This Year’s Keynote Speaker

Scott Mann

U.S. Army Green Beret (Ret.), Pineapple Express Mission Leader, Rooftop Leadership Expert

Described as the “Warrior Storyteller,” retired Lieutenant Colonel Scott Mann is a former U.S. Army Green Beret who specialized in unconventional, high-impact special operations missions in do-or-die environments all over the globe. In a distinguished 23-year military career, Lt. Col. Mann operated at the highest levels of the Special Operations Community and has been widely recognized for his successful leadership of teams in complex situations. He grabbed global headlines when, alongside fellow Green Beret veterans and other volunteers, he led “Pineapple Express” — a grassroots leadership campaign using Rooftop Human Connection Skills to honor a promise and save more than 1,000 Afghans from a life-threatening situation amid the chaos of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. He brings an innovative approach to problem solving — one that has empowered people from all walks of life to get surrounded on purpose to achieve something much greater than themselves. Following his military service, Lt. Col. Mann founded Rooftop Leadership, a professional training and coaching program designed to help high-performing, servant leaders forge deeper connections with the people they serve to create more powerful outcomes in business and life.

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Lt. Col. Mann draws from his heart-pounding, fast-moving Army career to bring Green Beret principles of leadership and rapport-building to organizations in any industry. Having mastered the art of problem solving in places where trust was absent, conflict was rampant, and he had to rely on his head and heart to create connections in war-torn communities, he provides an outline for how today’s leaders can make better human connections in high-stakes, low-trust environments. Tapping into his dynamic storytelling ability, he captivates audiences with lessons learned leading critical combat missions and demonstrates transformative relationship-building techniques and decision-making skills that are key to establishing high-trust organizations.

In more than two decades serving the Special Ops Community, including 18 years as a Green Beret, Lt. Col. Mann led pivotal stability missions in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Afghanistan. Lt. Col. Mann is the author of Leading Through Chaos and the New York Times bestseller Operation Pineapple Express, which details the story of the dangerous rescue mission of several hundred of our allies in Afghanistan. He is also the founder of Task Force Pineapple, a nonprofit organization that provides safe passage of our Afghan allies away from unstable environments and supports them in relocating and resettling to the U.S. In a similar vein, he is the founder of The Heroes Journey, a non-profit which provides warriors, first responders, and their families an outlet to share their stories as a way to heal and transition home from service. Lt. Col. Mann has advocated on behalf of our troops and Afghan allies in front of Congress and on national media outlets, including CNN, Fox, and ABC. In addition to his speaking, Lt. Col. Mann channels his captivating storytelling as a playwright and actor in Last Out, his recent play-brought-to-film illustrating the unforeseen costs of war on our veterans — available on Amazon Prime.