Meet Our Founder

Join Dr. Ivan Misner, Founder & Chief Visionary Officer of BNI and the 2016 John C. Maxwell Leadership Award Winner, at our Meet the Founder Event on October 7!

Dr. Ivan Misner, Founder of BNI, was recently awarded the prestigious John C. Maxwell Leadership Award. Out of the pool of one hundred finalists, Dr. Misner was chosen for his exemplary leadership qualities in the areas of entrepreneurship, business and innovation.
 
The John C. Maxwell Awards Team described the selection process by stating, "We evaluate a leader for their desire for continuous learning, the passion they have to equip others, and their leadership aptitude. Dr. Misner understands the value of mentoring other leaders and is actively engaged in helping business leaders around the world through his role in BNI."
 
Dr. Misner founded BNI, the largest business networking and referral organization in the world, in 1985. Since then, he has gained international recognition for his contribution to the growth of small businesses in 67 countries. Guided by the company’s philosophy of Givers Gain®, wherein you receive business by referring business to others, Dr. Misner created a culture of “others first” in business. This culture has helped over 200,000 people expand their networks and has generated over $9.3 billion of business for their member-businesses.