John Lynch
English or Polish Language

Motivational, Business & Key Note speaker

John
Lynch

Entrepreneur, Speaker & Keeper of the Faith

Entrepreneur, Speaker & Keeper of the Faith

John Lynch has a terrific story to tell about business, people, and grit; and he tells that story very well, with full attention to management lessons that are applicable in a wide variety of businesses. John is a wonderful speaker and a pleasure to work with.
Frank Cespedes, Professor
Harvard Business School

Having passionately built his company Lynka for decades, Lynch’s world was shattered, when his business was literally stolen from him.

The business and personal struggle that ensued lasted 15 months – the battle of his life – and in the end changed Lynch’s life forever.   The story resembles a John Grisham novel more than an HBS case study.  Lynch has presented this real life story in an emotional and energetic session that has left executives around the world both shocked and inspired.

A dynamic American public speaker based in Poland:
Has spoken at dozens of events in 12 countries Always Highly Rated

Recent Testimonials from Marriott
And Dale Carnegie

January 6,
2022

“We had the pleasure of having John Lynch as our Guest Speaker during our recent Marriott Business Council Meeting held at Sheraton Grand Warsaw, Poland.  The meeting provided the opportunity for a large group of Marriott General Managers to get together with our Area Vice President for Eastern Europe to share ideas, best practices, strategize and get together before year end. John Lynch was absolutely the best motivational speaker we have had in the last two years of meetings. He shared his personal experiences of coming to Poland more than thirty years ago, in the aftermath of the fall of communism. He shared insights on business development, personal growth and development, coping with stress and adverse situations. One of the key points John highlighted and spoke about was resilience and how he coped with everyday life whilst battling to save his company from rogue investors taking over what he had spent decades in building. Our entire group thoroughly enjoyed John’s speech and found him to be motivational and inspiring yet very open, fun and approachable. Would not hesitate to recommend John Lynch as a keynote or Guest Speaker for future upcoming events. We all enjoyed his participation and it was nice to also receive a copy of his recently published book at the end of our meeting. The book is just as captivating and also highly recommended!     
Angela Saliba
Harvard Business School

Dale Carnegie

“John is an impactful communicator. I was impressed by the way John projects positive energy in his audience engaging them. But it is not only the way John communicates that makes him exceptional. The high human content of his messages transmits honesty in his communication.”

“Positive energy, humanity and honesty make John a very inspiring presenter.”

Pablo Martinez Zabala
Partner, Dale Carnegie CEE

 

Who is John Lynch?

John Lynch is an American entrepreneur, writer, speaker and civic leader who lives in Krakow, Poland since 1991. He was one of the first expatriates to launch a start-up in Eastern Europe in the aftermath of the fall of communism.

Shortly after Solidarity’s triumph in Poland and the fall of the Berlin Wall, while working in management consulting in New York, John put his corporate career on hold and became a volunteer in a US AID program created to assist the new free-economies of Eastern Europe. In 1992, having decided to stay in Poland, John launched Lynka, an industry-leading company he has managed for 30 years. Today, Lynka is a leading supplier of corporate clothing and promotional apparel throughout Europe.

John was named Entrepreneur of the Year in Poland. He was named one of the 10 American Pioneers who made the most profound contributions to the successful transformation of Poland to a democracy and free market economy. John was voted Central & Eastern Europe’s CEO of the Year by the CEE Manufacturing Awards. In September 2014, John was awarded the highest civilian honor in Poland, the Presidential Order of the Gold Cross from the President of the Republic of Poland for his contributions to building Poland’s free market economy during the past 25 years.

John grew up in New Jersey, and graduated from Lehigh University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. John completed his MBA in Marketing and International Management at The Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia. He also took part in exchange programs at UMIST in Manchester, England, and IESE in Barcelona, Spain. John has recently published his first novel – THE ARK – a business thriller inspired by his own experiences. John was the Chairman of YPO Poland, and is the Treasurer and a Board Member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland since 2003.

He loves current events, as well as traveling to new countries. His goal is to see one new country for every year of his life – currently he is at “par”, having last travelled to Malta, Bosnia, and India. John is married to Kasia Lynch, an English teacher and they live outside of Krakow, Poland with their two children, Jakub (17) and Zofia (13).

