GTN Press Kit 2015 by Greater Talent Network

When the Press looks for the best in celebrity speakers & entertainers, they turn to the industry leader...

G reater Talent N etwork , I nc . 2015 Press and Media Kit

INFORM. INSPIRE. ENTERTAIN.

Featuring... • DuJour Magazine • BizBash Magazine • Bloomberg Pursuit • Bloomberg BusinessWeek • HauteLiving Magazine • CBS News • The Wall Street Journal • The Hollywood Reporter • The Washington Times • New York Post • New York Daily News • Coping Magazine • The Hill • New York Magazine • US Weekly • Business Insider • The Association of Business Information & Media • Meetings & Conventions • The New York Sun

Greater Talent Network

Press: Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Greater Talent Network

Press: DuJour Magazine

Greater Talent Network

Press: CBS News

Greater Talent Network

Press: Bloomberg Pursuit

Greater Talent Network

Press: Bloomberg Pursuit (Continued)

Greater Talent Network

Press: The Wall Street Journal URBAN GARDNER - May 6, 2012, 9:31 p.m. ET

Talent Networking By RALPH GARDNER JR.

I hadn't heard of the Greater Talent Network before I was invited to its 30th anniversary gala. And it took several more emails before I figured out what it does, and that despite being attracted to many of the celebrity names attending the party: Tom Wolfe, Michael Lewis, Apolo Ohno, Sir Howard Stringer, P.J. O'Rourke, Carl Bernstein, Pete Hamill, Mia Farrow, Jeffrey Toobin. The list went on and on. I finally figured it out: The Greater Talent Network is a speakers' bureau, sending the famous, accomplished and merely amusing around the country to speak at things like college events and IBM conventions. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to be one of those people. I could envision myself arriving at the Consumer Widget Convention in Las Vegas, getting picked up in a limousine, checking out the heart-shaped Jacuzzi in my suite, sharing life lessons with star widget salesmen, taking a few questions and then spending the next 24 hours gambling, or by the pool tanning, before pocketing a six-figure check and boarding the host's corporate jet back to my normal life. Obviously, I wouldn't do more than a half-dozen such gigs a year, because I'm a serious person and have a real job. But it would be fun to have people fawn over you once in a while, and I could certainly use the extra money. The problem is, I have no keystone achievement or spiritually ennobling crisis that would make widget salesmen want to model themselves after me. Nonetheless, I wasn't going to let that stand in my way when the opportunity arose to sit down with Don Epstein, the Greater Talent Network's founder and CEO, a few days before the big event. It's always good if an interview has a higher purpose, if you get to knock around existential questions, and in this case I saw one staring me in the face: What would it take to get me onto his client roster? "We turn down 99% of all people who come to us," he started inauspiciously. "My clients do this as an avocation, not a vocation. It's because they're great storytellers." And often celebrities, I noted. "Celebrity is important, especially in this day and age," he conceded. "What is more important is for the audience to leave excited about the speech." By way of a promising prospect, he mentioned Ronan Farrow, who'd been in a couple of days earlier to meet with Mr. Epstein and several of his 22 agents. It's sort of a casual audition: People sit around a conference table and the prospective client talks about himself and his experiences. The whole thing is taped. I was forced to admit I'd never heard of Ronan Farrow. It turns out he's some sort of genius. He graduated college at 15. He's a Rhodes scholar and, still only 25 years old, works in the Obama administration's State Department as a special adviser. "He's the leading authority on the youth movement in the world," Mr. Epstein explained. Oh, and he also happens to be Mia Farrow and Woody Allen's son. I think the reason he didn't ring a bell is because he dropped his first name, Satchel. "All of my agents were fascinated by his stories," Mr. Epstein reported. "We're trying to put that deal together now." I'd be lying if I said this kid's blinding resume and Mr. Epstein's 99% rejection rate didn't throw me into something of a funk. Nonetheless, I pressed on in my efforts to persuade him to think of me in the same breath as Truman Capote, Jane Fonda, Jimmy Carter, Mia Hamm, Ben &Jerry, Chaz Bono, Candace Bushnell, former White House terrorism czar Richard Clarke and other cultural-icon clients past and present.

