Greg Schwem

Corporate Comedian, Business Humorist & Humorous Keynote Speaker

Greg Schwem is one of America's most in-demand corporate comedians, a nationally syndicated humor columnist, three-time bestselling author, and the man the Chicago Tribune called "king of the hill in the world of corporate comedy." Based in Chicago, Schwem has spent more than three decades doing something most people consider impossible: walking into the most serious rooms in American business — the annual conferences of Microsoft, McDonald's, IBM, Cisco, General Motors, and the CIA — and making everyone in them laugh at themselves. His brand of humor is clean, deeply customized, and built on the conviction that laughter is not a break from the work — it is the work. Schwem's path into corporate comedy traces back to his early career as a television news reporter, including a stint at a Florida NBC affiliate, before he made the pivot into stand-up and discovered his true calling in the corporate market. What he found was a niche almost no one had claimed: comedy that meets organizations exactly where they are, speaks their language, knows their acronyms, understands their culture, and uses that intimacy to generate genuine laughter rather than generic jokes. That approach — immersive, research-first, audience-first — has earned him the loyalty of Fortune 500 clients across industries and the designation "Your boss's favorite comedian" from HuffPost. He has opened concert stages alongside Celine Dion, Keith Urban, Enrique Iglesias, Jay Leno, and Styx, and has appeared on Comedy Central, VH-1, Sirius XM Laugh USA, FOX News, and Caroline's Comedy Hour. Beyond the stage, Schwem has built a media presence that extends well beyond the speaking circuit. Since 2011, he has written the weekly "Humor Hotel" column for Tribune Content Agency, a nationally syndicated humor column that has twice earned him recognition from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists for outstanding humor writing. He is the author of three books, including the Amazon bestsellers *Text Me If You're Breathing: Observations, Frustrations and Life Lessons From a Low-Tech Dad* and *The Road to Success Goes Through the Salad Bar: A Pile of BS (Business Stories) From a Corporate Comedian*. In 2018, he launched the travel web series *A Comedian Crashes Your Pad*, in which he stayed in quirky Airbnb properties and filmed his encounters with hosts and guests. The series won a Telly Award for Travel and Tourism in 2020 and now streams on Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV. In January 2024, Schwem's life took a turn that would test everything he had ever preached from the stage. While already in the midst of a gray divorce — the dissolution of a 29-year marriage — he received a diagnosis of a malignant tumor lying flat on his colon. Stage II colon cancer, discovered during a routine colonoscopy despite no family history and no symptoms. The surgery removed the tumor along with 18 inches of colon. He did not require chemotherapy or radiation. Both the divorce and the cancer were happening at the same time. As he described it plainly: "There wasn't a whole lot to laugh about in that span of time." What Schwem did next was characteristically him: he grabbed a laptop, propped it on hospital pillows, and started writing. The result was *Turning Gut Punches into Punch Lines: A Comedian's Journey Through Cancer, Divorce, and Other Hilarious Stuff* — a new book and a new keynote that teaches audiences how to locate humor in the unfunniest of circumstances. The personal reckoning also surfaced something Schwem had observed with growing concern: the invisibility of men in the national conversation about gray divorce. When Oprah did a major podcast episode on gray divorce, the audience was overwhelmingly women. Support groups for divorcees rarely center the male experience. Schwem became an accidental voice for that gap — a man in his 60s who found himself suddenly alone, relearning how to date, how to manage finances, how to make new friends, and how to build a life from scratch. He discusses this openly, not with bitterness, but with the self-deprecating candor that defines his best material. "If you can laugh at yourself," he says, "things will get better." Today, Greg Schwem continues to perform for corporate audiences worldwide, advocate for colorectal cancer screening as a volunteer for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, and remind anyone who will listen that humor is not a luxury in hard times — it is a survival mechanism, a communication tool, and a vital sign of organizational and personal health. His keynote *Turning Gut Punches into Punch Lines* has become one of his most requested programs, proof that an audience of business professionals responds just as powerfully to vulnerability as to a perfectly timed punchline.

Key Insights from Greg Schwem

I've had a pretty great career as a corporate comedian and a business humor speaker, which is sort of a special niche that I've been able to just immerse myself in. And that was going great. And then — you obviously even comedians have problems in their lives.

