Clients Rave

“Mitzi has keynoted several of our family office conferences both in the US and in Canada and we are very pleased with her performance and grateful for her friendship. Mitzi is very professional, brings us interesting and varying content every time, and she has the ability to hold the audience’s attention from the beginning to the end! She is a happy person to be around!”
Linda Sandstrom

Director of International Events, DC Finance

“Mitzi Perdue stood in for a presenter who the last minute let us know that he couldn’t speak at our annual Legislative Fly-in in Washington, DC. Mitzi had less than 12 hours’ notice to prepare a half hour talk on border security and food security. The word impressed is truly an understatement for describing how I felt watching Mitzi in action. She captivated the audience with daunting information that was understandable and moving. She laid out the framework for action on several levels. She also dished out a certain “ je ne sais quoi” that only Mitzi can deliver, with her smile, charm, natural beauty and animated manner. She had the room completely spellbound. The take-away? Informed audience ready to speak out on the multiple yet related issues she covered.”
Ruth E Jensen

Organizer, American Agri-Women 2023 Legislative Fly-In

“We always look forward to Mitzi’s participation at our Investment Summits; she is lively, engaging, humorous and gracious. So many of our guests have highlighted Mitzi’s presentation as a wonderful keynote, and appreciate her vast array of knowledge and experience as it relates to family and generational planning, wealth preservation, philanthropy and humanitarian work, and her latest endeavors as a war correspondent in Ukraine. Her incredible experiences, coupled with her engaging on-stage persona and strong resolve to forever pursue one’s passions would excite and inspire any audience.”

Rachael Merkel

Event Director at Family Office Club

“Mitzi Perdue was the keynote speaker at our Giving Tuesday Luncheon with 400 attendees. She was an instant success! From the moment she arrived at our event, she was a positive, uplifting and inspiring presence. Mitzi captivated everyone in the room with her natural gift for storytelling. What was especially impressive was the amount of time she dedicated to researching our mission. As Mitzi’s storytelling progressed, she moved several people to tears. She was an absolute pleasure to work with and we encourage others to consider her for their events.”

Gretchen M. Derewicz

Susan G. Komen, Maryland

“Mitzi spoke to my international conflict class today on human trafficking. Her presentation was packed with information that took a complex problem, having many hubs and spokes, and made it understandable and real. She was able to weave in research results, some of her interviews with those who had been trafficked and combined them in such a way as to associate a thought to a feeling. Having made the connection it was easier to talk about prevention strategies, knowing what to look for and to whom to seek help, along with new policies and procedures, judicial reform and protection of those extracted out of the trafficking system. She touched on all of these and did so in such an engaging and – dare I say – fun way. Given the topic, that was a hard thing to pull off. Kudos!”

Brian Polkinghorn, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor - Department of Conflict Analysis and Dispute Resolution, Executive Director- Bosserman Center for Conflict Resolution

“I knew as soon as I’d finished interviewing Mitzi that it was one of my favorite interviews of all time. Apparently my listeners agreed, mKing hers the top listened to 5 Core Life Podcast of 2020. Thanks Mitzi for dropping your infinite wisdom on some eager to learn ears.”

Will Moore

MooreMomentum.com | Founder of Doordash

“Mitzi has a large personality and you cannot but help to be mesmerized by her tales. They capture attention and bring across a wholesome and pure message. Above all she achieves this in a subtle and unassuming manner which results in a great affinity to her. Mitzi is impactful.”

Mohan Datwani

The Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries

“From a meeting planner’s perspective, Mitzi is a dream come true: Very easy to work with and delivers admirably on her promises. As one attendee said, “Every business can benefit from the concepts and practices she promotes.”

Linda Smith

Farm Credit Services

“Few can draw upon their family business experience as Mitzi Perdue can. She is poised, professional and prepared. Her global experience makes her comfortable in front of many different cultures, and her personality and charm remain constant with every audience. Mitzi is a true joy to work with.”

Daniel G. Van Der Vliet

Smith Family Business Initiative, Cornell University

” Mitzi was eloquent, inspiring, informative and entertaining. We look forward to including Mitzi in future FOE Experiences.”

