Bio
Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chairman of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization. BNI was founded in 1985. The organization now has thousands of chapters throughout every populated continent of the world. Each year, BNI generates millions of referrals resulting in billions of dollars worth of business for its members.
Dr. Misner’s Ph.D. is from the University of Southern California. He has written nine books, including his New York Times bestsellers; Masters of Networking and Truth or Delusion? Busting Networking’s Biggest Myths. He is a monthly columnist for Entrepreneur.com and is chairman of the board for the Referral Institute--a referral training company with trainers around the world. He has taught business and social capital courses at several universities and sits on the board of directors for the Colorado School of Professional Psychology.
Called the “Father of Modern Networking” by many organizations and the “Networking Guru” by Entrepreneur magazine, Dr. Misner is considered one of the world’s leading experts on business networking and has been a keynote speaker for major corporations and associations throughout the world. He has been featured in the L.A.Times, Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, as well as on numerous TV and radio shows.
Dr. Misner is on the board of directors for the Haynes Children Center. He is the founder of the BNI‑Misner Charitable Foundation and was recently named “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Daily Bulletin. He is married and lives with his wife Elisabeth and their three children in Claremont, CA. In his spare timehe is also an amateur magician and a black belt in karate.