Famous Consultants

Newt Gingrich's path toward a long, influential career in politics was paved at an early age. He was born Newton Leroy McPherson on June 17, 1943, in Harrisburg, Pa., and was raised on military bases where his adoptive father, career Army officer Robert Gingrich, was stationed. While he lived with his family in France in the late 1950s, the younger Gingrich developed an interest in history and politics. A visit to the World War II site of the Battle of Verdun was particularly influential, as Newt learned about the sacrifices of war and the importance of political leadership. In 1970, Gingrich

Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant and policy advisor. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on August 31, 2007. He has also headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives. Since leaving the White House, Rove has worked as a political analyst and contributor for Fox News, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal. Prior to his White House appointments, he is credited with the 1994 and 1998 Texas g

Stephen Fishbach is scheduled to appear on Survivor: Tocantins, the eighteenth season of reality show Survivor.

Alan Greenspan (; born March 6, 1926) is an American economist who served as Chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private adviser and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC. First appointed Federal Reserve chairman by President Ronald Reagan in August 1987, he was reappointed at successive four-year intervals until retiring on January 31, 2006, after the second-longest tenure in the position (behind William McChesney Martin).Greenspan came to the Federal Reserve Board from a consulting career. Although

Sophisticated, silver haired design guru Tim Gunn became an unlikely breakout celebrity at the age of 51 when he debuted as the fashion mentor on Bravo's reality fashion design contest, "Project Runway" (2004- ). The urbane, dryly witty man in black was previously known in academic design circles for his 25-plus years at Parsons The New School for Design in New York, a premier institution for art and design. But it was his presence as the stern but lovable guide to the fashion boot campers on "Project Runway" that turned him into a recognizable personality and a respected tastemaker for the ma

Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. He was convicted in the Iran–Contra affair of the late 1980s, but his convictions were vacated and reversed, and all charges against him dismissed in 1991. North is primarily remembered for his term as a National Security Council staff member during the Iran-Contra affair, a political scandal of the late 1980s. The scandal involved the illegal sale of weapons to Iran to encourage the release of U.S. hostages t

Chelsea Clinton was the daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton and was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1980, the same year her father was serving as the state's youngest elected governor. Her father was defeated the following year, forcing the family to return to a quiet life as private residents for a couple of years, but was quickly reelected as Arkansas's governor in 1983 - a position he would hold until 1992. Chelsea lived a relatively normal childhood in the Arkansas, and proved to be a standout student. Her quiet life in Arkansas would forever be upended however when in 1992 Bi

Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and writer known for advocating the exploration of the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs under controlled conditions. As a clinical psychologist at Harvard University, Leary conducted experiments under the Harvard Psilocybin Project in 1960–62 (LSD and psilocybin were still legal in the United States at the time), resulting in the Concord Prison Experiment and the Marsh Chapel Experiment. The scientific legitimacy and ethics of his research were questioned by other Harvard faculty because he took psyc

Mary Temple Grandin (born August 29, 1947) is an American professor of animal science at Colorado State University, consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior, and autism spokesperson. She is one of the first individuals on the autism spectrum to publicly share insights from her personal experience of autism. Grandin has authored over 60 peer reviewed scientific papers on animal behavior, and is a prominent proponent for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter. She also invented the "Hug Box" device to calm those on the autism spectrum. In the 2010 Time 100, an annual list

Richard Samuel "Dick" Morris (born November 28, 1946) is an American political author and commentator who previously worked as a pollster, political campaign consultant, and general political consultant.A friend and advisor to Bill Clinton during his time as Governor of Arkansas, since his 1978 run, Morris became a political adviser to the White House after Clinton was elected president in 1992. Morris encouraged Clinton to pursue third way policies of triangulation that combined traditional Republican and Democratic proposals, rhetoric, and issues so as to achieve maximum political gain and p

Franklin Story Musgrave, M.D. (born August 19, 1935) is an American physician and a retired NASA astronaut. He is a public speaker and consultant to both Disney's Imagineering group and Applied Minds in California. In 1996 he became only the second astronaut to fly on six spaceflights, and he is the most formally educated astronaut with six academic degrees. Musgrave is the only astronaut to fly aboard all five Space Shuttles.

