Turn executive conversations into authentic leadership moments.
Rod Berger
EXECUTIVE CONVERSATION HOST
STRATEGIC STORYTELLING EXPERT
AUTHOR OF THE NARRATIVE EDGE
SPEAKER FEE: $10,000 - $25,000
Meet Rod
Conducted more than 4,000 interviews across five continents, including the Pope, Magic Johnson and Guy Fieri
Transforms executive keynotes into live, authentic conversations audiences lean into
Sends organizations home with resusable content, with every conversation becoming podcast and social media gold
Rod Berger is a veteran interviewer who has conducted more than 4,000 interviews across five continents. He has sat across from heads of industry, acclaimed authors, and global figures, including the late Pope Francis, Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley, and Sammy Hagar of Van Halen, among others. He has a rare gift for getting people to say what they did not plan to say. He is the author of The Narrative Edge: Authentic Storytelling That Meets the Moment (Wiley), has written for Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Los Angeles Magazine, and serves as Editor-at-Large at Fair Observer.
His range is unusually wide. He has hosted galas and research summits across the Nordics, served as the inaugural host of the Nordic Climate Finance Summit in Oslo last year, and traveled across Africa to capture stories in places most cameras never reach, including refugee camps. He hosts three podcasts, including HeadRoom and The Narrative Edge Podcast. Rod guest lectured at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management on storytelling in business for nearly two decades and is a recipient of the Pangea International Literacy Award.
Here is the problem Rod solves.
Most corporate events follow the same script: the CEO takes the stage, delivers carefully rehearsed remarks, and the room politely waits for the coffee break. The audience never meets the person. Rod changes the format. Instead of another keynote, he conducts a live, on-stage interview that pulls the leader out from behind the talking points and into a real conversation about what drives them, what scares them, and what they have learned the hard way. No gotcha moments. No press-release answers. Just the kind of exchange that helps employees, clients, and partners see their leadership differently.
It works. At a recent event in Atlanta, Rod hosted on-stage conversations with four keynote speakers. Those interviews became the audience's favorite part of the program, sparked new business relationships among the CEOs, and were repurposed into podcast episodes and LinkedIn content that extended the event's reach for months.
That is the second thing Rod delivers: leverage.
A keynote ends when the lights come up. A Rod Berger interview keeps working. Every conversation can be repurposed into podcast episodes, social clips, and written features, turning a single stage moment into a content engine for the brand, the sponsor, or the partner in the chair.
SPEAKING TOPICS
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The flagship. Your chief executive is already on the agenda. Rod turns that slot into a conversation the audience remembers, making the leader more human, more relatable, and, frankly, more impressive than any script could. Ideal for all-hands meetings, customer summits, and annual conferences.
Pre-event prep with the executive and your team so nothing is a surprise on stage
A conversational, never-scripted flow that still hits your key themes
The “why” behind the leader: motivation, challenges, and the moments that shaped them
A finished segment that doubles as marketable content afterward
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A keynote delivers the message. Rod's follow-up conversation makes it land. He takes the stage with your featured speaker immediately after their remarks and draws out the stories, tensions, and specifics the keynote did not have time to cover.
Extends and deepens an existing speaker's value
Keeps the energy high in the slot where attention usually drops
Gives the audience the access they actually came for
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Sponsor stage time often feels transactional, and everyone in the room knows it. Rod reframes it as a genuine conversation, making your sponsor appear generous and interesting rather than desperate for the mic.
Makes sponsor dollars feel like value, not an interruption
Positions sponsor leadership as thought partners, not advertisers
A natural fit for conferences looking to deepen sponsor relationships
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When you want to make a key partner, client, or strategic ally feel genuinely valued, put them in the chair. Rod gives them a platform that flatters without fawning and strengthens the relationship in front of an audience that matters.
A high-touch way to honor an important relationship
Builds loyalty and visibility at the same time
Creates a shareable moment the partner will promote themselves
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Available as an add-on to any of the above. Rod's team helps repurpose the on-stage footage into podcast episodes, LinkedIn articles, and social clips, so the event keeps generating reach and goodwill long after the room clears.
