Manny Piñeiro
Retired Chief Master Sergeant, U.S. Air Force. Former First Sergeant Special Duty Manager, USAF
Background: Featured Speakers | Former NCO | Military Leaders
Topic: Business Strategy, Change Management, Decision Making, Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership

Speaker Profile

Summary: Manny Piñeiro is an Executive Coach and Professional Speaker who is skilled in leadership and character development at all levels of management. Manny has a unique ability to connect with organizations and individuals to drive top performance through his natural influence. He has a knack for aligning professional goals with humility, behavioral change, and teambuilding concepts using his positive and enthusiastic attitude. He inspires teams to master their moments. He is a thought leader in diversity and resilience who encourages people to be accountable for themselves. His purpose is to have the right interaction of human involvement to support meaningful and impactful change for individuals and employees.  His goal is to elevate the individual employee experience to support all aspects of life and deliver positive outcomes for the organizations they serve. His overall mission is to make every moment of the journey worth it. You can learn more about his background and philosophies here.

In addition to being a member of the Flatter Speaker’s Bureau, Manny also serves as an Impact Coach for Impact Human Performance (IHP), with a focus on elevating human performance and bringing out the very best version of yourself. He also delivers leadership development and keynote messages for a multitude of premier organizations—corporate, federal, and military. He was also recently selected by the current Presidential Administration to serve on the USO Board of Governors to focus on supporting the overall mission, participating in new strategies, and the exemplifying the importance of giving back. 

Piñeiro is a 32-year Veteran who served in the highest enlisted position as the First Sergeant Special Duty Manager for the United States Air Force. In this position, he was responsible for establishing guidance, policy and management of more than 2,700 Regular Air Force, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve First Sergeants. He also served as the primary advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force, CSAF, CMSAF and First Sergeant Academy for training curriculum, which established wartime mission roles, responsibilities and utilization that impacted nearly 600K airmen and their families around the world. Manny is a proven leader with a warrior ethos who has deployed in support of OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD/STORM, as well as OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM.

As a dynamic and energetic speaker, Piñeiro has delivered over 200 keynote addresses to audiences of all sizes throughout the world. Manny is no stranger to our international partner nations. As the first enlisted senior non-commissioned officer to be selected to work for the Undersecretary of International Affairs, he established policy and strategy to promote professional military education with host nations that solidified their ability to develop, grow, and attain leadership philosophies that connect to our mutual endeavors. Piñeiro earned a Bachelor of Science in Workforce Education and Development from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He is also responsible for the inception of the Joint Service Professional Military Education Experience at the DoD National Defense University.

Why would a prospective client want you to be their keynote speaker or to support their speaking event? What are some compelling aspects of your background/career/experience that we should know about? 

As a career military veteran, I have an outstanding record of helping organizations achieve peak performance through multiple layers of training and mentoring Executives. As a life-long student of influence, my overall goal is to motivate behavioral change through a leadership structure of building teams.

What are your primary topics/areas of expertise? Some examples may include: Conflict resolution, International Relations, Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion, Cybersecurity, as well as specific countries or geographical regions. 

My primary areas of focus are Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion, Resilience, Teambuilding, and Leadership Development.  However, I am versed in a wide variety of human capital topics and will work to customize content with prospective clients.  My approach is to provide value and maximize takeaways to those I have the opportunity to address and interact with.

What are some positions you have held in your career that you would like prospective clients to know about?

I am fortunate to have served as a USAF First Sergeant at every level for 17 of my 32-year career, culminating as the HQ Air Force First Sergeant Special Duty Manager advising the 18th CMSAF, CSAF, and the SecAF on all enlisted matters affecting our Airmen and their families. I was humbled to be the first Enlisted person appointed International Affairs Engagement Manager working strategy and policy for the Under Secretary of International Affairs. I served as the Director of Manpower and Personnel for the AFOSI.  I also served as a Basic Military Training Instructor for six years. In that position, I was honored to train our young men and women transitioning from the civilian sector to our greatest Air Force in the world.

What are some speaking events you’ve supported recently?

During COVID and the global pandemic, I was limited to virtual speaking engagements. I was selected to provide a team building training session for the Omidyar Group (www.omidyargroup.com).  I was also a keynote for the Department of Education’s Veteran’s Day Program which was livestreamed throughout their department employees. I recently delivered a Keynote for the Command Chief Training Course for Impact Human Performance (IHP) as a subcontractor to Flatter, Inc.  Since then, I have now returned to delivering in-person local events, traveling to on-site locations, and continuing to support live virtual & pre-recorded platforms.  I am comfortable in any of these settings and will work to customize messaging specific for you and your Team’s needs.  Recent clients have included Wing-Level Air Force events, Northrop Grumman, and other discreet Federal Agencies.  I have several upcoming events that I am looking forward to and will update here afterwards.

Do you have any articles or publications? Have you been featured in any? If so, what were they? 

Yes, I have been featured in a variety of mediums to include written articles, videos, and podcast sessions. Below are some links from those publications including a video that provides insight into my personal background.

Video Links:

Article Links:

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