Greater Talent Network

Press: The Wall Street Journal (Continued) I confided that I killed recently when I appeared as the guest speaker at an upstate Habitat for Humanity brunch. "Were you paid?" Mr. Epstein asked artlessly. "No," I confessed. I also told him about the time I was emcee of the Battery Conservancy gala before a crowd that included Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and former Manhattan D.A. Robert Morgenthau. That probably could have gone a little smoother. But when I wrote a column about my borderline panic attack, a reader suggested I try a beta-blocker. That's the medication I was on at the Habitat brunch and it worked like a charm. So I'm good to go. There's no reason to think I couldn't sell out arenas. "Were you paid?" Mr. Epstein asked, referring to the Battery Conservancy event. He was getting repetitive. "That's free speech. I'm in the world of paid speech. Anybody can give a free speech. The first question we ask people is: 'Who's the audience? Who's going to pay for you?'" He had me stumped. So I went to his gala, held in a party tent on the grounds of the U.N. I was hoping to buttonhole a few celebrities to see what they talked about, other than themselves. The first person to walk in was Mo Rocca, the "CBS News Sunday Morning" correspondent and NPR "Wait Waitâ&#x20AC;ŚDon't Tell Me!" contestant. A friend of mine, disappointed at my career trajectory, told me she once thought I could have been another Mo Rocca. "I love state facts," Mr. Rocca explained. "I have a great short-term memory." He went to Harvard. "Whether colleges, corporate events, or assisted-living compounds, I'll learn about the place." I have a lousy short-term memory. So state facts are out. Susie Essman, the comedian and Larry David's foul-mouthed foil on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," told me that the Greater Talent Network wanted her to clean up her shtick when she signed on several years ago. "I felt that was a complete intrusion on my act," she confided. In the meantime, she's gotten married and gone through menopause. "I have all these things to talk about I can be clean about," she stated cheerfully. As a matter of fact, she was heading out to Chicago in a few days to do just that before some Jewish organization. "Everybody has a story," she told me encouragingly. "It's about your story." I wanted to meet Tom Wolfe most of all, though we didn't discuss his speeches. Mr. Epstein had said that when he signed up the writer a quarter-century ago, he said, "'The reason I'm hiring you is to turn people down.'" That sounded like a great way to structure my own relationship with Greater Talent Network. I could tell people I'd hired it to screen requests. That way they'd never feel pressure to book me a gig. And I'd never be disappointed that they hadn't. Mr. Epstein sounded amenable. "I'm going to keep my eye out for you," he stated, almost sincerely. "I definitely will.

Greater Talent Network

Press: Haute Living 2. A photo of me with late UN Ambassador, client and close friend Richard Holbrooke at a GTN party in Southampton (2010) : Before Holbrooke passed away, we were very good friends. I keep his picture nearby as inspiration and a stark reminder of how much this country desperately needs him now. 3. A ceremonial horsewhip from Kazakhstan : This was presented to me as a gift by the President of Kazakhstan’s daughter while attending a conference in 2009. I’ll never forget what an honor it was to be presented with a traditional gift from the country’s highest office, truly a once in a lifetime occasion. I’m sure anyone would agree, if the president of a country gives you something—especially something rare— you keep it close by. 4. A (small) portion of my sports memorabilia collection: Three signed basketballs from sports legends Shaquille O’Neil, Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Julius “Dr. J” Erving; Two Giants Super Bowl hats; and a NFL football signed by Michael Oher and the entire Tuohy family (of The Blindside) : Everyone who knows me knows that I am a huge sports fan. But Don Epstein is the founder and CEO of Greater aside from that, I really enjoy sharing in the success Talent Network, Inc. – the world’s premier celebrity of my clients. Nothing means more to me than seeing speakers bureau. Don splits his time between New them go out there, do what they do, and win. York and Palm Beach. Since GTN’s start in 1982, Don has shown a knack for recognizing talent on the 5. Helmet from the New York State Honorary Fire cusp of their careers, putting GTN consistently ahead Chiefs Organization : I was presented this helmet of the curve in providing the market with the most when I was inducted as President of the organization, outstanding speakers and most inspiring storytellers in a true honor. I like to keep it close by because it’s a quick visual reminder of who the true heroes really the world. are—firemen, policemen and military personnel. With more than three decades in the business, Don has cultivated an exclusive client base that includes: 6. A photo of my twin sons, Jacob and Morgan, and Former National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon, my wife Cara taken over 20 years ago : Every leader decorated Navy Seal and subject of Lone Survivor in any organization needs a picture of his family on his Marcus Luttrell, best-selling author of Moneyball desk. It keeps him grounded. I may be CEO here, but and The Blindside Michael Lewis, legendary political at home, with my family, I’m husband and dad, and satirist P.J. O’Rourke, Oakland A’s General Manager the last thing any organizational leader wants to do is and subject of Moneyball Billy Beane, best-selling lose sight of that—the most important roles in my life. author of The Monuments Men Robert Edsel, and 7. A novelty desk plate “The Bucks Start Here” Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s Ice –D.R.E. : This desk plate was given to me by one of Cream, among a roster of over 150 in-demand clients. my first clients over 25 years ago, who would always Epstein’s ability to deliver a unique mixture of the say that the buck doesn’t stop here, it starts here. It’s most prominent newsmakers, authors, entertainers a great motto for our business. It reminds me that my and motivating personalities continues to captivate company’s success starts right here with me, in this America’s top corporations, business associates and office, at this desk. But that’s true not just for me, but universities. for everyone at GTN; our success starts with the small, 1. My vintage leather desk : The desk is the cornerstone everyday things we do right here at our desks. Yes it’s of your workspace. I love this desk because it gives me whimsical, but also extremely valid. a sense of confidence.

Greater Talent Network

Press: The Hollywood Reporter THE BUSINESS Agents “This business is labor-intensive, with many moving parts,” says Epstein, in his Midtown Manhattan office. “Passion has kept me going for more than 30 years.”

MONEYBALL

For Don Epstein, whose A-list clients command up to six figures for a few hours of their time, talk is definitely not cheap By Eriq Gardner

HE DAY MONEYBALL GARNERED SIX media execs (Tina Brown, Howard Stringer), Oscar nominations, Don Epstein, CEO politicians (Jimmy Carter, Cory Booker) and of Greater Talent Network, suddenly authors (Tom Wolfe, Ken Follett). It has twice became the point man for three of the as many entertainment speakers as politihottest speakers in corporate America: cal and an enthusiasm for Hollywood and the the book’s author, Michael Lewis, and Billy lighter side of the zeitgeist (from directors such Beane and Paul DePodesta, baseball executives as Brett Ratner and Bully’s Lee Hirsch to hosts who were portrayed in the movie and went on like Giuliana Rancic and reality exec Mark the road to talk innovative winning strategies. Burnett). Says Don Walker, president of The “I don’t have the money that Hollywood studios Harry Walker Agency, “Don Epstein created, have to promote this stuff,” says the New Yorkby dint of his hard work and imagination, one of based Epstein, 56. “So I have to ride the coatthe leading speakers’ agencies in the world.” tails of their promotion.” The public-speaking business is a lucraHis timing for drafting on the currents of pop tive parallel industry to Hollywood. Authors, culture is impeccable. When Apollo 13 came because they’re storytellers, tend to be among out, Epstein already had signed as clients the the highest-earning clients. “I must confess, I real-life astronauts who were the do cash the checks,” says Wolfe. basis of the film. Because he gets “Some people show up because ON DECK first looks at client Lewis’ books, they just want to say they were in he was able to position and launch the same room, others are really ● Epstein is pitching subjects like The Blind Side’s interested in the subject, and a Hillary Leigh Anne Tuohy on tour when few come because they are forced Clinton for the movie hit big; he’s crafting to by their professors.” Epstein’s when she similar opportunities for Max top clients make $50,000 to exits as secretary of state. Brooks’ World War Z and Marcus $100,000 for a few hours, and Husband Bill has earned $65 million in fees (with Luttrell’s Lone Survivor, both he says the market has exponenanother agency) since he GTN clients. The Harry Walker tially risen during the past few left office in 2001. Agency, established in 1946, might decades. (GTN typically gets a ● Brooks, the World War Z be older (the more politically 20- to 30-percent commission.) author, will offer zombie inclined Washington Speakers “When we started with Burnett, survival “lessons” when Bureau is another Epsteinhe was $1,500 per night,” he says. the film, starring Brad Pitt, opens. professed rival), and National “Now, it’s six figures.” Epstein ● Luttrell, the former Speakers Bureau might be bigger, and the 22 agents at his New Navy SEAL who wrote Lone but GTN is perhaps one of the York firm generate about 1,600 Survivor, will talk “Courage, most versatile speakers’ bureaus, speeches a year — or, as he says, Honor, Patriotism.” Mark representing a broad range of “3,200 legs,” because they also Wahlberg plays him in the clients — film and TV talent make sure speakers physically 2013 movie. (Michael Moore, Conan O’Brien), get from one place to another

32 | THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER | 05.04.12

THE BLIND SIDE Epstein got an early look at Lewis’ The Blind Side, which led to signing book protagonist Tuohy (inset) as a speaker before the release of the 2009 film, starring Sandra Bullock.

and understand what the buyers expect. “This is not a hobby,” says GTN client Peter Guber, CEO of Mandalay Pictures, who gives talks on risk management, leading in uncertain times and entrepreneurial thought. “The speech has to be carefully designed to meet the company’s needs. This can be a real value proposition for a corporation; I was encouraged by Don and his group, who have spent years coaching, to make sure speeches were engaging.” When Epstein founded GTN in 1982 after a stint at New Line, the public-speaking circuit mostly was reserved for politicians — typically Democrats — who because of ethics rules could only accept modest amounts. “I remember booking Joe Biden for $2,000 a night, the limit Congress had set,” he says. When Ronald Reagan left the presidency, he began getting big paychecks for corporate events — a transformative moment for the industry. Soon, Epstein’s political clients were making fistfuls of cash. Some, like the late U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, would joke that taking a government stint meant Epstein would receive one type of e-mail from him: “Time for free speech.” Exiting public life meant another: “Time for paid speech.” With a flair for showmanship — Epstein once promoted G. Gordon Liddy by spreading the rumor that the Watergate figure would reveal Deep Throat’s identity — the agent continues to anticipate what’s hot in the market, not to mention the culture at large. After 30 years of leveraging Hollywood’s next hot properties, Epstein will celebrate GTN’s anniversary in May at the U.N. “If none of my clients came, great,” he says. “If I’m doing my job, they should be on the road, working.” PHOTOGRAPHED BY

Matt Salacuse

CLINTON: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES. MONEYBALL, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: MELINDA SUE GORDON/COLUMBIA TRISTAR; CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTY IMAGES; ROB KIM/ EVERETT COLLECTION/NEWSCOM. BLIND SIDE, FROM LEFT: JOHN SHEARER/GETTY IMAGES FOR CHILDREN AWAITING PARENTS; COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES.

