Brent Adamson is Managing Director of Executive Advisory Services for Corporate Executive Board's Sales Executive Council and Marketing Leadership Council. In that role, he serves as the Councils' chief story teller, having worked on numerous sales and marketing studies broadly spanning everything from customer loyalty to sales rep performance to organizational productivity.With more than 20 years of experience as a professional researcher, teacher, trainer, and facilitator, Brent learned long ago that even the world's best research only drives action when wrapped in a compelling story. Well known for both his passion and excitement for great ideas, Brent is a sought after speaker and facilitator. In his nearly 10 years at CEB he has worked with tens of thousands of sales leaders all over the world in meetings, seminars, workshops, and retreats, to redefine what good looks like when it comes to commercial excellence. He has been privileged to work with some of the greatest thought leaders in B2B sales and marketing to further the professionalization of sales as a function. Brent is a frequent contributor on sales topics on the Harvard Business Review's blog as well as the Sales Executive Council blog.Brent joined CEB from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, where he received his MBA with distinction. Prior to that, he served on the faculty of Michigan State University as a Professor of German and Applied Linguistics. In addition to his MBA, Brent holds a BA with distinction in political science from the University of Michigan along with MAs in political science and German, and a PhD in applied linguistics from the University of Texas. Brent currently resides in Leesburg, Virginia with his wife and two daughters.