+1 347 223 5128

+44 20 3744 5675

Our professional consultants are ready to guide you

Entrepreneur and genocide survivor helps improve business performance

Maja Kazazic

travels from USA

Despite her shocking backstory and the loss of her leg, Maja shows that it's still possible to remain positive and to succeed in overcoming any obstacle with percevernce and teamwork.

Request fees and availability

5 out of 5 stars

She was absolutely amazing. I think Maja?s message of overcoming any hardship in life with a positive attitude was exactly what our team needed to hear, especially since she spoke to us only a few weeks after the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Even in the moments where she was facing the most terrifying reality, her choice to be positive made all the difference. I loved that her message was one for all people, not focused on any particular business aspect. I would recommend her for any type of event, and will be recommending her for future events.

Sara Levinson, HR Director, Nevada Donor Network See all references

Reasons to Book Maja Kazazic

  • Maja is a firm believer that their is no solution that can fit all, so she will study the overall culture of your business before delivering her keynote; ensuring that what she says is completely tailored to your needs.
  • Maja can help you to achieve your business goals as well as the personal goals of those who attend, motivating people to remain positive through adversity and push forward.
  • With a powerful back story, Maja gives talks that empower attendees to reach their goals and create effective and attainable plans for the future.
Non-binding request for Maja Kazazic

Send a simple request. You’ll get a quick reply with fees and availability

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
About icon

About Maja

Lecture icon

Keynote

Video icon

Video

References icon

References

Request fees and availability
Maja Kazazic was only 16 years old when a grenade detonated in her families courtyard during the Bosnian war, a genocide that killed 250,000 people and injured millions more. 5 of her friends died in the blast, and Maja was left with her legs shattered along with shrapnel spread across her legs and face. In a makeshift hospital, Maja eventually required amputation of her left leg without any anesthetic. Maja has since gone on to be a successful entrepreneur who now uses her personal and career experiences to motivate others towards success.

Reasons to Book Maja Kazazic

  • Maja is a firm believer that their is no solution that can fit all, so she will study the overall culture of your business before delivering her keynote; ensuring that what she says is completely tailored to your needs.
  • Maja can help you to achieve your business goals as well as the personal goals of those who attend, motivating people to remain positive through adversity and push forward.
  • With a powerful back story, Maja gives talks that empower attendees to reach their goals and create effective and attainable plans for the future.

Whilst lying close to death in a makeshift hospital, Maja was one of only 3 children chosen to be evacuated from Bosnia for treatment. Leaving behind her family and friends with only a teddy, t-shirt and rock with her, Maja ended up in Cumberland, Maryland where the local community rallied around to help her recover once learning of her story.

Determined to succeed in life, even despite the challenges presented by being a below-the-knee amputee, Maja used her personal willpower to overcome any obstacle presented to her. To help with the PTSD she was going through due to her trauma from the genocide, her clinician recommended she adopt an amputee dog, Rosie, and they have been rarely apart from one another since. Kazazic learned how to walk again and eventually completed high school and college in the US. She then went on to start her own business, with clients including Fortune 100 companies. Maja completed her first 5K in 2009 and has learned how to windsurf and play tennis.

Maja has featured in Readers’ Digest Magazine, Woman’s World, and the Los Angeles Times and her story has gone on to inspire people from all over the world. A screenplay is currently in the process of being written based on her incredible story, which will go on to inspire even more people for years to come.

See keynotes with Maja Kazazic
Keynote by Maja Kazazic

A MILE IN MY SHOES: THE POWER OF EMPATHY

Overview:
In this keynote address Maja helps attendees harness the power of empathy to teach corporations how to cultivate and build positive and healthy work environments that thrive on teamwork— how to become better leaders, create, and foster healthy, meaningful relationships with coworkers, employees, and customers. The tools learned during this keynote are easily applicable to personal relationships. 

Great for:
Organizational/Corporate Culture, Sales Teams, Team Building, Building Relationships, Improving Customer Service, Leadership 

Solution for:
Quiet Quitting, Diversity Issues, Bad Corporate Culture, Struggling Management and Leadership, Teamwork Problems, Poor Customer Service, Employee Turnover

Keynote by Maja Kazazic

FUTURE FORWARD

Overview:
Perhaps your organization has faced or is facing a hard quarter or a tough year. Maybe you are facing major changes and obstacles right now. If that’s the case, then this keynote is for you. Maja paints a hopeful and bright future during her speech as she teaches attendees how to face loss and turn it into powerful lessons for growth. Learn how to face hard times directly and go through them like a champion. Learn how to use difficult situations and obstacles to empower you and your team to catapult to the next level. Your attendees will leave inspired, full of hope, and ready to tackle even the hardest challenges head on. 

Great for:
Leadership, Business Management, Inspiration/Motivation, Change, Hope, Reliance, Adversity 

Solution for:
Fear, Fear of Loss and Change, Low Motivation, Quiet Quitting, Inability to Deal with Obstacles and Challenges, Hard Times, Employee Turnover

Keynote by Maja Kazazic

DIVERSITY IN ACTION

Overview:
It’s not enough to just speak about diversity in corporate culture — we must put it into action! To do so, we must build and nurture a diverse workplace culture to improve employee experience and productivity. This keynote focuses on cultural competence and diversity initiatives that will teach how to better understand and appreciate a multitude of perspectives. Maja is a disabled, woman, muslim, gay, immigrant who faced her fair share of diversity exclusion. Maja’s lessons help leaders become more aware of how to best interact with different cultural groups, raise awareness and communication, as well as cultivate an increased sense of community.