Putting the Pop in Paid Speech

Epstein handles speaking appearances for Lewis (bottom right) and Beane (upper right), who was portrayed onscreen by Brad Pitt (left, with Jonah Hill, who played a character based on DePodesta).

Greater Talent Network

Press: The Daily

Talent out loud

Don Epstein has what it takes to make a speakers bureau hum By Kyle Stock Sunday, May 27, 2012

Don Epstein works a room like Derek Jeter fields a hot grounder — a professional handling a routine but tricky task with uncommon grace. Take a weekday breakfast at The Regency, a tony hotel on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. There’s a mix-up with the reservation, but Epstein refers to the hostess by her first name and nonchalantly says, “No problem. We’ll wait,” which ensures that he won’t. In a moment, he breezes into the ornate, bustling room — gripping and grinning. Two tables get a casual wave, and he stops at two others, those of Tennessee congressman-turned-public policy professor Harold Ford and Jonathan Tisch, chief executive of Loews Hotels and co-owner of the New York Giants. The reporter in his wake is introduced quickly before some banter on current events and a personal question or two. It’s small talk with substance. And, like a throw to first base, it seems effortless until you see it done by a lesser player. Epstein, 56, is founder and chief executive of Greater Talent Network, a so-called speakers bureau that is celebrating 30 years in business. He brings celebrities into the fold, pitches them to companies, charities and meeting planners, and coaches them on the finer points of paid public speaking for a business that can garner close to $200,000 an hour. “I think I’ve logged more chicken dinners than anyone in the world,” he said as we finally sat down at a corner table. The Regency is one of a few places where Epstein goes to check up on people like Ford, celebrities who are both his clients and his product. And this breezy breakfast banter, this flitting mix of friendship and formal deference is why his firm has garnered a long list of first-class speakers. The roster now comprises about 110 people from a wide span of backgrounds: politicians (Gen. Wesley Clark and Gov. George Pataki), athletes (Mia Hamm and Apolo Ohno), authors (Tom Wolfe and Sebastian Junger) and a mixed bag of others (Spike Lee, Meghan McCain and ice cream moguls Ben and Jerry). Author P.J. O’Rourke was one of the first celebrities to sign on with Greater Talent in 1982. “We hit it off right away,” O’Rourke said. “I thought he was a really sharp guy. And for a guy in his mid-20s, he actually had a lot of experience.” Epstein got his start in his Florida high school when he lost a bid to be president of the student council. As a consolation, he was named secretary of assemblies, which required him to organize pep rallies and concerts. “I was immediately jazzed by it,” he said. Shortly into his stay at the University of Florida, he was managing a $1 million budget as head of Gator Growl, the country’s largest student pep rally organization. His plans for law school and a career in politics vanished when he took a job in New York booking speakers to fill theaters for New Line Cinemas. Two-and-a-half years later, Epstein and a partner launched a speakers bureau and secured their first celebrity by camping out on the doorstep of G. Gordon Liddy, organizer of the Watergate break-in. “He had just come out of jail, so he was besieged by media,” Epstein said. “We said, ‘Listen, we’re two young kids with tremendous aggression. If you fail, we fail, so we can’t fail.’ ”

Greater Talent Network

Press: The Daily (Continued) Liddy stayed with Epstein when he broke away and started Greater Talent in 1982. Epstein’s most talented speaker? The late U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke. “He was one of the few people who could really take foreign policy and explain it — whether you agreed with him or not,” Epstein said. His most entertaining? Filmmaker and satirical activist Michael Moore. “He’s really a stand-up comedian,” he said. “And he’s extremely smart.” Greater Talent is a private company and does not share financial metrics, but Epstein said the firm has been in the black since day one and has never laid off an employee because of business conditions. With 40 full-time workers, Greater Talent sells about 1,550 engagements a year for which its speakers command anywhere from $7,500 to $200,000. Between 20 and 30 percent of those fees go to Greater Talent, depending on the celebrity and the amount of marketing involved. The firm also earns about one-fifth of its revenue by organizing publicity campaigns and endorsement deals. Its primary competitors are Washington Speakers Bureau, which is stacked with politicians, and The Harry Walker Agency, a New York-based firm. These days, Greater Talent is benefiting from a bit of a “Moneyball” effect, which is to say some of his most popular speakers include author Michael Lewis and the people featured in Lewis’ books. For the Tuohy family, which was central in Lewis’ “The Blind Side,” Greater Talent is as much a gatekeeper as a promoter. “We get asked to do so much and he weeds them out,” Leigh Anne Tuohy said. “He knows if I walk into a nonprofit and they’re not moving the needle, I will go literally ballistic.” Tuohy, her husband, Sean, and her adopted son, NFL lineman Michael Oher, all speak via Greater Talent — a blizzard of bookings to charities, schools, civic groups and corporations all over the country. “Don’s people plug all of our crazy-ass lives into a calendar and they just work it out,” she said. The one thing Epstein doesn’t worry about is competition. The more promoters, the better, he said. It helps his firm stand out and spurs more groups to hire celebrity speakers for the first time. “What we do is so specialized … it’s much more intellectual property,” he said. “But right now, it’s a $1 billion industry and none of us has captured more than a small part of that.

