Speaker Bios

A 1974 graduate from North Carolina State University, held numerous positions at Cochrane Furniture as customer service, salesmen, Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and President.

From 1974 to 1997, Cochrane Furniture became one of the leading solid wood furniture manufacturers in the country with sales of $85 million. The Company was acquired by Chromcraft – Revington in 1997.

1999 to 2010. In 1999 Bruce formed a design, sourcing and consulting company, Cochrane Source, LLC, to assist furniture manufactures in their Asian import process. The company assisted in managing the design, product development, and logistical functions of the import product processes.

In 2009 Bruce developed a process improvement consulting program that focused on the implementation strategies of company’s strategic plans and why elements of good solid plans fail. Finding Time, Finding Money, a program based on process modeling, was developed. This innovative program is designed to help companies vitalize their strategies and initiatives to ensure the success of well-intended plans. The program educates a company’s management and employees that simple improvement methods and tools can be implemented without wasting monetary and personnel resources.

In early 2010 Bruce began planning to produce solid wood furniture that featured traditional cabinet joinery and made in the USA. Lincolnton Furniture was incorporated in the summer of 2011 and production began in January of 2012.

Larry was born in Los Angeles, California. The son of Blanche and Phillip Miller and brother of Sara Miller De Heras, he grew up and began working in the family business started by his father, Phillip Miller and, always taught to give back to the community.

In 1978, Larry and Phillip Miller founded Sit ‘n Sleep. Sit ‘n Sleep began in a small store in Culver City, California and struggled to survive. In 1982, Sit ‘n Sleep inaugurated its radio campaign on KABC Talk Radio, which now encompasses most major radio stations in the market. In 1993, Sit ‘n Sleep expanded their campaign to television with huge success. In 1995, Sit ‘n Sleep grew to become the highest grossing, single mattress store in the United States.

In 1997, Larry Miller and his partner, Nelson Bercier, launched Sit ‘n Sleep’s expansion campaign, which today includes 22 locations and a telemarketing call center. Each of the 22 locations are the top grossing mattress stores in the United States. Sit ‘n Sleep plans to add 3 new locations within the next 18 months and is now one of the top 100 home-furnishing retailers in the entire United States.

Larry sits on the Board of Directors of Festival Markets, Western Home Furnishings Association and National Home Furnishings Association. He served as past Director of the American Heart Association and is currently active in many philanthropic ventures. Larry has been passionately involved with the Muscular Dystrophy Association for many years and appeared on the telecast along with his Sit ‘n Sleep vendor partners, Simmons, Sealy, Serta, Spring Air, Stearns & Foster and Miralux.. He also is a Board of Director for Gentle Transition, Business Resources International and is on the Advisory Board for Electric Motor Corporation of America.

Larry and his wife reside in Redondo Beach He has two children, Drew, 21 who attends San Diego State University and Danielle, 25, who graduated from the University of Vermont with high honors and will be attending Graduate school.

Tim Sanders is more than a keynote speaker; his real world experience, research savvy and deep understanding of the human condition make him an indispensable consultant to some of the biggest brands in the world. His Los Angeles based company, Deeper Media, conducts research on business trends, new media and human behavior.

A bestselling author, leadership coach, and former Yahoo! executive, Tim Sanders is one of today’s most prominent advocates for building business success through sharing your knowledge, network, and compassion with your business partners. His most recent book, Today We Are Rich – Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence, shows how Sanders learned The Lovecat Way. Lovecats, which were first mentioned in his highly successful book Love is the Killer App, are savvy, well-connected people who genuinely care about their business partners and openly share knowledge, network and compassion. The book reached #2 on 800-CEO-Read in May.

Sanders was at ground zero during the dotcom crash, as Yahoo!’s Chief Solutions Officer. He saw some companies and individuals rise up from the ashes and others wither and fail. The difference, he learned, lies in confidence, trust in team and belief in mission. He should know; these practices catapulted him from sales executive at Mark Cuban’s broadcast.com to Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo! in less than four years. Today Sanders speaks to audiences around the world about how to instill a solutions-oriented, promise-keeping culture of highly confident and innovative people.

