Peter Guber

Founder and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment, the visionary multimedia venture spanning movies, TV, sports, and new media, Peter Guber is among the most successful executives in the entertainment and communications industries. Films he personally produced or executive produced, including Rain Man, Batman, The Color Purple, Midnight Express, Gorillas in the Mist, The Witches of Eastwick, Missing and Flashdance, have resonated with audiences all over the world, earning over three billion dollars worldwide and garnering more than fifty Academy Award nominations.

Guber led Sony Pictures as Chairman & CEO, Columbia Pictures as President, Polygram as Chairman & CEO, Casablanca Record & Filmworks as co-owner and co-Chairman, and Guber-Peters Entertainment Group as co-owner. While at Sony, the company achieved an industry-best domestic box office market share of 17%, and led all competitors with the highest four-year total of Academy Award nominations ever for a single company.

A passionate, humorous, and tireless motivator, Guber has dedicated himself to empowering current and future leaders to use the power of the oral narrative to propel their business success. In December 2007, Guber wrote the cover article for the Harvard Business Review titled, “The Four Truths of the Storyteller.” Guber has been a full professor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television for nearly four decades. Among the many courses Guber launched is ‘Navigating A Narrative World,’ bringing in experts such as Deepak Chopra, Pat Riley, Chris Anderson, Bran Ferran and dozens of other high profile guests to converse with him in front of the graduate students from the schools of business, theater, film and television, law, and public policy about the power of the oral narrative in their disciplines. Guber is also the sponsor of e2e: A Day of Generosity, an annual conclave in which top business storytelling experts and leaders share storytelling best practices, brainstorm, and collaborate on bringing the magic of oral stories to the people of enterprises everywhere.

Guber has turned this legacy and experience in front of the camera where he has been seen every Sunday morning for the last 6 years on American Movie Classics (AMC) cable network, as co-host of the critically acclaimed national TV show, Shootout, featuring the major stars and entrepreneurs of the entertainment industry. AMC moved Guber’s talents to prime time with a series of one hour specials in 2009 called StoryMakers. Peter Guber has also appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CNBC’s Power Lunch, 20/20 With Elizabeth Vargas, CNBC’s WSJ with Maria Bartiromo, Fox News’ Your World with Neil Cavuto, Chris Matthews’ Hardball and Fox Business News’ America’s Nightly Scoreboard with David Asman.

Peter Guber was recruited by Columbia Pictures out of NYU’s Graduate School of Business where he was pursuing an MBA. He holds a BA, Master of Law and Juris Doctorate degrees. Guber is a member of the UCLA Foundation Board of Trustees, as well as the winner of UCLA’s prestigious Service Award for his accomplishments and association with the school. He received his honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from the University of Connecticut, was named Albert Gallatin Fellow at New York University; is a recipient of Syracuse University’s George Arents Pioneer Award, the highest honor that can be given an alumnus, for his distinguished work in film; and is also a recipient of USC’s Dean’s Award for National Business Leadership.

STORYTELLING FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS

Great storytelling is more than just entertainment; it is a highly powerful and vastly underutilized professional business tool. It is indeed the secret sauce that can propel your success – whether you are an executive, entrepreneur, sales manager, marketing & communications expert, artist, consultant, inventor, HR professional or assistant.

Unfortunately, by the time most people have entered business, stories, as professional tools, have been dismissed as too soft or suspect and have been replaced by soulless bullets and forgettable data. Yet, only stories and their telling can create the emotional experiences that make the important information embedded within the story memorable, resonant and actionable.

In this entertaining, enlightening and informative presentation, ‘StoryMan’ Peter Guber shares his methodology of how to employ the power of the oral story to:

Sell more products/services
Lead more persuasively
Manage more effectively
Inspire greater creativity
Foster deeper collaboration
Rebrand your product or company
Communicate change
Generate viral advocacy for your vision or mission
Overcome resistance

Takeaways: Learn where to find stories; what type of story works best for you; how to get your audiences’ attention and intention; the most successful story goals; when to drop your ‘script,’ the power of turning “me” into “we,” the secret of relinquishing control of your story and much more…

LEADING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES - WHAT'S YOUR STORY?

Be warned.in uncertain times, if leaders don’t have a story that gives focus to their resources and resourcefulness, someone else will write their future – and it won’t turn out well!

In this compelling, transformative keynote, ‘StoryMan’ Peter Guber empowers, enlightens and exhorts leaders to tap into their innate storytelling ability and to use this skill to persuade others to act toward common goals. Often misperceived as lacking power, many leaders avoid story, employing instead soulless information, data, and PowerPoint bullets to motivate their listeners. Yet, when the chips are down, as they are in tumultuous times, it’s the emotional power that counts.

This explains the magic of great leaders like Steve Jobs, Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela who communicate through story. They connect to their listeners emotionally through purposeful storytelling, impassioning them to viral market their stories as if they were their own.

During this no holds-barred experience, Guber shares his methodology of how to use story to overcome the three navigation stakes challenging all leaders during trying times:

Fear
Uncertainty
Change

And how to employ the power of story to catalyze:

Unity among disparate ‘tribes’
Resiliency during negativity
Perspiration into inspiration

Takeaways: Learn where to find stories; what type of story works best for you; how to use the power of story to overcome resistance and drive results; how to use story to ignite viral advocacy for your mission or cause and much more…

"Anyone seeking to become stronger leaders will benefit from Peter Guber's unique expertise in the art, craft and magic of story." — WARREN BENNIS, Distinguished Professor, University of Southern California & author of 'On Becoming A Leader'

"Absolutely fantastic! Anyone at any level will learn how to raise their game through Peter's MAGIC methodology." — TERRY SEMEL, former CEO and Chairman of Yahoo! & Chairman & CEO of Warner Bros.

"Peter Guber was amazing - a wonderful way to begin our conference on Tuesday! Everyone enjoyed him tremendously, and we've received a lot of positive feedback about his presentation and his humor!" — KAY DOWGUN, Associate Director, Wharton Center for Human Resources 2009 Annual Wharton Leadership Conference

"You are either captain or captive of the story you continually tell yourself. In business the power of your narrative can imprison or propel you to great success. Peter Guber's genius provides you with the insights to fuel that journey." — ANTHONY ROBBINS, Motivational Speaker, Author, Peak Performance Expert