Joseph Michelli is a bestselling author and keynote speaker who helps organizations elevate customer experience, employee engagement and leadership.
Prefer to talk? Call +1 347 223 5128
5.00 of 5
Top rated!Joseph Michelli is a keynote speaker, bestselling author and internationally recognized customer experience expert with nearly four decades of experience helping organizations strengthen customer loyalty, employee engagement and business performance. Having collaborated with more than 150 brands, including Starbucks, Ritz-Carlton and Pike Place Fish Market, he brings firsthand insights into what makes exceptional organizations successful. As the author of twelve books, Joseph combines academic research, practical strategies and compelling storytelling to help audiences rethink leadership, service excellence and the future of customer experience in an AI-driven world.
Joseph Michelli's approach to business is rooted in a philosophy he learned from his parents: rather than expecting the world to serve you, focus on meeting the needs of others.
This belief shaped his studies in clinical and systems psychology and his early career in organizational development within a healthcare system. Through this work, he discovered that many principles supporting individual wellbeing also contribute to organizational success.
When employees feel valued, supported and connected to a shared purpose, they are better equipped to deliver outstanding service. This understanding became the foundation of Joseph's career, guiding his work with organizations seeking to build stronger cultures and more meaningful customer relationships.
Joseph's journey into customer experience began during graduate school, when he and a professor established a market research and applied solutions firm. Through this work, he met Johnny Yokoyama, owner of Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market.
At the time, the 1,400-square-foot open-air market was struggling financially. Through consistent coaching, employee engagement and thoughtful experience design, the Pike Place Fishmongers transformed their workplace into a world-famous destination known for its energy, enthusiasm and exceptional customer interactions.
Joseph documented this remarkable transformation in When Fish Fly, co-authored with Johnny Yokoyama.
The experience led to collaborations with some of the world's most admired brands, including Starbucks and Ritz-Carlton. Working closely with executives, managers and frontline employees across industries, Joseph gained a unique perspective on how organizations translate their values into everyday experiences.
These firsthand observations form the basis of his practical approach to helping businesses build service-driven cultures.
Joseph Michelli has authored twelve books examining the strategies behind exceptional customer and employee experiences. His research spans industries including luxury hospitality, automotive, retail, healthcare, education, enterprise technology and telecommunications.
His books have reached #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek bestseller lists, establishing him as a respected voice in customer experience and business leadership.
Beyond his work as an author and consultant, Joseph has an extensive background in broadcasting. He began working as a radio announcer in rural Colorado at just 13 years old, eventually building a three-decade career that took him to larger markets, including Colorado Springs and Denver.
His years behind the microphone developed his ability to capture attention, communicate complex ideas and connect with diverse audiences.
Today, this experience brings a distinctive storytelling element to his keynotes, allowing him to turn business research and organizational case studies into engaging, accessible lessons.
As artificial intelligence transforms how organizations operate, Joseph Michelli is exploring its implications for customer relationships, employee expectations and service delivery.
His current research examines how people want to interact with technology, when they prefer human connection and how businesses can adapt without losing the personal qualities that distinguish exceptional experiences.
As a professor of service excellence at Campbellsville University, he continues to study the relationship between human behavior, emerging technologies and organizational performance.
Through his presentations, Joseph helps organizations understand changing expectations and identify opportunities to use technology while strengthening the relationships that matter most.
Based in Florida, Dr. Joseph Michelli holds the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation from the National Speakers Association and the Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) designation.
His contributions to customer experience have earned international recognition, including:
These achievements reflect his longstanding commitment to understanding what drives exceptional service and helping organizations put those insights into practice.
Book Joseph Michelli for your next conference, corporate event or leadership gathering and inspire your audience to create exceptional experiences that strengthen relationships, build loyalty and drive lasting success.
5 of 5
“He wowed our front line staff with his presentation on service.”
Dr. Tracy EdwardsPresident and CEO, Lethbridge College
5 of 5
“He made it relevant for our healthcare audience. We could not have asked for a better keynote speaker at our annual leadership day.”
