Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Keith Ferrazzi

Keith Ferrazzi is an American author and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight, a Los Angeles, California-based research and consulting firm. He wrote the New York Times bestselling books Never Eat Alone and Who's Got Your Back? Keith Ferrazzi first created the term co-elevation in 2017, as he was writing the book, Leading Without Authority: How Co-Elevation Is Redefining Collaboration and Transforming Our Teams, with the publisher Penguin Random House.

Last revised
Jul 17, 2026
Read time
≈ 3 min
Length
765 w
Citations
21
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Keith Ferrazzi
Born
Pennsylvania
Alma materYale University
Harvard Business School
Occupations
  • Chairman & Founder of Ferrazzi Greenlight
  • Author
  • Entrepreneur
  • Executive coach
Notable workNever Eat Alone
Who's Got Your Back?
Never Lead Alone: 10 Shifts from Leadership to Teamship
TitleFerrazzi Greenlight (Founder & CEO)
Websitekeithferrazzi.com

Keith Ferrazzi is an American author and entrepreneur.1 He is the founder and CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight, a Los Angeles, California-based research and consulting firm.2 He wrote the New York Times bestselling books Never Eat Alone and Who's Got Your Back?34 Keith Ferrazzi first created the term co-elevation5 in 2017, as he was writing the book, Leading Without Authority: How Co-Elevation Is Redefining Collaboration and Transforming Our Teams,6 with the publisher Penguin Random House.

Ferrazzi has been recognized by Thinkers50, a London-based authority on management thinking, as one of the world's top 50 thinkers (2025) and was named to its inaugural Coaches50 list of the world's leading executive coaches (2024). He coaches senior leadership teams on collaboration, work redesign, and human-AI teaming."

Early life and education

Ferrazzi was born and grew up in Pennsylvania.7 He attended Yale University, where he founded the Sigma Chi chapter there, and Harvard Business School.8

Career

After graduating from Harvard, he joined management consulting firm Deloitte as an entry-level analyst, and rose to become the company's chief marketing officer (CMO).9 At age 32, he was hired by Starwood as CMO, reportedly the youngest CMO in the Fortune 500 at the time.9 In 2000, he left to found YaYa Media, an entertainment and marketing company, which he sold to investment company American Vantage in 2003.98

Ferrazzi left YaYa Media to found Ferrazzi Greenlight, a Los Angeles-based strategic consulting firm, and its associated Greenlight Research Institute. The company and institute focus on the importance of positive relationships to business success.10

Ferrazzi Greenlight has since advised Fortune 500 executive teams, the World Bank, fast-growing unicorn companies, and government bodies including the Kingdom of Bhutan on leadership and team transformation.11

Keith Ferrazzi (right) with Alexey Kekulov in Moscow source ↗

Books

Ferrazzi has written two networking books that were New York Times bestsellers.

His first book, Never Eat Alone, was based on his networking experiences, and was published in 2005.212

His second book, Who's Got Your Back?, followed up and expanded on the themes from his first book, and was published in 2009.4

In 2020, he wrote a new book, Leading Without Authority. Keith Ferrazzi discusses how "co-elevation" will transform peers into joint task teammates.13

In 2022, he wrote Competing in the New World of Work: How Radical Adaptability Separates the Best from the Rest, which shows leaders how to shape their organizations and practices to remain competitive in a new, post-pandemic context.14

In 2024, Ferrazzi published Never Lead Alone: 10 Shifts from Leadership to Teamship (Harper Business), which draws on findings from thousands of organizational diagnostics conducted by Ferrazzi Greenlight.15

Recognition

Ferrazzi has been named a Ranked Thinker by Thinkers50 (2025) and was included in the organization's inaugural Coaches50 list recognizing the world's most influential executive coaches (2024).16

  • Keith Ferrazzi with Leonid Bugaev at networking event Networking Day 2012
    Keith Ferrazzi with Leonid Bugaev at networking event Networking Day 2012
  • Keith Ferrazzi with Leonid Bugaev at networking event Networking Day 2012
    Keith Ferrazzi with Leonid Bugaev at networking event Networking Day 2012
  • Keith Ferrazzi with Leonid Bugaev at networking event Networking Day 2012
    Keith Ferrazzi with Leonid Bugaev at networking event Networking Day 2012
References

References

  1. "15 People Who Are Taking Networking To A New Level". FastCompany.com. 2014-09-19. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  2. "How CEOs Do Burning Man". Fast Company. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  3. ""Never Eat Alone" Author Keith Ferrazzi: Business Relationships". cbsnews.com. 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  4. "NY Times Best Seller List". The New York Times. 2009-06-14. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  5. Power, Rhett (2018-06-06). "How Co-Elevation Positions Your Organization to Do More (With Less)". Inc.com. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  6. "Leading Without Authority by Keith Ferrazzi: 9780525575665 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  7. "Working With an Ex, and Keeping It Civil". The New York Times. 2006-04-30. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  8. "The 10 Secrets of a Master Networker". Inc.com. 2003-01-01. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  9. "You don't have to be well liked to succeed". CNN. May 16, 2006. Archived from the original on June 3, 2006.
  10. "Keith Ferrazzi – Why Relationships Are Crucial to Success". wharton.upenn.edu. 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  11. "𝐁𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦: 𝐀 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 – BHUTAN TODAY". Retrieved 2026-07-14.
  12. "Networking In The Internet Era: An Interview With Keith Ferrazzi". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  13. "It is a time for us—all of us—to reboot the workplace". Fast Company. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  14. Ferrazzi, Keith; Gohar, Kian (2022-02-24). "Competing in the New World of Work". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
  15. Ferrazzi, Keith. "Never Lead Alone: The Relationship Revolution That Powers Elite Teams". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
  16. "Keith Ferrazzi - Thinkers50". Thinkers50. 2025-11-04. Archived from the original on 2026-02-18. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
External links