Testimonials
What people are saying about Ray Jefferson…
LEGO Group
“Ray Jefferson trained our employees at the LEGO group in Asia Pacific on the topic of Leader Resilience & Self-Care for Effectiveness during Demanding Times” and the training was exceptional. It was well-grounded in research and full of practical techniques. Moreover, his facilitation style is very dynamic and very refreshing – he’s inclusive, interactive and participatory. It was obvious that Ray is passionate about helping teams and individuals to develop their resiliency, has life experiences that give him tremendous credibility in this area, and enjoys working with people from different cultures. The training’s benefits will be long-term and we are very pleased with the results. We highly recommend him to others seeking to develop resiliency, learning practical tips. Ray’s inclusive style and powerful delivery makes for a highly engaging session.”
– Amrita Singh, Human Resources Director, Asia Pacific, LEGO Group
“In what often feels like a world cluttered with the latest tools for managing wellbeing, Ray brings a simple, yet powerful combination of time-proven practices, drawing from different cultures around the world to help individuals and teams build sustainable, behaviour-changing daily practices that make a positive difference to wellbeing. Ray’s approach is simply fantastic from start to finish and both equips and inspires us to access even more of our potential. On behalf of the team at Google, thank you Ray!”
– Richard Wolstenholme, Director of Partnership Solutions AUNZ, Google
Harley-Davidson – APAC and Latin America
“We engaged Ray to assist with the development of the senior leadership team earlier this year. Ray’s system of breaking down barriers and reforming connections is truly transformational. His ability to work across different leadership types to align a team is first class. He is able to connect and inspire a team through a variety of first hand experiences and empathy. He pulls no punches to deliver results. Ray is a great coach and we look forward to an ongoing partnership with him.”
– Nigel Keough, Vice-President & Managing Director, Asia Pacific & Latin America
Harley-Davidson – India
Harley-Davidson is the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and possesses a loyal customer following that is represented with owner clubs, events worldwide, and a company sponsored museum.
In 2010, Harley-Davidson began selling its motorcycles in India where a successful dealer network has since been established that has helped the organization achieve over $5 billion in revenue as of 2016.
“Ray led my extended team of 18 executives on a transformational two-day journey nothing short of amazing. His deep knowledge of team dynamics and unique ability to create an environment of safety and confidentiality allowed us to make major step changes in our team’s trust, intimacy and alignment. The impact could be felt immediately and the action items developed by the team with Ray’s guidance will sustain the change into the New Year. Ray is the best I have ever worked with and I look forward to working with him again. “
– Anoop Prakash, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson India
YPO Member (Global One Chapter), HBS (MBA, 2001)
VF Corporation
“We were looking for a way to address the team dynamics in a largely newly formed team. I was very impressed by Ray’s ability to create a trust level within the group in shortest time. The result was a workshop that not only helped the team members understand each other but also find new ways of working with each other. I’m very confident that the results of the workshop will help bring the team to an even higher performance level, and I can highly recommend Ray for anyone looking into creating a high-performing team.”
– Mr. Eike Michaelis, VP, Asia Product Supply – Footwear & Equipment
Nike
“Ray has worked intensively with our multi-cultural Team in Sri Lanka. The focus has been on expectations, cultural differences and coming together as a Team to deliver results.”
“The work has gone deep and been very intense, but the results speak for themselves. Our Team is now communicating effectively and working together to achieve success!”
– Kathy Shepard, Senior Director, Apparel Innovation, Nike
Tennis Australia
“Our executive and leadership teams continue to benefit immensely from Ray’s program and his teachings. We were looking for something different and with a leadership development focus. And Ray certainly delivered. His style is unique and his story is truly inspirational. He knows how to develop effective teams and accelerate their performance. We benefited so much from the experience that we have had Ray return every year to work with us since then. I would highly recommend Ray to anyone who desires improved performance, team cohesiveness, greater productivity, effective leadership and people development. Ray is a superstar.”
-Craig Tiley, CEO, Tennis Australia
Tennis Australia
“Ray’s ability to connect and communicate clearly, compassionately and strategically led me on a great 3 day journey. While the information was transformative, the tools and skills Ray made me aware of will allow me to be much more effective and efficient while dealing with so many of life’s challenges. This was more than a leadership workshop, this was a life workshop, & anyone who has the opportunity to hear Ray’s words & experience Ray’s ways will be transformed.”
