Larry Gulko
Brand architect, strategist, entrepreneur and CBS Boston media personality
BIO
KEYNOTES
TESTIMONIALS
VIDEOS
His core philosophy focuses on delivering the unexpected. Larry’s passion and commitment to create an authentic ‘brand voice’ and build best-selling brands aligns with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s mantra – “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” He provides the leadership direction as a visionary and is a key driver in developing bold and disruptive strategies to uniquely position brands, capture mindshare, dominate product categories, enhance brand loyalty, and compete more effectively in today’s rapidly evolving and ever–changing business landscape…the end game being driving remarkable revenue and growth and maximizing shareholder value.
Larry created and moderates the Annual CEO Brand Leadership Roundtable at the Harvard Business School, now celebrating its 11 year milestone. Since 2008, 40 Fortune 500 CEOs and other high-profile executives representing iconic brands in numerous industries have participated in this popular event well known for being educational, inspirational, and quite entertaining. He also created Brands With A Purpose, a ‘Fireside Chat’ CEO breakfast series at the Harvard Club focusing on corporate philanthropic philosophy and endeavors.
Larry is the co-host with Roger Berkowitz of CBS Boston Name Brands, a CEO Brand Leadership Podcast Series. This insightful and entertaining talk show style program showcases leading brands and their CEO – ‘Brand Champions’ – discussing their amazing brands, vision, and inspirational business stories. Prior, he and Roger hosted Inside The Brand, a television talk show on NECN-TV Boston (NBCUniversal).
Larry is a sought-after thought leader and speaker who has delivered over 75 keynote speeches to a variety of companies and associations. He was the Commencement Speaker at the Hult International Business School with an audience of 4,000, whose graduates represent 85 countries. He serves as a judge at the annual Hult International Business Prize competition where the winning team wins $1 million to fund their new venture. He’s also delivered a keynote at the annual Babson College ‘Babson Entrepreneurship Forum.’ Larry is a Founding Partner of TechnoHome, a leading Milano inspired consumer lifestyle fitness equipment company he founded with Kenny Dichter, Founder and CEO of Wheels Up. TechnoHome created a strategic partnership with Technogym, the #1 global brand of fitness equipment headquartered in Italy.
For 17 years, as Founder and CEO of Gulko & Company, he provided the leadership and vision for a high-powered brand consultancy and communications agency whose clients included The Fortune 1000, start-ups, and non-profit organizations. The company received numerous accolades and awards for its strategic marketing, brand building, and creative success.
Larry was Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer at CYBEX International where he developed global game-changing consumer-facing brand strategies and strategic partnerships with NBC/Universal, The Biggest Loser, Greg Norman, NHL, The PGA Tour, and other leading brands. He is a senior advisor to the C-Level Community, serves on numerous boards and committees including Babson College’s Consumer Products Council, ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership, The American Marketing Association, The George Washington University, Boston Children’s Hospital, and has judged numerous marketing and innovation award competitions. He also served as president and board chairman of the American Marketing Association, Boston.
Larry created a Branding & Loyalty Retreat venue in association with The Disney Institute, created his Fresh Look Brand Leadership Retreat for C-Suite executives and their teams to take a deep dive into their brand strategy and market position, was a regular guest on NECN-TV Business Day, authored Brand Bites, and created a new brand voice and marketing strategy for The LPGA Legends Tour. Larry has lectured at the Babson College Graduate School of Business and in Babson’s Executive Education program.
Keynote Presentations
Building Best-Selling Brands in Today's Rapidly Evolving and Ever-Changing Competitive Landscape
Larry has launched over 25 brands for Fortune 500 companies, middle-market enterprises, and start-up ventures. He is the co-host of Name Brands, a CBS Boston/WBZ-TV podcast series that showcases iconic brands and the dynamic CEOs – brand champions – driving their brand’s success. Larry created and moderates the annual CEO Brand Leadership Roundtable at the Harvard Business School and was CEO of Gulko & Company, a strategic marketing and brand consultancy. A recognized brand expert and sought-after thought leader, Larry doesn’t take himself very seriously…but he takes what he does very seriously.
Optional Panel Following Keynote
(Note: panelists can be recruited by Larry):
In addition to delivering his keynote, Larry can also moderate a panel of your industry’s high profile CEO’s and thought leaders in an engaging venue similar to his Harvard Business School program which is a unique 90-minute talk show style of insightful and interactive conversation with 3 panelists …similar to a deep dive ‘fireside chat.’ This interactive program will educate, inspire, and entertain your audience with “big ideas” while highlighting key marketing and branding challenges. Audiences leave energized and ready to build breakaway brands that amaze and delight customers – turning them into raving fans essential in today’s hyper-competitive landscape. Larry and the panel will also participate in a Q&A session with your attendees.
Larry Gulko Testimonials
“Larry brings together the whole package in terms of strategic marketing and business savvy, enthusiasm and passion, and a unique creative approach to driving brand success. He always exceeds our expectations by inspiring and entertaining our audiences and delivering a wonderful experience.”
“Larry is an absolute inspiration. His insight and abundance of new ideas to building brands is incredible. With his participation, he added a new level of excitement to our event.”
“We enjoyed having you speak at our event. It was both an exciting and educational experience for our members as they learned new ideas to market their organizations. Thank you for contributing to our success.”
“The way you think is amazing! How you focused and positioned our new product line, created communications strategies and messages that were relevant and achieved impact, and overall, created a brand marketing strategy that resulted in a successful product launch, is unreal. You’re a key resource to our product marketing group.”
“Your dynamic presentation received rave reviews. Our attendees came away with new marketing and branding ideas to build their brands and achieve success. Your professionalism and enthusiasm is appreciated and we look forward to having you speak again at PGA events. We highly recommend you for any organization.”
“The cornerstone of any conference is the quality of the speakers. Your Brand Marketing presentation is still being talked about – members feel it was one of the top speeches they heard. In fact, comments we received include “Larry was the perfect topic and speaker to lead off our Annual Conference” and “excellent and truly remarkable.”
“Larry Gulko is an outstanding, creative brand strategist whose expertise consists of helping companies maximize sales by leveraging their brands in multiple ways within their own particular market segments.”