Emcee – Michael Y. Brenner

Michael Y. Brenner, Ed.D.
Founder and CEO, Right Chord Leadership

“When people work in harmony, great things happen.”™

As founder and CEO of Right Chord Leadership, Dr. Michael Brenner collaborates with leaders and teams at all levels to strengthen the essential skills needed for peak performance. He achieves this by drawing on 25 years of experience as an international leadership consultant, executive coach, keynote speaker, and educator, and more than 40 years as a professional musician. Michael’s unconventional workshops, executive coaching sessions, and consulting services—grounded in the belief that “When people work in harmony, great things happen!”™—have helped clients increase employee engagement, reduce turnover, improve customer service, and create more inclusive work environments.

Michael is the creator of the CHORDS Model™ which consists of six key “notes” all successful leaders and teams play: C (Communication), H (Harmony), O (Ownership), R (Respect), D (Direction) and S (Support). He has partnered with leading organizations in a variety of industries, including law firm Ballard Spahr, Morgan Properties, Burlington Stores, QVC, SAP, Penn Medicine, Drexel College of Medicine, the City of Philadelphia, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Boeing, The Goddard School, Godiva, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. He has worked for several not-for-profit organizations as well, including JEVS, United Way and Habitat for Humanity.

Michael has been a featured speaker at many industry events and conferences around the world, including South Asia, Canada and Australia. He holds a doctorate in Adult Learning and Leadership from Teachers College at Columbia University and a master’s degree in Adult and Organizational Development from Temple University. He has taught courses in organizational behavior, negotiation skills, and interpersonal relations (among others) at Immaculata University, Temple University, and La Salle University. Currently, he is on the faculty of Penn State University and the Kogod School of Business at American University in Washington, DC.

Additionally, Michael has completed a certificate program on the neuroscience of leadership from MIT. His first book, Strike the Right Chord: The Emerging Leader’s Guide to Exceptional Performance, was published in 2025.

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