Christopher Quincy Cobbinah

CEO of Family Office Experiences

“Mitzi Perdue is an incredible public speaker, storyteller, and entrepreneur! Throughout our WED & CORE: talk the audience was riveted and sitting on the edge of their seats while Mitzi thrilled with her one of a kind life experiences, and over-the-top delivery. Her historic backstory provides a backdrop that is beyond entertaining, and full of fabulously memorable pearls of wisdom – Mitzi Perdue is an American treasure!”

Wendy Diamond

CEO & Founder, Women's Entrepreneurship Day

“Mitzi’s outgoing and fun personality shines through in her presentations and whenever she speaks, our guests walk away entertained, informed and inspired. We’re fortunate to have Mitzi as a spokesperson for our cause.”

Carmen Del Guercio

President & CEO, Maryland Food Bank

“Mitzi Perdue is a captivating speaker. Warm, candid, and full of useful wisdom, she shares her own unique perspective on the challenges and rewards of family business—and business families. We had the pleasure of working with Mitzi on an event for the Harvard Business School’s Family Business Club and would highly recommend her, whether it is for an intimate dinner or a large group. Her passion for family business shines through. Her experiences with all stages of family businesses is remarkable.”

Karen Dillon, Editorial Director

BanyanGlobal Family Business Advisors

“I heard Mitzi speak at an industry event I attended. Within the first 10 minutes, I knew I needed to book her for an event I organize, the Executive Women in Agriculture conference. Mitzi is the perfect combination of actionable information, heartfelt messages and pizazz. Our attendees immediately related to her. They found her message inspiring and applicable to their family businesses. She was one of our agenda’s highlights.”

Sara Schafer

Editor, Top Producer Magazine, Farm Journal

“Wow, Mitzi’s keynote was a hit with our conference attendees. She provided practical, thoughtful ideas for complex family business challenges. Her warm, engaging approach radiates a genuine passion for all things family and business. Mitzi was diligent and detailed in her preparation, making it fun and effortless to work with her.”

Peter Begalla

Education Director, Family Business Magazine

“Mitzi Perdue was one of the most vibrant and interesting family business speakers that we have featured at a Transitions Conference. As a member of a successful family business and a married – in to another successful family business, Mitzi’s helpful tips for running a family company truly provided a wealth of knowledge.

From her creative ideas on the family and childrens’ newsletter to suggestions on embedding the family culture, Mitzi’s passion for maintaining family harmony really resonated with our 280 family business CEOs and their families. We were lucky to have her presentation and hope she will return again to speak.”

Caro U. Rock

Family Business Magazine

“Mitzi Perdue’s presentations were the highlights of our 2017 annual conference. She brought an unbeatable combination of personal grace, her experiences as the daughter of Sheraton Hotels founder Ernest Henderson and wife of Frank Perdue, and unique story-telling ability. Connection with the audience was virtually instantaneous and personal due to Mitzi’s warmth and genuineness. She masterfully used stories about her father and husband to make powerful business points. Mitzi also shared with us personal stories about her commitment to family cohesiveness over generations and some of the things she does to create and nurture that cohesiveness in her own extended family. It is not easy for a speaker to captivate an audience of attorneys and other professional advisors, but Mitzi did that, and so much more.”

Andrew N. Karlen and Peter P. Dougherty

Co-chairs, AFHE 2017 Annual Conference

“Mitzi was the most highly rated speaker on stage at our March 2018 Single Family Office Summit out of 35 speakers. Her real-life experiences, insights, and genuine passion for the topics of family culture, family values, and long-term enduring family office best practices shows in many ways. We would recommend others to have Mitzi speak and we plan on having her back again to speak for a longer session.”

Richard C. Wilson

CEO of the Family Office Club

“Mitzi Perdue’s keynote speech on culture and values, and her working roundtable on ethical wills at our forum of NYC area families were both outstanding! Everyone said her keynote speech and her energy were the highlight of the day.

All family businesses can benefit from Mitzi’s inspirational family business experience, practical tips and rich stories.”

