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The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau

A speakers bureau that represents the best original thinkers,
writers, and doers for speaking engagements.

Neil Hoyne

Great leadership means getting involved in data—and not just the numbers, but the big picture ideas that come out of it.

Author of Converted | Chief Strategist at Google | Senior Fellow at Wharton

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Author’s Corner with Neil Hoyne

Lavin Exclusive Speaker

“The single most powerful thing a leader can do for their organization is to take a leadership role in data,” says Neil Hoyne. As the author of Converted and Google’s Chief Strategist, Neil knows that data isn’t just spreadsheets: it’s the human perspective that you need to spark extraordinary growth. He’s been at the forefront of worldwide data strategies that have generated a staggering $6 billion in revenue for Google, and has helped the world’s biggest advertisers improve conversion rates by over 400%. Neil bridges the gap between leaders and data. With a unique perspective, he offers innovative guidance and teachings from other organizations so leaders can use the skills they already have—connecting people and processes—to contribute to data discussions in the boardroom. Neil shows how you can maximize data’s potential, skyrocketing company growth and maintaining long-term customer relationships.

“I’ve been waiting twenty years for this book! Converted explores how to use data the right way to win customers’ hearts. This book is simply a must-read.”— Martin Lindstrom, New York Times bestselling author of Buyology

Data is the single largest underleveraged source of growth for companies all over the world. To effectively lead a company in this era, you need to understand where you play in the data conversation, and how to include it in your strategies. Neil has seen the untapped potential of data in boardrooms. He helps leaders connect the dots and find your ‘aha’ moments, so you can tie data into the strategies and decisions you’re making. In his book Converted, Neil shows how pressure for quick results, combined with fierce marketplace competition, has boxed too many leaders into limited marketing and data strategies—often letting their long hours, countless experiments, and warehouses of data go to waste in the process. But there is another way. Rather than chasing a quick sale with every potential customer, Neil shows us how we can build relationships that last a lifetime, generate more value over time, and strengthen our organizations from the inside out. His simple, research-backed playbook will help leaders, marketers, and organizations of every stripe ask the guiding questions that will anticipate their customers’ needs better than the competition.

In talks, Neil brings his decades of experience to life, captivating audiences with his stunning expertise on topics such as digital transformation, customer relationships, behavioral science, marketing attribution, product development, machine learning, and many more. He’s been a witness to, and participant in, both billion-dollar successes and instructive failures, using them as tools to build indestructible customer relationships. Bridging the gap between leaders and data, he helps you become more comfortable and contribute in boardroom discussions, understand what the data means and how it can benefit your company.

Peter Fader, a professor of marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, calls Converted “a wonderful guidebook on building profitable customer relationships. Whether you’re just getting started or consider yourself an experienced practitioner, this book is invaluable.” Jay Baer, New York Times bestselling author of Youtility, says that Converted is “the most useful field guide ever written on how to drive desirable customer behavior online.”

After earning degrees from Purdue University and UCLA, Hoyne returned to academia in 2018 as a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a board member on the Purdue University Global Board of Trustees, and serves as an advisor to private equity and investment funds, including CapitalG: Alphabet’s independent growth fund, which has helped to scale companies like Airbnb, Stripe, Duolingo, and more.

Testimonials

The event turned out excellent and Neil was such an awesome speaker and a pleasure to work with. He has a very engaging personality, which is great for speaking engagements such as ours. I have been in contact with him after the event and he has offered to answer any questions from the Q&A that we didn't have time to answer and supply links to some resources that were discussed in the Q&A. He is great.

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Speech Topics

Leadership

Why You Need DataHow Leaders and Executives Can Use Data for Revenue Growth

Most organizations are not using their data effectively, and Neil Hoyne is here to fix that. As the author of the book Converted and Chief Strategist at Google, Neil knows exactly how to use data to its maximum potential. Neil has been at the forefront of worldwide growth and go-to-market strategies, generating a staggering $6B in incremental revenue for companies. He knows how you can use your data for long-term revenue growth.

With over a decade spent in board rooms, C-suites, and working with front-line analysts at thousands of companies around the world, Neil has gained unparalleled insight into what separates success from failure. In this talk, he breaks down the strategies and innovative tools that utilize data to its maximum potential, and how you can set your organization up for continuous growth and success.

Marketing

ConvertedThe Data-Driven Way to Win Customers’ Hearts

The marketing approach of most businesses is short-sighted—focusing too heavily on the point-of-purchase, and trying too hard to understand what everyone likes, rather than identifying and serving their best customers. But success doesn’t come from trying to appeal to everyone; in fact, 80% of revenue comes from cultivating 20% of the customer base. When it comes to driving profitable growth in the long-term, customer lifetime value can no longer be ignored.

In his debut book Converted, Neil Hoyne asks: what if you establish your business around long-term relationships with customers, using data to understand who the best customers are and what they want to buy, and then building around them? This accompanying talk shows you how to do just that, starting by shifting away from a transactional mindset to a relationship-based one. With a new mindset, you can begin to gather, interpret, and use data to grow the bottom line in a different way, says Hoyne.

Clear, non-technical, and filled with sharp insights gleaned from Hoyne’s decades of work in the field, this presentation is for anyone looking for a growth strategy that will propel their business forward with unambiguous results.

Innovation

Behind the Scenes of Failure:How to Overcome Obstacles and Find Success

Many keynotes focus on the successes: the great product launch that changes the trajectory of the company, or a behind-the-scenes look at the brand campaign that won countless awards and accolades. But in this talk, Neil Hoyne flips the script and takes a deep dive into the world of failure—and what we can learn from it.

Neil is the author of Converted and Google’s Chief Strategist, and has worked with C-suites and analysts at thousands of companies around the world. He shares real-life case studies of companies that made catastrophic decisions—even decisions that were backed by data—and the lessons we can learn from their mistakes. He offers valuable takeaways and strategies that you can use to avoid falling into the same traps, and empowers you to overcome any challenges that may come your way on your path to success.

Neil will help you build empathy and resilience, proving that everyone encounters failure and showing you how to bounce back from it. The practical lessons you’ll take away are relevant to marketers, leaders, entrepreneurs, and everyone else.