Tony D'Amelio Email & Phone Number

Stamford, Ct, Us

United States

When I left the lecture industry in 2011. I had no intention of coming back. After 42 years as an agent, it was time to move on. Over time, I heard from many of the speakers I'd worked with over the years. As I listened, it became clear: there was an opportunity for a new business model - one that advocates for talent vs. simply acting as agent. And so in January 2012, D'Amelio Network was launched with a simple idea: curate a group of extraordinary experts and be their advocate for speaking. Today, our clients include: MIKE ABRASHOFF - Former Navy Captain and author, It's Your ShipMARIANA ATENCIO - Journalist, Bestselling Author, Entrepreneur, Inspiring Storyteller and Moderator/Host.CHRIS BARTON - Technology Exec and Creator of Shazam LISA BODELL - Bestselling author of Why Simple Wins! and Kill the Company!GEOFF COLVIN - Senior Editor-at-Large, Fortune; author of three books on the forces driving change in businessDARYL DAVIS - Black musician, author, and compelling unifier who became the unlikely friend of KKK and white supremacist leadersSUNEEL GUPTA - Healthcare entrepreneur, bestselling author, and expert on the well-being/performance connectionRON INSANA - Financial broadcasting pioneer, CNBC contributor, and bestselling author of four booksKATTY KAY - Award-winning broadcast journalist and co-author, The Confidence Code series of books as well as The Power CodePOLLY LaBARRE - Authority on leading organizational change; founding member, Fast Company; co-author, Mavericks at WorkCOL. NICOLE MALACHOWSKI (USAF, RET.) - First woman Thunderbird pilot and 21-year USAF veteranKEN SCHMIDT - Former Harley-Davidson exec, bestselling author, and expert on building customer engagementBOB WOODWARD - Legendary Washington Post political investigative reporter and author of 22 bestselling booksLearn more about our story in the video below.

Stamford, Ct

If it weren’t for a scholarship, I’d have never gone to college. I’m a big believer in trying to repay that debt. I’ve been giving a music scholarship at my alma mater, Wethersfield High School (CT), for over two decades. When I moved to Stamford in 2005 my wife and I worked through the high schools there and gave scholarships three years in a row. Our experience left us feeling that the city could use an organization that would galvanize the community and raise funds to help students who need financial help to pursue education after high school. In 2011, I talked the idea up with folks in the community and a group of passionate supporters joined me to found Stamford Dollars for Scholars that September. We awarded over $80,000 in scholarships in June 2012 – just nine months after we launched. The organization has continued to grow and be a service to the community thanks to the hard work of a great board and committed volunteers.

Alexandria, Virginia

In 1984 I opened the New York office for Washington Speakers Bureau. Given the location, my focus was the financial services firms and I worked with top event and conference planning teams at Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, American Express, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and many others. My time at WSB was an extraordinary experience: if you love to learn it was a great place to be. Listening to top experts and distinguished leaders like Colin Powell, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, George Bush, Tom Brokaw, Lou Holtz, and Bob Woodward on a regular basis made it a life-changing experience. It led me to look at the world in totally new ways. While I booked a lot of leading political figures, world leaders, and top journalists from broadcast & print, I was most fascinated by business topics. I spent a lot of my time working with experts on the domestic and global economy, advances in technology, leadership, business & management, innovation, competition, personal performance, etc. Business was – and still is – my passion. There were so many memorable moments at WSB - joint events with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush; a fantastic conversation on leadership between Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf and rap mogul Russell Simmons; and having dinner one-on-one with Robert Redford (I’m not normally star-struck but . . .). My most memorable moment: meeting the woman I would marry at an event at the Plaza Hotel where Margaret Thatcher spoke. Joanna was the personal assistant to Lady Thatcher and I was captivated right away. I am proud to have played - for 27 years - a key role in WSB’s development and success.

Boston, Ma

After winding down Master Talent Agency, I joined Lordly & Dame in Boston. The company did great business booking speakers for colleges and universities and also entertainment for corporate events. They wanted to establish a corporate lecture division. That was to be my responsibility. In essence, it really was another start-up. I was comfortable with that. It meant developing a nearly completely new set of experts who fit well for corporate needs. We needed experts on the economy, business, competitiveness, motivational experts, etc. – beyond just the usual media types who were popular at that time.Coincidentally a revolution was underway in the business world led by the success of three stunning books: Megatrends, In Search of Excellence and The One Minute Manager. My timing was good. All of the thinking around the idea of business success had been upended and fresh thinking was in demand. In addition to gathering a large number of fresh voices on the changes happening in business – I also led the effort to create new promotional materials and uncover a new group of corporate buyers who used speakers. It was total fun. During the three years I was there, Lordly & Dame established a solid footing in the corporate speaking world.

West Hartford, Ct

I was in a rock band in my teens, but what I really enjoyed was booking the gigs. I started my own booking agency after high school. It’s how I paid for college. Unlike today, starting a company right out of high school was unheard of. I was the youngest union booking agent in America, placing bands at colleges, high schools, and nightclubs all over the Northeast. I worked with some fabulously talented people including many big names of the time. No one who starts a business ever makes it on their own and I'm no different. For all my youthful energy, I didn't have the experience to take advantage of the opportunities I was creating. I was lucky to have two great agents as mentors - both were in their late 60s and owned their own companies. They liked me well enough to show me the ropes. I'm grateful to this day. Then for four years, I worked closely with Andrew Loog Oldham, the former manager and producer of the Rolling Stones (look him up!). Learning about promotion from him was a master class. I began working with speakers in the mid-‘70s. That was an eye-opener for me. I sold the music part of Master Talent soon afterward because I’d found my passion: working with speakers.