What CEOs had to say about John Lynch’s Presentation

Testimonials

“An extraordinary story of how our business and life might change for worse and how much courage it requires to build it up again. A thriller with great lessons, which can be wisely applied to all our businesses”.

– Przemek Gacek, CEO Pracuj.pl

It was indeed a pleasure to hear you. Lots of life lessons learnt. I have been thinking about all that you said and came away amazed …. Life is a journey and we all create our path but it always helps to hear from those that have experienced more and are willing to share.

– Boman Irani, Chairman Rustomjee Group, Mumbai

I found John’s presentation riveting and captivating like reading a superb thriller which culminates in a manner you keep wondering about along the way. He gave an account of a business situation that one rarely hears about: dealing with perverse and almost criminal adversaries, in a manner that conveyed the challenge he faced and how it influenced him to bring out the very best from within. Delivered beautifully and passionately, this is a fascinating account very well worth hearing that has valuable takeaways and makes you think of the broader picture when faced with a potentially lose-all situation.

– Paul Douek, President Bonomelli s r.l.

The best YPO presentations are always from our own members and John’s story is up there with the very best of these. A very personal story where a true determination to win did eventually win the day. This is definitely a story which would be a useful learning experience for many executives.

– David Briggs, MD Dawsons Music Ltd. UK

“John’s presentation was probably the most inspiring of all the speeches at Eurokonnect Berlin. Even though I have never experienced anything similar, still I could relate to the way he chose to manage this crisis … with positive thinking, with hope and optimism, even with humour! What a fantastic approach to life! John is a live example that with the right attitude you can make anything possible.”

– Vasso Vassiliou, CEO Leo Burnett Cyprus

“John’s story of saving his business and his family is inspirational. It is no surprise that it was the top rated event in YPO Poland , as it is authentic, told in the spirit of YPO”

– David Putts, CGO Billion

Top Rated Speech at Eurokonnect Berlin Audience: 150 Global CEOs

Testimonials

Saving Your Business and Your Life 

One of the very first expatriate entrepreneurs to launch a start-up in post-communist Eastern Europe in 1991, Lynch first relates his journey building a business from scratch in the ‘Wild East’.   Then he takes the audience through his amazing story of tragic loss and his struggle to win back his business, including his “10 ½ lessons learned” as the main take-home value of the session.

Examples of past Speeches and Topics

A diverse range of topics

Saving Your Business and Your Life 

One of the very first expatriate entrepreneurs to launch a start-up in post-communist Eastern Europe in 1991, Lynch first relates his journey building a business from scratch in the ‘Wild East’.   Then he takes the audience through his amazing story of tragic loss and his struggle to win back his business, including his “10 ½ lessons learned” as the main take-home value of the session.

A few of Mr. Lynch’s other presentation topics:    

  • Transformation:  (TEDx talk)
  • Motivation:  How to manage in hard times (Marriott Hotels)
  • Managing in a Severe Crisis (Franklin Templeton Funds)
  • The Importance of Culture in Business (Global MBA program)
  • Secrets of Business Networking (Kozminski Univ.)
  • Introduction to POLAND – an Amazing Country (Memphis in May)
  • On the front lines of Poland’s Economic and Democratic Miracle (U.S. Congress)
  • An American entrepreneur’s adventure in Post-Communist Eastern Europe (multiple)
  • An Expats guide to building a business in an Emerging Market
  • Poland’s Renaissance (CEO Organization)

More praise for John’s event …

Testimonials

“Chapeau bas” as the French say to John, not only for how he managed the crisis but for an amazing way of presenting it, I enjoyed it every minute of it. Looking forward to the book and to the TED talk 😉 “

     – David Garcia Blancas, MD PortAventura Resorts, Spain

It was a total pleasure to have John tell his story to the London Chapter, we thoroughly enjoyed the evening and his story was so inspirational! A very touching, emotive and inspiring story! All members had questions for John and the night could have gone on even longer!

    – Mark Hamill, MD The Virtual Advisory Board, London

“John, you did a great job. I talked to many people and I believe half of them said your presentation was the one they will remember as biggest take home value. Your story is very powerful and hope you will become the YPO speaker of all time soon.

   – Przemek Gacek, Chairman Grupa Pracuj

“Your presentation and your story was really inspirational and I find it very useful also as businessman also in private!   The 10 learnings presented by you are so simple but so deep that is really amazing!”

