- Boston, MA
Arthur Brooks Keynote Speaker
- Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Public and Nonprofit Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School
- Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School
- Columnist at The Atlantic of the popular "How to Build a Life" column
Arthur Brooks's Biography
Arthur C. Brooks is the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Public and Nonprofit Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School, where he teaches courses on leadership, happiness, and social entrepreneurship. He is also a columnist at The Atlantic, where he writes the popular “How to Build a Life” column. Brooks is a New York Times bestseller and has authored many books, including From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life, How to Build a Life, Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier with co-author Oprah Winfrey, and his latest book The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life. He speaks to audiences all around the world about human happiness and works to raise well-being within private companies, universities, public agencies, and community organizations.
Brooks began his career as a classical French hornist, leaving college at 19, touring and recording in the United States and Spain. In his late twenties, while still performing, he returned to school, earning a BA through distance learning. At 31, he left music and earned an MPhil and PhD in public policy analysis from the Rand Graduate School, during which time he worked as an analyst for the Rand Corporation’s Project Air Force, performing military operations research analysis. Brooks then spent the next 10 years as a university professor, primarily at Syracuse University, where he taught economics and nonprofit management, and published 60 peer-reviewed articles and several books, including the textbook “Social Entrepreneurship” (2008). In 2009, Brooks became the president of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington, DC, one of the world’s most influential think tanks. Over the following decade, he was selected as one of Fortune Magazine’s “50 World’s Greatest Leaders” and was awarded seven honorary doctorates.
Originally from Seattle, Brooks currently lives outside Boston, with his wife Ester Munt-Brooks, who is a native of Barcelona. They have three adult children: Joaquim, Carlos, and Marina.
Arthur Brooks's Speaking Topics
Leadership & Happiness in Times of Rapid Change
Periods of change can unsettle even the strongest teams.
Uncertainty drives fear, morale drops, and leaders are left wondering how to steady the ship (while battling their own worries).
Fortunately, science has answers on how to boost morale and happiness in the workplace, even in challenging times, so you can see better performance, stronger culture, and lower turnover.
In this talk, Arthur equips leaders with research-backed strategies to understand and elevate their management styles, boost morale, and lead with confidence — no matter what the business climate brings.
Leadership & Happiness
Most people think success is the key to happiness, but they are wrong.
Happiness is the key to success. When you can truly understand and manage happiness, success follows. Unfortunately, most people have to learn this fact by hard experience.
Arthur flips the conventional script, showing that when leaders prioritize emotional well-being (their own and their team's), they increase engagement, retention and productivity—as well as improve recruitment.
The key to prospering in highly-competitive labor markets is found in your culture. Companies with a culture of meaning, purpose, and life satisfaction perform better.
How to Get Happier in an Unhappy World
The evidence is clear: In almost every country, happiness is falling.
Loneliness is rising. Relationships are fraying. Political polarization is on the rise.
And many people are quietly asking: Is it even possible to feel happy right now?
Arthur’s answer? Yes—if you know what truly drives happiness, and how to practice it daily.
Drawing from his decades of research and experience, Arthur helps audiences understand the fundamentals of happiness science, learn how to implement it each day, and share it with others.
Happiness isn’t a mystery. It’s a skill. And you can learn it.
The Secrets of Self-Management
Most people are good at managing things around them—their families, their homes, their jobs, even their companies. But managing their own feelings is a big mystery, and an enormous barrier to happiness. This talk introduces the amazing science of emotional self-management. With knowledge and a few changes in habits, each of us can take control of our emotions and lead lives that are more satisfying and successful.
Moving from Strength to Strength in Work, Life & Happiness
What happens when the skills that once defined your success start to fade?
For high-achievers (who we call “strivers”), this shift can feel like a threat to their identity, confidence, and sense of purpose.
In this keynote, Arthur reframes that fear into freedom. Drawing on ancient wisdom, and historical analysis, Arthur reveals how effectiveness and well-being comes not from holding on to past achievements, but from cultivating new habits and redefining success and fulfillment.
This is a talk for anyone navigating transition, reinvention, or the quiet question of what’s next? You’ll leave with a roadmap to redefine success on your own terms—and move into your next chapter with clarity, energy, and peace of mind.
Love your Enemies
America is afflicted with a "culture of contempt”.
More and more, people aren’t just disagreeing with each other. They’re disregarding others as “worthless” instead of just misguided or incorrect.
And it’s making us angrier, lonelier, and less happy.
Through ancient wisdom and cutting-edge behavioral science, Arthur provides a roadmap to the happiness and gratification that comes when we choose to love one another—gaining strength from our differences.
Why Book Arthur Brooks as a speaker?
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He combines academic leadership at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School with bestselling authorship to translate the science of happiness into practical strategies for work and life.
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He equips leaders with evidence-based frameworks drawn from economics, behavioural science and social entrepreneurship to build cultures grounded in meaning, wellbeing and high performance.
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He distils insights from his New York Times bestselling books, including From Strength to Strength and Build the Life You Want, into actionable guidance on purpose, success and fulfilment across the lifespan.
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He brings the perspective of a former think tank president and public policy scholar to help organisations align values, leadership and long-term impact.
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His globally recognised “How to Build a Life” platform and dynamic speaking style enable him to challenge assumptions about achievement and inspire audiences to pursue happiness with rigour and intention.
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