— Greg Schwem on The comedian behind the curtain

While I was going through the divorce, I got a colon cancer diagnosis. I was very lucky — they got rid of all of it. But this was going on at the same time as the divorce. So there wasn't a whole lot to laugh about in that span of time.

— Greg Schwem on Divorce and cancer — the gut punch

I'm not going to talk about this stuff on stage unless I can make people laugh about it as well. There's got to be a joke in there somewhere because we did come to see a comedy show. We did not come to see a therapy session.

— Greg Schwem on Vulnerability with craft — the comedian's standard

Eventually. Eventually, because I knew it had to be. Obviously when you're getting off the phone with your lawyer and he's saying it's going to be another three to six months and you owe me another $5,000 — that is not exactly a funny topic.

— Greg Schwem on Laughter as delayed medicine

My physical health is great. I walk to the liquor store every night. And that just came out. And we both started laughing. And I wrote that down. I'm like — okay, there we go. That is the beginning of me kind of getting back in the saddle.

— Greg Schwem on The first laugh — finding the way back

I think the funniest stuff is when you can laugh at yourself no matter where you are. And then the audience picks up on that, especially in these days when everybody's offended by everything.

— Greg Schwem on Self-deprecation as the universal key

Find somebody that you're friends with, a good friend, start having a conversation with them. Ask your friend: what is something funny that happened to you? And see if it triggers something that's funny in you. The more you talk to somebody, the more something funny will come up.

— Greg Schwem on The practical prescription for humor

The divorce rate of people over 50 is the only demographic where it is on the rise. Men — I have not found any support groups or anything like that where men get a chance to talk about the things that affect them when they and their partner split up after a very lengthy marriage.

— Greg Schwem on Gray divorce and the missing male voice

Notable Quotes from Greg Schwem

There wasn't a whole lot to laugh about in that span of time. Eventually — eventually — because I knew it had to be.

— Greg Schwem

My physical health is great. I walk to the liquor store every night. That just came out. We both started laughing. And I wrote that down. That is the beginning of me getting back in the saddle.

— Greg Schwem

I'm not going to talk about this stuff on stage unless I can make people laugh about it as well. There's got to be a joke in there somewhere — we did not come to see a therapy session.

— Greg Schwem

Frequently Asked Questions about Greg Schwem

What is a 'gray divorce' and why does Greg Schwem talk about it?

A gray divorce refers to the dissolution of a long-term marriage among people over 50. Greg Schwem went through one himself after 29 years of marriage, and he began speaking about it publicly because he noticed an almost complete absence of spaces where men could discuss the experience. As he noted in his Mornings in the Lab appearance, the divorce rate for people over 50 is the only demographic where it is actually rising. Yet support groups, media coverage, and public conversation about gray divorce are overwhelmingly oriented toward women. Schwem has become an accidental advocate for that overlooked perspective — not by attacking anyone or dwelling in bitterness, but by applying his comic and human honesty to the experience of starting over in your 60s.

How did Greg Schwem handle being diagnosed with cancer while going through a divorce at the same time?

In January 2024, while in the midst of his divorce proceedings, Greg Schwem was diagnosed with a malignant tumor on his colon during a routine colonoscopy — stage II colon cancer, with no prior symptoms or family history. Surgery successfully removed the tumor along with 18 inches of colon. He did not require chemotherapy or radiation and received a clean bill of health. His answer to how he coped was honest: not immediately with laughter. 'There wasn't a whole lot to laugh about in that span of time,' he said. But as he processed both events, he began writing, first as a way to survive and then as a way to perform. That writing became his book *Turning Gut Punches into Punch Lines* and his most requested keynote speech.

What does Greg Schwem actually do — is he just a comedian, or a motivational speaker?

Greg Schwem occupies a unique space between corporate comedian, humorous keynote speaker, and motivational speaker. His primary business is performing customized comedy for corporate conferences, sales meetings, association events, and awards ceremonies — clients have included Microsoft, McDonald's, IBM, Cisco, General Motors, Southwest Airlines, and the CIA. What sets him apart from both straight-up comedians and motivational speakers is his research-first model: he immerses himself in each client's industry, learns their language and culture, and builds material that feels like it came from inside the company. The result is humor that is clean, safe for HR, and deeply relevant to the room.