David Marshall Coulthard, (; born 27 March 1971), known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver turned presenter, commentator and journalist. He was runner-up in the 2001 Formula One World Drivers' Championship, driving for McLaren. Coulthard began karting at the age of eleven and achieved early success before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the Formula 3000 series. He first drove in Formula One with Williams in the 1994 season succeeding the late Ayrton Senna. The following year he won his first Grand Prix in Portugal, and then for the 1996

Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961) is an American former basketball player who played professionally for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, the 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Thomas has also been a professional and collegiate head coach, a basketball executive, and a broadcaster. Thomas played collegiately for the Indiana Hoosiers, leading them to the 1981 NCAA championship as a sophomore and declaring for the NBA draft. He was ta

Ai Weiwei is a film producer and film director.

Richard Jay Potash (June 26, 1946 – November 24, 2018), known professionally as Ricky Jay, was an American stage magician, actor, bibliophile, and writer. In a profile for The New Yorker, Mark Singer called Jay "perhaps the most gifted sleight of hand artist alive". In addition to sleight of hand, Jay was known for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter. He also wrote extensively on magic and its history. His acting credits included the films The Prestige, The Spanish Prisoner, Mystery Men, Heist, Boogie Nights, Tomorrow Never Dies, House of Games, and Magnolia, and the

Erin Brockovich worked on a variety of projects during her entertainment career. Brockovich marked her early career with roles in the Julia Roberts smash hit dramatic biopic "Erin Brockovich" (2000), "The 58th Annual Golden Globe Awards" (NBC, 2000-01) and "The Erin Brockovich Story" (2000-01). Brockovich also appeared in "Challenge America With Erin Brockovich: The Miracle in Manhattan" (ABC, 2001-02), "AFI's 100 Years..100 Heroes and Villains" (CBS, 2002-03) and "Final Justice with Erin Brockovich" (Lifetime, 2002-03). She also worked on "Intimate Portrait: Erin Brockovich" (Lifetime, 2002-0

Stephen Richards Covey (October 24, 1932 – July 16, 2012) was an American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. His most popular book is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. His other books include First Things First, Principle-Centered Leadership, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, The 8th Habit, and The Leader In Me — How Schools and Parents Around the World Are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time. In 1996, Times magazine named him one of the 25 most influential people. He was a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University at the

Frank William Abagnale Jr. (; born April 27, 1948) is an American security consultant known for his background as a former con man, check forger, and impostor while he was between the ages of 15 and 21. He became one of the most notorious impostors, claiming to have assumed no fewer than eight identities, including an airline pilot, a physician, a U.S. Bureau of Prisons agent, and a lawyer. He escaped from police custody twice (once from a taxiing airliner and once from a U.S. federal penitentiary) before he was 22 years old. He served less than five years in prison before starting to work for

Gary Warren Hart (born Gary Warren Hartpence; November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out over allegations of an extramarital affair. He represented Colorado in the United States Senate from 1975 to 1987. Born in Ottawa, Kansas, he pursued a legal career in Denver, Colorado, after graduating from Yale Law School. He managed Senator George McGovern's successful campaign for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination and McGovern's unsuccessful general election campaign against P

James Marcus Bach is a software tester, author, trainer and consultant. He is a proponent of exploratory testing and the context-driven school of software testing and is credited with developing session-based testing. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Association for Software Testing.Lessons Learned in Software Testing, a book he co-authored, has been cited over 130 times according to Google Scholar, and several of his articles have been cited dozens of times including his work on heuristics for testing and on the Capability Maturity Model. He has written numerous articles for I

David Axelrod is an American writer and producer who is known for writing "The Dick Cavett Show," "The Big Show," and "Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell."

Sir Goldsworthy Gurney (14 February 1793 – 28 February 1875) was an English surgeon, chemist, lecturer, consultant, architect, builder. He was a prototypical British gentleman scientist and inventor of the Victorian era. Amongst many accomplishments, he developed the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, and later applied its principles to a novel form of illumination, the Bude light; developed a series of early steam-powered road vehicles; and laid claim—still discussed and disputed today—to the blastpipe, a key component in the success of steam locomotives, engines, and other coal-fired systems. Events sur

Dr. Gary P. Hamel (born 1954) is an American management consultant. He is a founder of Strategos, an international management consulting firm based in Chicago.

