Three talks for rooms of CEOs. Nothing sold from the stage.
Philippe Cesson has run CESSON for over 20 years and has given hundreds of presentations to Vistage and TEC groups, speaking to Vistage groups about social media since 2010. Each talk runs as a half-day workshop or a 90-minute keynote, and every audience member leaves with something written down.
Pick one. Click for the description.
Growth has one question behind it: are you where your buyers are looking? This session answers it for every audience member personally. Each receives their own AI Reality Check, a written report with eight grades showing what Google and the AI assistants say about their business, who gets named instead, and whether an AI agent could buy from them, delivered live by Philippe in the room so it goes straight into practice. The session then widens to the whole growth picture: referrals, search, social, reputation and the sales conversation, and where each member’s next dollar of effort should go. Everyone keeps their report and leaves with a no BS 90-day growth plan and three things to do on Monday. Half-day workshop or 90-minute keynote. Nothing is sold from the stage.
Five generations now buy from you, work for you and will one day replace you, and each one decides differently: where they look, whom they trust, and what makes them walk away. Philippe Cesson has marketed to all five for over 20 years. In this session the audience finds out why younger buyers, employees and successors can’t see them, what each generation actually trusts, and the handful of changes that make a business visible to all five without losing the ones it already has. Includes the Generational Superpower Quiz, taken live in the room. Half-day workshop or 90-minute keynote. Nothing is sold from the stage.
Philippe Cesson built a social network before Facebook had business pages, walked clients away from Second Life and Google+, and put a client on ChatGPT ten weeks after launch. Twenty years of telling waves from fads, applied to the next five: a plain, dated view of what’s coming in technology and human contact, with every trend sorted into what to ignore, what to watch, and what to act on now, in business and in personal life. No hype, and predictions specific enough to be checked. Everyone leaves with a one-page ignore/watch/act list of their own. Half-day workshop or 90-minute keynote. Nothing is sold from the stage.
Chairs and CEOs, in their words.
André Turcotte — Vistage Worldwide Chair and TEC Canada Master ChairI strongly recommend Philippe Cesson and his workshop: Badass CEO’s Guide to Digital Marketing — Executive Insight & Future Trends for Fast Business Growth. We welcomed Philippe at both of my Vistage CEO meetings in May 2026, and his impact was very concrete and compelling for each of the CEOs. The content is highly relevant in today’s context with the rise of AI and the need to ensure the visibility of the information contained in their websites. On top of that, he presents each CEO with a specific report on the effectiveness of their web presence in communicating the nature and characteristics of their product/service offering, as it is read and interpreted by AI. It is essentially a performance audit that he delivers to them, complete with personalized recommendations for each one. Timing is everything — now is the time to offer this web performance leap to your members.
Peter Buchanan — Master Chair, TEC CanadaAt my TEC meeting last week, we had Philippe Cesson, whose topic was: The Badass CEO’s Guide to Growing Your Company with Digital Marketing, as our resource speaker. His session was outstanding — several members said he might be the best speaker we’ve ever had. Philippe personally reviewed every member’s website and gave each of us a clear, practical report card on our AI readiness. He had also done his homework on Canadian and provincial privacy and digital marketing laws, so his advice felt both current and very relevant to our businesses. Everyone left with concrete ideas they could put to work right away, if you haven’t had him visit your group yet, avoid disappointment and book him as soon as you can.
Arturo G. Lopez — Vistage ChairPhilippe Cesson is a true visionary and one of this generation’s most innovative and forward-thinking speakers. Charismatic and an expert in technology, Philippe challenges CEOs to own their individual business style and pushes the boundaries of modern day marketing.
Chris Baker — Corporate Vice President, PAREXELGreat presentation.
Michelle Jewett — Owner and CEO, Michelle J. CoachingI think we all have information overload. To find someone who can bring meaning and context and curate that content like Phil is valuable.
Mark Stefanick — President & CEO, Advantage Benefit SolutionsPhilippe’s presentation on social media was spot on.
Eric Toker — Partner, Lemay + TokerI really understand how to use social media a little bit more, bring it into drive marketing and sales in our organization.
Richie Gimmel — President, Atlas Machine and SupplyPhilippe helped us find another level of productivity, and we’re getting more done rather than reacting to emails.
Mark G. Gardner — CEO, Avatar Management Services, Inc.There is not a day that goes by that I don’t quote Philippe’s theories.