Lorrie AlvinExecutive Director, Internal Communications, WellStar Health System
5 of 5
“High energy, engaging, relevant, and interactive.”
Aline Eastwick-FieldIndeed
5 of 5
“A rare combination of subject matter expertise, the ability to articulate it clearly, and the genuine practice of it in his own interactions.”
Bart BurgerManaging Director of Membership & Educational Services, BPAA
5 of 5
“Joseph and his team expertly helped us advance our strategic framework.”
Gerry AgnesPresident & CEO, Elevations Credit Union
5 of 5
“Joseph is the most powerful change agent I have ever encountered.”
David Feinberg, MD, MBAAssociate Vice Chancellor and CEO, UCLA Hospital System
Keynote by Joseph Michelli:
Human-centered, technology-aided service for the AI era.
AI is rewriting every customer interaction, but the brands that will win are the ones that design personal experiences across all touchpoints. Drawing on work inside Starbucks, Ritz-Carlton, Amazon, Nationwide, and UCLA Health System, Joseph shows leaders and their teams how to pair human connection with operational discipline in an AI-augmented world.
Your audience leaves with an understanding of what creates customer loyalty and referrals, a proven framework for driving customer engagement, and practical tools for where to deploy AI, where to protect human judgment, and how to use both well.
What your audience leaves with:
Keynote by Joseph Michelli:
Earning customer loyalty as AI reshapes interactions.
Historically, loyalty strategies have assumed a human is somewhere in the customer journey. That assumption is no longer valid. AI agents now own many touchpoints in B2C and B2B experiences, and the organizations that differentiate will understand where technology strengthens loyalty and where it quietly erodes it.
Drawing on work inside Zappos, Airbnb, Mercedes-Benz, Truist, and Godiva, Joseph maps the new loyalty terrain and shows your audience how to drive ease, engagement, and referrals in an AI-enriched market.
What your audience leaves with:
Keynote by Joseph Michelli:
Leadership systems behind some of the world's most refined customer and guest experiences.
The New Gold Standard identifies leadership principles that make legendary service repeatable across operating units and continents. Many organizations try to emulate world-class experience delivery; very few operationalize it. Working alongside organizations like The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, The Beverly Hills Hotel, Jumby Bay Island Resort, and the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows, Joseph shares practical ways to set standards for customer and employee experience excellence. His proven framework helps leaders build extraordinary human-centered cultures and sustain them regardless of industry, scale, or the role technology plays.
What your audience leaves with:
Keynote by Joseph Michelli:
Principles for turning ordinary into extraordinary.
Starbucks isn't in the coffee business serving people, it's in the people business serving coffee. And in truth, every organization is in the people business. Joseph worked alongside Starbucks executives during the brand's rapid global expansion and its "Transformation Agenda." He translates the design principles behind that work into practical ways to fuel and reignite customer loyalty.
What your audience leaves with:
Keynote by Joseph Michelli:
The Mercedes-Benz experience — engineering uncompromising customer excellence.
When Mercedes-Benz USA set out to match Ritz-Carlton on customer experience, they asked Joseph Michelli to help benchmark success and be part of their ambitious journey. That multi-year initiative, "Driven to Delight," lifted Mercedes-Benz from 22nd to 1st on the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index. Joseph worked alongside the executive team on experience design and leadership training, then wrote Driven to Delight to spotlight the people, process, and technology behind the results. His participation in that transformation is the springboard for a high-impact, customized presentation on industry-leading customer experience innovation.
What your audience leaves with:
Keynote by Joseph Michelli:
Thriving in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous times.
When change accelerates, some organizations collapse, many merely survive, and a few emerge more resilient. Stronger Through Adversity is rich with insights and hard-learned lessons from more than 140 CEOs, founders, and senior leaders across Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Verizon, Target, Southwest Airlines, Marriott, the American Red Cross, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Yale University.
These conversations revealed distinct patterns that separated the leaders who thrived from those who faltered. This high-energy presentation translates those patterns into a framework your audience can apply to any disruption.
What your audience leaves with:
Watch Joseph Michelli in action
