Donnie Campbell

Man in a blue suit giving a presentation at the AIM Employers' Association conference, standing in front of a pink backdrop with text.

What’s Your MVP? Leadership Lessons from the Coach who Inspired Ted Lasso.

Coach Donnie Campbell has been referred to as the inspiration for the character, “Ted Lasso”.

Donnie, like Ted Lasso, knows that when you create better people, you’ll create winning teams. In his powerful leadership keynote, Coach Donnie Campbell, the real-life inspiration for Ted Lasso, inspires audiences to discover their "MVP" - their mission, values, and principles to inspire individuals to reach their potential and teams to reach new heights.

Fee: please call for pricing

Key Speech Themes:

  • Leadership

  • Teamwork

  • Creating a Positive Culture

Meet Donnie

Coach Donnie Campbell is a math teacher and a high school basketball coach from Kansas who was plucked out of obscurity when Jason Sudeikis, the American actor and star of the 5-time Emmy Award winning show, Ted Lasso, revealed to Stephen Colbert on the late show that Campbell was in part the impetus for the lead character he plays with such wit and wisdom. It was back in the late 1990’s when Jason played basketball at Shawnee Mission West and Donnie was his coach. Little did Campbell know that all of the pearls of wisdom he was dropping on Jason and the team would appear years later and make an indelible impression on millions around the world.

Topic & Description

What’s Your MVP? Leadership Lessons from the Coach who Inspired Ted Lasso

Videos

Full Bio

 If the word “believe” resonates with you, it means that you are probably a diehard fan of the hit series Ted Lasso, which portrays a football coach from Kansas who is hired to be the head coach of the English Premier Soccer Leagues AFC Richmond. But did you know that there was a real inspiration behind this award-winning show?

Coach Donnie Campbell is a math teacher and a high school basketball coach from Kansas who was plucked out of obscurity when Jason Sudeikis, the American actor and star of the 5-time Emmy Award winning show, revealed to Stephen Colbert on the late show that Campbell was in part the impetus for the lead character he plays with such wit and wisdom. It was back in the late 1990’s when Jason played basketball at Shawnee Mission West and Donnie was his coach. Little did Campbell know that all of the pearls of wisdom he was dropping on Jason and the team would appear years later and make an indelible impression on millions around the world.

Testimonials

“Donnie was FANTASTIC! What a genuine, authentic person. We all really enjoyed meeting him. I could spend all day with him actually 😊 In addition, Donnie did a great job on stage. We received all positive feedback from the attendees. It was truly MY the highlight of the event.” - Manager, Network Infrastructure Marketing, Panduit

“Donnie  did terrific. He is just the nicest person EVER. We completely enjoyed him. I will be recommending him to other CU leagues.” - VP of Relationship Management, Montana Credit Union Network, CMP, CMM

DLA Piper like Donnie so much they had him back for a 2nd event!
“Donnie’s presentation was great and very well received. In fact, I circulated a survey to the attendees this morning and several participants have already responded that Donnie’s speech was their favorite session. He was very personable and answered all our questions” -
Managing Partner, DLA Piper

 “Donnie Campbell was one of the most inspirational keynote speakers I’ve seen in 30+ years of event planning.  Although his background and success was on the basketball court, he is a classic servant leader in every respect. On stage, he effortlessly commanded the room of 540 business leaders as he redefined the concept of LEADER and TEAM for all of us!

“In today’s competitive landscape, his message of “creating a culture of winning, starts with creating good people,” resonated deeply with our audience. Every leader aspires to get the very best out of their people, but Donnie clearly has a passion for developing people and celebrating success. He provided insight on how to gain trust and accountability. He openly shared his failures.  But, he will long be remembered for his positive energy and authentic leadership style. Off stage, he was kind and gracious and was the consummate professional to work with. Sincere gratitude to Donnie for making our annual event a tremendous success!” - Tim Sater, Vice President, Marketing, AAIM Employers’ Association

“Donnie’s presentation was wonderful—and the praise from attendees has been filling my inbox all afternoon!” - Jenny Laffey, Director, Faculty Affairs and Career Development, University of Kansas Medical Center

Work with Donnie Campbell