Exclusive

Zack Kass

Global AI Advisor and Former Head of Go-To-Market at OpenAI

Zack Kass is a global AI advisor and the former Head of Go-to-Market at OpenAI, where he built the company’s sales, solutions, and partnerships teams. Today, he advises Fortune 1000 companies and governments on how to lead in an AI-driven world and collaborates with the University of Virginia to explore AI’s socio-economic impacts. He is the author of The Next RenAIssance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential, an eye-opening discussion on the transformative impact of AI and how to prepare for a new future. Through his work, Zack’s mission is to demystify AI and build a brighter future.

Zack Kass Keynote Speaker Fee Fee range is for U.S. events, depending on location and organization type
Please Inquire
Languages Spoken
English
Travels From
California, USA

Zack Kass Keynote Speaker Fee Fee range is for U.S. events, depending on location and organization type
Please Inquire
Languages Spoken
English
Travels From
California, USA

Why Zack Kass?

Booking Zack Kass as an AI keynote speaker, global AI advisor, and workshop facilitator can be a valuable choice for various reasons, depending on your specific event, audience, and goals. Here are some potential reasons to consider:

Applied AI Expertise and Experience.
Keynote and or Interactive workshops for hands-on learning.
Unique perspectives and creative thinking.
Engaging communication style.
Relevance to your audience’s interests.
Networking opportunities.
Inspirational and motivational storytelling.
Brand alignment if his message matches your event’s goals.
Diversity of perspectives for enriched discussions.
Positive feedback and a proven track record.

Keynote Speaker Topics

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Keynote Speakers
Business Speakers
Employee Engagement Keynote Speakers
Futurists Keynote Speakers
Graduation and Commencement Motivational Speakers
Innovation Keynote Speakers
Technology Keynote Speakers
The Future of Work Keynote Speakers
YPO Keynote Speakers & Facilitators

Suggested Keynote Speaker Programs

The Next Renaissance

The Next Renaissance is Zack Kass’s signature keynote and the culmination of 16 years at the vanguard of AI. It is built on firsthand experience shipping frontier technology, three ...

The Next Renaissance is Zack Kass’s signature keynote and the culmination of 16 years at the vanguard of AI. It is built on firsthand experience shipping frontier technology, three years inside OpenAI, research roles at two leading universities, and more than 500 meetings inside Inc. 5000 boardrooms. The talk invites audiences to examine AI through a new lens and to make specific choices about how they will lead.

At its center is Zack’s groundbreaking theory of Unmetered Intelligence. Just as water, electricity, and the internet transformed access to power and information, AI is driving the cost of cognition toward abundance. When thinking becomes cheap and everywhere, the source of advantage shifts. The question is no longer how smart a team can be on its best day. The question becomes where humans create irreplaceable value.

Zack maps that shift with a set of clear ideas and tools:

Unmetered Intelligence: cognitive capacity becomes abundant. Expect deflation in the cost of discovery, iteration, and decision support.

Behavioral Adaptability and the K-curve: the scarce asset is the willingness and ability to change behavior repeatedly. People and firms bend up or calcify.
The Adoption Gap: technology races ahead of norms and institutions. Leaders must close the gap with standards, training, and review rituals.
The Natural Language Operating System: work moves from software interfaces to conversation and agentic execution with human approval gates.
The Automation Boundary: a practical line between what machines should do and what humans must own, grounded in risk, value, and acceptability.

The keynote covers the good, the bad, the ugly, and the wonderful. It celebrates the breakthroughs that abundance unlocks and addresses real risks like dehumanization, identity displacement, and empowered bad actors. Attendees leave with a simple plan that scales from the C-suite to the front line.

What audiences gain

A shared mental model for AI that reduces hype and focuses action
A method to select three high-leverage workflows and run ten low-cost pilots
An automation boundary that protects human judgment and customer trust
Review checklists and rituals that make agents safe and useful
Language to align strategy, technology, and culture

Formats and add-ons

30, 45, or 60 minutes with Q&A
Optional live micro-demo
Custom industry examples for finance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, public sector, or education
Follow-on workshop available: pilot design, governance, and measurement

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The Next Great Company

Artificial Intelligence is transforming work as we know it—and the stakes for organizations couldn’t be higher. Individuals and companies that don’t adapt run the risk of being left behind. How can you prepare for what’s coming? As the former Head of Go-To-Market for ...

