Mike-Abrashoff-S

Mike Abrashoff

A former Commander of the USS Benfold, the author of It’s Your Ship and a charismatic keynote speaker, Mike Abrashoff aims to empower every individual to share the responsibility of achieving excellence. Having overcome numerous challenges during his time in the US Navy, Mike knows that the most important thing a captain can do is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew.

AA: £25k +
"We have never had such positive feedback - very much exceeded our expectations!"
Denbury Resources


Mike Abrashoff  is a former Commander of the USS Benfold, Author, It’s Your Ship and charismatic keynote speaker .

Employed as Commander of USS Benfold by the US Navy at the age of 36, Mike became the most junior commanding officer in the Pacific Fleet. The challenges he faced and overcame have created the solid backbone on which he has built his corporate speaking career. Issues including unacceptably low performance evaluations, low morale and high turnover, were dangerously prevalent on board and were overturned by Mike in a way that is exemplary to businesses across the world.

Mike implemented a solution he called The Leadership Roadmap. The core values of his methods were commitment and cohesion – to replace the control and command ethos that had brought the ship to it’s dire state. He strove to engage the loyalties, hearts and minds of the sailors, by teaching them that the most important thing that a captain can do is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew. His attempts to empower every individual to share the responsibility of achieving excellence, was coined in the phrase "It's your ship."

Mike achieved unprecedented results. Staff turnover decreased to an unheard of 1 percent. Promotions tripled, and the operating expenses were cut by a grand 25 percent. The Benfold was eventually regarded as the ‘finest ship in the Pacific Fleet’, and Mike was awarded the prestigious Spokane Trophy for his awe-inspiring achievements. Mike had completely overturned the ship’s culture and mindset and therefore it’s fortunes…

Mike’s experiences were documented in his book It's Your Ship, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, with over 800,000 copies sold. With two follow-up books – Get Your Ship Together and It’s Our Ship, Mike has become known as a leading world authority on inspiring business leaders to make positive change.

Before his appointment to the Navy, Mike was Military Assistant to Secretary of Defense and helped draft the air defense plan for naval forces in the Persian Gulf in 1990.

After leaving the Benfold, Mike founded GLS Worldwide, a consulting firm which address leadership, talent and business challenges of companies.

Speaking Topics

  • Organisational Transformation
  • Team Engagement
  • Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement
  • Leadership
  • Diversity
  • Innovation
  • Accountability
  • Leading Change
  • Execution
  • Breakthrough Performance

For further information or to book Mike Abrashoff, call us on +44 (0) 20 7 607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk

Mike Abrashoff Videos

For further information or to book Mike Abrashoff please call us on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or use the contact form:


What people said about Mike Abrashoff

  • "We have never had such positive feedback - very much exceeded our expectations!"
  • Denbury Resources

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