Speaking
I’ll tell your audience what I got wrong, so they don’t have to.
I spent 20+ years running MSPs before I ended up in the CEO chair, and I’ve been a recovering MSP owner since 2022. Now I run TruNova, a Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Copilot partner, and I talk to business leaders about what actually belongs in their business, what belongs with a partner, and what shouldn’t be done at all. MSP owners get a little extra, because I know the hard parts of that job from the inside.
Fun fact: I’m super introverted, and for years I was sure I hated public speaking. Turns out I love it, which surprised nobody more than me.
Will speak for coffee. Will also accept an Old Fashioned after 5.Rider
Talks
Every one of these comes with real scar tissue, a decision your audience can actually use, and at least one dad joke I’m not sorry about. Happy to adapt any of them to your room.
What a technology advisor actually is
Why most MSPs get the advisor role wrong, and how to be the person clients trust with the decision, even when you won’t be the one implementing it.
Keynote, peer forumRun your MSP like a real business
Twenty years running MSPs and a few on the client side taught me the same thing from both directions. Recurring revenue isn’t a business plan.
Owner roundtable, keynoteHow much of AI belongs in an MSP’s recurring model?
AI is a lot of different work. Sort what fits managed services, what’s really a project, and when brokering is the smarter move.
Tech talk, channel webinarStop saying no
Turn “we don’t do that” into revenue and trust by partnering for the work you don’t do, instead of turning clients away or faking it.
Breakout, webinarBroker, co-deliver, or build
Pick an honest business model for business apps and AI work before it quietly eats the MSP that pays the bills.
Owner roundtable, boardroom, podcastLet’s talk about AI. Kind of.
What we tried with AI internally, what worked, what didn’t, and the mistakes you can skip. An open conversation, not a sales pitch.
Boardroom, open conversation
Coming up
- October 20, 2026NexGen 2026, OrlandoHow much of AI belongs in an MSP’s recurring model?15-minute Tech Talk, 12:30 PM, Grand Cypress Ballroom I
Not speaking, just showing up: Community Summit North America, Nashville, October 11 to 15. If you’re there, grab 15 minutes or find me near the coffee. Hot chicken recommendations are also accepted.
Where I’ve spoken
- August 25, 2026ChannelPro Deep Dive: Driving Profit with AI & Automation (virtual)Finding the right first step for AI and automation
- August 9, 2026XChange Boardroom, The Channel CompanyLet’s talk about AI… kind of. Learn from my mistakes, and an open conversation.
- July 29, 2026Ingram Micro partner webinarStop saying no: how MSPs co-sell Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform without building the practice in-house
- May 19, 2026ChannelPro Deep Dive (virtual)Stop saying no: the cybersecurity gap you can’t tool your way out of
- 2025XChange NexGen 2025, HoustonStop saying no! How MSPs can turn “we don’t do that” into passive revenue
I also co-host The Nova Effect podcast with Michelle Serna, if you want to hear how I sound before you put me on a stage.
Speaker kit
Bio
In 1999 Ole Gjerde and his co-founder Wes Henry decided running a business couldn’t be that hard, and he has spent 27 years collecting evidence to the contrary. Along the way he went from software development and web design to IT, managed services, consulting and Microsoft Dynamics, through mergers, an acquisition that nearly took down two companies, and a split that finally made sense. He was the number two for more than 20 of those years, until his wife Katie and his COO pushed him into the CEO chair.
Today he runs TruNova, a Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Copilot partner that has worked its way from small business to midmarket and now enterprise. He talks to business owners and leaders about AI, leadership and running a company on purpose, and he has a soft spot for MSP owners, because he knows the hard parts of that business from the inside. He’s been a recovering MSP owner since 2022. He co-hosts The Nova Effect podcast and builds his own tools with AI, mostly because he can’t help himself.
Short bio, for the program
Ole Gjerde has spent 27 years in business and more than 20 of them as the number two, until his wife and his COO decided he was going to be CEO anyway. He has gone from software and web design to IT, MSPs, consulting and Microsoft Dynamics, and now runs TruNova. He talks to business leaders about AI and leadership, and to MSP owners as a recovering one himself (since 2022), always starting with his own mistakes so others can skip them.
Intro your MC can read
Our next speaker spent more than 20 years as the number two, which he’ll tell you was the job he actually wanted, even though details and focus were never exactly his jam. His wife and his COO made him CEO anyway, and leaning into his squirrel brain turned out to be the best move he made. Ole Gjerde runs TruNova, a Microsoft partner, and he’s here to walk you through the mistakes he made so you don’t have to. Fair warning, the dad jokes come at no extra charge, so please welcome Ole Gjerde.
Book a call
Want me at your event, or just want to compare notes first? Grab a time that works for you.