Artificial Intelligence is transforming work as we know it—and the stakes for organizations couldn’t be higher. Individuals and companies that don’t adapt run the risk of being left behind. How can you prepare for what’s coming? As the former Head of Go-To-Market for OpenAI and global AI advisor, Zack Kass has helped hundreds of leaders rethink their AI strategy. In this compelling talk, Zack will deliver a comprehensive roadmap on how to build, develop, motivate, and retain high-performing teams and companies in an AI-driven world. Audiences will come away understanding the importance of soft skills, constant learning, and a culture of adaptability to thrive in the new business landscape.

The Next Great Company is a 30-40 minute keynote

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Societal Thresholds

Throughout history, we embraced innovation when it clearly made life better—think fire, electricity, antibiotics, the internet. But today, this phenomenon has shifted. As AI races forward, the biggest barrier is no longer what technology can do, but what society is willing ...

Throughout history, we embraced innovation when it clearly made life better—think fire, electricity, antibiotics, the internet. But today, this phenomenon has shifted. As AI races forward, the biggest barrier is no longer what technology can do, but what society is willing to accept. In this provocative keynote, Zack Kass explores the growing gap between technological possibility and societal readiness. Drawing from his experience at the forefront of AI’s evolution, Zack unpacks why cultural, ethical, and institutional resistance—not technical limitations—will define the pace of progress. Audiences will come away with a powerful framework for navigating resistance, rethinking innovation, and leading through one of the most pivotal moments in human history.

Societal Thresholds is a 20-25 minute keynote

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About Keynote Speaker Zack Kass

Zack Kass is an advisor, researcher, keynote speaker, and the former Head of Go-To-Market at OpenAI.

At OpenAI, Zack led the teams responsible for sales, partnerships, and customer success, turning the company’s cutting-edge research into real-world business solutions. He has personally advised executives across dozens of industries on deploying AI at scale.

As an executive business advisor, Zack now works with Fortune 1,000 boardrooms and leadership teams—including Coca-Cola, Morgan Stanley, and Amgen—to help leaders navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Zack’s mission is to ensure individuals, businesses, and governments are active participants in the AI-powered future by making the technology both understandable and actionable. He is recognized as one of the foremost thinkers in applied AI, with his insights featured in Fortune, Newsweek, Entrepreneur, AdAge, and Business Insider.

Questions? Contact Us Any Time:

805.965.1400

info@bigspeak.com

Zack is the author of The Next RenAIssance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential (Wiley, 2026), an eye-opening discussion on the transformative impact of AI and how to prepare for a new future.

Beyond his advisory work, Zack also supports AI education and research at the University of Virginia. He holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and currently resides in Santa Barbara, California.

Testimonials

His keynote session truly helped make the event memorable, and we’ve received wonderful feedback from attendees. It was a pleasure having him at HLX!

Healthcare technology company

Zack was amazing – we’ve heard multiple positive reviews from our audience about Societal Thresholds, and people really enjoyed his AMA. They were truly blown away by his brilliance and perspective!

Anna T.

Sloss Tech

Zack Kass delivered an inspiring and thought-provoking keynote on the future of AI. He captivated our audience with a compelling vision of how AI will transform the way we live and work—sparking both excitement and reflection. Read More

Katie G.

Healthcare Financial Management Association

Zack Kass was extremely well received and people obsessed over his talk. He really is the next level AI speaker, the type of AI people want to hear about. Truly one of our biggest hits.

MetTel

Zack was arguably our best presenter of the conference! He was engaging, insightful, practical, and approachable. He delivered timely, actionable content, on a subject that can be difficult to grasp for most. Read More

Raymond James & Associates

Zack is phenomenal! Amazing speaker, great soul, and spirit… Our internal team was thrilled by the presentation and insight into this AI world.

Andric B.

