Keynote Speakers

Scott Mann is a master at building relationships in high-stakes, competitive environments. As a Green Beret in the United States Army, he forged bonds and solved problems using values that moved people around the world to stand up for themselves. His secret? He was able to restore trust and create human connections in places where that didn’t seem possible.

He is now bringing those same principles to corporate boardrooms and conference rooms—where trusted leadership is more valuable—and more vulnerable—than ever. “In today’s fast-changing, hyper-connected world, sound bytes and tweets have eroded our ability to communicate with one another,” Scott says. “When we figure out how to look below the water line of what’s really going on around us, we get back to those innate, timeless and tribal-like skills that allow us to lead in our business and personal lives. If you can’t do that, no one is going to follow you because they don’t trust you.”

Doug Ommen was appointed by Governor Terry Branstad as Insurance Commissioner in January 2017, after serving as Interim Commissioner since December 2016. Ommen has a strong and varied public service background. Ommen’s dedication and desire to serve the public began in seeking justice for victims of fraud in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, where as an assistant attorney general and then as chief counsel, he led the fight to protect consumers over the course of three decades.

Ommen served as Deputy Insurance Commissioner at the Iowa Insurance Division from August 2013 to December 2016. Ommen also served in the Missouri Department of Insurance during 2005 – 2008, and as Missouri’s Insurance Director was instrumental for several key regulatory reforms. Ommen obtained his law degree in 1985 from the Saint Louis University School of Law, and is licensed to practice law in both Iowa and Missouri. Ommen and his wife, Sharon, have two married children and three grandchildren.

Deirdre Van Nest is the go-to expert on the topic of speaking to groups. She is the creator of the Crazy Good Talks® Blueprint, a system that teaches financial advisors, leaders and sales pros how to bring in business faster and impact more lives through the power of speaking. She is the host of Crazy Good Talks® TV and is called upon for interviews on podcasts and TV talk shows. Deirdre is an international speaker and trainer, a Certified World Class Speaking™ Coach, a Certified Fearless Living Coach, a contributing author of the Amazon bestseller World Class Speaking™ in Action and author of “Fire Your Fear™.” She is also a monthly contributor for Horsesmouth and faculty at Hoopis Performance Network. Deirdre is an Italian/Irish New Yorker living in Minneapolis where she tries hard not to scare people with her loud voice and enthusiastic hand gestures.

Senator Grassley was born in New Hartford, Iowa and received his M.A. in Political Science from the University of Northern Iowa. He was a farmer when he was elected to Iowa Legislature in 1958. He moved to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1958 and the U.S. Senate in 1980. Senator Grassley authored the historic “Congressional Accountability Act” that required workplace laws to be applied to Congress and secured amendments to the “Affordable Care Act” to make the sweeping health care overhaul apply to members of Congress. He was sworn in as Senate president pro tempore for the 116th Congress. He leverages his seniority in the United States Senate to build bipartisan coalitions and advance a conservative agenda to improve opportunity and prosperity for more Americans.

As the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Grassley continues vigorous congressional oversight of the executive branch to make sure the federal government does its job. He is also building upon his longstanding record to work across the aisle to solve problems. During his four-year chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Grassley shepherded a historic 85 federal judges through the Senate’s advice and consent authority for lifetime appointments to the federal bench, including two Supreme Court Justices. His signature legislative achievement as chairman of the Judiciary Committee was landmark, bipartisan criminal justice reform called the First Step Act. It passed the Senate 87-12 and was signed into law in December 2018. In all his work, Senator Grassley puts the needs of Iowans first.

Recognized for using innovative technologies to drive insurance sales, streamline the application process, and speed up underwriting, Ryan leverages his experience in social media and online marketing to help agents and agencies create their online presence and profit from it.

His company, Pinney Insurance Center is a national brokerage general agency that provides insurance, investment, and financial planning advice combined with proprietary tools to assist agents and financial advisors. Utilizing the same principals and technology his firm provides to agents, his agency sold thousands of policies direct-to-consumer over the internet last year.

Ryan is a 7-time MDRT Top of the Table qualifier and regular contributor to financial publications where he has been featured by Bankrate.com, Yahoo! Finance, and Fox Business News. He was recently recognized as one of the 2015 AdvisorToday “4 under 40” Financial Advisors and by LifeHealthPro Magazine as one of the “24 Most Creative People in Insurance”. Ryan is a Past President of NAIFA Northern California, serves on the Independent Advisor Task Force for NAIFA, and as the U.S. Chairperson for the MDRT Member Communications Committee.