Founder of the world's first luxury firewood company.
Half the firewood sold in America was bug-infested. Leroy Hite saw that and built the world's first luxury firewood company, taking what people considered a low-level commodity and turning it into a status symbol, financed by $250,000 in credit card debt and the kind of belief that doesn't show up on a balance sheet. Hundreds of imitators followed. His firewood burned behind two presidents in the Oval Office and landed on the Today Show, Netflix, and Fortune. Now he brings that hard-won playbook to colleges, universities, and business groups, live, unscripted, and impossible to forget.
Watch Leroy
Leroy doesn't just talk about building things — he shows you how it feels to refuse to quit. Watch a recent appearance and see why audiences walk away changed.
"When the co-founder of the Ritz-Carlton picks up the phone to compliment your customer service, you've done something right."
— Validating the Luxury StandardLeroy doesn't just give a speech — he ignites a conversation. From Clemson University to Berry College, his fireside chat format pulls every person in the room in, challenges assumptions, and leaves everyone with something to act on before they walk out the door.
The Speaker
Leroy built Cutting Edge Firewood from a single truck and an obsession with quality. His kiln-dried firewood found its way into the White House Oval Office — proof that doing ordinary things at an extraordinary level changes everything.
After a hostile takeover attempt nearly destroyed his company, Leroy fired the wrong team, rebuilt from the ground up, and turned a sinking ship into a successful exit. The hardest chapters don't break the best leaders — they make them.
Luxury firewood didn't exist. Leroy invented it — and then built a business that national media couldn't ignore. He'll show your audience how to find white space, build a premium brand from scratch, and make the competition irrelevant.
When the co-founder of the Ritz-Carlton picks up the phone to compliment your customer service, you've done something right. Leroy shares what that standard looks like — and how to build it into any business, at any scale.
Speaking Topics
Every keynote is built around one idea: ordinary people can build extraordinary things if they're willing to do what others won't.
How Leroy invented luxury firewood — a category that didn't exist — and the principles any entrepreneur can use to find and dominate untapped white space.
What a hostile takeover attempt and a near-collapse taught Leroy about resilience, leadership, and why difficulty is a signal — not a stop sign. The hardest chapter turned out to be the most important one.
The Ritz-Carlton standard applied to firewood. Leroy shares the systems and philosophy that earned a personal call from Horst Schulze — and how any business can replicate them.
How to build a brand that commands premium prices, creates fierce loyalty, and becomes the only name that matters — in any industry, at any stage of growth.
From startup to successful exit — what Leroy learned building a business with the end in mind, and how those decisions made the journey more valuable at every stage.
A tactical roadmap for identifying untapped markets, validating unconventional ideas, and executing with conviction before anyone else sees the opportunity in front of them.
A full-stage keynote tailored to your audience and theme. High energy, story-driven, and packed with frameworks your group can act on immediately.
An intimate, guided conversation that pulls the audience in. Q&A driven, deeply personal, and consistently described as the highlight of the event.
Best for Colleges & Business Groups
A hands-on working session where attendees apply the principles directly to their own business or career challenge. Limited availability.
The Journey
As Seen & Heard
Leroy's preferred format is the fireside chat — unscripted, conversation-driven, and built around the questions your audience actually came to ask. He also delivers keynotes and panels for the right rooms.
Leroy doesn't give safe answers. He gives real answers.