Great for:
Organizational/Corporate Culture, Inspiration/Motivation, Diversity, Women in business, HR, Team-building, Customer Service and Support 

Solution for:
Quiet Quitting, Mental Health, Employee retention, Discrimination, Employee Relations 

Keynote by Maja Kazazic

NEW HOPE

Overview:
Focusing solely on inspiring and motivating, Maja’s keynote will take your attendees on a powerful and emotional ride. Maja shares her personal journey of overcoming unthinkable obstacles and odds with the power of empathy while never losing hope. Sometimes this may include her amputee Great Dane service dog, Rosie – which makes the experience completely unique and unforgettable. This keynote can be adjusted to a lighter version more suitable for lighter events. 

Great for:
Inspiration/Motivation, Women in Business, Hope, Adversity 

Solution for:
Low morale, Mental Health, Fear, Overcoming Obstacles

CUSTOM KEYNOTES

Keynotes by speaker Maja Kazazic

Every presentation is custom made for your organization, your event, and specifically your attendees. While sharing her unique story, Maja will take your audience on a journey while incorporating your message, making a long lasting impact on your attendees. Maja will:

  • Immerse herself into your culture to carry out the most effective message.
  • Reinforce your leadership message and the event theme.
  • Leave your attendees feeling empowered & ready to conquer.
  • Cherrypick anecdotes from her life story to support your message.
  • Create positive and uplifting environment.
  • Make light-hearted jokes and interact with your audience.

 

Maja’s most requested keynote topics are:

  • INSPIRATION/MOTIVATION
  • RESILIENCE/ADVERSITY
  • CULTURE/CHANGE/HOPE
  • MENTAL HEALTH/POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
INSPIRATION / MOTIVATION

Genocide and Happiness

Maja Kazazic is an internationally recognized speaker, entrepreneur and genocide survivor. Through her compelling story that circled the globe, Maja helps and inspires audiences to perform better in sales, marketing, customer service, leadership, and other areas of not just business, but also in life.

RESILIENCE / ADVERSTITY

Because business and life go together

During the genocide, Maja learned the importance of positivity, resiliance, team work and overcoming obstacles at a very young age. This helped her to achieve great success as an entrepreneur, athlete and as a person in general.

In today’s economy it’s crucial for corporations to build a loyal and effective workforce which is motivated and adds value to the company, while individuals achieve their personal goals. This is exactly where Maja can help you!

CULTURE / CHANGE / HOPE

Inspire your audience

Maja believes that there are no “one size fits all” solutions, when it comes to keynote presentations. To have the greatest impact at your event, she studies the overall culture and needs of your audience. While telling her shocking and touching story how she survived the genocide, lost her leg, and was still able to thrive and remain positive, she helps your audience to:

  • Achieve their personal and business goals.
  • Overcome obstacles in life and in business.
  • Be positive and resilient.
  • Become better team players.
  • Become better leaders.
  • Become more effective and efficient in their roles.
  • Have plans for the future.
MENTAL HEALTH / POSITIVE PSYCHOLGOY

Hearts touched lives changed

Listening to Maja’s keynote presentation is a touching experience that your audience will never forget – they will laugh and cry at the same time. Her story is a reminder for all of us that the importance of small, positive, step-by-step actions and resilience have a much greater impact to our world – both personal and professional. The audience will walk away empowered, ready to achieve their business and life goals, committed to achieve more than ever before.

Watch speaker Maja Kazazic in action

Genocide and Happiness: The Power of You | Maja Kazazic | TEDxOneonta

Maja Kazazic

See keynotes with Maja Kazazic

References

Down-to-earth, touching, and encouraging. I walked away with an inspirational message as well as a set of tools to follow in my own path to success

Jessie Schneider

ABWA Chapter President

We have received so much positive feedback from attendees, sponsors and a lot of their praise was directed toward you and your compelling story

Mary Roberts

YMCA District Vice President

Thank you for sharing your story. Your work to inspire people around the world is truly admirable.

Mike Fasano

Florida State Senator

I know I will carry your message with me forever. Your spin on positive thinking is so true and really made me take stock of how my staff and I live each and every day.

Melanie McMichel

Colorado Director of Transporation

Maja was completely different. She was absolutely amazing. Her message was one for all people. I would recommend her for any type of event, and will be recommending her for future events.

Sara Levinson

NDN HR Director

She had the room riveted with the tales of her life experience - and how those experiences relate to our current context. She tells a critical message in this time of political division.

Katy Anthes

Colorado Commissioner of Education

This woman made me realize that you can get through anything in life. If you ever have a chance to hear Maja speak, do so. She is amazing.

Carole Sanek

Thrive Live

That may have been the single most compelling story I think I've ever heard in my life. When she was speaking, you could hear a pin drop in the room.

Larry Gragg

Missouri S&T University

An amazing talk by an even more amazing person. Powerful and inspiring. Great job as always Maja

Jonathan Hutcherson

Founder and CEO, Exclamation Labs

For her to come through that and give us a message on positivity, it was overall inspiring and so impact full!

Brandy Morris

Photographer
Non-binding request for Maja Kazazic

Send a simple request. You’ll get a quick reply with fees and availability

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Maja Kazazic
Maja Kazazic

5 out of 5 stars

She was absolutely amazing. I think Maja?s message of overcoming any hardship in life with a positive attitude was exactly what our team needed to hear, especially since she spoke to us only a few weeks after the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Even in the moments where she was facing the most terrifying reality, her choice to be positive made all the difference. I loved that her message was one for all people, not focused on any particular business aspect. I would recommend her for any type of event, and will be recommending her for future events.

Sara Levinson, HR Director, Nevada Donor Network See all references

Keynote topics with Maja Kazazic