– Paul Annacone, Consultant to Tennis Australia; Former Managing Director of High Performance for USTA and Head Coach (Men’s Tennis) for LTA (UK); United States Olympic Committee National Coach of the Year (Tennis); Former Coach of Pete Sampras and Roger Federer
Lumen Technologies (Formerly CenturyLink)
Ray is a very experienced and effective facilitator, one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my career. His passion, energy and ability to engage people was immediately evident when he broke the ice with ease and created an aura of sincerity and trust for our APAC Leadership team, comprising of 17 executives from diverse cultures. He created the synergy and provided the platform for us to have open, effective and qualitative brainstorming session. Moreover, his program and approach were instrumental in helping us to achieve our annual goals and objectives. He is among the very best and we look forward to engaging his services again when the opportunity arises.
– Gery Messer, Managing Director – Asia Pacific, Lumen Technologies
Harvard Business School Club of Singapore
When we started Alumni Forums in Singapore, Ray stepped in to guide us through establishing the program and building our first forum team. Ray’s contagious passion for leadership and teambuilding helped our forum come together and begin making immediate progress as a team and as individuals from day 1. He leveraged his broad range of experiences, unique insights and targeted frameworks to help us connect deeply with our teammates, quickly building strong bonds of trust, and also helped each of us gain new insights into ourselves. Working with Ray has left a lasting impact on each of us. It has truly been a pleasure and it is bittersweet to see him moving back to the US to embark on a new journey of public service and servant leadership.
– Stan Furman, President, Harvard Business School Club of Singapore
Bank of Hawaii & Central Pacific Bank
“I have had the pleasure of working with Ray over the past few years to provide a variety of learning and wellness solutions to our organization – at every employee level. Ray has always exemplified what it means to be a true professional, partner, and friend. He is undoubtedly an expert at his craft, with a long list of accolades, experience, and education that brings credibility to the work that he does. When you strip away all of his accomplishments, he is simply a good person with high character, who truly cares about people and helping them grow. If you want someone that will bring energy and excitement to the work they do, that cares about the people they work with on a personal level, and that will eventually become a part of your organization’s `ohana, Ray is that person.”
– Matthew Hunter, Senior Vice President & Director of Talent Acquisition and Development, Central Pacific Bank;
Former Senior Vice President & Director of Learning Development, Bank of Hawaii
Young Leaders Development Program
Dear Ray,
We would like to thank you, on behalf of the YPO Chennai chapter, for the “Creating a Vision for My Life” program that you conducted on 1 Feb 2020. The Chennai chapter’s teenagers thoroughly enjoyed this event and we are extremely happy to inform you that this event was rated a “Perfect 10.” We are happy to share some of the comments that we have received on this event, from the participants. Thank you yet again.
– Jothi Iyer, Chapter Manager, YPO Chennai
“I would definitely recommend Ray. Most of these self-help guys are complete nonsense, but this guy is good. He really knows what he’s talking about, and most of all, it seemed like he was really interested in helping us.” – Varun (participant)
“Ray is an excellent speaker that manages to engage people of all ages. His deep comments provoke thought, and self-reflection.” – Rajiv (participant)
“Inspired the teenagers to think beyond just intellectual growth. Focused on holistic growth.” – Diya (participant)
“Had a transformational effect on the participants.” – Anya (parent)
_____________________________________________
“Yangon Chapter had the distinct pleasure of sharing a two-day weekend retreat with Ray and we were highly impressed by his dedication towards improving our Chapter’s YPO experience, and by his passion in bringing the best out of us as leaders and people. His energy was bustling and yet controlled, and he has a natural ability to connect with people. Ray conducted Forum Supercharge sessions with all our forums, as well as his flagship performance training – “Being your Best Self” – which were both extremely well-received by our members. Ray has a gift for discerning complex interpersonal dynamics and in guiding people to reflect and open up. He also left us with valuable lessons and skills that can be easily practiced in our daily lives. I believe his impact on our chapter’s forums has been nothing short of transformational, and we are grateful to have had the opportunity of him joining us.”
– Cyrus Pun, Chapter Retreat Event Chair and past Chapter Chair, YPO Yangon
_____________________________________________
“We had the pleasure of Ray helping us design and deliver the chapter retreat to launch our new YPO Zen Pacific chapter, and to lead a forum Fundamentals Workshop as part of the experience. Ray was the facilitator for a forum moderator training that I attended a while back, and that fabulous experience convinced me that he would be the ideal person to lead a workshop for our new members. As a YPO member, Ray was able to provide real life examples and the necessary context to bring everything to life. Ray was passionate and inspiring, and left us with significant take-home value, as well as actionable tools which could be used right away. The members’ feedback was that it was truly outstanding. I wholeheartedly recommend Ray as a phenomenal resource for Chapter Retreats, Forum SuperCharges Forum Fundamentals and Forum Moderator Training.”
