Chip Conley - 2012 Scholar Practitioner

Chip Conley

In 1987, Chip Conley started his own hospitality company, Joie de Vivre (JDV), and, as CEO for two-dozen years, grew it into the second largest boutique hotel company in the United States. At the age of 26 with no industry experience, Chip transformed a seedy 1950′s “no-tell motel” into the world-renowned Phoenix Hotel, a legendary rock ‘n roll destination catering to the likes of David Bowie, Linda Ronstadt and Nirvana. JDV expanded into a collection of over 35 award-winning hotels, restaurants and spas, with more than 3,000 employees – each property with its own unique theme that inspires guests to experience an “identity refreshment” during their stay. Chip and his company’s time-tested techniques and transformational leadership practices have been featured in every major news outlet including TIME, USA Today, Fortune and The Wall Street Journal.

As the preeminent thought leader at the intersection of psychology and business, and a successful practitioner of emotional intelligence at work, Chip shared his unique prescription for success in his bestselling book, PEAK: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow. Based on noted psychologist Abraham Maslow’s iconic Hierarchy of Needs theory, PEAK illustrates how business’s three key stakeholders – employees, customers and investors – are ultimately motivated by peak experiences that address their higher, unspoken needs. In his new book, Emotional Equations: Simple Truths for Creating Happiness + Success (Free Press, January 2012) Chip guides readers further down the path from emotional intelligence to emotional fluency – using math as a way to better understand and manage our emotions. Chip’s earlier works include The Rebel Rules: Daring to be Yourself in Business, and Marketing That Matters: 10 Practices to Profit Your Business and Change the World.

Chip is a highly sought after speaker – from TED to INC to GOOGLE. He has been honored with the highest accolade in the American hospitality industry, the coveted ISHC Pioneer award, and was one of four finalists for Hotels magazine’s “Corporate Hotelier of the World” award. The San Francisco Business Times named Chip the Most Innovative CEO – and JDV the “2nd Best Place to Work” – in the entire Bay Area.

After 24 years as Chief Executive Officer of the company he founded, Chip is now the “Chief Emotions Officer.” A committed philanthropist, he served on the board of Glide Memorial Church for nearly a decade and currently serves on the Burning Man Project and Esalen Institute boards. He created the San Francisco Hotel Hero Awards and founded the city’s Annual Celebrity Pool Toss event, which has raised millions for inner-city youth programs that now thrive in the troubled neighborhood where he launched his first hotel. Chip received his BA and MBA from Stanford University, and was awarded with an Honorary Doctorate in Psychology from Saybrook Graduate School & Research Center, where he is the school’s 2012 Scholar-Practitioner in residence.