During their careers on stage in the corporate world, William and Richard have seen 100s of motivational speakers. Yes, they were motivational while they talked.
But when the speaker had finished, the applause died down, and the lights came on, the audience said, “Where’s lunch?” The motivational part was over.
Richard and William said, “We can do this better. Give people real tools they can use that transform the way they communicate with others.” Thus, The Agility Group was born.
William Hall
As a young boy, William watched the play “Rumpelstiltskin” from the audience and felt like he had been transported to a different world. Witnessing the power of “make-believe” to transport a room of third graders convinced him that theater was magic. And so began a lifelong journey of exploring the power of theater skills to transform and deeply resonate with people.
William founded the award-winning theater company Fratelli Bologna as well as co-founded award-winning BATS Improv and BATS School of Improv. When companies started asking Fratelli Bologna to bring the skills of theater into their business meetings, to promote richer conversations, William moved into coaching and communications consulting with corporate teams worldwide.
William was part of a teaching team at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, worked with professors at the Stanford d.school, lectured at The University of Texas, University of Tokyo, The Arnhem Business School in the Netherlands, and the London School of Business & Finance, and spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He has also coached and trained executives at The Singapore Stock Exchange, American Express, Siemens, Black Rock, Boehringer Ingelheim, Kaiser Permanente, Salesforce, SONY, and Google, among others.
William is a mask-maker, performer, and teacher. William has over 3,000 different jokers (playing cards) in his collection.
Richard Laible
He began his career in show business after mailing 50 cents and 2 Wheat Chex box tops and receiving a magic kit. He paid his way through college performing magic until the comedy boom of the 1980s took in across the country doing stand-up anywhere that had a microphone. Richard performed at top clubs including the Improvs in NY and LA, Catch A Rising Star, The Comedy Castle and opened for Jay Leno, Harry Connick Jr., Nickelback, The Temptations, Peter Cetera, Chicago, Hank Williams III, and many more.
Richard ended up in Chicago moving up fast in the ranks. First, the House Team “Grime & Punishment” at iO Chicago. Then, a founding member of The Annoyance Theater. Finally, he was hired by the world-famous The Second City comedy troupe where he performed with Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Chirs Farley, Amy Poehler, and Mike Meyers. He went on to become the Creative Director of their Corporate Communications Division for seven years.
This spring-boarded him into the world of corporate entertainment as the go-to emcee for the top Fortune 500 companies, working alongside CEOs, CMOs, HR & Corp Comm to bring their teams together, celebrating their corporate culture and motivating them for the challenges ahead.
He lives outside of Chicago with his wife, 4 cats, and 800 different empty beer cans.