Greater Talent Network

Press: The Washington Times by the Constitution. In the words of former Treasury Secretary William Simon, Dr. Paul is the “one exception to the Gang of 535” on Capitol Hill.

Ron Paul for hire: Liberty, the free market and raking it in on the speaker circuit By, Gayle Falkenthal Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Greater Talent Network promises that at the podium Dr. Paul will deliver “a candid look at the dysfunctional American political system. Using anecdotes from his 23 years in Congress, he highlights the need for a limited government and more personal liberties. “Dr. Paul captures audiences’ attention by relating the occurrence of current national issues such as debt, privacy and freedom to the government’s neglect to follow the constitution. Despite the less than ideal condition of the country, Dr. Paul is an optimist. His unwavering passion leaves audiences motivated to speak out, wake up and let politicians know what they want.” Dr. Paul joins an impressive roster of pundits, celebrities, authors, athletes and other notables represented by the Greater Talent Network. Among the speakers Dr. Paul joins in the “Political and National Perspective” group are President Jimmy Carter, former Secretary of State George Schultz, the Reverend Al Sharpton, Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker, Judge Andrew Napolitano, outed CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, former New York Governor George Pataki, former U.S. Attorney Generals Janet Reno and Alberto Gonzales, filmmaker Michael Moore, and nearly all the correspondents for the CBS News program “60 Minutes.” Yep, a fairly eclectic bunch and something to charm or offend every possible audience.

SAN DIEGO, December 6, 2012 — Admirers and political supporters of former Presidential candidate and soon to be retired Texas Congressman Ron Paul have spent weeks speculating what the future hold for their political hero. Themight Greater Talent Network,

one of the leading celebrity speakers bureaus and talSo starting January 7, 2013, you too can have Dr. Paul as the Wonder no more. Dr. Paul plans to celebrate capitalism by keynote speaker at your collecting some healthyent checks on the speaking circuit. Bully agencies in the U.S., announced via itsevent. What will it cost you? The fees haven’t been disclosed, but I’ve worked with Greater Talent for him and I hope he rakes it in. Network to price and secure speakers. It costs $10,000 plus website and email to its clients that it had travel expenses for a leading cable news network talking head; The Greater Talent Network, one of the the leading celebrity become “exclusive it costs $50,000 plus those same expenses for a well-known speakers bureaus and talent agencies in the U.S., announced via best-selling author; the top names are minimum six figures. Not its website and email torepresentative” its clients that it had become for the the “Congressman andand bad for a night’s work a little travel time. “exclusive representative” for the “Congressman and Advocate Advocate for Liberty.” for Liberty.” It’s a rich prospect indeed to imagine Dr. Paul at the podium giving people in his audiences hell for supporting the illDr. Paul is celebrating capitalism in the best possible way, by monetizing what he was willing to give away for free night after considered, freedom crushing, nanny state, interventionist, tax and spend policies he’s spent a career in politics fighting, and night on the campaign trail and in dozens of Presidential debates. As an unabashed supporter of the free market, he can’t getting paid for it. be accused by anyone of being a hypocrite by cashing in on his It’s unknown whether Dr. Paul plans to charge for all his popularity. speaking engagements. Two weeks ago, the 77-year-old told The Hill he planned to keep visiting college campuses for “Congressman Ron Paul of Texas enjoys a national reputation speaking engagements, where he was wildly popular and well as the premier advocate for liberty in politics today,” read the received during the 2012 presidential campaign. announcement from GTN. “Dr. Paul is the leading spokesman for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies based on commoditybacked currency. He is known among both his colleagues in Congress and his constituents for his consistent voting record in the House of Representatives: Dr. Paul never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized

Greater Talent Network

Press: Coping Magazine May/June 2012 $3.25

Now in our

26th Year of service

WITH CANCER

copingmag.com

Giuliana & Bill Rancic

Together Through Breast Cancer Tips for Preventing Infections 38 Recover Intimacy after Prostate Cancer 21 Rebalance Your Life 6 Fighting Ovarian Cancer 18 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED COPING P.O. BOX 682268 Franklin, TN 37068-2268

