Former Build-A-Bear Workshop executive joins fewer than 250 speakers ever named to the honor
LOVELAND, Colo., Oct. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Manley Feinberg II, founder of Vertical Lessons, Inc., has been inducted into the Council of Peers Award for Excellence (CPAE) Speaker Hall of Fame®, the highest honor of the National Speakers Association. For the organizations that hire him, it confirms what audiences at more than 1,000 events already know: commitment, built deliberately, separates teams that deliver from teams that fall short.
More than 200,000 people in more than 50 countries on six continents have experienced Manley’s programs, brought to life through his own professional climbing photography and video. Manley was inducted July 27, 2026, at NSA’s Influence conference in Austin, Texas, alongside Anton Gunn, Peter Katz, Jess Pettitt and Allison Shapira. Established in 1977, it is voted on only by living Hall of Fame members and cannot be applied for. Fewer than 250 speakers have been inducted, among them Les Brown, Ronald Reagan, Zig Ziglar and General Colin Powell.
An expert mountain climber, Manley has climbed in 500 destinations worldwide, including 2,000-foot ice walls in Canada, mixed alpine routes, and expeditions to Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. He has attempted 22 big walls and summited fifteen, five of them on El Capitan. In June 2026 he climbed the tallest sheer wall of his life, The Shield, spending nine days and eight nights on a portaledge. Across 34 years he has spent 73 total days living on the wall.
“Every climb teaches you something about commitment you can’t learn in a conference room,” said Manley. “I reverse-engineer those experiences in the Vertical to help leaders build high-commitment teams and cultures that create world-class results.”
Manley developed that method as an executive at Build-A-Bear Workshop, where he and the leadership team grew the business from 42 stores to 425 worldwide and revenue from $55 million to over $474 million, through an NYSE IPO. The culture they built landed Build-A-Bear on the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® list four years running.
“Unlike many who write and speak about leadership success, Manley has actually done it,” said Maxine Clark, founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop. “I saw the results of his Vertical Leadership Lessons first-hand for more than ten years.”
More than 200,000 people in 50 countries have experienced his programs, brought to life through his own climbing photography and video. He delivers keynotes on Exponential Commitment™ to US Bank, Wells Fargo, Northwestern Mutual, Hewlett-Packard, the Federal Aviation Administration, State Farm, Quanta Services, Con Edison, MDRT and TEDx, and a safety leadership program for utilities, construction and manufacturing, where a lapse in commitment can end a life. He wrote Reaching Your Next Summit™: 9 Vertical Lessons for Leading with More Impact.
His premise: “The difference between 99 percent and 100 percent commitment is not 1 percent. It is exponential.”
About Vertical Lessons, Inc.
Founded in 1995 by Manley Feinberg II, CSP, CPAE, Vertical Lessons helps organizations build Exponential Commitment™ cultures where people step up and lead regardless of title. Manley is available for keynotes and interviews.
Media Contact
Manley Feinberg II
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314-724-3443
verticallessons.com
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SOURCE Vertical Lessons, Inc.
