With an onstage energy that’s been called “an adrenaline rush,” Brian Hicks is quickly becoming a sought-after speaker across the country. He’s been labeled "a master storyteller," and “Part Billy Graham, part Bill Cosby.”

He honed his skills in the trenches, spending 20 years with Fortune 500 insurer, Aflac, as a trainer and manager of independent commission-paid salespeople. In the 1990s, as Manager of Field Automation Training, he rolled out the company’s electronic application software, SmartApp™. Despite predictions of the program’s eminent failure, it found its way into the National Archives of The Smithsonian Institute, and Brian learned a life-altering lesson about the power of passion to inspire change.

He began his career in 1989 as a sales associate while still attending Columbus State University in Columbus, GA. After earning his degree in Speech Communication, he stayed with Aflac, becoming a sales manager at age 25.

In his 2 decades with Aflac, he held positions in both the worldwide headquarters and the sales force, earning top sales and management awards, and qualifying for state & national conventions. He pioneered the company’s sales force automation training initiative, eventually expanding the focus to include sales and leadership training. He spent 10 years as the State Training Coordinator in the Alabama/West Florida state sales operation, helping lead the team to the #1 producing state operation in the company, with over $45 million in sales 2008, his last full year with the company.

After 20 years with Aflac, he retired on July 4, 2009 to begin his second career as an inspirational author & speaker. He moved with his wife and 3 boys to Nashville, Tennessee and wrote his first inspirational novel, The Tinderbox Tapes. He speaks and conducts leadership workshops across the country, and writes The Daily DifferenceMaker, a daily inspirational article, on his website, www.brian-hicks.com and blog, Brian Said...

His inspirational column appears each month in Benefits Selling Magazine, the leading publication for brokers and agents selling employee benefit products.