The 2026 GEM Summit explores the impact of Storytelling and will empower you with the skills and techniques that influence outcomes. From personal narratives to civic leadership to high-stakes reinsurance conversations, each session reveals how intentional storytelling builds trust, shapes perception, and drives results. Expect thoughtful dialogue, practical takeaways, and a deeper understanding of how the right story, told the right way, can change outcomes.
SUMMIT PROGRAM
Session 1: The Art & Science of Storytelling
JEFF BLOOMFIELD
Neuroscientist, Founder & CEO, Braintrust
JIMMY YEARY
14-time #1 Hit Singer & Songwriter for artists including Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney
Jeff and Jimmy bring a powerful blend of authenticity, vulnerability, quick wit, and perfectly timed humor that will keep you fully immersed from start to finish. You won’t just learn about storytelling; you’ll live it. Through a dynamic mix of engaging teaching and hands-on collaboration, you’ll walk away with a modern storytelling framework that goes far beyond outdated, conventional models.
This session will equip you to:
Neuroscientist, Founder & CEO, Braintrust
JIMMY YEARY
14-time #1 Hit Singer & Songwriter for artists including Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney
Jeff and Jimmy bring a powerful blend of authenticity, vulnerability, quick wit, and perfectly timed humor that will keep you fully immersed from start to finish. You won’t just learn about storytelling; you’ll live it. Through a dynamic mix of engaging teaching and hands-on collaboration, you’ll walk away with a modern storytelling framework that goes far beyond outdated, conventional models.
This session will equip you to:
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Unlock the power of your pool’s own story and confidently use it to create impact
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Understand the neuroscience of storytelling and why stories move people to action
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Use visual storytelling techniques to lower barriers, reduce skepticism, and open minds
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Harness vulnerability strategically to build trust and strengthen new relationships
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Craft situational stories and deliver the right message at the right time for the right audience
You’ll leave energized, equipped, and ready to tell stories that don’t just entertain, they connect, influence, and transform.
Session 2: Community Building Through Storytelling
ROWENA ALEGRIA
Principal, Alegria Communications
Former Chief Storyteller for the City and County of Denver
What happens when a city decides that storytelling is not just a communications tactic, but a core strategy for building trust and connection?
In this session, you’ll hear what prompted the City of Denver, Colorado to create an Office of Storytelling, and how this enabled residents to guide the world’s only storytelling, cultural preservation and narrative change project. You’ll learn why city leadership believed storytelling mattered. How they made the case for it. And what actually happened once the work began.
You’ll learn:
Principal, Alegria Communications
Former Chief Storyteller for the City and County of Denver
What happens when a city decides that storytelling is not just a communications tactic, but a core strategy for building trust and connection?
In this session, you’ll hear what prompted the City of Denver, Colorado to create an Office of Storytelling, and how this enabled residents to guide the world’s only storytelling, cultural preservation and narrative change project. You’ll learn why city leadership believed storytelling mattered. How they made the case for it. And what actually happened once the work began.
You’ll learn:
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Practical lessons you can apply in your own organization
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How storytelling has helped humanize government and strengthen community
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Why Denver invested in an Office of Storytelling in the first place
This is not theory. It is a candid look at how one city uses story to build connection, create belonging, and earn trust in a time when all three feel harder to come by.
Session 3: The Impact of Your Story at Renewal: A Fireside Chat with a Reinsurance Executive
RALPH STAINBANK
Head of Casualty London & RoW Region
Liberty Mutual Reinsurance
ANDREW HALSALL
President & CEO, GEM
In this session, we flip the script. You’ll hear directly from a London-based Reinsurance Executive about the impact of messaging. In the liability reinsurance market, pools are often competing with one another for scarce capacity. They need to convince the underwriter that theirs is the better risk. The pool’s story and the manner of its delivery may ultimately be what tips the balance. It can make the difference between yes and no, or influence the quality of the terms.
So, what is it that resonates with the underwriter? What should you be doing more of, less of, or just differently to represent your pool in the best light?
Head of Casualty London & RoW Region
Liberty Mutual Reinsurance
ANDREW HALSALL
President & CEO, GEM
In this session, we flip the script. You’ll hear directly from a London-based Reinsurance Executive about the impact of messaging. In the liability reinsurance market, pools are often competing with one another for scarce capacity. They need to convince the underwriter that theirs is the better risk. The pool’s story and the manner of its delivery may ultimately be what tips the balance. It can make the difference between yes and no, or influence the quality of the terms.
So, what is it that resonates with the underwriter? What should you be doing more of, less of, or just differently to represent your pool in the best light?
SUMMIT SPEAKERS
JEFF BLOOMFIELD
Neuroscientist, Founder & CEO, Braintrust
Jeff has the unique ability to help you change the engine on your John Deere tractor and explain the intricate details of neuroscience and neurobiology while he’s doing it! As a sought-after keynote speaker, his unique brand of “edutainment” leaves audiences enlightened and inspired!
After being the first person in his blue-collar family to graduate from college, this small-town farm boy dedicated his life to exploring the science behind what makes great communicators great. After his corporate career in Biotechnology, where he led several product launches for genetic cancer therapies, his obsession with neuroscience led him to write multiple books and start a company focused on helping people communicate with more purpose and impact both professionally and personally. He’s known as one of today’s best speakers and leading experts in the art and science of effective communication. Be it leadership, sales, or marketing, Jeff has inspired audiences around the world and leaves them with an entirely new set of tools in their communication toolbox.