Corporate Experience

Tim has valuable experience in cutting-edge businesses, sales and marketing. He's weathered the quality movement as well as the dotcom crash and emerged with precious insight. After graduate school and a short stint working with quality movement guru Ed Deming, Sanders went to work for Southwestern Bell Mobile systems at the birth of the U.S. cellular phone industry. He applied his expertise of quality, marketing and sales to help launch one of the most important industries of our time – wireless communications for the masses.

In 1996, Sanders went to work at broadcast.com for Mark Cuban, an audacious entrepreneur. After the company was sold to Yahoo!, Sanders created and led the Yahoo! ValueLab, an in-house "think tank" which delivered futuristic insight on technology and human behavior. While working there, he discovered that the company was moving too slowly for the innovation required at the time. Leading by example, he started a movement that inspired their executives to make more and faster decisions and to take calculated risks. Even though he was just a Director, within one year, market analysts and board members recognized him as the leader in the company.

In 2002, Sanders was named Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo!, at a time when the Internet industry was going through significant change and pressure from the stock market. He was charged with responding to multi-million dollar critical situations and empowered to make decisions in the field. From this experience, he learned that leadership is a personal decision, not just the function of a title.

David Szen brings 20 years of experience and a proven track record in helping sales organizations build effective sales models. He has extensive experience in sales education, leadership development, working with strategic accounts, and public speaking. He uses a no-nonsense approach to developing sales talent, which has allowed him to quickly find the gaps between the boardroom and sales representatives working in the field.

Szen has grown up in business-to-business sales. He quickly rose to success and learned a great deal about selling across numerous business sectors. He has spent significant time in front of small, medium, and Fortune 500 companies. Salespeople and leaders have always been able to identify with his experience and quickly connect to his messages and content.

Szen is creative, an incisive listener, and is very willing to get out in the field in front of sales talent and clients until he figures out where the selling model needs attention to unlock results. Selling Power magazine recognized David as Sales Education Leader of the Year for 2007.

Szen is president of Szen Inc. and is a senior consultant with the Symmetrics Group. Symmetrics Group aids their clients in enhancing their sales strategy, capabilities, and leadership in a way that produces sustainable results. He has held sales and training management positions in many top companies, including most recently, Valpak. While at Valpak, his audience was more than 150 franchise owners, more than 50 sales leaders and more than 800 sales representatives.

He is also is an accomplished endurance athlete who has finished more than 50 races in triathlon and distance running. Szen believes the same mental game he uses in endurance athletics is just as critical to success in the sales environment. He encourages sales representatives to push themselves beyond comfort zones in order to be successful.

Larry Winget, the "Pitbull of Personal Development," is author of numerous New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling books, including Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get A Life: A Kick-Butt Approach to a Better Life, It's Called Work for a Reason: Your Success Is Your Own Damn Fault, You're Broke Because You Want to Be, People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It!, Your Kids Are Your Own Fault: A Guide for Raising Responsible, Productive Adults, and The 10 Ways You Are Sabotaging Yourself and How You Can Overcome Them.

A motivational speaker who is edgy, cantankerous, sarcastic, opinionated and hilarious, Winget is a one-of-a kind speaker who audiences demand time and time again. Without ever mincing words – much as in his writing – he delivers the cold, ugly truth in a way that is provocative, interesting, and funny. Winget starred in Big Spender on A&E, and has appeared on CNBC's The Millionaire Inside and The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch; NBC's Today; Fox News and Fox Business Channel with Neil Cavuto; CBS’s The Early Show, and a multitude of newspapers, magazines and radio shows.

Winget started his professional life as an award-winning salesperson and then a top-ranked sales manager for AT&T. He later started three companies from scratch and built them into successful, thriving businesses. He has spoken to nearly 400 of the Fortune 500 companies throughout the world, and has been recognized for his exceptional contributions to the speaking profession by being inducted into the International Speakers Hall of Fame.