From tech platforms to candy companies, here’s how some of the highest-ranking brands earned their spot on the list.
Michael Phelps to Deliver Keynote at HOFU
The swimmer, who is the most decorated Olympian of all time, will speak at Hearts On Fire University in October in Las Vegas.

Boston--At a jewelry event this fall, a man who has won 28 Olympic gold medals will talk about what keeps him focused.
Hearts On Fire recently announced that swimmer Michael Phelps is slated to be the closing keynote speaker at his year’s Hearts On Fire University, the annual educational event the diamond brand hosts in Las Vegas.
Phelps swam in his first Olympics, the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, at the age of 15.
Over the course of his career, the 31-year-old Baltimore-area native won a total of 28 Olympic medals, including a record 23 gold medals.
He competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio di Janeiro last summer, winning his last six medals and thereafter announcing his retirement from the sport.
Outside of swimming, Phelps is a husband, father and philanthropist, launching the Michael Phelps Foundation in 2008. The foundation addresses the need for water safety through its signature program, IM, that’s made available through Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Special Olympics International.
The elite athlete also is the author of two autobiographies, “No Limits: The Will to Succeed,” and “Beneath the Surface,” as well as a children’s book, “How to Train with a T-Rex and Win Eight Gold Medals.”
At Hearts On Fire University, Phelps will share first-hand, personal details about his career, his journey as an athlete, what keeps him focused, what inspires him and what’s next, the diamond brand said.
The 2017 edition of Hearts On Fire University is scheduled to take place Oct. 8 to 11 at the Wynn Las Vegas. As in years past, the three-day event will include workshops, roundtables, speakers and events designed to inspire retailers and help them set goals for the coming year.
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