Elizabeth Haenle

Elizabeth Haenle is Co-founder and President of SAGE Worldwide, a female-led speakers agency that works around the globe to match top speakers with clients who are looking for external expertise on a range of topics from geopolitics to diversity and inclusion. Under Haenle’s leadership, SAGE Worldwide set up operations in China and was the first Western speakers agency to enter the Chinese market. SAGE is one of the few international speaker agencies to be led by a woman. In her capacity as President, she has a particular passion for promoting messages for women by women and bringing diversity and inclusion to her team and speaker roster. 

Haenle also serves as the Chair of the Advisory Board for the US-China Strong Initiative at Asia Society. The program, started by Presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao, focuses on providing opportunities for U.S. students to study Chinese.

Prior to starting two companies, Haenle worked at the White House as the Social Secretary and Residence Manager to the Vice President of the United States. Her main responsibilities included planning events at the official residence of the Vice President and traveling internationally on behalf of the President and Vice President to conceptualize, organize, and set-up meetings and events. She was also responsible for overseeing the décor, management, and upkeep of the official residence for the Vice President and his family. Earlier in her career, Elizabeth served as an aide to former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Barbara Hackman Franklin, with a strong focus on U.S.-China trade relations. Elizabeth joined Barbara Franklin Enterprises after planning events for a Member of Congress on Capitol Hill and coordinating the travel and events for two candidates for President of the United States.

Elizabeth also worked for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, where she planned events and visits to Atlanta for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). She is also a committee member of the Royal Asiatic Society Beijing Chapter, whose mission is to bring China and the world together. 

• The Art Of Entertaining: Lessons From The White House To Yours With Elizabeth Haenle