Michael Foley

Michael Foley knows how to tell a story. Whether leading expeditions during his tenure as an Outward Bound instructor in Montana, sailing across the North Atlantic, or helping executives bring their very best to the boardroom, Michael is committed to living outside of his comfort zone while encouraging others to do the same. As a result, he has a catalog of humorous tales and insights that have been at the core of his success during his twenty-nine plus years as an educator, corporate trainer, consultant and coach.

In 1996, Michael founded Clarity Central®, a consulting firm dedicated to helping professionals and academics communicate complex ideas with clarity, rigor, and impact. Through Clarity Central’s programs, he has worked with more than 40,000 participants across a variety of industries including finance, private equity, manufacturing, military, software, pharmaceuticals, food service, and non-profits.

At Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Michael is a clinical assistant professor and teaches the Executive Presentations class for MBA Students, Presenting Academic Research with Excellence and Presenting an Academic Job Talk with Excellence for Ph.D. students, and the Skilled Lecturer for new faculty. In addition to his work at Kellogg, he provides numerous communication skills workshops for Northwestern University’s School of Communication, Feinberg School of Medicine, and Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

Michael holds a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an M.A. in Human Development from St. Mary's University, an M.B.A. from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management, and a certificate in Executive Coaching from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. He is a contributor to the Harvard Business Review, Kellogg Insight, and in 2014 he was recognized bythe National Speakers Association as a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), the highest international recognition for professional speakers. When not teaching, consulting, or spending time with his family in Chicago, Mike is a licensed U.S. Coast Guard Captain and leads life/career renewal sailing expeditions throughout the world.