Warner King Babcock

CEO, New York City Family Enterprise Center Inc.

“After hearing Mitzi speak at a conference, I was convinced that my family business client would benefit from her hopeful message about proactively creating a positive culture in a large and complex family system. I asked the family office director to trust me. Mitzi enhanced my relationship with my client by delivering a powerful experience that exceeded expectations. Watching Mitzi light up the room at a family retreat for 28 family members ranging in age from toddler to 87, was a wonder to behold. Her special touches with the children will live on in family stories for years to come. As a collaborative advisor, working with her was a dream come true!”

Don Opatrny

LMFT, Owner-Lovins Group, LLC

“Mitzi Perdue was the perfect speaker for my audience of agribusiness professionals. She gets it!

Her professional background enables her to really understand the issues my audience faces on a regular basis and, in turn, they trusted her and what she was saying. Her presentation was energetic and fascinating, and she kept the audience at rapt attention for the full hour she presented. She is a true force, and a wonderful addition to any conference speaker line up. “

Rebecca Grubbs

Director of Meetings & Event Marketing, National Grain and Feed Association

What a wonderful presentation Mitzi gave!! She has a tremendous stage presence and is truly a stage natural. Her advice, with clear and actionable steps, was awesome. And, I absolutely loved that she asked each person in the room to say “YES”!! Joyful. She was the talk of the night!”

Wanda Ortwine

Chief Family Officer, Luck Companies

“I learned so much from Mitzi. Her talk was filled with wisdom, heart and generosity. I really felt like she was speaking directly to me – that she genuinely cared. I rarely find that in a speaker. The tools she presented were extremely useful for growing a business, and for life!”

Laura Zam

President & CEO, Zam International

“Mitzi is a wonderful storyteller who provided our audience with valuable insight and perspective on the importance of employee engagement.”

Sherry Herwig

Director, Family Business Center, Wisconsin School of Business

“With a room full of fifty strong-willed, successful Chinese CEOs who spoke little to no English, somehow Mitzi connected instantly. She offered a high-impact distilled version of her multi-generational lessons learned, and she effortlessly impressed hosts and guests alike with her witty slides, her unique ‘participation prizes,’ and her agility in adapting to a last-minute shortened timeframe. That’s Mitzi!”

Holland Sullivan

Principal and Managing Director, Register Financial

“Mitzi gave practical, actionable recommendations and was willing to share insightful family stories. The written feedback from the audience included “fantastic”, “outstanding”, “thought provoking”, “terrific”, “actionable”, “engaging and insightful”, “most useful as it shows the critical importance of family togetherness and ongoing communication”. Mitzi was the last speaker after a packed day of presentations. She did a wonderful job of holding the audiences’s attention and engaging the participants. We could not have wished for a better Keynote Speaker.”

Babetta von Albertini

Founder, Institute for Family Governance

“Mitzi Perdue can take a complex, critically important topic and masterfully create an intelligent, well-thought-out presentation. She uses her talent for oration to create a clear and captivating story that sometimes makes you think, sometimes makes you laugh, but always draws you in. Her recent presentation at the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation Annual Luncheon was brilliant.”

Steve Salem

President, Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation

“Mitzi Perdue is a warm, engaging presence on stage, a pleasure to work with and a whole lot of fun! I would recommend her as a speaker for anyone who wants to understand generational wealth preservation and the creation of a shared identity for families.”

Martin McNulty

Conferences Producer, Information Management Network

“I don’t care if you’re a Fortune 500 CEO or a student thinking about starting their first business, Mitzi will change the way you think about more aspects of what REALLY makes the difference between success and failure in business than you can begin to imagine.”

Harry Levine

Modern Times Marketing

“I recently chaired a Capital Roundtable Conference in NYC titled “Best Practices for PE Acquisitions of Family Owned Companies”. Mitzi Perdue was the featured Keynote Speaker. Mitzi was engaging and shared intimate details of how her father, one of the founders of the Sheraton Hotel Chain and Frank Perdue, her late husband built highly successful companies. It was highly entertaining, informative and topical for the Conference attendees and subject matter. I would not hesitate to recommend her for another speaking engagement and in fact have already another event in mind.”

