Theresa Payton
Featured Videos
Michelle Giuda Joins Squawk Box
Keynote: America's Real Pacing Challenge
Remarks at the U.S. Senate on American Leadership
Fireside Chat with Senator Todd Young
Speech Topics
The elite athlete’s mindset applied to the team that matters most—America.
Michelle spent her youth chasing a place on one of the most competitive teams in college sports — twice rejected from UCLA Gymnastics before walking on and becoming a two-time team captain and member of an NCAA championship squad. She learned that excellence is not a birthright or a talent. It is a standard you choose and a discipline you practice.
She carried that same standard from the arena to the highest levels of government as an Assistant Secretary of State who saw up close what American excellence makes possible on the world stage. In this keynote, she takes what makes elite athletes great — the mentality, the work ethic, the joy, the team-first attitude, the refusal to coast — and applies it to the biggest team any of us plays for: America. It’s a hopeful, energizing case that personal excellence isn’t just a private pursuit – in a country that depends on its citizens, it’s a responsibility. This talk sends audiences out ready to raise their own game and play their part in the American project like it matters.
A former Assistant Secretary of State on the geopolitics defining the next decade.
As Assistant Secretary of State, Michelle led the largest modernization of the State Department in two decades and worked alongside allies during a consequential stretch of U.S. foreign policy. While many analyze and comment on government transformation, Michelle drove it. She brings an athlete’s and an operator’s edge to global affairs — a break from the striped-pants establishment — and has advised Fortune 500 leaders on navigating geopolitical risk.
She offers a sharper, generational take on a fast-changing world: the real contest between free countries and authoritarian ones, the global race for AI leadership, shifting alliances, and what it will actually take for America and its allies to lead in a new era, not just the next news cycle. Clear-eyed and refreshingly free of partisan spin, she gives audiences a practical way to understand where the world is really headed.
Ideal for corporate leadership audiences, industry conferences, and organizations whose future depends on the global order.
From two-time reject to the rooms where decisions get made.
Michelle was rejected twice from her dream of walking on to UCLA Gymnastics before she made the team — and went on to become a two-time captain and NACGC Scholastic All-American. That set the template for a career built on the foundations of hard work and enthusiasm: the youngest member of the executive team at the world’s largest publicly held communications firm, an Ad Age 40 Under 40, Assistant Secretary of State, and a mother.
In this keynote, she gives the next generation of women a direct, no-excuses playbook for achieving their goals — whether they’re students, CEOs, or mothers. She talks about competing and performing at the highest level, extreme preparation, and a can-do attitude. Drawing on the discipline of an elite athlete and the conviction of service to her country, she challenges audiences to reject the imposter-syndrome narrative and lead with confidence — at any age and any stage.
Biography
Michelle Giuda is a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, an NCAA team champion, and a two-time UCLA gymnastics team captain — and one of the most compelling voices on American leadership and excellence.
Her commitment to America stems from her mother’s escape from Vietnam and her father’s service in the Vietnam War, instilling in her a foundational love of country and determination. Twice rejected from her dream of walking on to the UCLA Gymnastics team, she persevered — becoming a two-time Team Captain, four-time NACGC Scholastic All-American, and member of the Bruins’ NCAA championship squad.
Her career began as Press Secretary to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, followed by two presidential appointments. As Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs, she led the State Department’s most significant modernization in two decades, then earned unanimous Senate confirmation to the Board of the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
In the private sector, she rose to become the youngest member of the executive leadership team at the world’s largest publicly held communications firm, earning a spot on Ad Age‘s 40 Under 40 and advising Fortune 500 companies on geopolitical risk.
She currently serves as CEO of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue.
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Newt Gingrich, Distinguished Leader, Visionary, & Political Vanguard; 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate; Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1995-1999); Best-Selling Author
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