Charles Andrews — Chair, Vistage WorldwidePhilippe is an inspiration. After his presentation, I realized my website did not tell the right story for where I am today. I was inspired by the range of new tools to rebuild my website.
Scott Lins — President, Sierra CourierPhilippe’s presentation helped me use social media in a much broader context — how I can bring my staff together, customers together, and create more of a learning environment.
Elizabeth Brennan — Director of Marketing, BIG ConstructionI definitely took away some great info from Philippe’s presentation for new ways to engage our audience.
Lauren Elliott — Attorney, Elliott & Associates AttorneysPhilippe’s techniques to use technology and data to attract and analyze leads was thought provoking.
Steven Friedmann — Partner, Orion Risk ManagementLoved Philippe’s presentation. His interaction with each audience member was great — all five stars on the Vistage score sheet.
Eric Maul — VP of Institutional Advancement, San Francisco ZooThe workshop was so much, and Philippe is awesome.
Martin Staubus — Executive Director, the Beyster Institute at UCSD Rady School of ManagementPhil was a great presenter. He made it very interesting and relevant — my students love him.
Kelly Angelopoulos — Broker, Jameson/Sotheby’s International RealtyLearned from Philippe the badassery of using social media for your business — out-of-the-box training and opportunities for improvement.
Tom Stacey — VP, Lightstream/SunTrust BankPhilippe is the rare marketing pro who has a mastery of classic marketing knowledge and a thorough understanding of the new technologies. He knows how to help his clients reach more customers, create more sales, and make more money.
Barbara Murray — Account Executive, Make It Better MediaPhilippe was charismatic and clear on how to channel efforts to grow brands and be bold and authentic in brand identity.
Donald Mcallister — President, LionakisThe conversation with Philippe was very stimulating and came at the right time as we reevaluate our social media strategy.
Rich Peterson — Founder, Lighthouse Public AffairsI was very impressed with Philippe. He gave an excellent presentation, and there was unanimous praise for him, personally and professionally.
Joe Da RosaI would highly recommend your dynamite presentation to any business interested in staying relevant in an ever-growing Gen X and Gen Y world. Thank you!
Patrick KennedyI thank Philippe for this and curse him at the same time, because I got moved out of a comfort zone and I am always thinking about what Philippe has taught me.
Kirby HomThank you for your enlightening and wonderfully refreshing talk. Your talk has strong interest with our company as we try to move forward and stay competitive in the future.
Susan MccannI wanted to thank you for the phenomenal presentation. It was so informative, and I learned more than I ever imagined.
Thirty minutes with Philippe.
Tell him the room, the date and what the group is wrestling with. He’ll say which talk fits, or whether none of them does.
Bio, headshots and the speaker brand
Full bio below, plus downloadable photos for event promotion.
Badass-in-Chief at CESSON.
Provocateur to the best CEOs of America. Badass speaker on digital growth, AI, and cracking the generational code.
Philippe Cesson, known as the “Badass in Chief” at CESSON, has mastered the art of empowering CEOs with modern strategies, delivered with his trademark wit, provocative humor, and a rich dose of actionable knowledge. With a dynamic combination of repartee and insight, Philippe enables leaders to sharpen their edge and accelerate business growth.
With over 20 years of experience, Philippe has conducted more than 400 presentations, keynote addresses and workshops in 43 American states, as well as in Canada, Mexico, the UK and several European countries. He has headlined events at some of the world’s most iconic venues, including the Javits Center in New York, Navy Pier in Chicago, and the Blue Danube in Budapest, and holds a spot in the elite “200 Club” of top-rated Vistage speakers.
Philippe serves on the alumni board of the University of Dallas, where he earned his MBA, and has presided over the San Diego French American Chamber of Commerce. He enjoys time with his three children, cruising the remote highways of the American Southwest, and is a lifelong student of Stoic philosophy — taking an annual Digital Detox as a vacation for the mind.
“What makes us human hasn’t changed much in 2,000 years, which is why getting AI right is humanity’s crucial responsibility, and every CEO’s ultimate challenge.”
Get the AI Reality Check for your own business.
The report Philippe delivers live in Talk 1 is the same one CESSON produces for any business with at least 10 employees, free, in 25 minutes on Zoom. Read what’s in it and book yours.
Bring Philippe to your room.
Tell him the room, the date and what the group is wrestling with.
Talk to our founder: 30 minutes with Philippe Cesson