Douglas Song

Managing Partner, Prodos Capital

“If you didn’t already know Mitzi Perdue, you will leave having gained a new best friend. Her talk is engaging and entertaining, and most importantly, filled with amazing and actionable information.”

Stacy Kenny Mitchel

Author and Happiness Coach at I'll Take Success

“Mitzi, being the true professional that she is, arrived early and started chatting with as many people in the audience as she could, to get a feel for what they wanted out of her presentation. She quickly decided to incorporate the audience’s goals into her plans and arranged her talk accordingly to be on target. The audience LOVED her! Also, she came prepared with participation prizes and props for demonstrating her points, which quickly engaged everyone. At the end, the audience didn’t want to leave because they wanted more time to talk to her and take pictures with her. In sum, it was a fantastic presentation that everyone enjoyed, Mitzi’s stories are truly relatable, and she has a gift for connecting with people and getting them involved and engaged! “

Helena Escalante

Business Outreach, Science, Industry and Business Library, NYPL

“Mitzi Perdue spoke to the International Executives Resource Group, of which I am Chairman. She had a strong, but friendly presence and spoke with authority and deep knowledge. Importantly, she showed great understanding about Frank Perdue’s decisions and why he was successful. Listeners went away with real lessons they could apply to their own businesses.”

Richard Guha

Transformational Leadership, Fortune 100 CEO, Board Member Max Brand Equity

“One of the highlights at Campden Wealth’s 11th annual North American Family Office Conference was hearing Mitzi Perdue’s session on Leveraging the Family. Mitzi’s personal stories were not only spellbinding, they were incredibly useful and practical for the families who attended the event.”

David Braham

Regional Manager, North America at Campden Wealth

“Mitzi captivates her audience with a style that’s folksy, engaging, light-hearted and chock full of facts; all melding together and ultimately leading to an “aha moment” for the topic.”

Steve Schwalb

Industrial Engineering Consultant

“Mitzi delivered a powerful lecture and kept our students fully engaged. Drawing from her experiences she was informative and interesting, and even added a wonderful touch with her entertaining personal stories. Mitzi artfully authored her own booklet to help organize the important talking points of her discussion. Mitzi is easy to work with, professional and flexible throughout the entire planning process. We look forward to her next appearance at a future event.”

Angel Chitnatham

Leadership Institute Angel Chitnatham Leadership Institute

“Mitzi Perdue’s presentation at Delaware Technical Community College was remarkable. Her inspiring words reaffirmed and motivated all who were present that countless possibilities and opportunities can be in their future with hard work and perseverance. Her eloquent words were coupled with personal observations and experiences from her own life that enabled her audience to readily connect with her on an emotional level. If you have the chance to attend a presentation by Mitzi Perdue you should without a doubt attend. It will transform the way you think of life!”

Erin Schutt

Delaware Technical Community College

“I truly found Mitzi’s presentation uplifting. It was filled with tips I can use right away.”

Dianna Whitney Thelma Lay

CEO, Maniera District Magazine

“Mitzi is a storehouse is wisdom and experience inside a package of delightful energy and passion about a concern for people who have already made a difference in the world—family business owners. Her experience in growing up and then marrying into two inspiring 100 year families, learning lessons from each one, and acting as an elder and leader in both, along with her dedication as a life-long learner, has led to her carrying a message that she can share wonderfully. I have heard her, gotten to know her and worked with her on programs, and find her message grows, deepens and enlarges each time we meet.”

Dennis Jaffee

Founder, Helping Family Enterprises, and Leader in the Field of Family Enterprise Consulting

“Mitzi Perdue took her listeners on the journey of her life among successful leaders of business. She shared the tips that helped both them and her turn opportunity into success. Mitzi inspires others to redefine failure.”

Christine L. Sherman

U.S. Army Major - Ret.

“Mitzi Perdue is a true inspiration to all who have the opportunity to hear her speak. Whether talking to an intimate group of 20 or a crowd of 200, Mitzi has the ability to bring Frank to life by sharing his philosophy of hard work, determination, and strong ethical principles. Our students love her and standing room only is a guarantee whenever Mitzi is on campus.”

