Celebrating 25 Years Part 5: The Cornerstones of GDA's Speaker Family

Although GDA is best known for our exclusive representation of Nando Parrado , his story is one of many powerful messages that our bureau has helped share with audiences the world over the past 25 years. I thought it would be fun to dive into some GDA history to share more about how I met the rest of our GDA speaker family.

John Sanei

John likes to tell the story that he manifested our relationship by writing on a napkin that wanted to be represented by GDA. My team had connected with John a few years back but our relationship really formed after I saw him command the stage at the EO Global Leadership Conference in Cape Town, South Africa in 2023. In one year, I have seen John keynote in Detroit, Dallas and Vegas. Hard to believe we have only partnered together for a little over a year!

Leslie Morgan Steiner

I was first introduced to Leslie by a YPO client. I was intrigued with her work but skeptical on how it would translate to our client base. Boy was I wrong! Over 100 bookings later, it’s clear her inspiring story has broad appeal. She is the absolute go-to for non-profit domestic violence organizations. In addition, her clear voice on the struggles as a working mom resonates with many audiences. Her perspective helps attendees navigate and provide a supportive environment for women.

Ron White

One of our former employees had seen Ron in action at her position prior to coming to GDA. She consistently brought this very impressive memory expert to our attention, always telling us how great he was and we needed to consider working with him. We eventually ended up inviting him to speak at an event and learned that our teammate was indeed correct—Ron was an extremely gifted and memorable (no pun intended!) speaker. Since then we have booked Ron 216 times and he remains a fan favorite.

Kristina Wandzilak & Constance Curry

This is another great story. It was 2007, just days before my birthday. I had company visiting from out of town and a full calendar. A friend called and asked me if I was planning to attend a book signing at our church with the co-authors of The Lost Years, a nonfiction account of a mother’s attempts to help her daughter escape the clutches of addiction, which was generating a lot of buzz at the time. I explained to my friend there was no way, I simply didn’t have time. She persisted and said I would regret not attending. So I grabbed my mom and headed to the church. The mother-daughter duo did not give a speech as I expected, but instead read excerpts from their book. I was completely captivated. The line to get signed books was too long for me to wait in, so I managed to pass the authors one of my business cards, upon which I’d written “Call me about speaking.” Since then we have booked Kristina and her mother Constance 46 times. Their story is incredibly powerful and so full of hope. I have watched Kristina be a guest on Good Morning America, launch several TV series, and now run her own addiction recovery clinic in California. They both continue to inspire me.

Ankit Fadia

Ankit was another YPO recommendation to me. When we first started working with Ankit in 2007, he was an MTV India star and Stanford dropout wearing graphic t-shirts and sneakers. He had a highly interactive presentation on computer hacking. He was willing to travel the world, easy to work, and got consistent high ratings. At some point, he returned to Stanford, graduated, and started working for McKinsey & Company. We have recently launched what we like to call “Ankit 2.0” which presents Ankit with his specialty of GenAI. Our friendship over the last two decades is something I cherish

Andy Fastow

Andy likes to say he reached out to me for representation and I told him I was not interested - I don’t remember that! But what I do remember is that since our first booking with him in 2014, he is the most misunderstood speaker who - once given the chance to share his incredible story - gets excellent ratings. Andy’s story goes far beyond the infamous collapse of Enron. It is a tale of redemption, deep personal growth, and invaluable lessons learned from one of the biggest corporate scandals in history. Having been in his audience so many times, I know firsthand how powerful and meaningful his message is.?

As I reflect on these stories, I feel a strong sense of accomplishment. We have been able to create such inspirational, thought-provoking, and life-changing moments for audiences, thanks to our good fortune in making connections with some pretty amazing people. These speakers have played such an impactful role in GDA’s history and we are thrilled to see what the next 25 years will bring.

-Gail Davis, Founder & President, GDA Speakers