– Simon Gerovich, Chapter Chair, YPO Zen Pacific (Japan)
_____________________________________________
YPO Singapore
“The YPO Board had the pleasure of Ray Jefferson (YPO Singapore) conducting a leader development program for us and it was truly outstanding. Ray brings an extraordinary combination of passion, credibility, expertise, intuition and servant leadership that is inspiring and refreshing. He quickly connected with the Board Members and created an environment that kept us engaged, and left us with take-home value that surpassed expectations. We learned relevant, immediately actionable knowledge, tools and practices that we began using immediately. Our time with Ray has resulted in us becoming more productive, effective and inspiring to ourselves. Moreover, he did a similar program for our spouses with equally outstanding results. If you’re seeking someone world-class to work with your forum, chapter or executive team, Ray will be an ideal choice and I think you’ll be pleased with the tremendous outcomes.”
– Randy Waterfield, 2017-2018 Chairman, YPO
_____________________________________________
Central Pacific Bank
“Ray is a dynamic speaker and teacher on the topic of leadership development who enlightened our top management team at our recent annual Leadership Conference. His message received a standing ovation and his experiential workshop sessions were a much-lauded highlight of the day. With Ray’s refreshing approach to personal development, our entire team left the conference energized to apply the leadership skills he taught and bring them back to their teams. Ray truly has a gift of inspiring corporate leaders and creating lasting impact and outcomes.”
– Catherine Ngo, CEO, Central Pacific Bank
_____________________________________________
YPO Indonesia
We had the privilege of having Ray as our facilitator to conduct a leadership and team development program for the YPO Indonesia chapter’s executive committee. We were looking for a very special and talented person. Ray provided the best such program that I’ve personally experienced and provided a great start to my journey of leading the high-achieving YPOers who serve in the executive committee. Ray has made my job so much easier by energizing the team, further inspiring us for our purpose and making the bond between us even stronger. He had us fully engaged for the whole day and feeling energized at the end of the program. Our time with him had long-lasting benefits. He is AMAZING, and I recommend him wholeheartedly!
– Noni Purnomo, Chapter Chair 2014-2015, Young Presidents’ Organization- Indonesia Chapter
Thailand Chapter Young Presidents’ Organization Inc. (YPO Thailand)
YPO [Young Presidents Organization] is the premier chief executive leadership organization in the world. YPO represents a global community of leaders committed to the shared mission of “Becoming Better Leaders through Lifelong Learning and Idea Exchange™”. YPO today provides more than 24,000 members in more than 130 countries with access to extraordinary educational resources, alliances with leading institutions, and specialized networks designed to support their business, community and personal leadership. Altogether, YPO member-run companies employ more than 15 million people around the world and generate USD6 trillion in annual revenues.
“I would like to officially endorse Ray Jefferson as a great resource for YPO-WPO.
We recently had our YPO Thailand Chapter Retreat where Ray joined us to lead our leaders through workshop sessions we arranged over the 2 days… We had nearly 30 members in attendance and there were a lot of skeptics who wondered if it would be possible to achieve results in such a short time. We were all totally impressed and inspired…
After the Retreat, many members came to me to express great appreciation for having Ray as our expert resource. This stronger bond could not have happened without Ray’s tremendous guidance and leadership.
Therefore, I want to formally recommend Ray Jefferson to any other YPO-WPO Chapters that may be interested in “transforming” their own Chapters. Ray certainly transformed the YPO Thailand Chapter through his special combination of knowledge, skills, empathy and energetic presence.”
– Tanawat Wansom, YPO Thailand Chapter, Education Chair 2014-15
_____________________________________________
Harvard University
“Ray captivated the audience with the story of his own journey and story of remarkable achievement in the face of daunting adversity while at the same time remaining humble and self-effacing.”
– Joseph McCarthy, Senior Associate Dean and Director of Degree Programs, Harvard University
_____________________________________________
YPO
“Ray Jefferson is an Inspirational transformational leader. He has the unique ability to listen and empathize without judging. Ray is an energetic resource who demonstrates his commitment to making a difference through courage and caring to those who engage him. His insight into human nature is unfathomable. Ray speaks from the head and heart and is not afraid to show others how to do the same.”
– Kate Traill, Barrister-at-Law, Aide-de-Camp to the Governor of NSW Former International Forum Committee Member YPO
_____________________________________________
Be The Change
“Ray’s a tour de force whose strategic insight, energy and inquisitive awareness ignite the passion of organizations to be smarter, more agile, and better in an ever changing and challenging global landscape.”
– Rob Gordon, III, CEO, Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Communities and Families
_____________________________________________
YPO-WPO
“In an ever interconnected world we need to be able to engage with people around us with clarity. Ray’s unique ability to bring the most divergent and diverse teams together–in the shortest period possible–is a testament to his own journey and experience that sets him apart from all others. He is a trainer, coach and mentor all rolled-into one and this integrative approach is critical in developing high-performing individuals and teams. In the field of Leadership Development Ray is in among the best I’ve engaged and definitely in the top 2%.”