Christy Weer

Dean, Perdue School of Business

“Mitzi’s story telling ability and style far exceeded my expectations. It felt like a personal conversation with a good, longtime friend and more, I felt like Mitzi was sharing private stories about the inner workings of the business and thoughts that drove Frank’s standards of excellence. Mitzi’s stories must be shared with all business students.”

Amy Miller

Human Resources Consultant

“Her after dinner talk was perfect! A little of this, a little of that peppered, with that wonderful magic trick which surprised everyone and just the right amount of time to engage everyone! In addition, she is a thoroughly nice person and so gracious and personable!”

Jane Ridolfi

Ret. New York City

“Mitzi Perdue is an extraordinarily accomplished and engaging story-teller – with quite a story to tell. Real lessons from the real trenches of business, told in a highly personal and memorable way.”

Timothy Powell

President, The Knowledge Agency

“Mitzi is heartwarming, inspirational, educational, and fun. I would recommend Mitzi to any organization that needs a credible inside look at how a family business can be successful and last through multiple generations.”

Bill Ryon

Managing Partner, Compass Investment Advisors

“Mitzi Perdue has the talent, knowledge, poise and energy to WOW an audience. The audience was captivated from the beginning to the end of her talk. As an author of many books and a successful business owner, she can truly speak from her experiences. Let Mitzi WOW your audiences!”

Darlene Carver

Dean, NSA-DC Speaker Academy

“She has lived it. She has researched it, and now she shares it. Mitzi Perdue is not only a great author and writer but a great speaker as well. Her family stories are poignant and factual….and they work. As the director of a family institute, I’ve seen that this is needed for the current generation and the one to come…..”

Dr. David Borst

COO/ED- Family Business Legacy Institute

“I truly found Mitzi’s presentation uplifting, and it was filled with tips I can use right away. I was impressed by how personable the presentation was. She made people feel appreciated.”

Thelma Lay

CEO Maniera Magazine

“Mitzi was a headline speaker at a family office forum our group ran in June of 2016. She is a great motivational speaker encouraging the audience to look towards non quantitative approaches for motivation and inspiration. She has a tremendous base of unique real life stories that highly successful people have used to succeed and motivate those who work for them.”

Marty Secada

Managing Director, Family Office Association

“She showed me how important it is for someone in the family to strive to help create a culture by design rather than allow a family culture to be created by default. When a family member takes on the responsibility of designing the family culture, members want to stay connected because they value that connection. She is an awesome role model as well as being a person who can capture moments with beautifully chosen words.”

Dennis Passis

President, Family Wealth Library

“Mitzi Perdue’s pure charm, business acumen and captivating communication skills are just a few of the reasons she is the most sought after keynote & motivational speaker on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. For decades she has inspired United Way Leadership donors as well as hundreds of CEO’s at our annual CEO Breakfast. Her grace, style and over the top energy combined with a down to earth approach touch audiences hearts and minds like none other!”

Kathleen Momme

Executive Director, United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore

“Mitzi is an accomplished, inspiring and respected businesswoman, author and storyteller, but after listening to her Keynote, I must add one more to her impressive list; role model. There’s no better time than today to be in the company of someone who exemplifies many of the characteristics and qualities that we want to cultivate within ourselves.”

Gretchen Derewicz

Susan G. Komen, Maryland

“I highly recommend Mitzi Perdue as she struck a grand slam as keynote for our March 2018 Family Business Mini-Conference! Our members gave Mitzi the highest marks for practical content, relevance, and delivery, as well as keen attention to time. Mitzi has deep personal successful experience with developing a high-functioning family culture through her own intentional work in her Henderson & Perdue families; both families well-known to the business world. She shared both why a strong family culture is foundational to business sustainability & family health, as well as how to do it. She brought authenticity, humor, and plenty of take-home value through her presentation and Q&A time, with members looking forward to delving into her books!”

Sally Derstine

Managing Partner, Delaware Valley Family Business Center