Signature Keynote
Preflight the Crew
Help your people become better people, and incredible things will happen. Healing as a performance strategy, from a TOPGUN pilot and Wall Street executive who lived it.
LEARN MORE
Fight’s On!
TOPGUN Adversary PilotWall Street C-SuiteNonprofit FounderKeynote SpeakerBestselling Author
Build Leaders Who Execute When the Pressure Is Highest
From the cockpit to the C-suite — high-stakes decisions made when the cost of being wrong is everything.
Matthew ‘Whiz’ Buckley is the only keynote speaker who’s flown combat sorties as a TOPGUN pilot, run strategy in Wall Street’s C‑suite, and fought his way back from rock bottom to build a foundation that reached the Oval Office. Every lesson comes home to your team.
300+
Keynotes Worldwide
75+
Fortune 500 Companies
500K+
Followers
30M+
Views
The Cockpit
TOPGUN
Adversary Course Graduate
Combat Sorties Over Iraq
Operation Southern Watch
F/A-18 Hornet
Instructor & Adversary Pilot
⟶
The C-Suite
Managing Director of Strategy
Multi-Billion-Dollar Wall Street Firm
$25M Company
Built in Under One Year
25+ Years
Wall Street & C-Suite Leadership
⟶
The Return
No Fallen Heroes Foundation
Founder & President
$750K VA Grant
SSG Fox Suicide Prevention Program
The Oval Office
Executive Order Signing, April 2026
Briefed the Best
Leadership and execution deployed inside Fortune 500 companies.
His experience as a TOPGUN fighter pilot and C-level executive sets him apart as an extraordinary motivational speaker.
Joe Mischler · Co-Founder & Managing Partner · Stratton Street
Results on the Record
What Leaders Say After Whiz Takes the Stage
Preflight the Crew · Fort Lauderdale
Matt ‘Whiz’ Buckley was absolutely phenomenal as our keynote speaker at the Mind Body and Business Experience in Fort Lauderdale! From the laughter to the emotional moments and the standing ovation, Matt had the entire room engaged. His authenticity, powerful storytelling, and ability to connect with people on a personal level made his message truly unforgettable. Matt doesn’t just deliver a keynote; he creates an experience that stays with you long after the event ends. If you’re considering bringing Matt to your event, my advice is simple: Book him! You won’t regret it.
Michael Pellegrino
Founder, Resilient Minds On The Front Lines, Inc.
TEDx Speaker | Author | Mental Wellness & Resiliency Strategist
TEDx Speaker | Author | Mental Wellness & Resiliency Strategist
Whiz is the only speaker I've seen in over four decades who seamlessly weaves his military and business experience together… Our team immediately implemented debriefing and red teaming which improved our business dramatically… Whiz brought the house down with a standing ovation.
Paul Bonitatibus
President, Consumer & Business Banking
Hibernia National Bank / Capital One Bank
Hibernia National Bank / Capital One Bank
Had it not been for the red team process, we would not have been ready for what our competitors threw at us. By being prepared, our global initiative turned out to be incredibly successful. Sales figures were off the charts. Thanks Whiz!
Jim Bird
SVP, Alberto Culver (Unilever)
Whiz brilliantly connected the company's specific strategy and goals to proven and practical methodologies… Employees are still talking about Whiz and already began implementing the tools he shared, including debriefing and red teaming. Whiz is truly the "best of the best"!
Jeremy Singer
Senior Assoc. General Counsel, MDVIP
Choose Your Mission
Different missions. One doctrine. The cockpit, Wall Street, the boardroom, and the fight to heal our heroes at home — everything Whiz runs is built on the same discipline: execute under pressure.
01
Mission
From a mattress in Mexico to the Oval Office — the whole story, and the mission that outranks them all.
⟶
02
Speaking
The only TOPGUN speaker who also ran strategy on Wall Street. Corporate Battle Rhythm and more, built for executives, sales floors, and financial services.
⟶
03
Advisory
The Execution Debrief — find the delta, fix the execution. Advisory from someone who’s run it in the cockpit and the C-suite.
⟶
04
Books
Three books, one body of work — leadership, markets, and resilience.
⟶
05
Partnerships
Fly formation. Brand campaigns, spokesperson work, and expert commentary across defense, aviation, markets, and healing — built on a record that was earned first.
⟶
06
Media
Fox News, Fox Business, The New York Times — and the Max Afterburner podcast.
⟶
Using Clear Direction to Drive High Performance
Corporate Battle Rhythm
Install the operating rhythm elite squadrons run on — PACED, on your business, starting the same week.
LEARN MOREDebriefing
It's not who's right — it's what's right. The debrief is the room where leaders are made, or broken.
LEARN MOREThe AART of Leadership
Authority. Accountability. Responsibility. Trust. The four traits every leader is measured against.
LEARN MOREThe Enemy Gets a Vote
Your plan is perfect until the enemy gets a vote. Red team it before your competitors do it for free.
LEARN MORE
Meet Whiz
One Standard. Three Arenas.
F/A-18 combat sorties over Iraq. TOPGUN Adversary graduate. Then Wall Street: Managing Director of Strategy at a multi-billion dollar equity options volatility arbitrage firm, a $25M media company built in under a year, founder and CEO ever since — and three books on leadership, markets, and resilience.
The battlefield changed. The standard didn’t. Today it’s the No Fallen Heroes Foundation, founded to end veteran suicide — one operating system across every arena: PACED — plan, adjust, communicate, execute, debrief.
The Full Story
The Mission That Outranks Them All
Leadership doesn’t end when the flight suit comes off. In 2021, Whiz founded the No Fallen Heroes Foundation with one objective: end veteran suicide. It’s the same doctrine he teaches from the stage — pick the mission that matters most, commit fully, and execute — applied where the stakes are highest.
See the Mission ⟶Three Books. One Body of Work.
International Bestseller
Strength and Gratitude
The international bestseller on resilience — how strength and gratitude together carry you through the fights you didn’t choose.
Get It on Amazon
From Sea Level to C Level
The leadership and execution flagship — the Navy’s approach to planning, debriefing, and winning, translated from the front lines to the front office. The book that pairs with the keynote.
Get It on Amazon
COVID Crash: From Panic to Profit
High-consequence decision-making when the markets broke — a Wall Street insider’s account of executing under fire when everyone else froze.
Get It on AmazonFight’s On!
You’ve seen the record. The next move is a conversation.
Keynote, advisory engagement, brand partnership, or media appearance — tell me what you’re planning and what winning looks like for your organization.
Every inquiry gets a personal reply from me, directly, usually within one business day.
Planning ahead? Keynote and advisory dates book months out — checking availability early costs nothing and puts you first in line for the date you want.