Presorted Standard U.S. Postage PAID Lebanon Junction KY Permit #97

Greater Talent Network

Press: Misc. Clippings

May 6, 2012

May 1, 2012

September 13,2010

February 16, 2012

April 9, 2012

May 6, 2012

Greater Talent Network

Press: The Hill

CEO reveals secrets of the political speaking circuit By Judy Kurtz - 04/10/12 With more than four decades of experience, Don Epstein has a pretty solid track record of choosing up-and-coming orators who will be a hit on the speaking circuit. But there’s at least one person he admits he was reluctant to give a shot. While a student at the University of Florida in the 1970s, Epstein would book speakers to come to the school. He remembers getting a phone call about a governor from Georgia who wanted to give a lecture on campus the same day that actress Jane Fonda was at the university. Epstein says he replied, “Look, no one’s ever heard of him and no one’s ever going to.” That “nobody” was future President Jimmy Carter. Epstein relented and gave the Democrat a speaking slot: “There were about 60 or 80 people seeing Jimmy Carter in one part of the university and about 10,000 people seeing Jane Fonda in the other part of the university … But I gave him a platform and I don’t think he ever forgot that either.” Five presidents later, Don Epstein, 56, is still at it. He’s the founder and CEO of Greater Talent Network, a New York-based agency celebrating its 30th anniversary booking top talent in politics, entertainment, business, technology and sports. The company’s roster includes Gen. Wesley Clark, former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.), Meghan McCain, former Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and former Attorney General Janet Reno. Paid speech can mean big bucks for some of the country’s in-demand speakers. Epstein says his lineup can command anywhere from $7,500 to hundreds of thousands of dollars per speech. But ex-lawmakers dreaming of cash registers ringing when they open their mouths probably shouldn’t get their hopes up. Epstein says, “We turn down probably about 99 percent of the people who come to us.” For those who make the cut, Epstein contends a successful speaker can’t just do some tired shtick at the podium. The first thing the colleges and associations that book Greater Talent Network tell Epstein is, “We don’t want a canned speech. We don’t want a speech that has been delivered like a stump speech.” Epstein says the trend in public speaking these days is to do a Q-and-A format or a discussion between people with different views on issues. Since starting his company in 1982, Epstein has compiled endless memories. But he says one of his favorites is walking the streets of Croatia with Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. And it was Holbrooke, who died in 2010, who helped Epstein to avoid overlooking one of his now most popular speakers. “If it was not for Holbrooke constantly calling, calling, calling me, telling me that I really had to speak to [former Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn.], I didn’t see it. And then Ford became one of the greatest speakers I’ve ever seen.” Epstein says the ex-congressman still ribs him about that one. “Oh, he kids me all the time. And we’ve both been very successful with him being in the circuit!”

Greater Talent Network

Press: New York Magazine

Greater Talent Network

Press: US Weekly

Exclusive: Bully Director Lee Hirsch to Embark on Speaking Tour Entertainment April 20, 2012 AT 12:20PM By Beth Anne Macaluso

Lee Hirsch is taking his very important message out into the world. The Bully director and creator of The Bully Project-an organization dedicated to fighting bullying in America's schools--is set to head out on a speaking tour with the Greater Talent Network speakers bureau. Hirsch will visit high schools and college campuses across the country to engage with young people about the harmful impact bullying has not only on individuals, but on whole communities. "Lee has a powerful, undeniable message about the devastating effects of bullying in schools," Greater Talent Network CEO Don Epstein tells Us Weekly. "It's a message people all over the country need to hear." Hirsch's powerful documentary recently won a ratings battle with the MPAA; the film, which was initially rated R, is now rated PG-13 thanks to a campaign by Hirsch and other anti-bullying activists-meaning audiences of all ages can attend a screening without an adult chaperone.

Greater Talent Network

Press: Business Insider MICHAEL WOODFORD: Here’s Why Corporate Fraud Is Easier In Japan The British executive who exposed a $1.7 billion fraud at Olympus talked with us yesterday about the pitfalls of the Japanese corporate culture. Michael Woodford fears there are more Olympus’s out there. Worse, he says Japan’s culture of deference does not make himoptimistic about the country’s looming debt crisis.

Woodford is publishing an account of his dramatic story in Japanese in April and in English in Woodford was the first foreign salary man—someone who has devoted his career to a single corporation—to be promoted to president of October. He is also going on a speaking tour and is a Japanese company. represented by the Greater Talent Network. SALARY MEN

“Being a salary man is a very important thing in Japan, like fidelity in a marriage,” Woodford says. “You would think a salary man would beconsidered someone who wasn’t very bold, but in Japan that is what they look for.”