  – Karoly Nagy, CEO Promelek  Romania

“Your experience you should share as much as possible. This is the story, which can happen to anybody out of his control in today’s global world. My take away is, how to include this kind of risk into the evaluation.  I really appreciate your passion to fight against and secure your business, ones you met bandits in combination with a corrupted system. I really highly evaluate your strength, which helped you to secure your business.   Thanks, Keeper of the Faith!”

  – Tomas Kolar, MD Linet Group SE,  Czech

“ Listening to John presentation, I kept asking myself “what I would have done in such a situation ? what might be my reaction ? I must admit that this presentation is thought provoking as to our limits and how far we would go.  I found the story inspiring as well when hearing how John found the ability to dedicate time to his family during those stressful times. “

  – Hezi Ovadia, Accord Insurance, Israel

Some of the Company’s & Organizations that John has addressed …

A List of References

  • Franklin Templeton Funds
  • Marriott Hotel Business Council CEE
  • Ringier Axel Springer (Mark Dekan)
  • Business Trends Festival (Beata Monka)
  • Euroconnect Conf., Berlin (Przemek Gacek)
  • CEO Organization (Krakow)
  • YPO EU Chapter events and Global conference (Barcelona)
  • Kozminski University – executive MBA prog.
  • Global MBA program ( UJ )
  • The Council of American Ambassadors
  • Aspire Conference
  • Informedia Polska –Loyalty Program conference
  • The Leader’s Island Conference (Krakow)
  • Wharton European Alumni (Amsterdam)
  • CEO Round table (Warsaw)
  • US Congressional Delegations
  • The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Wash DC)
  • EPP – European People’s Party (Wieliczka)
  • TEDx Talk – Kazimierz, Krakow
  • Memphis in May Conference
  • Personal Branding Day
  • Universities: St. Josephs, Drexel, Univ of Virginia, American, Penn, AGH, UJ, UEK
  • High School & University Inaugural and Graduation ceremonies

Testimonials from YPO Poland & India

Testimonials
& Rankings

YPO Greater India in Krakow

YPO Poland: Best Education Event

Recent YPO Events

Presented at:  

Event / Chapter
YPO Poland “In the Boardroom”
YPO Greater India Forum
YPO Eurokonnect, BERLIN
YPO London, YPO Monaco, YPO Harvard Event

Date
Jan 2015
Mar 2015
May 2015
2016 & 2017
Size
30 people
10 people
220 people
Rating 
9,6
9,6
9,8

Education Event Details and Fees

A first class
Speaker

Possible Speech  Full Event   = 3-4 hours
Event Formats:    Evening / Breakfast Speech   = 1 – 2 hours
Keynote Speech   = 30 min to 1 hour

John attended hundreds of business and personal motivational speeches by some of the greatest public speakers (Michael Porter, Clay Christensen, Tony Robbins, Verne Harnish, Richard Branson).  He has personally been an active public speaker since 2005 in Polish and English, His TEDx speech is available online at:

John is a natural story-teller, further evidenced by the success of his debut novel in 2021 – THE ARK, published in Poland by Ringier Axel Springer and widely distributed.  The Polish edition ARKA made #11 on the Empik bestselling thrillers list.   Mr. Lynch is a dynamic, sometimes humorous and always captivating public speaker.  He is keenly aware of what makes a great speech and event.  He always customizes his presentation to the needs of the specific client or specific event.

Education and Training:     MBA, The Wharton School of Business
President’s Week Executive Program: Harvard Business School
  High Impact Presentation Skills Certificate – Dale Carnegie Institute
Speaker’s Fee:  To be negotiated (+ travel & hotel)
  John’s novel The Ark / Arka is available to speaking events at a discounted price
Contact:  www.johnlynch.net   author@johnlynch.net  or jlynka@gmail.com

John Lynch as Author

Published in Polish by Ringier Axel Springer

‘ARKA’
published Nov 2021

Arka was distributed throughout Poland, via Empik as well as a holiday on-pack promotion with Forbes.

John appeared in Polish Media, TV and Radio – interviewed in Polish. His debut novel, ARKA made #11 in the second week on the Empik Bestsellers list of Suspense/Thrillers. Learn more at: www.johnlynch.net