MetLife

It has been a few weeks since you joined us in Shanghai to present to our students, and I wanted to write to let you know that your presentation is still causing ripples on our campus! Read More

Stephen C.

Shanghai American School

Zack was GREAT! Love love loved him! I cannot say enough great things about his presentation. Many of our attendees commented what a great session and speaker. One of our attendees went as far to say he was the best speaker he has seen at a conference.

Lynn

Meditech Information Technology

Zack was amazing and his team was terrific to work with as well. We enjoyed everything from the prep meeting to his graciousness and what he delivered onsite. Read More

Glass Company Executive

I was blown away inspired by our keynote speaker, Zack Kass, who made AI and technology both accessible and exciting–and left me genuinely looking forward to the future of the world. (Literally that inspired!)

Ally

Learning and Performance Institute

His enthusiasm and optimism about our future is infectious!

Michael

Learning and Performance Institute

I haven’t been this inspired since I saw Ray Kurzweil in 1998.

Board Chair

Nürnberg Institut für Marktentscheidungen e.V.

Zack helped us plan our entire AI strategy. He just gets it.

John Murphy

President | The Coca-Cola Company

Zack is easily the most business savvy AI expert I know.

Josh Tobin

CEO | Gantry

Your performance was 1st class. Everyone said it was the best session of the day! It was brilliant.

Jeff McMillan

Chief Analytics and Data Officer | Morgan Stanley

We recommend all of our clients talk to Zack about their corporate AI strategy. He’s seen it all and can connect dots faster than anyone.

Arjun Prakash

Co-founder & CEO | Distyl AI

Few people understand how to apply AI to real world problems as well as Zack. He has a remarkable knack for helping people learn what he knows.

Lukas Biewald

CEO & Co-Founder | Weights & Biases

The audience loved Zack’s speech. Zack was a great keynote speaker and set the bar very high for future events.

Deloitte

Zack was great. He was engaged, thoughtful, and provided a top notch presentation.

University of Virginia

His presentation was excellent, and he made AI relevant to our life sciences audience.

CMI Media Group

Zack did a great job at making it feel like an intimate conversation rather than a one-way presentation.

Alana C.

CEO Leadership Summit 2024 & Excellence Award Dinner

Zack is a great keynote speaker who set the bar very high for future events.

Stephanie J.

Deloitte Day HR Next

Zack was just awesome! We had a little bit of a noise issue… it was very much appreciated that Zack kept on going with his presentation (even though it was loud) AND that he stayed after his keynote to hangout/network was awesome.

Kristine L.

Converge Technology Showcase 2023

First and foremost, I would like to say that the event was a great success largely due to Zack Kass. The choice of using him was perfect and it really sat well with the Malaysian audience.

Andrew T.

MDX2023

Zack was great. He was engaged, thoughtful, and provided a top notch presentation.

Ryan W.

UVA McIntire School of Commerce Fall Forum

Zack is very approachable and that made it easy to work with him on content…. everyone thought he really set the right tone for the day with a ‘no answer is wrong’ type mentality to his message.

Jenna T.

EVERSANA INTOUCH Advisory Board Event

I found his keynote to be really interesting, but I must say, his Q&A session was exceptionally engaging.

Ayaka Y.

Sateraito Office Digital Expo for AI

Zack and the team were all fantastic – already looking to book him for another event!

Kacee J.

CPA.com

Zack was so dynamic and went above and beyond the concessions outlined in the contract, which does not happen very often with keynotes. Our CEO and attendees were very impressed. Our presenting sponsor, State President for AT&T, mentioned to our CEO that Zack’s keynote was the best he’s seen yet (he’s been in attendance for almost 10 years) and the breakout was the best session he ever attended.

Stacie N.

Association of Washington Business

Zack Kass and the team were great to work with leading up to our event and day-of!

Amanda P.

CMI Media Group

We had a GREAT day with Zack. He was wonderful to work with leading up to the event — prepared, friendly, and super smart. At the event he arrived early and was pleasant with our guests and executives as they arrived. Read More

Amanda P.

CMI Media Group

Zack’s keynote was both information and eye-opening. It should also have wide appeal to anyone interested in AGI.

Judy

Dynatrace