Stern Strategy Group

What Stern Strategy Group does

Stern Strategy Group, founded in 1985 and headquartered in Westfield, New Jersey, is a professional services firm operating as an exclusive speakers bureau and advisory consultancy (DBA: Stern Speakers & Advisors). The company represents a roster of more than 200 thought leaders — including Nobel laureates, Harvard and MIT faculty, bestselling authors, and senior practitioners — covering domains such as AI, leadership, organizational behavior, strategy, innovation, sustainability, and geopolitics. It earns revenue through two service streams: (1) keynote speaking bookings and workshops for conferences, corporate events, and leadership programs, and (2) one-on-one or small-group advisory and consulting engagements that allow clients to implement the frameworks introduced in keynotes.

The business model is relationship-driven, direct-sales, and professionally priced. Pricing is quote-based with no public tiers, and engagements are structured as multi-year contracts customized by speaker, duration, format (virtual or in-person), and scope of advisory services. Stern responds to client inquiries within 24 hours and maintains a global service orientation, with offices in Westfield, NJ (headquarters), Tacoma, WA, and Lisbon, Portugal. Supporting content marketing assets include the "Minds Worth Meeting" podcast (distributed on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, YouTube, and Amazon Music and ranked in Goodpods Top 100 Innovation Podcasts) and a subscription newsletter/insights blog. The company is not a technology firm: it operates no proprietary software, API, or AI platform, and its underlying product is human-expert matching and relationship brokering rather than technology architecture.

Ownership appears to be founder/management-controlled with no disclosed venture or institutional capital. Stern operates as a wholly-owned parent of Pluribus Strategy Group LLC. The firm was founded by Susan Steinberg Stern and remains private. There is no public listing, no disclosed funding history, and no revenue disclosure available. Notable customers are not publicly named; the segment mix emphasizes enterprise leadership (boards, CEOs, C-suite) and corporate event planners across North America, with international coverage through its Lisbon office.

Name

Stern Strategy Group

Legal name

Stern Strategy Group

Website

https://sternstrategy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stern Strategy Group is a speakers bureau and advisory firm representing 200+ exclusive thought leaders, connecting enterprise clients and event planners with keynote speakers and consulting engagements across AI, leadership, strategy, and innovation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Services — Speaker Bureau & Executive Advisory

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Management Consulting Services (54161), Public Relations Agencies (541820)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Reputation & Thought Leadership (MPAAAOAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA), C-Suite & Senior Executive Coaching (EDABANAA)

Keywords

• Speakers bureau
• Keynote booking services
• Executive advisory services
• Thought leadership consulting
• Corporate workshop facilitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Iselin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Speaker & Keynote Booking Services: Connecting organizations and event planners with transformative keynote speakers. Revenue generated through booking fees for keynote speaking engagements at conferences, corporate events, and meetings.
2. Advisory & Consulting Services: One-on-one or small-group consulting arrangements, executive counseling, and customized workshops. 'Learn the frameworks in a keynote. Implement the strategy with an advisor.' Services are tailored to organizational goals and needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Stern Strategy Group operates as a speakers bureau and advisory firm that connects corporate organizations and event planners with more than 200 exclusive thought leaders for keynote speaking engagements, workshops, and one-on-one or small-group advisory consulting. It sells professional services (speaker bookings, customized workshops, executive counseling) directly to enterprise clients through a quote-based, relationship-driven sales motion, with no proprietary software product or third-party marketplace.

Product overview

Stern Strategy Group operates as a speakers bureau and advisory services firm offering a portfolio of thought leadership services. The core offering consists of connecting organizations with transformative keynote speakers and corporate advisors through the Speakers & Advisors platform, supplemented by Advisory & Consulting Services for deeper implementation support. The company also produces the Minds Worth Meeting Podcast as a content platform and maintains a Newsletter & Insights Blog for ongoing engagement. There is no unified software product or platform—these are service-based offerings rather than technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Minds Worth Meeting: A podcast hosted by Stern Strategy Group's marketing team featuring accessible conversations with top thought leaders about thought-provoking business topics.

Products and services

• Speakers & Advisors (Speaker Bureau) A speakers bureau service that connects corporate organizations and event planners with more than 200 exclusive transformative keynote speakers for conferences, corporate events, leadership programs, and meetings. Offered virtually and in-person under the DBA "Stern Speakers & Advisors."
• Advisory & Consulting Services One-on-one or small-group consulting arrangements, executive counseling, and customized workshops designed to help business leaders and boards implement the strategic frameworks introduced in keynotes. Engagements can be tailored or hybrid based on organizational goals and needs.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AlphaSights: Global expert network facilitating consultations between professionals and industry experts. Adjacent in the paid-expert-advisory model but serves investment and consulting clients rather than event audiences.
• Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG): The largest expert network connecting professionals with subject-matter experts for paid consultations. Operates at much greater scale in the adjacent expert-advisory market that Stern's advisory services competes in.

Direct peers

• BigSpeak: Speakers bureau representing business and motivational keynote speakers. Comparable in core service offering — speaker booking for corporate events — and competitive positioning.
• All American Speakers: Speakers bureau with a broad roster covering business, technology, and leadership topics. Comparable in offering curated keynote recommendations for corporate and association events.
• Harry Walker Agency: The premier U.S. speakers bureau, representing high-profile political, business, and thought-leadership speakers. Directly comparable to Stern in its exclusive-representation model and enterprise customer base.
• Keppler Speakers: Established speakers bureau representing business authors, futurists, and leadership experts. Comparable in subject-matter focus (leadership, strategy, innovation) and corporate-client base.
• Leading Authorities: A leading speakers bureau and consulting firm representing business thought leaders, authors, and former executives. Closely comparable in roster composition (business/strategy/leadership) and corporate-event booking model.
• Washington Speakers Bureau: Long-established speakers bureau with a roster of political leaders, business executives, and thought leaders. Competes directly for keynote engagements at corporate events and conferences.
• Leigh Bureau: Speakers bureau representing authors, academics, and business experts. Directly comparable in academic/business thought-leader representation and university-to-corporate event clientele.
• Executive Speakers Bureau: Speakers bureau focused on business, leadership, and personal-development keynotes. Competes for the same corporate event planner budgets and overlapping speaker profiles.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sternstrategy
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLF5B8ypu3OyLMYOTb-mNA_TbABcQ4oI4M
• Facebookfacebook.com/sternstrategy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sternstrategy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stern Strategy Group