Work: The Truths Your Team Isn’t Telling You
Every organization runs two conversations: the one in the meeting and the one in the hallway afterward. The hallway version is usually the true one. When people filter what they say, leaders decide on bad information, problems surface late, and good people leave quietly. Most leaders believe their door is open. Their teams often disagree. This keynote shows leaders how silence takes hold, what it’s costing them, and the specific language that brings the real conversation into the room.
What Audiences Will Learn
Prompt or Be Prompted: Who’s Doing the Thinking in Your Organization?
Every organization is adopting AI. Far fewer are asking who’s doing the thinking. The tools are fast, fluent and confident, and they’ll agree with whatever judgment you bring to them, good or bad. The risk isn’t that AI replaces your people. It’s that leaders quietly hand off the judgment that made them worth following. This is a keynote about leadership, not software: how to protect and develop human judgment while the tools get better every quarter.
What Audiences Will Learn
The kind of conversation that changes how leaders think on Monday.
Private Industry Keynote · Fall 2026
Senior leaders, business owners, and sales & marketing leadership
Not keynotes — conversations.
Unscripted conversations on Identity-Lag™, reinvention, and what it actually costs to stay loyal to a version of yourself you've outgrown. The clearest look at the thinking behind the keynote.
From $1.6B CMO to Executive Advisor
The Power of Making An Authentic Shift
Available Formats
Keynote (45–60 min)
Full-stage presentation with Q&A. Tailored to your audience, industry, and event theme. Available in-person or virtually, domestic and international.
Workshop (Half-day)
Interactive, application-focused session. Teams leave with a completed Zone Shift™ diagnostic and a personal action framework. Best for leadership offsites.
Fireside Chat / Panel
Conversational format ideal for executive audiences and summits. Marcus brings the framework into dialogue with sharp, specific answers to the questions your audience is carrying.
Breakout Session (60–90 min)
Focused deep-dive on a single framework concept. Designed for high-potential programs, conference breakout tracks, and team development events.
Speaking Experience
Nearly two decades of presenting to audiences ranging from senior global marketing leaders to rooms of 1,600 — across five continents. Recent work includes a private industry keynote and featured conversations on the Going Long and Get Authentic podcasts.
Private Industry Keynote
Fall 2026 · Senior leaders, business owners, and sales & marketing leadership
Build What's Next
Podcast Guest — Going Long with Billy Keels
September 2026 · Episode 665
From $1.6B CMO to Executive Advisor
Podcast Guest — Get Authentic with Marques Ogden
May 2026
The Power of Making An Authentic Shift In Your Life
Roundtable Leader — Industry AI Perspectives Conference
East Carolina University · 2026
Prompt or Be Prompted: Teaching Organizations to Think in the Age of AI
Panelist — Career Development Training Camp
Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx / Pentair · 2023
Leadership identity and professional growth
Annual Customer Incentive Program — Main Presenter & Host
Pentair · 2016–2019 · 1,200–1,600 attendees per event
Main presenter and program host for five consecutive international customer events — Cancun, Punta Cana, Los Cabos, Tahiti, Symphony of the Seas
Global Brand Council — Lausanne, Switzerland
Pentair · 2012–2024 · Bi-annual · Senior global marketing leadership
Facilitated strategic brand decisions with marketing leaders across worldwide operations
Now Booking 2026–2027
In-person and virtual availability · Domestic and international
Details
From those who've worked with Marcus
There are people who lead from where they are, regardless of title or position. They lead because they care about making others better. The 'how' we achieved together mattered as much as what we achieved. That is Marcus Phillips.
Charlotte Seymour
Communications & Brand Marketing Leader · Former Direct Report
Marcus always speaks his mind, politely and professionally — but there's never any mistaking where he stands, nor that he has the best interests of the people he's with at heart.
Leon Rawitz
Strategic Marketing Leader · Former Direct Report
Marcus possesses a rare ability to quickly build relationships and inspire those around him — which especially sets him apart from other leaders in a buttoned-up, publicly traded corporation. His extraordinary blend of empathy, authenticity, and talent uplifts everyone around him.
Holly Brennan
Director of Operations · Former Direct Report
What event planners ask before booking Marcus
What topics does Marcus speak on?
Marcus speaks on leadership reinvention, why high performers plateau, and how leaders and organizations navigate the identity shifts that growth demands. His keynotes are built on The Zone Shift™, a framework developed over two decades of executive leadership, including a decade as Segment CMO of a $1.6B global business unit.
What formats does Marcus offer?
Keynotes, leadership workshops, breakout sessions, fireside chats, panels, and corporate offsite or team development sessions. Formats can be combined — for example, a keynote followed by a working session with your leadership team.
What audiences are the best fit?
Leadership conferences, corporate leadership and talent development events, executive offsites, association meetings, and university or professional development programs. The material lands strongest with audiences of experienced professionals navigating growth, change, or reinvention.
How do speaking fees work?
Fees vary by format, event scope, and location. When you submit an inquiry, Marcus responds personally within two business days with a straight answer on fit, availability, and fee range — no drawn-out discovery process before you know the numbers.
Does Marcus travel for events? Are virtual options available?
Yes. Marcus is based in North Carolina and travels for in-person events across the U.S. Virtual keynotes and hybrid formats are also available.
Can the keynote be customized for our audience?
Every engagement includes a pre-event discovery conversation so the content, examples, and takeaways are tailored to your audience, industry, and event theme — not delivered off the shelf.
How far in advance should we book?
Earlier is better for choice of dates, but reach out regardless of your timeline — shorter-notice requests can often be accommodated depending on the calendar. Every inquiry gets an availability answer within two business days.
What happens after we submit an inquiry?
Marcus personally reviews and responds within two business days with fit, availability, and fee range. If it looks like a match, the next step is a short call to align on your audience and objectives. A downloadable speaker one-sheet with bio, headshots, and topic summaries is available on this page.
Let's find out if we're the right fit for your event.
Marcus personally reviews every speaking inquiry and responds within 2 business days.
Tell him about your audience and what you're hoping they take away. That's the most important part of this form — and it's how he determines whether there's genuine fit.
Not ready to inquire yet?
Take the free Identity-Lag™ Diagnostic →Leadership speaker, advisor, and author helping executives navigate the identity shifts that growth demands.
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