– Timothy Wong, Regional Director of Education, North & Southeast Asia, YPO-WPO
“This is our second time we have used Ray as a facilitator for our couples Forum Retreat.I could not recommend Ray highly enough after yet another very successful 3 days.
Ray has a unique and natural style, he has empathy, understanding and amazing intuition, which enables him to be flexible to the needs of the group so the take home value becomes even greater.
Ray has the ability to understand your needs and transform the day into powerful sessions meeting all your goals and requirements.
As a couples forum we walked away stronger, connected and inspired.
I would highly recommend Ray as a facilitator; his facilitation skills are among the best I have encountered in YPO/WPO.”
– Vanessa Speer- Moderator- Couples Forum Sydney/ Singapore Chapter
_____________________________________________
SOS International, LLC
“Ray Jefferson planned, organized and executed a team-building event for a diverse group of 30 some odd type-A professionals in my organization. I was initially skeptical that it would work, but Ray did an outstanding job of building common purpose among the group and, after a couple of intense, but fun days of exercises, our team left feeling considerably more cohesive than when they arrived. We learned things about each other that we would not have otherwise known, and that served to form a common bond between us that has made us a highly effective unit ever since. Ray deserves bold marks for his ability to instill the principles of leadership and teamwork in even the most cynical among us.”
– Frank Helmick, Lieutenant General (retired) Vice President for Corporate Strategy, SOS International LLC; Former Commanding General of the XVIII Airborne Corps SOSI.com
_____________________________________________
YPO-WPO
“There is a humanity in Ray’s leadership style that is infectious and difficult to resist. Combined with a strong intellect and, importantly, an interest in raising individuals and teams to their potential, I found someone who was instrumental in increasing the connectedness and ultimately, performance of the team. Easily one of the most extraordinary and distinguished leadership and team development experts I have worked with. I recommend him wholeheartedly.”
– Hussam Anastas, YPO, Executive Director for EMEA & Asia Pacific (YPO-WPO Management Team)
_____________________________________________
Ron Kaufman
“Ray Jefferson is one of the most insightful and effective leadership development experts and facilitators I know. He has a personal story that is more inspiring and solid than you can possibly imagine, and a personality that oozes energy, commitment, integrity, empathy and an unbridled passion for living an extraordinary life.
Put Ray in the room with a group and watch the magic happen. Put him in a room with very senior leaders, and watch magic unfold inside their organizations. Put him on stage in front of a large group and watch the whole room light up with electrifying inspiration, breakthrough ideas, and the motivation to take results-producing action.
If you’re serious about transforming your team or organization, achieving your potential, or accomplishing an audacious undertaking, I recommend you meet him as soon as possible and learn how his exceptional skills and talents can help you become what you’re capable of.”
– Ron Kaufman, Founder and Chairman, Up Your Service
_____________________________________________
Maddock Douglas
“Ray Jefferson’s story is inspirational and instructive. His captivating message was a highlight of the annual Gathering of Titan’s event at MIT and one of the highest rated in years. He came highly recommended and exceeded our expectations at every turn. BRAVO!”
– Mike Maddock, CEO of Maddock Douglas & Gathering of Titans (GOT) Co-Chairman
_____________________________________________
BBRC International
“Ray is an inspiring and powerful communicator, who possesses an innate ability to unlock new horizons in our perspectives with clarity. Both Vanessa and I thoroughly enjoyed the retreat, which was conducted with professionalism intertwined with a personal touch. We came away from the retreat feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. I highly recommend Ray as one of the finest experts I have had the opportunity to engage with.”
– Brett Blundy, BBRC International
_____________________________________________
“My experience with Ray started when I reached out to him to conduct our YPO forum retreat in order to help us take ourselves to the next level, supercharge us and increase members’ take-home value. From the initial planning to the actual program and the follow-up afterwards, the passion, energy, and thoughtfulness that he devoted was incredible and felt by all the members. His attention to detail and commitment to giving us an amazing experience made the planning process smooth and gave the forum members our best retreat ever. He also taught us many techniques that we can use to improve both our work and personal lives, our energy and our productivity. Our time with him has provided us with a lasting impact that we’re taking into the future and taught us ways to be more effective and live lives that are fuller, more satisfying and inspiring. Thank you Ray!!!”
–Nuttanai Anuntarumporn, Managing Director of Interlink Telecom PLC and Executive Director of Interlink Communication PLC | YPO Member (Thailand Chapter) | www.interlinktelecom.co.th