The future of thought leadership publishing is not simply about producing more books. It is about helping the right authors turn high-value ideas into trust, action, opportunity, and measurable change. His approach treats the book as a platform asset: a door opener, credibility builder, relationship engine, and source of long-term intellectual property.


Ben Gioia helps expert authors, leaders, and organizations turn powerful ideas into books, platforms, and measurable opportunities for influence, revenue, culture change, and impact. As founder of Leadership Awake Press and creator of Influence With A Heart®, Ben brings together author development, publishing strategy, executive thought leadership, business growth, ethical influence, and human-centered leadership.

Ben has written six books, shepherded 41+ books into the world (for purpose-driven leaders, coaches, consultants, experts, authorities, and small business owners). He's produced more than 60 individual print magazine issues across major national titles including AARP The Magazine, Modern Bride, Classic American Homes, Condé Nast Traveler, and Wired.

Ben's career spans publishing operations, magazine production, nonprofit communications, global leadership training, Fortune 100 culture-change consulting, podcasting, speaking, author coaching, and book-led business development.

Ben’s methodology has been proven in founder-led environments and is ready to be systematized within PRH’s existing infrastructure: 12-person team, 200+ prospective author pipeline, global distribution, brand equity, and enterprise relationships.

Ben’s entrepreneurial publishing work gives PRH a modern author-success model that can be adapted inside a global publishing infrastructure: faster author development, stronger market validation, better author experience, and more measurable outcomes.

Ben’s leadership is grounded in lived experience, long-term meditation practice, hospice volunteering, cross-cultural service, and a deep commitment to helping people transform pain, insight, and expertise into work that serves others.

Origin Stories

• Ben has spent his life bringing ideas to live through in digital and print. He began writing at age 12, producing and printing content at 13, and holds a B.A. in Creative Writing and a B.A. in Psychology.

• After facing death in India (four times in 72 hours), 14 years of of drug use, and hitting the proverbial "rock bottom", Ben turned it all around and made service his centerpiece.

• The big moment came when Ben was asked to speak at Stanford, promised to bring a book that he hadn't written yet (as gifts for the audience), and got it all done (the writing, producing, printing, and shipping) in six and a half weeks.

• Outcomes: more speaking (Stanford, U. of Washington), as well as two events in Sydney. (The Stanford participants all got a book, then invited Ben to speak at their headquarters in Australia.)

• Before that book was done, however, Ben got the book cover designed and shared it on LinkedIn. As a result, he was asked to help create a mindfulness and empathy video game (and learning ecosystem) for 20,000 employees at a Fortune 100 company,

• That's how and why Ben created The Influence With A Heart® (book writing) Method and Leadership Awake Press.

Ben is uniquely equipped to help Penguin Random House build the world’s leading Author Success & Thought Leadership Publishing division because he bridges the full ecosystem PRH now needs to scale: publishing operations, author development, accelerated manuscript architecture, revenue-before-publication strategy, book-led business development, enterprise credibility, public thought leadership, human-centered leadership, and scalable IP.

Ben brings together author development, publishing strategy, executive thought leadership, business growth, ethical influence, and human-centered leadership. Ben has been helping ideas become published, embodied, communicated, scaled, and acted upon for most of his life.

He is a values-aligned, commercially smart, human-centered leader who can represent this division internally and externally.

Ben Gioia has already built the core author-success architecture PRH now needs to scale: market validation, accelerated manuscript development, author psychology, publishing operations, revenue-before-publication strategy, book leverage, enterprise relevance, human-centered author experience, and scalable IP.

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HISTORY OF EMPLOYMENT, ROLES, and EXPERIENCE

FOUNDER / ENTREPRENEUR

Leadership Awake Press, New York and Spain, Founder  and Publisher

• Profitable, impactful book writing, publishing, and launching

Influence With A Heart With A Heart, San Francisco, CA, President and Creator

• Do more good (and more business) with a high-quality book you're proud of

Marketing With A Heart, San Francisco, CA, President and Founder  

• Guided conscious entrepreneurs and businesses use the right language and deliver their message the right way, onstage, online, and in person

NONPROFIT / NGO HISTORY


THE ALS ASSOCIATION, San Francisco, CA, Communications Administrator

• Established integrated systems and processes in: production, marketing, development (web and print); patient and family services; and office administration for a healthcare nonprofit that served half of the people in Northern California with ALS

• Key player in facilitating an organizational transition

OPTIONS: A BENEFITS TRAINING FOUNDATION, San Francisco, CA, Office Manager

• Supported a nonprofit start-up with a visually impaired team member. Edited training materials for disability benefits and workforce re-entry programs in five states.

MAGAZINE PRODUCTION HISTORY

WIRED Magazine

• As Advertising Production Manager, optimized and executed production processes
 

AARP The Magazine (circ. 35 mil.) and MY GENERATION (now defunct), New York, NY 

• As Production Manager, created production processes for two start-up magazines, each with multiple regional versioning.  

Condé Nast Traveler, New York, NY  

• As Associate Production Manager, provided scheduling, color management, and workflow between magazine and prepress house.    

Hearst’s Classic American Homes (was Colonial American Homes (now defunct)), New York, NY

• As Production Manager, responsible for graphic and editorial production and workflow.

Conde Nast’s Modern Bride, New York, NY  

• As Production Coordinator, was an integral player in the transition from 4/C film to digital print and production processes.

EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATIONS

• B.A. Creative Writing, Binghamton University, NY  

• B.A. Psychology, Binghamton University, NY  

• Teaching Business English, Teaching TOEFL, & TESOL Certifications, Global TESOL College, NY
• Spanish ability: intermediate+