What books has Greg Schwem written?

Greg Schwem has written three books. *Text Me If You're Breathing: Observations, Frustrations and Life Lessons From a Low-Tech Dad* was his first, a comedic take on parenting in the digital age. *The Road to Success Goes Through the Salad Bar: A Pile of BS (Business Stories) From a Corporate Comedian* skewers the absurdities of corporate America from the perspective of a comedian who has spent decades inside it. His most recent, *Turning Gut Punches into Punch Lines: A Comedian's Journey Through Cancer, Divorce, and Other Hilarious Stuff*, is a memoir-style book that chronicles his 2024 dual diagnosis of gray divorce and stage II colon cancer, and how humor became both survival mechanism and source material. All three have been Amazon bestsellers.

What is Greg Schwem's advice for finding humor when life gets hard?

Schwem's practical advice is simple: don't try to manufacture a laugh — create the conditions for one to find you. His specific technique is to call a good friend, ask them to share something funny that happened to them, and see if it triggers something funny in you. He is explicit that this is not about forcing laughter or being dismissive of pain. 'I don't want to be dismissive of the seriousness of the divorce and the cancer diagnosis,' he said on Mornings in the Lab. But he believes that once laughter reappears — even briefly, even on a phone call — it begins a chain reaction. 'The more you talk to somebody, the more something funny will come up. And once you're laughing, things can only get better from there.' The brain chemistry follows the behavior, not the other way around.

Why does Greg Schwem focus on self-deprecating humor rather than targeting others?

Schwem has built his entire career on the principle that the most powerful and safest comedy is turned inward. In the corporate context, this means he never singles out individuals for mockery — instead, he lets the audience laugh at themselves collectively, at their shared absurdities and cultural quirks. On a personal level, when processing his divorce and cancer publicly, he applies the same rule: he takes 100% responsibility for his own mistakes, pokes fun at his own confusions as a man dating again at 63, and refuses to blast his ex-spouse or dwell in grievance. As he explained on the show: 'I think the funniest stuff is when you can laugh at yourself no matter where you are. Especially in these days when everybody's offended by everything.'

Interview with Greg Schwem — Topics Covered

  1. Center Stage introduction and video clip (~3 minutes)
  2. Greeting and banter — Greg joins from Chicago (~2 minutes)
  3. The career: corporate comedy as a niche and a calling (~3 minutes)
  4. The two letters: cancer and divorce, arriving simultaneously (~4 minutes)
  5. Gray divorce and the male support gap (~4 minutes)
  6. Laughter as medicine — but not immediately (~3 minutes)
  7. Dating again at 63 — the comedy of reinvention (~5 minutes)
  8. The first laugh — walking to the liquor store (~2 minutes)
  9. The practical advice: how to create a laugh at work today (~3 minutes)
  10. Thanksgiving morning standup for naval recruits (~2 minutes)
  11. The book and website — closing call to action (~2 minutes)

Greg Schwem — Areas of Expertise

  • Corporate comedy and customized business humor
  • Humor as a workplace communication and culture tool
  • Gray divorce and the male experience of late-life relationship breakdown
  • Colon cancer survivorship and the role of humor in illness recovery
  • Self-deprecation as a comedic and personal resilience strategy
  • Turning personal adversity into public performance
  • Men's emotional health and the absence of male support spaces
  • Humor column writing and syndicated media (Tribune Content Agency)
  • Conference emceeing and event hosting for Fortune 500 audiences
  • Holiday loneliness and emotional resilience during major life transitions
  • The ethics and craft of comedy — vulnerability without victimhood
  • Technology and workplace culture through a comedic lens

Watch: Divorce & Cancer Hit Him at the Same Time

Full Center Stage interview with Greg Schwem on Mornings in the Lab.

Watch on YouTube

Greg Schwem — Show Appearances

  • Mornings in the Lab (2025-11-24)

Greg Schwem — Signal Brief

Signal Score: 36/100

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