Eric Chester

Profile

Look on the front lines of your business. Standing between you and your profits are those talented, weird-looking, impossible-to-understand under-25-year-olds. And if you’re not connecting with them, they are not connecting with your customers, and you are leaving all kinds of money on the table. In short, your front line is the key to your bottom line.

No one has a better understanding of this new generation than Eric Chester. He is the premier expert on Generation Why; in fact, he coined the term. Since 1986, Eric Chester has been speaking to, and working with Generation Why youth. He has personally addressed more than two million teenagers, co-authored nine books for teens, and is dialed-in to the mindset of this burgeoning generation. He frequently appears on national media (Good Morning America, MSNBC, FoxNews, CNN, ABC News 20/20, etc.) and has been interviewed by major publications (Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Workforce Magazine) to provide insight and perspective to business leaders and concerned adults.

Eric is the founder & President of Generation Why, Inc., a training and consulting firm helping leading companies and organizations recruit, train, manage, motivate, and retain the very best of this new generation. His client list includes McDonald’s, Applebee’s, Dairy Queen, Harley-Davidson, Universal Studios Theme Parks, Wells Fargo, and Toys-R-Us. He is the author of two highly acclaimed business books: EMPLOYING GENERATION WHY - Understanding, Managing, and Motivating Your New Workforce (Tucker House Books, 2002) and GETTING THEM TO GIVE A DAMN – How to Get Your Front Line to Care About Your Bottom Line” (Dearborn 2005).

As a keynote speaker, Eric Chester holds the prestigious CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) credential awarded by the National Speakers Association, its highest earned designation. He is a 2004 inductee into the CPAE (Council of Peers Award of Excellence) International Professional Speakers Hall of Fame, an honor shared by less than 2% of professional speakers in the world.

Clients Comments

"I cannot in recent memory think of another presentation so well organized, prepared and delivered. I believe your content and delivery will have a lasting impact on Applebee's."
Lloyd L. Hill Chairman and CEO

We...recognize our success came from the partnership you brought to our events. I was impressed with how your presentation had so many people nodding their heads in agreement. You connected with your audience each and every tine and for this we thank you.
Shirley Rogers-Reece, Vice President & General Manager, McDonald’s Corporation

"Eric, I think you have a message everyone who hires, manages, and motivates the emerging workforce needs to hear."
Ron Boire, President Toys R Us