Motivational Business Speakers

Henry Ajder

Henry works at the frontier of the generative AI and synthetic media revolution. He presented the BBC documentary series The Future will be Synthesised, and advises organisations on the challenges and opportunities new technologies present.

Cally Beaton

After joining the board of ITV, setting up her own company and serving as SVP in charge of International Sales at media giant Viacom, Cally has also started a parallel career in comedy. She brings humour and energy to workplace insights ranging from how to foster a creative, positive environment to how to inspire and lead through change.

Rt Hon Lord (Sebastian) Coe

On the track Seb’s talent and commitment earned eleven world records and two Olympic gold medals; he has since led the most successful Games in recent history. After serving as one of many Vice Presidents, Seb is tasked with turning around World Athletics and restoring the reputation of international athletics, in the gaze of the world’s media. In speeches he shares the lessons as an athlete and as a leader delivering a vision, managing crisis and bringing about change.

Mo Gawdat

As Chief Business Officer for Google X, the search giant’s much-envied R&D division, Mo led some of the tech world’s most innovative projects. It was the climax of a successful career in technology but whilst on paper he was doing well, he often felt unfulfilled. He applied his engineering skills to the problem and after almost a decade developed a model which placed happiness in overall context of the experiences and expectations of life. His work became the international bestseller, Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy.

Bob Geldof

Bob has inspired hundreds of projects across Africa and ensures it remains on the political agenda and in the public consciousness. In a rousing speech on social responsibility, Bob reminds us that we are all defined by what we do, not what we say. This isn’t confined to philanthropy. He might also confess to some pride at the thought of becoming the first Irishman (and the first genuine rock star) in space.

Baroness (Tanni) Grey-Thompson

Britain’s best known Paralympian, Tanni amassed eleven gold medals in five consecutive Games. She also won six London Marathons and achieved a total of thirty four world records. Since retiring from competitive sport Tanni has taken an active role in the Lords, particularly on campaigns and legislation around disability. She believes that disabled people still face barriers that need to be removed, and calls for more genuine engagement rather than political rhetoric: “Public perceptions are changing.”

Christian Horner

After a successful career on the track Christian started his own racing team only to be approached shortly afterwards to run the new Red Bull set-up. As new entrants to one of the most technical and competitive sports in the world, within five years they’d won both drivers’ and constructors’ championships, and repeated the feat for each of the following three seasons. Christian reveals what it’s taken to build and maintain success in the face of rivals with more money, resources, and political power in the sport. He considers what makes the culture of Red Bull spe...

Ateh Jewel

Ateh is a multi-award-winning beauty journalist, influencer, broadcaster, and diversity advocate. She’s a regular presenter and social commentator on This Morning, Good Morning Britain, and CNN. She has been in the industry for over twenty years specialising in beauty, social commentary, and campaigning for more diversity in the beauty industry. Ateh was awarded the CEW Achiever Award to honour her diversity work in the beauty industry.

Marcel Khan

Following a career working with some of the most rapidly-growing brands in one of the most competitive of sectors, Marcel is the CEO of The Fulham Shore and is responsible for the development and expansion of their Franco Manca and The Real Greek brands. Marcel looks at how leading from the front, identifying a culture and brand message, and delivering the best for customers can create a clear advantage for any business.

Justin King

Justin served as CEO of the retail giant for a decade, leading the 145-year old brand through huge shifts from the growth of online to the rise of discounters. He also pushed through the Nectar card, partnered with Jamie Oliver and brought in small convenience stores. In a down-to-earth style Justin weighs up the task of reviving true customer loyalty and bringing about culture change in large organisations: “It can be like an elastic band tied to a heavy object.”

Jim Lawless

Jim is a pioneer in the fields of change and performance shift, acclaimed author, and motivational speaker. He has inspired and empowered half a million people across five continents with his engaging talks on change and innovation, and through his book Taming Tigers.

Matt Lindley

After a decade with the RAF Matt moved to commercial aviation as a 747 pilot. He looks at the ‘black box’ culture of airlines that seek to understand mistakes rather than apportion blame, and the leadership culture that engenders. He also speaks about his time with the Air Force, being one of the first openly gay pilots in the military, and what the experience taught him about leaders and how the personal can affect professional performance.

Alex Mahon

Alex is the first woman to serve as Chief Executive of a major UK broadcaster. After a career embracing TV production and technology, she leads a company that is as respected for its creativity and independent spirit as it is for its pioneering commitment to diversity and social issues. She explores how to be a values-led, authentic leader, even in tough times, how technology disrupts established models, and the myths and realities of managing and catering for Gen Z.

Baroness Manningham-Buller

As Head of the Security Service, Eliza dealt with the wake of 9/11 and a growing threat from Al-Qaeda. As Chair of the Wellcome Trust, one of the world’s largest charitable funders of medical research, she oversaw an organisation that both predicted and led work tackling the Covid-19 pandemic and its long-term effects. With insights and lessons on leadership from throughout her career, Eliza explains that leaders' priorities must change in order to keep pace with the constant emergence of new, often unimagined challenges, from existential threats such a...

Yaw Nsarkoh

Yaw has broad experience from executive and management positions in Unilever in Africa, Asia, and Europe. His areas of expertise include business development, strategic leadership, marketing and branding, corporate governance, and organisational strategy and leadership.

Sacha Romanovitch

As the first woman to lead a major accounting firm, Sacha sought to transform a company and an industry that was often resistant to change. By focusing on Grant Thornton’s people and what they could offer, the culture became a more inclusive, supportive and innovative one. Incorporating lessons in leadership, change, resilience and diversity, Sacha examines what underpins an organisation, what its values are, and how understanding these elements can make it fit for the future.

Frank Salzgeber

Frank leads the European Space Agency's Innovation and Ventures Office (formerly the Technology Transfer and Business Incubation Office) – created to share research and development gains with industry. Their space tech is already being used to purify the air in intensive care, to survey rock for tunneling, in the manufacture of running shoes and to transfer space technology to the Vatican Library. Frank’s team has also incubated or facilitated over 550 start-ups and 150 spin-offs. His speech tells conference audiences how they might foster a space agency culture of creati...

Duncan Wardle

A thirty year veteran of Disney, Duncan worked in global PR and marketing roles before heading their Innovation & Creativity division. Working with all branches of the business from Pixar to theme parks, he and his team developed a strategic toolkit to encourage innovation, dispel the myths that hold it back, embed it into everyday practices, and make a difficult, abstract concept, real and relevant.

Ellis Watson

Tackling leadership, transformation and navigating disruption with an energy and forthright humour that engages and informs, Ellis has an impact few speakers can match. With lessons from a diverse career leading businesses from media to transport, he delivers practical, sometimes provocative ideas on how to nurture and retain talent, adapt to technological, social and economic disruption, and place purpose at the heart of any organisation.

Lord (Victor) Adebowale

In over two decades leading organisations at the forefront of health and social care, Victor has brought together purpose and leadership. Now Chair of the NHS Confederation, he previously served as the Chief Executive of care provider Turning Point, and homelessness charity Centrepoint. With wide-ranging policy experience he examines the biggest challenges to public and private sectors, as well as the importance of diversity, and why leaders must alway be learning something new.

Winnie Awa

Winnie is the Founder & CEO of Carra, an AI-driven digital hair health platform helping women to care for their textured hair. She started her career in the corporate world at IBM and Ernst & Young before moving to the world of start-ups, spending the majority of her career building cutting edge consumer apps at ASOS, Net-a-porter, and LVMH - most notably, Givenchy’s first mobile app.