“When I give talks people tell me it is a gripping and thrilling story. They ask themselves ‘how would “Ive read about the former Goldman director in the press. II’m not going to saysituation. greed and wrongdoing is unique to Japan. There are scanreact in that DEFERENCE AND OBEDIENCE

dals in Europe, Siemens, Worldcom, Enron. Human nature is what human nature is. Individuals will act in a way that is wholly unacceptable. That’s not exclusively Japanese,” Woodford says. “What is Japanese is the culture of deference and obedience. These qualities make hiding corrupt transactions much easier. You have people blindly following leadership. I saw even more of this after I made it public.”

Greater Talent Network

Press: BizBash Magazine

Greater Talent Network

Press: The Association of Business Information & Media

How b-to-b media operated during Superstorm Sandy Nov. 7, 2012 – Hurricane Sandy did not come unexpected to the East Coast, but her long-lasting effects surprised many. For much of New York and New Jersey, the home to many media company headquarters, power was out and transportation was halted. But we are in the news business, and the news doesn’t stop. Despite these difficult hurdles (“How do I conduct a webinar when I have no web?”), many media businesses continued operations through workarounds and quick thinking. ABM talked to three executives – Robert Keenan, vice president of online media at Edgell Communications; Don Epstein, chairman and CEO of Greater Talent Network; and Bob Felsenthal, publisher of Crain Communications’s BtoB magazine – to find out how their businesses handled Superstorm Sandy. Don Epstein, chairman and CEO, Greater Talent Network

Our offices are located in an area of Manhattan which lost power Monday evening. Staff members who had power were able to work from home. We established a dedicated emergency website to keep them informed. Following an established recovery plan, GTN's data systems were relocated to an alternate facility. Our speaker clients and customer sponsors kept us posted on conditions in their areas. We are grateful to them for their understanding and assistance in dealing with unprecedented flooding in our hometown. The loss of power in the tri-state area made those with access to electricity our gateway to the outside world. Those with power invited their affected colleagues into their homes. Until the power returned Saturday, our staff shared what resources were available to keep our customers and speakers fully connected. We used Google's hosted e-mail and Amazon's EC2 cloud infrastructure to facilitate continued operations. To assure that all inbound phone calls reached essential staff members, we transferred our telecom system to Grasshopper virtual phone service. Our toughest decisions were acting to cancel events that our customers and clients had spent months (or even years) preparing for. While these cancellations were disappointing to those involved, we are thankful that our decisions did not involve life-threatening situations. By Elizabeth A. Reid

Greater Talent Network

Press: Meeting and Conventions

Greater Talent Network

Press: New York Magazine October 2, 2011

It’s Good to Be Michael Lewis

He could have made a fortune in business. Instead, he made a fortune writing about it. Plus—a fortune for everyone he writes about.

By Jessica Pressler

Collins Tuohy has told this story before, and by now her delivery is spot on. It was Thanksgiving morning, and her family were on their way to pick up breakfast. “Because in our household,” she says in her Memphis drawl, and pauses for emphasis. “My mother thinks that if we go and get food.” Dramatic pause. “And bring it back to our house.” Another pause. “Then it counts as home cooking.” The audience laughs as Collins, a twentysomething Kappa Delta in a leopard-print dress and heels that bring her a good four inches closer to God, shakes her head affectionately at her parents, Leigh Anne and Sean, who are sitting next to her onstage at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Then her story turns serious. As they were driving, they spotted a boy from Collins’s school walking down the street, unseasonably clad in shorts and a T-shirt. Leigh Anne asked her husband to pull over. You probably know the rest. So did the thousand or so salespeople that diamond manufacturer Hearts on Fire had invited to hear the Tuohys speak during its annual seminar. At this point, practically everyone with eyes has seen the movie The Blind Side, which tells the story of how the Tuohys adopted that boy, Michael Oher, and transformed him, by the grace of Jesus and with the help of cash from Sean’s fast-food franchises, from almost-certain lost cause to millionaire NFL star. Oher’s story might never have been told outside Memphis if Sean Tuohy’s high-school classmate Michael Lewis hadn’t happened into town soon after that Thanksgiving Day to talk to his old friend for a story he was working on about their high-school baseball coach. Lewis watched as Collins, “Michael her brother, Sean Junior, a six-foot-four, 350-pound in and out the of theagent house and quietly wondered does thisandover and over again,”mystery says streamed Don Epstein, what the hell was going on.