Mary Joe Matalin (born August 19, 1953) is an American political consultant well known for her work with the Republican Party. She has served under President Ronald Reagan, was campaign director for George H. W. Bush, was an assistant to President George W. Bush, and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney until 2003. Matalin has been chief editor of Threshold Editions, a conservative publishing imprint at Simon & Schuster, since March 2005. She is married to Democratic political consultant James Carville. She appears in the award-winning documentary film Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story and

Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moore was ranked 34th in Rolling Stone's 2004 edition of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." In May 2012, Spin published a staff-selected list of the top 100 rock guitarists, and ranked Moore and his Sonic Youth bandmate Lee Ranaldo together at number 1.In 2012, Moore started a new band Chelsea Light Moving, with their first track, "Burroughs", rel

Thomas Andrew Daschle (; born December 9, 1947) is a retired American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator from South Dakota from 1987 to 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Daschle obtained a degree at South Dakota State University, and also served in the United States Air Force. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1978 and served four terms. In 1986, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming Minority Leader in 1995 and Majority Leader in 2001, becoming the highest-ranking elected official in South Dakota history. In 2004, he wa

William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950), also commonly known as Mackenzie King, was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth prime minister of Canada in 1921–1926, 1926–1930 and 1935–1948. He is best known for his leadership of Canada throughout the Second World War (1939–1945) when he mobilized Canadian money, supplies and volunteers to support Britain while boosting the economy and maintaining morale on the home front. A Liberal with 21 years and 154 days in office, he was the longest-serving prime minister in Can

David Allen Aaker (born 1938) is an American organizational theorist, consultant and Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business, a specialist in marketing with a focus on brand strategy. He serves as Vice Chairman of Prophet.

Anna Vasilyevna Chapman (Russian: А́нна Васи́льевна Ча́пман, born Anna Vasil’yevna Kushchyenko 23 February 1982) is a Russian intelligence agent, media personality, and model who was arrested in the United States as part of the Illegals Program spy ring. At the time of her arrest she was accused of espionage on behalf of the Russian Federation's external intelligence agency, the Sluzhba vneshney razvedki (SVR). She had previously gained British citizenship through marriage, which she used to gain residency in the U.S. Chapman pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to act as an agent of a for

Fred Dickson QC (July 4, 1937 – February 9, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and a Conservative member of the Senate of Canada. Dickson was appointed on the advice of Stephen Harper to the Senate on January 2, 2009.

Steve Hildebrand is a Democratic political strategist based out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was the deputy national campaign director of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

Renée Fleming, born on February 14, 1959, in Indiana, Pennsylvania, is a world-renowned American soprano celebrated for her extraordinary voice, artistry, and versatility. Known as "The People's Diva," Fleming has captivated audiences in opera houses, concert halls, and theaters worldwide. Her illustrious opera career includes iconic roles such as the Marschallin in Richard Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier", the Countess in Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro", and Violetta in Verdi's "La Traviata". She has performed on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House, and La Scala, among othe

Marshall Colt is an actor who appeared in "To Heal a Nation," "Murder, She Wrote," and "Jagged Edge."

Marina Anderson is an actress, voice actor, screenwriter, producer, makeup artist, acting coach, personal manager and a career consultant.

Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad (8 August 1941 – 16 April 2010) was the Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor of Corporate Strategy at University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He was the co-author of "Core Competence of the Corporation" (with Gary Hamel) and "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" (with Stuart L. Hart), about the business opportunity in serving the Bottom of the Pyramid. On 16 April 2010, Prahalad died at the age of 68 of a previously undiagnosed lung illness in San Diego, California.

Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town F.C. Robson's professional playing career as an inside forward spanned nearly 20 years, during which he played for three clubs: Fulham, West Bromwich Albion, and, briefly, Vancouver Royals. He also made 20 appearances for England, scoring four goals. After his playing career, he found success as both a club and international manager, winning league cha

John Goodwin Tower (September 29, 1925 – April 5, 1991) was an American politician, serving as a Republican United States Senator from Texas from 1961 to 1985. He was the first Republican Senator elected from Texas since Reconstruction. Tower also led the Tower Commission, which investigated the Iran-Contra Affair, and was an unsuccessful nominee for U.S. Secretary of Defense in 1989. Born in Houston, Texas, he served in the Pacific Theater of World War II. After the war, he worked as a radio announcer and taught at Midwestern University. He switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican

Paula DiPerna is a writer and frequent media and conference speaker on a variety of subjects. She has served as President of the Joyce Foundation, as well as Vice President for Recruitment and Public Policy at the Chicago Climate Exchange, which pioneered emissions trading and environmental markets worldwide, as well as President of CCX International. Prior to these positions, she served as writer and Vice President for International Affairs for the Cousteau Society, whose President was explorer and filmmaker, Jacques-Yves Cousteau. In addition to her environmental career, DiPerna is a prolifi

