Biography of Keith Ferrazzi

Both Forbes and Inc Magazines have designated him one of the world’s most “connected” individuals. Now, as Founder & CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight, he provides market leaders with advanced strategic consulting and training services to increase company sales, and enhance personal careers. Ferrazzi Greenlight applies experiences gleaned from the careers of its executives spent in the highest echelons of corporate America, as well as principles from Ferrazzi’s book, ‘NEVER EAT ALONE And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time.’

Ferrazzi has been widely recognized by his peers, is a frequent contributor to CNN and CNBC, and has authored numerous articles for leading business publications, including Forbes, Inc, the Wall Street Journal and the Harvard Business Review. Ferrazzi was an early leader in the quality movement as the youngest examiner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. He has been named a “Global Leader of Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum, one of the top “40 Under 40” business leaders by Crain’s Business, one of the most distinguished young Californians by the Jaycees, and one of the most creative Americans in Richard Wurman’s “Who’s Really Who”. Ferrazzi’s extraordinary rise to prominence, which includes a stint as the youngest Chief Marketing Officer for a Fortune 500 company while at Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, has even inspired a Stanford Business School case study.

Most recently, Ferrazzi served as Chief Executive Officer for YaYa Media, a leading interactive entertainment consultancy. Prior to that, while at Starwood Hotels, he oversaw all marketing activities for global brands such as Sheraton, Westin, The Luxury Collection, St. Regis, and W Hotels. Previously, Ferrazzi was Chief Marketing Officer of Deloitte Consulting, a leading global management consulting firm, where he developed and managed the industry’s first globally integrated marketing organization. His creative marketing strategy drove the ascent of Deloitte’s “Consulting” brand recognition from the lowest in the industry to a primary position, and spurred the highest featured growth rate in the industry.

Ferrazzi actively supports numerous civic, charitable and educational organizations, including his service on Yale University’s Board of Alumni Governors. He is also a Fellow of the Berkeley College at Yale, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Kiski School in Pennsylvania. Additionally, he founded and chairs Equality 1st, a foundation focused on assuring everyone has an equal chance at success. He is particularly interested in the relationship between leadership success and spirituality. Ferrazzi earned a BA degree from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.