who handles Lewis’s speaking engagements, which are plentiful When they were done talking, Sean Tuohy escorted Lewisalso to thehandles door. “Well,Lewis’ I hope another 25 years doesn’t go by,” he said. and remunerative. Epstein remarkable spillover: Lewis paused in the entryway. “You’re really going to let me out of here without telling me who the black kid is?” he asked. When Lewis does a book, he often puts the people he writes about Collins Tuohy hasn’t actually read the book that Lewis subsequently wrote about her family and that served as the basis of the movie. She touch Epstein, because, inevitably, they the arestory going to need anof its own. Last year, the doesn’t need to, shein says, and notwith just because she “lived it,” as she puts it, but because has taken on a life Tuohys published another book, In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving, followed in February by Oher’s own memoir, I Beat agent, too. Even supporting characters are in demand: Epstein books the Odds. Leigh Anne, who was an interior decorator before she became professionally herself, has appeared on Extreme Makeover: Home fora reality Paul show DePodesta, straight man; Edition, is developing about at-riskMoneyball’s children, and has number-crunching become good friends with Sandra Bullock, who played her in the movie. “I could eat him with a spoon,” she told People, of the actress’s own recently adopted child. Susan “Miss Sue” Mitchell, who tutored Michael Oher in The Blind “But it was Michael Lewis,” Sean reminds the crowd at the Aria, “who got the ball rolling. And he has a new movie coming out, MoneySide; and Meredith Whitney, the financial analyst whose early warnball—” ings about subprime debt were highlighted in Lewis’s financial-crisis “Oh, don’t plug him,” Leigh Anne interrupts good-naturedly. “He’s made plenty of money off us.” Big laughs from the crowd—she has narrative The Big Short. “It’s almost like he stamps his own brand on a point. But so does Sean. Without The Blind Side, the Tuohys would be a family of local saints; with it, they are something like national you by writing you,” says Whitney. heroes, touring the country from speakingabout engagement to speaking engagement on a kind of paid victory lap. They may be the most enterprising beneficiaries of a phenomenon now so common it deserves to be called the Michael Lewis Effect—the way the author makes his subjects into celebrities just by writing about them , endowing obscure figures with major profiles, intellectual prestige, even earning power.

“He changed my life,” Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane had told me the day before, bouncing through the Oakland Coliseum on a golf cart between his own press appearances for the movie Moneyball, adapted from Lewis’s baseball book turned management manifesto. Beane had been a backroom-style executive in a forgettable market—a pretty good gig if you like baseball, but nothing that would get you recognized in the street—before Lewis’s 2003 Moneyball proclaimed him a genius for his team’s use of sabermetrics, an arcane statistical method of evaluating players. The book, which sold over a million copies, changed the way baseball was played, made “Moneyball” a shorthand term for data-¬driven innovation in any field, and turned Beane himself into a savant legend well outside of baseball circles. Though he’s still not quite as well known as the guy who sneaks up behind him and slaps him on the back as Beane walks to his next interview. “Hey, man,” says a familiar voice. That would be Brad Pitt, who plays him in the movie. “Michael does this over and over again,” says Don Epstein, the agent who handles Lewis’s speaking engagements, which are plentiful and remunerative. Epstein also handles Lewis’s remarkable spillover: When Lewis does a book, he often puts the people he writes about in touch with Epstein, because, inevitably, they are going to need an agent, too. Even supporting characters are in demand: Epstein books for Paul DePodesta, Moneyball’s number-crunching straight man; Susan “Miss Sue” Mitchell, who tutored Michael Oher in The Blind Side; and Meredith Whitney, , the financial analyst whose early warnings about subprime debt were highlighted in Lewis’s financialcrisis narrative The Big Short. “It’s almost like he stamps his own brand on you by writing about you,” says Whitney.

Mo Rocca to Star in Cooking Channel Special 'My Grandmother's Ravioli... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mo-rocca-star-cookin

Greater Talent Network

75k

Industry Tools

Newsletters

Daily PDF

Press: The Hollywood Reporter

THEBOWL VOICEADS SUPER BOWL COMPLETE BEST COVERAGE & WORST SUPER

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE REPORT

Mo Rocca to Star in Cooking Channel Special 'My Grandmother's Ravioli' (Exclusive) 5:00 AM PST 1/9/2012 by THR Staff

Send

Comments (#comments)

Former Daily Show correspondent Mo Rocca is going to the right place to learn how to cook: the Cooking Channel. Rocca will star in an hour-long special called My Grandmother’s Ravioli, in which the satirical comic receives cooking lessons from America’s grandmothers and grandfathers. The special, which is being eyed as a potential series, is set to air Feb 19 on Cooking Channel. “At 42, I’m finally figuring out how to cook,” Rocca tells THR. “My grandmother was a great cook and her ravioli was what I remember from my childhood. I wish I could go back in time and show up to her apartment a few hours before we ate, so that's the show.”

Getty Images

The special, from executive producers Lauren Deen and Gideon Evans, will allow Rocca to “insinuate myself into people’s families," he says, including a filipino grandmother and an Italian grandfather who teach him how to make special dishes.

Rocca, repped by Gersh and manager Don Epstein at Greater Talent Network, is a prolific TV actor, writer and commentator.

Rocca, repped by Gersh and manager Don Epstein at Greater Talent Network, is a prolific TV actor, writer and commentator. In December he was promoted to "correspondent" on CBS Sunday Morning, after contributing for years to that show.