Chris McAdoo
Chris McAdoo is an artist, lifelong entrepreneur, and keynote speaker known for inspiring audiences through a high-energy blend of creativity, storytelling, and lived experience…often learned the hard way. He encourages everyone to think creatively, take better care of their people (and themselves), and create and share value at the biggest scale possible.
Chris serves as a strategic advisor for companies and organizations through his company, Fighting Shape, where he leads high-impact workshops and long-term engagements focused on brand building, customer experience, and leadership development. He previously served as a non-profit Chief Experience Officer (get in touch if you really wanna know what that means) and now serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at the SPARK Innovation Center at the University of Tennessee Research Park, while also coaching entrepreneurs through the Haslam College of Business and the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
An accomplished painter and printmaker, former brand agency owner, and previous host of the Big Ideas Welcome podcast, Chris has built a career that bridges creativity, leadership, and absolutely f***ing getting to work.
A Creative life, very much in progress.
What I create (and how I show up every day) is for those of us who want to live with a little more purpose, a little more adventure, and a lot more curiosity. From making art and speaking to working alongside some of the world’s most innovative companies, this is my ongoing, imperfect, energized body of work.
Let’s move fast and BUILD things.
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Original Artwork
McAdoo’s artwork is intensely autobiographical, using semi-abstracted objects and imagery as vessels that bring focus to “the stories we tell others, the stories we tell ourselves, and the liminal space between those two shores”.
His paintings and original prints have been featured in numerous exhibitions, private collections, and publications around the country and he has been an active studio artist for over twenty-five years.
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Keynote Speaker & EMCEE
Known for his energetic approach, Chris creates memorable and impactful experiences, fighting “business as usual” tooth and nail, and encouraging entrepreneurs, innovators, and leaders of all kinds to think creatively, take care of their people (and themselves), and to create and share value on the biggest scale possible.
A perfect fit for your conference, company retreat, or community event.
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Fighting Shape Workshops
Chris leads battle-tested “Fighting Shape” bootcamps and collaborations that build strong brands, raise millions of dollars, and bring teams together when it matters most.
A former agency owner, non-profit leader, Chief Experience Officer, he now serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the SPARK Innovation Center at the University of Tennessee Research Park and coaches entrepreneurs through the Anderson Center at the Haslam College of Business.
Speaking and Original Content
In this opening keynote from More Signal, Less Noise, Chris McAdoo cuts through fear, facts...and FOMO surrounding AI. Drawing on everything from his first computer in 1989 to astronauts whose email wouldn’t work, AI-powered medical breakthroughs, $100k token bills, and a Chipotle chatbot, Chris explores what technology can (and can’t) do for us.
“CREATIVE:Thinking”: Chris McAdoo brings his energy to the stage of PechaKucha Knoxville’s 57th edition, inspired by his experience with technology-focused companies, creative community input, and a life that depends on, and demands, creativity EVERY DAY.
Added Bonus: a few hundred people howl at the moon.
Big Ideas Welcome Season 3, ep. 1: Podcast host Chris McAdoo sits down with University of Tennessee President and lifelong entrepreneur Randy Boyd and Spacecraft Knoxville founder, artist, and activist Jaleria Rivera to explore how people shape places, and how the places they build shape communities from the ground up.
SHOP ORIGINAL ARTWORK AND LIMITED EDITION PRINTS
An exclusive collection of all three “Tennessee River” hand--pulled prints is available now for a limited time.
Each edition (limited to 50) is 15” x 22”, printed on archival paper, hand-carved, hand-printed, and signed and numbered by Chris McAdoo. AND…anyone that purchases all three prints will also receive a special original sketch from the artist.
Each print was painstakingly carved and printed one color at a time on an 80 year old Vandercook proof press. If you look closely, you’ll notice the Tennessee River, running through Knox County, TN, in the background of each piece.
See almost thirty years of original artwork