William H 'Doc' Eason (born July 22, 1947) is an American magician who specializes in bar magic. For 27 years, he was the featured entertainer at John Denver's World Famous Tower Comedy/ Magic Bar in Snowmass Village, CO. (1977–2004). He is also a corporate entertainer, lecturer, public speaker, author, teacher, consultant and recently was involved in the Fox TV show "Masters of Illusion". He talks to corporate and association groups about "The Therapy of Laughter" and connecting with customers. Widely recognized as one of the premier bar magicians of our time, he has lectured on the subject a

Chalmers Ashby Johnson (August 6, 1931 – November 20, 2010) was an American author and professor emeritus of the University of California, San Diego. He served in the Korean War, was a consultant for the CIA from 1967 to 1973, and chaired the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley from 1967 to 1972. He was also president and co-founder with Steven Clemons of the Japan Policy Research Institute (now based at the University of San Francisco), an organization promoting public education about Japan and Asia.Johnson wrote numerous books including three examinations of

Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician. A Republican, he served as a United States Senator and the 36th Governor of California. Born in Lake Forest, Illinois, Wilson graduated from the UC Berkeley School of Law after serving in the United States Marine Corps. He established a legal practice in San Diego and campaigned for Republicans such as Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater. Wilson won election to the California State Assembly in 1966 and became the Mayor of San Diego in 1971. He held that office until 1983, when he became a member of the United Stat

Dianna Booher is an American author, consultant, and keynote speaker on the topic of business communication. Booher is the founder of Booher Research, Dallas, Texas-based consultancy that offers communication consulting, executive coaching, and publishing strategies for Fortune 500 organizations. She is also the founder of and past CEO of Booher Consultants, Inc., Dallas, Texas-based consultancy that offers communication training and provides consulting services on corporate communication and productivity issues.

Frank Ian Luntz (born February 23, 1962) is an American political consultant, pollster, and "public opinion guru" best known for developing talking points and other messaging for Republican causes. His work has included assistance with messaging for Newt Gingrich's Contract with America, and public relations support for pro-Israel policies in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He advocated use of vocabulary crafted to produce a desired effect; including use of the term death tax instead of estate tax, and climate change instead of global warming. Luntz has frequently contributed to Fox News as

Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater (February 27, 1951 – March 29, 1991) was an American political consultant and strategist for the Republican Party. He was an adviser to US presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and chairman of the Republican National Committee. Atwater aroused controversy through his aggressive campaign tactics.

Charles Hampden-Turner is a British management philosopher, and Senior Research Associate at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge since 1990. He is the creator of Dilemma Theory, and co-founder and Director of Research and Development at the Trompenaars-Hampden-Turner Group, in Amsterdam.

Christopher Stephen "Chris" Lehane (born June 2, 1967) is an American political consultant who has served as a lawyer, spokesperson and expert in opposition research for the Clinton White House, Democratic candidates for public office and various business, Labor, entertainment and professional sports organizations. A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Law School, he was a lawyer and spokesperson in the Clinton White House where he and his current business partner Mark Fabiani were called the Masters of Disaster by Newsweek magazine for their part in a "rapid-response" team employed to res

Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941), also known as "The Big Tuna", is an American former football coach who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants, whom he led to two Super Bowl titles. Parcells later served as the head coach of the New England Patriots, New York Jets, and Dallas Cowboys. Throughout his career, he coached teams that were in a period of decline and turned them into postseason contenders. He is the only coach in NFL history to lead four teams to the playoffs and three

R. Stephen Cheheyl consults on information technology, mergers and acquisitions, financing, and corporate strategy. He has over 25 years of experience with companies ranging from start-ups to multinational corporations. In 1995, he retired as executive vice president of business operations at Bay Networks, a $2 billion data networking company. He currently serves on the board of several technology companies and advises Dartmouth's Computing Advisory Group.

Bill Applebaum is an American actor and writer. He began working on stage in Chicago at The Second City Theater, helping start the Second City ETC Theater in 1984. Applebaum has worked in hundreds of commercials, films, and television shows. He wrote TV pilots for Second City and contributed to "The Carol Burnett Show" and the television version of the film "Nothing In Common." He also had brief roles in "Pretty Woman" and guest-starred on shows like The Pez Dispenser and "Seinfeld".