Philip Bredesen

Governor of Tennessee 2003-2011; Author, "Fresh Medicine: How to Fix Reform and Build a Sustainable Health Care System"

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Nashville, TN, USA
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Philip Bredesen Biography

Philip Bredesen, a Democrat, served as Tennessee's governor from 2003 until 2011.

Known for his nonpartisan approach to problem solving and careful fiscal management, Bredesen's political style proved successful and popular. In 2006, despite his state's strong Republican majority, he won re-election with more votes than any candidate for governor in Tennessee history and became the first governor in over a century to carry all 95 counties.

Among senior elected officials, Governor Bredesen has a unique depth of experience in the field of health care. As a private sector entrepreneur, he started a managed care business from his home in 1980 and grew it to an NYSE-listed company with 6000 employees before the end of the decade.

As governor, he reformed Tennessee's out-of-control Medicaid program—called TennCare—and developed several innovative approaches to assisting the uninsured. He was a leader nationally in eHealth initiatives and served as both the Policy Chair of the Democratic Governors Association and the Democratic co-chair of the National Governor's Association task force on health reform.

He is also the author of Fresh Medicine: How to Fix Reform and Build a Sustainable Health Care System (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2010). Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham said of it: "Phil Bredesen does something unique: he brings together the perspectives of a businessman, a politician and an historian to tell the story of health care in America. Told with skill and grace, Fresh Medicine explains how we got where we are, and what we have to do going forward."

Governor Bredesen is also well-respected for his successes with education. At the public school level, he established a state-wide pre-K program, presided over a successful multi-year campaign to raise academic standards and gained legislation establishing the use of objective student performance data for teacher evaluation. At the college level, he shifted funding of the state's higher education institutions to a performance-based system, mandated transfer agreements between the state's two- and four-year institutions and created a more unified and consistent community college system.

His leadership was recognized when Tennessee was chosen as one of the initial two states to win the federal Race to the Top competition. He's served as co-chair of Achieve, the organization in the forefront of the standards movement. He currently chairs Complete College America, an organization funded by major foundations—including Gates, Ford and Lumina—to begin the work of improving college graduation rates.

As governor, he also spearheaded successful economic development initiatives, . These included recruiting Volkswagen's U.S. manufacturing operations and Nissan's North American headquarters to Tennessee and obtaining multi-billion dollar investments in alternative energy. Under his leadership, Tennessee added over 200,000 new jobs, $33 billion in new investments and secured 52 new corporate headquarters.

Also a proud conservationist, Governor Bredesen was recently honored by the Nature Conservancy for the preservation of 350,000 acres of ecologically sensitive Tennessee land for future generations.

Prior to his two terms as governor, Bredesen was the Mayor of Nashville. There, he was recognized for his downtown revitalization, including recruiting the Tennessee Titans (NFL) and Nashville Predators (NHL) to the city. He rebuilt and expanded the city's library system, including an award-winning new downtown main library, doubled the acreage of the city's park system and built a large number of new public schools.

He speaks to a variety of organizations nationwide on topics as diverse as health care, conservation, education and leadership.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 05/08/2024.

Philip Bredesen Speaking Topics

  • Leadership

    As a Democratic governor in a very red state, Governor Bredesen tackled numerous contentious issues: reform of the Medicaid system, substantial changes in both K-12 and higher education and designing and implementing the large budget cuts that were necessary during the current recession. Despite this, he remained a highly popular governor-re-elected by a landslide and exiting office with strong support from both sides of the aisle.

    As a successful entrepreneur, mayor and governor, Bredesen believes that true leadership is about finding common ground and that the key to success is a command of the art of persuasion. His real world experience and examples of what works offer audiences a refreshing perspective that will also challenge them to raise the bar.

  • Current Issues in the Headlines

    As one of the most successful two-term governors in Tennessee history, Governor Bredesen was actively involved with a broad range of issues at both the state and national level-including health care, education reform, job creation, fiscal policy, green energy and land conservation.

    His broad experience and practical, down-to-earth approach to the issues of the day make him a much sought-after keynote speaker and member of panels and smaller discussion groups. His insights and experience as a highly successful change agent in both the private and public sectors, provides audiences with unique and thought-provoking discussions.

  • Fresh Medicine

    With decades of direct experience in health care, Governor Bredesen offers audiences a commonsense and non-ideological view of our American health care system and the recent reforms. As a private-sector entrepreneur, he started an organization in the early 1980s in the managed care field and grew it to a substantial NYSE-listed company. He has been a founder of other health care businesses, including Coventry Corporation, now a Fortune 500 operator of health maintenance organizations. In the public sector, as governor, he fixed substantial problems with TennCare, the Tennessee Medicaid program that was threatening to bankrupt the state. He was responsible for several innovative programs to assist the uninsured, expanded the access of children to health insurance and oversaw public health efforts that reduced teenage smoking and infant mortality.Governor Bredesen is the author of Fresh Medicine: How to Fix Reform and Build a Sustainable Health Care System (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2010). He speaks extensively on this subject to investors, health care organizations and general audiences. Perfect for any audience wishing to get out of the weeds and take a long view of American health care, Governor Bredesen delivers memorable insights.

Philip Bredesen Books

  • Fresh Medicine: How to Fix Reform and Build a Sustainable Health Care System
    Fresh Medicine: How to Fix Reform and Build a Sustainable Health Care System

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  • What topics does Philip Bredesen speak about?

    Philip Bredesen is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Authors, Business, Political.
  • Where does Philip Bredesen travel from?

    Philip Bredesen generally travels from Nashville, TN, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
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Philip Bredesen is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Leadership, Current Issues in the Headlines and Fresh Medicine. The estimated speaking fee range to book Philip Bredesen for your event is $30,000 - $50,000. Philip Bredesen generally travels from Nashville, TN, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Jocko Willink, Scott Dikkers, Allen Gannett, Ron Paul and Peter Zeihan. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Philip Bredesen for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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