Is love a leadership skill, a measurable business driver?
With talk of love and profit, Bryan Rutberg, The “Hippie with an MBA®”, makes people think, smile, and then lean in. The former Director of Microsoft’s Executive Briefing Center and speechwriter for the company’s head of Customer Support helps leaders, teams, and organizations operationalize a deceptively simple idea: love is not a soft concept, it’s a serious business advantage. Bryan’s work sits at the intersection of humanity and performance, showing how empathy, clarity, and connection drive retention, referrals, resilience, and revenue.
A speaker, consultant, and trainer with decades of experience across for-profit, nonprofit, and association environments, Bryan translates “love” into language leaders can use without blushing—and results they can measure. His forthcoming book, Acts of Humanity:The Power of Purposeful Events (by Scott Schenker with Bryan Rutberg), reframes human gatherings as intentional acts of connection that shape culture and behavior. Whether he’s delivering a keynote, facilitating an executive workshop, or guiding a leadership team through strategic sense-making, Bryan blends rigorous business thinking with deeply human insight.
Bryan’s credibility is grounded not just in frameworks, but in lived experience. He’s been married for 32 years (and counting), believes dachshunds are proof of divine humor, and appreciates a good whiskey almost as much as a good conversation. His “hippie” bona fides are real—curiosity, presence, compassion—balanced by an MBA mindset (and an actual MBA from the University of North Carolina) that respects accountability, outcomes, and the realities leaders face. Audiences feel seen, challenged, and energized, often remarking that Bryan “says the thing they’ve felt but couldn’t quite say.”
Beyond the stage, Bryan is a sought-after speechwriter and message crafter, called on for moments with real stakes: executive keynotes, all-hands meetings, strategy rollouts and change initiatives, even wedding speeches and retirement celebrations. That range shows up in his speaking—tight structure, emotional intelligence, and stories that land. Event planners value his professionalism and flexibility; leaders value his depth and practicality; audiences leave feeling more human—and more capable—than when they arrived.
