Michael Hyatt

I am the former Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the seventh largest trade book publishing company in the U.S. I have worked in the book publishing industry for most of my career.

I began at Word Publishing while a student at Baylor University, where I majored in philosophy. I worked at Word for a total of six years. In addition to serving as Vice President of Marketing at Thomas Nelson in the mid-80s, I also started my own publishing company, Wolgemuth & Hyatt, with my partner Robert Wolgemuth in 1986. Word eventually acquired our company in 1992.

I was a successful literary agent from 1992 until early 1998. However, I really missed the world of corporate publishing. As a result, I rejoined Thomas Nelson in 1998. I worked in a variety of roles in both divisional and corporate management.

I was CEO from August 2005 to April 2011, when I was succeeded by Mark Schoenwald. I was Chairman from August 2006 until the company was acquired by HarperCollins in July 2012. Since that time, I have run my own company, Intentional Leadership.

I have also written eight books, two of which landed on the New York Times bestseller list. My most recent one is called Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World in May 2012. In addition to the New York Times bestseller list, it hit the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller lists.

My newest book, This Is Your Life: A Proven Plan to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, is on the subject of life planning. I wrote it with my friend, Daniel Harkavy, Founder, CEO, and Executive Coach of Building Champions. It is scheduled to be published by Baker Books in the spring of 2016.