Dr. Ivan Misner, Senior Partner

Dr. Ivan Misner is the Senior Partner of the Referral Institute and Founder & Chairman of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. BNI was founded in 1985. The organization has over 6,000 chapters throughout every populated continent of the world. Last year alone, BNI generated 6.5 million referrals resulting in $2.8 billion dollars worth of business for its members.

Dr. Misner’s Ph.D. is from the University of Southern California. He is a New York Times Bestselling author who has written thirteen books including his latest #1 bestseller Networking Like a Pro.

He is a monthly columnist for Entrepreneur.com. In addition, he has taught business management and social capital courses at several universities throughout the United States.

Called the "Father of Modern Networking" by CNN and the “Networking Guru” by Entrepreneur magazine, Dr. Misner is considered one of the world's leading experts on business networking and has been a keynote speaker for major corporations and associations throughout the world. He has been featured in the L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times, as well as numerous TV and radio shows including CNN, CNBC, and the BBC in London.

Dr. Misner is on the Board of Trustees for the University of La Verne. He is also the Founder of the BNI-Misner Foundation and was recently named "Humanitarian of the Year" by a Southern California newspaper. Ivan and his wife, Elisabeth, reside in Austin, TX. They have three young adult children. In his spare time!!! he is also an amateur magician and a black belt in karate.