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As a meeting planner, we know you are busy planning your meeting. We will do everything possible to make sure we don’t interrupt your flow. Below is some of the information you will need for Rene Godefroy.

2025 RENE’S BIO

Some stories grip your heart and shake loose everything you thought you knew about human potential. Rene Godefroy’s journey is one of those stories.

Picture a tiny village in Haiti, where a nine-month-old boy lies on a dirt floor, fighting for his life. Disease has taken over his body. The villagers have already written him off. They call him “kokobay,” meaning crippled. His mother has left to search for work so she can feed him. Most would see this as a tragedy. But this moment became the beginning of an extraordinary story of resilience.

That boy was Rene Godefroy.

Today, he commands stages across America, teaching Fortune 500 leaders how to build unshakeable teams in times of change. But his path from that dirt floor to corporate boardrooms reveals something profound about the human spirit.

At 21, Rene arrived in America with two shirts, one pair of pants, and five dollars in his pocket. He didn’t speak English. Many people would have seen this as an impossible situation. Rene saw a chance to prove what is possible with relentless hope and determination.

He launched his first business with only three dollars, washing cars on the streets of Miami. Every rejection fueled his drive. Later, while working as a hotel doorman in Atlanta, he noticed guests’ books in their cars. Instead of just parking those cars, he wrote down every title, bought the books, and studied them. He was hungry to learn, grow, and rise.

Today, when companies like AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Verizon face major challenges, they call Rene. His message resonates because it is not theory. His lessons were forged through real struggle and real grit. He has appeared on CBS 60 Minutes alongside Colin Powell, received keys to cities, and changed countless lives through his book Kick Your Excuses Goodbye.

But Rene’s rise from poverty and pain is not the most remarkable part of his story. What sets him apart is his rare ability to help others turn their setbacks into fuel for growth. When he speaks, audiences don’t just hear a story. They feel a shift in what they believe is possible.

In a world where change creates fear for many, Rene offers a new message: change is a gift. He doesn’t just inspire. He shows people how to turn uncertainty into hope, stress into strength, and challenges into breakthroughs.