After being the first person in his blue-collar family to graduate from college, this small-town farm boy dedicated his life to exploring the science behind what makes great communicators great. After his corporate career in Biotechnology, where he led several product launches for genetic cancer therapies, his obsession with neuroscience led him to write multiple books and start a company focused on helping people communicate with more purpose and impact both professionally and personally. He’s known as one of today’s best speakers and leading experts in the art and science of effective communication. Be it leadership, sales, or marketing, Jeff has inspired audiences around the world and leaves them with an entirely new set of tools in their communication toolbox.
JIMMY YEARY
14-Time #1 Hit Singer & Songwriter
for artists including Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney
Jimmy is the rarest of speakers. Because his content is filled with instantly recognizable moments, audiences are quickly taken to a high level of energy. As a hugely successful songwriter, Jimmy has influenced millions of people with his music. Recently, both the CMA and ACM awarded Jimmy with “Song of the Year” for I Drive Your Truck – the inspiring song he wrote about the father of a fallen soldier and how he continues to remember his son. Jimmy’s most recent Number 1 is Everything’s Gonna Be Alright, a song he wrote for Kenny Chesney and David Lee Murphy. He has been called “one of the most engaging speakers in the country.” Jimmy takes the lessons he has learned and the experiences he has encountered in his music career and applies them to the process of storytelling that creates results for businesses, organizations, and teams. Emotional awareness, a greater understanding of other people, and the shared experiences that build an effective team herald the genius of Jimmy Yeary. Not only can he speak to who you are as an organization, he will put it to music!
ROWENA ALEGRIA
Principal, Alegria Communications
Former Chief Storyteller for the City and County of Denver
Rowena Alegría (Ro) served as Chief Storyteller for the City and County of Denver from 2019 to 2024. The world’s only storytelling, cultural preservation and narrative change project created nine documentary films, 100 short films, made 4M impressions on social media and hosted 70 community events in which story opened into frank conversation. The Office of Storytelling brought resident voices and histories out of the shadows and onto big and little screens for more than a half million people. The work was selected for five film festivals, nominated for six Heartland Emmy Awards, and honored with some 27 different awards, including History Colorado’s Josephine H. Miles Award for a major contribution to state history. Alegría has spoken around the world about the power of storytelling and once moderated an evening with the legendary Rita Moreno.
Ro also served in one of Colorado’s most challenging and high-profile communications positions, directing strategy for crisis, issues and media management for Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, while also launching pro-active campaigns and coordinating city communications for events such as the 2012 Obama-Romney Presidential Debate and the Denver Broncos road to and appearance in Super Bowl XLVIII in New York City.
After more than 25 years leading diverse, high-performing teams as a writer, editor, storyteller, filmmaker, career journalist and communications executive, Ro is now helping organizations take new approaches to old problems and grow their communications and engagement approaches through innovation, technology and strategic thinking.
Ro also served in one of Colorado’s most challenging and high-profile communications positions, directing strategy for crisis, issues and media management for Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, while also launching pro-active campaigns and coordinating city communications for events such as the 2012 Obama-Romney Presidential Debate and the Denver Broncos road to and appearance in Super Bowl XLVIII in New York City.
After more than 25 years leading diverse, high-performing teams as a writer, editor, storyteller, filmmaker, career journalist and communications executive, Ro is now helping organizations take new approaches to old problems and grow their communications and engagement approaches through innovation, technology and strategic thinking.
RALPH STAINBANK
Head of Casualty London & RoW Region
Liberty Mutual Reinsunace
Ralph was appointed Head of Casualty London & RoW Region, Liberty Mutual Reinsurance (LM Re) in August 2022. He is responsible for managing & supporting all London-based Casualty RI underwriters to deliver Regional Casualty business plans. He is a member of LM Re’s Global Underwriting Council, LM Re’s Global Market Leadership Group & LM Re’s ERM Committee.
Prior to his current role, Ralph was an Underwriting Manager at Liberty Mutual Reinsurance. He was responsible for the underwriting & development of US Casualty Reinsurance written out of London. Ralph joined Liberty in 2006 from Swiss Re where he was an Underwriter & Member of Management for Swiss Re’s Global Clients team, based in Zürich, Switzerland and responsible as part of a team for underwriting & pricing casualty reinsurance for Swiss Re’s largest global customers.
Prior to this, from 2000 to 2003, Ralph was an Underwriter & Member of Management at Swiss Re in London. He was responsible as part of a team for underwriting & pricing casualty reinsurance for Swiss Re’s London Market customers. From 1994 to 2000, Ralph trained as an Underwriter with RJ Kiln & Co’s, syndicate 807 – SD Mathers & Others becoming responsible for the syndicate’s US P&C binding authority portfolio. Ralph has over 30 years of experience in (re)insurance spanning many markets, classes & territories.
Prior to his current role, Ralph was an Underwriting Manager at Liberty Mutual Reinsurance. He was responsible for the underwriting & development of US Casualty Reinsurance written out of London. Ralph joined Liberty in 2006 from Swiss Re where he was an Underwriter & Member of Management for Swiss Re’s Global Clients team, based in Zürich, Switzerland and responsible as part of a team for underwriting & pricing casualty reinsurance for Swiss Re’s largest global customers.
Prior to this, from 2000 to 2003, Ralph was an Underwriter & Member of Management at Swiss Re in London. He was responsible as part of a team for underwriting & pricing casualty reinsurance for Swiss Re’s London Market customers. From 1994 to 2000, Ralph trained as an Underwriter with RJ Kiln & Co’s, syndicate 807 – SD Mathers & Others becoming responsible for the syndicate’s US P&C binding authority portfolio. Ralph has over 30 years of experience in (re)insurance spanning many markets, classes & territories.
