What American Program Bureau does

American Program Bureau (APB) is a privately held speakers bureau founded in 1963 and headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts. The company acts as an intermediary agency between speakers and event clients, representing what it describes as the largest speaker roster in the industry — spanning entertainers, politicians, business leaders, athletes, and public intellectuals such as Steve Wozniak, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Magic Johnson, and Anderson Cooper. APB earns revenue primarily through commissions on speaker bookings, operating a consultative sales model in which dedicated program consultants match speakers to client events across six vertical segments: Corporations & Associations, Colleges & Universities, K-12 Education, Healthcare, International, and Community & Nonprofit.

The company's core technology is a web-based platform (apbspeakers.com) that enables clients to search speakers by name, topic, and market vertical, view speaker profiles with availability and fee information, and manage shortlists via a 'My List' tool. The platform is supplemented by the APB Weekly newsletter and active social media channels (Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube) for content marketing and lead nurturing. APB distributes its services through direct consultative sales, supported by physical offices in Boston, New York, Washington DC, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Diego, with a stated global service reach.

APB's customer base includes named enterprise and institutional clients such as PayPal, CLSA, Planetree, ASAE, and IPC, with multi-year engagements documented for several accounts. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is determined per engagement. The company operates as an independent, privately held entity with no disclosed parent company, institutional investor, or external funding. A 60th anniversary milestone was celebrated around 2023, underscoring its long operating history and accumulated brand and talent relationships.

Name

American Program Bureau

Legal name

American Program Bureau, Inc.

Website

https://apbspeakers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

American Program Bureau is a privately held, 60-year-old speakers bureau that represents the largest roster of keynote speakers, celebrities, and thought leaders in the industry, connecting event planners across corporations, universities, healthcare, K-12, international, and nonprofit sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Speaker Bureau Services

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (54182), Public Relations Agencies (541820), Media Representatives (541840)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)

akta.pro primary industry

Technology & B2B PR (MPAAADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Technology & B2B PR (BPAFADAI)

Keywords

• Speaker bureau services
• Keynote speaker agency
• Celebrity booking bureau
• Event speaker representation
• Talent booking agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Newton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 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 Booking Commissions: APB acts as an intermediary agency between speakers and clients (corporations, universities, healthcare organizations, etc.), earning commissions on bookings. The company provides the largest speaker roster in the industry spanning entertainers, politicians, business leaders, and public intellectuals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

American Program Bureau (APB) is a global speaker, celebrity, and entertainment agency that represents keynote speakers, entertainers, politicians, business leaders, athletes, and public intellectuals. The company acts as an intermediary between speakers and clients, providing consultative speaker matching services through program consultants who match the right speaker to events across multiple market verticals including corporations, universities, healthcare, K-12 education, and nonprofit sectors. APB earns commissions on speaker bookings facilitated through its web-based platform (apbspeakers.com) and direct consultative sales.

Product overview

APB (American Program Bureau) is a global speaker, celebrity, and entertainment agency offering the largest speaker roster in the industry. The platform provides a unified booking service connecting event planners with keynote speakers, entertainers, politicians, business leaders, and public intellectuals. Services are organized by market verticals including Corporations & Associations, Healthcare, Colleges & Universities, K-12 Education, International, and Community & Nonprofit sectors. The company also publishes the APB Weekly newsletter for industry insights. APB has been operating for over sixty years with offices in Boston, New York, DC, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Diego.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• APB Speakers Bureau Platform A global speaker and celebrity booking agency platform that connects event planners with keynote speakers, entertainers, athletes, and thought leaders across topics including business, education, healthcare, politics, sports, and entertainment.
• Speaker Matching Services Customized speaker recommendations and matching services where program consultants help clients find the right speaker for specific event types, markets, and audiences including corporations, healthcare organizations, colleges, K-12 institutions, and nonprofits.
• Corporate & Associations Speaker Program Expert speakers on innovation, technology, leadership, peak performance, entrepreneurship, and business topics tailored for corporate events and associations.
• Healthcare Speaker Program Authorities on patient engagement, quality and safety, health equity, survivorship, and healthcare technology for healthcare industry events.
• Colleges & Universities Speaker Program Prominent voices on intercultural and diversity issues, politics, pop culture, panels, and debates for higher education institutions.
• K-12 Education Speaker Program Respected experts on all aspects of education, school culture and parenting, and celebrity advocates for K-12 schools and educational events.
• International Speaker Program Global leaders and intellectuals on economy, environment and sustainability, and celebrity advocates for international and multinational events.
• Community & Nonprofit Speaker Program Voices on mental health, child welfare, community and family violence, philanthropy, and poverty for nonprofit organizations and community groups.

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Allied Speakers & Entertainment: Speakers and entertainment booking agency with a roster spanning business, sports, and celebrity talent, serving the same corporate, association, and university buyer segments as APB.
• Washington Speakers Bureau: One of the largest US-based speakers bureaus and a direct competitor to APB, offering a comparable roster of political, business, and celebrity keynote speakers for corporate, association, and university events.
• Executive Speakers Bureau: Speakers bureau focused on business, leadership, and motivational speakers for corporate, association, and university audiences, with a comparable service offering and consultative sales model to APB.
• Harry Walker Agency: Long-established premium speakers bureau representing many of the same high-profile political, business, and entertainment personalities as APB, with a similar consultative sales model targeting corporate and association clients.
• GDA Speakers: Mid-sized speakers bureau serving corporate, nonprofit, and education clients with a roster of business, motivational, and celebrity speakers, competing directly with APB in several verticals.
• Speak Inc. Speakers bureau offering keynote speakers, emcees, and entertainment for corporate, association, and university events, with a similar horizontal segment coverage as APB.
• Leading Authorities: National speakers bureau serving corporate, association, and university markets with a roster of business, political, and thought leader speakers, competing head-to-head with APB across multiple verticals.
• The Keppler Speakers Bureau: Established speakers bureau representing a broad roster of business, political, and motivational speakers, with comparable positioning and service model to APB in the corporate and association segment.

Emerging players

• Big Speak: Online-first speakers bureau marketplace that has digitized speaker search and booking, representing a more tech-enabled, lower-overhead model that competes with APB on accessibility and price.

Broad incumbents

• Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Speakers: Global talent and entertainment agency that also represents keynote speakers as part of a much broader portfolio, providing competitive overlap on high-profile celebrity speakers but not specializing in the bureau model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/apbspeakers
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/APBSpeakers
• Facebookfacebook.com/apbspeakersbureau
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-program-bureau
• Instagraminstagram.com/apbspeakers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 American Program Bureau