Marc Haine is a Customer & Employee Experience Strategist, professional speaker, author, and the Founder of Elite Headline Speakers, a boutique speaker bureau built on one simple belief: booking the right speaker isn’t about star power—it’s about outcomes.
With more than 30 years in hospitality, retail, and customer-facing industries, Marc has lived the reality most leaders face: promoted because they were exceptional at the job… and then handed a team with little to no leadership training and a quiet “You’ve got this.”
His work focuses on a truth many organizations learn the hard way:
extraordinary experiences don’t happen by accident—they’re designed.
Marc is the bestselling author of LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!: Business Operational Excellence Through the Lens of Live Theatre, where he blends his background in operations, leadership, and live performance to show leaders how to choreograph culture, align teams, and create show-stopping results—without burning people out in the process.
As the founder of Elite Headline Speakers, Marc works closely with meeting planners and organizations to move beyond transactional speaker bookings. His approach begins with curiosity—clarifying the change leaders want to see in their people—then curating thought leaders who are not only strong on stage, but aligned with the organization’s values, culture, and desired outcomes.
He works with organizations across Canada, the U.S., and internationally, supporting front-line leaders, middle managers, and business owners who are tired of firefighting and ready to build systems that actually stick. His sessions are known for being practical, story-driven, and refreshingly human—equal parts insight, laughter, and “That’s exactly us.”
Marc is also the host of Marc Haine Live and the Experience Leadership Podcast, where he brings together leaders, creators, and disruptors to explore what it really takes to lead well in today’s fast-moving, high-pressure world.
Whether he’s on stage, behind the mic, or helping organizations curate the right voices for their events, Marc’s promise remains the same:
To empower organizations to transform everyday operations into extraordinary experiences—for customers, employees, and leaders alike, To dare to be the exception!™
Today’s guest is Marc Haine, a Customer Experience Strategist, bestselling author of LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!: Business Operational Excellence Through the Lens of Live Theatre, and Founder of Elite Headline Speakers.
Marc works with entrepreneurs and business leaders who are building something meaningful—but often underestimate the experience they’re creating for customers, partners, and even themselves along the way.
With over 30 years of experience working alongside business leaders and their teams, Marc helps people slow down just enough to design smarter journeys, ask better questions, and avoid costly missteps before they happen.
He is the host of Mac Haine Live and Experience Leadership: The Small Business Podcast.
In his spare time, when he manages to find some, you can catch Marc tossing a mean pizza, perfecting his sourdough, or even taking the stage as a stand-up comedian. He lives in the charming town of Devon, Alberta, with his wife and a lively menagerie of pets.
- Customer Experience
- Customer Service
- Employee Retention
- Employee Engagement
- Employee Experience
- Leadership
- Loaching and Culture
Small business owner, business, association leaders, managers, training/human resources executives, events organizers, and franchisees
Benefit from my unique frameworks that help businesses and organizations build lasting connections with their customers and employees and become THE brand of choice.
- Your book draws fascinating parallels between live theatre and business operations. What inspired you to blend these two seemingly different worlds—and how does this analogy help hospitality leaders?
- You talk about creating ‘show-stopping experiences.’ For a hotelier or restaurant manager, what does that actually look like in the day-to-day?
- Chapter 3 of your book talks about ‘setting the stage.’ How important is environment and ambiance in shaping the customer experience—and what are leaders often overlooking?
- In theatre, everyone knows their cue. But in hospitality, we often see ‘ad libbing’ at the cost of consistency. How can leaders instill operational choreography without stifling staff creativity?
- One of your key ideas is ‘Forever Boarding’—a fresh take on onboarding. Can you unpack what that is and why it’s crucial in high-turnover industries like hospitality?
- Many hospitality managers were promoted because they were great doers—not necessarily great leaders. What’s your advice to business owners trying to support these ‘incidental leaders’?
- You say in your book, “Culture is not taught—it’s directed, like a play.” What does that mean for hospitality businesses trying to shape stronger cultures?
- Let’s talk customer complaints. You say complaints are not problems—they’re opportunities. What’s your framework for helping teams respond to harsh reviews or negative feedback?
- You’ve worked in casinos, hotels, and restaurants. What’s one jaw-dropping customer service story that you share in your keynotes—and what can Michelle’s listeners take away from it?
- If you could give just one directive to a hospitality leader listening right now to immediately improve their employee or customer experience, what would it be—and why?
Lights! Camera! Action!: Business Operational Excellence from the Lens of Live Theatre – physical and audio book
As the driving force behind the highly acclaimed TEDxDevon—the first global TEDx event in Devon, Alberta—Marc brought together 11 bold innovators, community leaders, and passionate changemakers. He is also the founder of Elite Headline Speakers, a modern, planner-first speaker placement agency with a curated roster of values-aligned, high-impact speakers. In addition, Marc hosts two dynamic podcasts, Marc Haine Live and Experience Leadership: The Small Business Podcast, which have collectively earned more than 125,000 views worldwide.
Marc is the proud recipient of the 2023 Community Spirit Award in his local community. He is also the co-founder and president of several nonprofit organizations, including Walk the Talks and East of 60 Productions Society, and serves on the national board of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS).
A committed Toastmaster since 2012, Marc served as District 42 Toastmasters International Public Relations Manager and earned his Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) designation in 2015. He has also been featured as a speaker at annual conventions for Districts 42 and 99.
Government of Alberta’s Registry Service, Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies, Lions Club International, Edmonton Chefs Federation, Sobeys, Oil Country Taphouse, Alberta EcoTrust, Apex Casino, Westlock Inn and Conference Centre, California Trade Show, Champion Pet Foods, and the Area 1 Frontier School Division in Northern Manitoba
Elite Headline Speakers
3,773 followers on LinkedIn; a thousand professional speakers in Canada (and even some in the US); 1.44k YouTube subscribers