Dr. Magie Cook is a motivational speaker on empowerment, growth, change, innovation, DE&I, mindfulness, and social good.
She delivers powerful keynotes that re-energize leaders toward what’s possible. Award-winning business leader and keynote speaker Dr. Magie Cook energizes audiences to face challenges at work and in life head-on to unlock hidden opportunities. Her presentations captivate, inspire, and motivate teams to discover their inner strength to overcome obstacles with using mind optimization strategies. As a successful Latina businesswoman, Magie was the CEO and founder of Maggie’s All-Natural Fresh Salsa’s & Dips, a company that grew into a multi-million-dollar business within 4 years and distributed products across 38 states to major supermarkets such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Whole Foods, and many more. Her personal journey to success didn’t come easy. From her childhood and throughout her young adulthood, Magie had to overcome a number of economic and business setbacks that forced her to get resourceful and look for other paths to reach her goals.
Magie, whose birth name is Magdalena De La Cruz Cook Garcia, grew up among 68 other children in an orphanage in Mexico. As a child, she taught herself how to play basketball and was selected to play on the Mexican National Team. However, she broke her collarbone and missed her opportunity. She eventually was able to immigrate to America on a basketball scholarship at the University of Charleston. While there, she started to make fresh salsa for her friends. Word spread of her delicious recipe, she began to receive requests from professors and other staff for a batch. After graduating university and when she was struggling to find a job and make ends meet, she became homeless. A friend later, entered her in a Fresh Salsa competition for the State of West Virginia. Magie won the contest unanimously. She was gifted $800 to start her business, and the beginning stages of Maggie’s All-Natural Fresh Salsa’s & Dips was born.
As a new college graduate with limited resources and business experience, Magie took the $800 and made a rough business plan. Through perseverance, a lot of passion, and an inner drive to keep going despite many challenges that halted momentum, Magie cold-called hundreds of grocery stores and worked to expand the distribution of her products nationwide. She learned first-hand the ins and outs of production, distribution, building a talented team, cultivating a positive company culture, driving sales, and consumer marketing, along with many other lessons that come along with growing a business. In 2015, at the height of its success, her company sold with Garden Fresh to Campbell’s Soup for $231 million.
After Magie sold her company, she shifted her focus toward giving back to the community that helped raise her. She returned to Mexico to serve as the US Program Director of the Give New Life Orphanage, where she grew up. During her tenure, she focused on the generational problem of human sex trafficking, and lead a team to help rescue 31 Mexican children from the Cartel and sex trade. Today, Dr. Magie shares her story with corporate audiences and teaches them the research-backed strategies she uses to stay mindful and build resilience during times of change. As an inspirational keynote speaker, business expert, and author, Dr. Magie has spoken to many Fortune 100 and 500 companies to show their leaders how to leverage their personal strengths to discover opportunities for growth.
In her own words: “Achieving a high level of fulfillment depends on the quality of your Spiritual growth, the significance of your contribution to the world and the caliber of your thoughts.”
In this powerful keynote, Magie shares what it takes for team members to create a permanent mental shift for success, how to uncover and leverage their ‘why’, and how they can visualize their journey into the future. Using research-based studies rooted in psychology and language, Magie skillfully weaves practical mental strategies with how she’s integrated these in her life experiences. Leadership and teams who understand the potential for greatness leads to organizations that have happier employees, greater productivity, more creativity, and stronger leadership. As a result of attending this program, attendees will:
One of the most powerful qualities that set apart great leaders is their ability to shift their mindset in the face of obstacles. If something is not working, they persevere and change their approach 1000 times+ until they achieve their ultimate outcomes. In this signature keynote, Magie takes the audience on an inspirational journey through stories of how she was able to overcome a seemingly insurmountable number of personal and professional obstacles to create her multi-million dollar salsa company. Through real life examples, audience will laugh, cry and most importantly, learn about the tools and strategies Magie employs when she meets challenges. When leaders adopt these practices, it leads to increased team trust, more creative thinking, and a higher capacity for dealing with change. As a result of attending this program, attendees will:
In today’s rapidly changing world, organizations that prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are better equipped to adapt and succeed. This keynote, led by Magie Cook, a LGBTQ+ Latina who overcame adversity to achieve the “American Dream” and build a multimillion-dollar company, delves into the benefits of embracing DEI in the workplace. Drawing on her personal experiences of navigating different cultures and leveraging her skills, Magie shares key insights and strategies for creating a culture of mindfulness and inclusion in your team. As a result of attending this program, attendees will: