SPEAKERS

Success came early on for Kris. After building a foundation as a scholar athlete, he became his high school’s first attendee of The United States Military Academy at West Point. Following the Academy’s rigorous four-year course of personal development, he graduated and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army Military Police Corps. By empowering his subordinates and building cohesive teams, Kris received top honors as a special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team commander and Army base police chief in the wake of 9/11 and as an Army unit commander of over 100 active duty soldiers.

After six years of military service, Captain Yagel decided to leave the Army to lead others in the corporate world. He reached top honors, again, in the new endeavors of project management, medical device sales, and business development. Ultimately, after taking stock of his experiences, Kris realized that his life had been a carefully woven sequence of events that prepared him to continue serving others by founding his leader development, team optimization, and inspirational speaking company, Diligent Plans.

Today, Kris is known as a gripping motivational speaker, astute consultant, innovative trainer, and empathetic connector.

His motto is simple: Do whatever it takes to help others grow.

While serving with distinction as an Infantry Officer, Captain Kwasniak affectionately dubbed the United States Army the “greatest team in the world”. Although he decided to pursue new challenges outside the Army after his service commitment, Captain Kwasniak’s sentiment about the Army never left him. In fact, he yearned for it until, 16 years later, he was reunited with the service by being sworn in as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (CASA) in the State of Ohio. At age 43, Babe was the youngest CASA in the Nation’s history.

Between the Army and his current role as the CASA, Babe continued his legacy of building elite teams. He broke into the medical sales profession with neither sales, nor medical experience. While working for the Nation’s leading anatomic pathology provider, Babe won multiple awards including Rookie of the Year and Sales Director of the Year. In multiple years as a territory manager, responsible for an excess of 37 million dollars, he achieved a ranking within the top 5% of salespeople.

Arguably the best part of his run as a leader teams came as the head basketball coach at his high school alma mater, Villa Angela – St. Joseph High School. His 10-year run included an incredible 184 wins and three Ohio State Championship titles. Furthermore, he lead the Vikings to a record setting five straight title games and amassed a 48-6 record in the state tournament. Though his numbers are impressive, Coach Kwasniak places the most value in learning how youth sports plays a priceless role in the development of young leaders.

Ever the servant leader, Babe leverages his experience as an Army Veteran and as the current CASA to bring awareness to the alarming veteran suicide rate. An admitted PTSD and suicide survivor, Babe speaks passionately about saving veterans from making the same mistakes he made. He has spoken on stages around the County and on numerous podcast, radio, and television shows to highlight the value that veterans have in our society. Babe’s endless energy and passion for veterans is summed up in his mantra: “One at a time.”

You will not find a more selfless, passionate leader of winning teams. Period.

Realizing his passion for military history at an early age, Jason determined that West Point was the perfect match for his desire to serve, while connecting with America’s past. Upon graduation in 1999, he went on to dedicate 20 years of his life to national defense, earning a Bronze Star in combat, and leading at all levels of the military. The Army selected Jason from among its promising junior officers to return to West Point and teach military history. While doing so, he became the first instructor since Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster to earn his PhD. After returning from a tour in Afghanistan as a strategic planner, Jason taught at the Army War College becoming the first officer to become credentialed as an Assistant Professor as a Major. He went on to teach for eight years at the collegiate level, authored four books, and delivered over 60 academic lectures and papers. Before retiring, Jason served as Future Plans Chief for an element of Cyber Command, applying military history to this emerging military domain. As a contractor, he continues to work in the military technological field, but always with an eye toward the past to make the most sense of current trends in warfare and leadership.

Dr. Warren views the constancy of human nature as a key element in leadership development. Instead of events that happened in a remote time without any relevance to the present, the continuity with the way humans react to events such as crisis and war allows for Jason to deliver incisive leadership development to teams desiring to improve performance and increase profits.

Jason’s ability to analyze complex history and extract meaningful learning points is world class.

Eric received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduated, and was commissioned as an Army Aviation Officer, attaining his dream of being a member of the Air Cavalry. On 9/11, Eric’s unit was tasked to provide close air support for the President’s potential visit to NORAD. Shortly after, he deployed 110 soldiers to Iraq for the invasion, commanded thousands of miles of convoys, and flew 100+ combat flight hours. He deployed again in 2007, this time as a part of the staff element responsible for helicopter operations covering the entire nation of Iraq.

After more than 10 years of service, Major Olsen left the Army for corporate America where his passion for learning new skills continued across an array of different industries and roles. He helped reinvigorate the largest malting plant in the world; brought LEAN manufacturing to a 1,200 employee beef processing facility; installed the first Amazon mailer and bubble wrap lines in a foam plant; achieved 98% client retention rate over 2 years as a business consultant; and worked as an executive in two regional businesses. Throughout his experience, leadership, strategy, and process have allowed Eric to learn, adapt, and excel, leaving organizations measurably better.

Today, Eric is working on the next stage of his professional life where he can combine his love for training, passion for helping people achieve more, and developing leaders who are driven to create the next generations of leaders.

Eric is masterful at blending the human elements of leadership with systems driven processes.