The Leading Speakers Bureau

Astronaut, Physician, Scientist & Photographer

Roberta Bondar was the first Canadian woman to fly in space. An astronaut, physician, and photographer, Roberta expanded the horizons of millions when she joined the space shuttle Discovery for its 1992 mission.

“Society needs heroes to rejuvenate, re-energize and renew itself with visions of the possible. That’s what heroes do.”

[expand title=”In detail”] For more than a decade at NASA, Roberta headed an international research team, continuing to find new connections between astronauts recovering from the microgravity of space and neurological illnesses on earth, such as stroke and Parkinson’s disease. Roberta is a member of the Governing Council of icipe, a pan-African institute researching the influence of climate change on the spread of insect borne diseases. She is Co-Founder and President of The Roberta Bondar Foundation, created to inspire all ages and to view and to engage our natural environment in a positive light through the lens of photography. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Roberta’s highly motivationaltalkspunctuated by her stunning photographsfocus on change, social responsibility and our environment. Roberta brings added value with her maturity, wisdom gained from “in the trenches” life experiences, broad educational background and depth of personality.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]By customizing each speech and keynote Roberta will ensure that any event will be extraordinary.
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Former Team Principal, Team McLaren Mercedes & Chairman & CEO, McLaren Group

Ron Dennis was head of the world-beating McLaren Formula 1 team from 1980 to 2009. Having announced his decision to step down as McLaren team principal in 2009, he makes it very clear – he is not retiring, but going to work harder, so that McLaren can “power through this recession”. Lauded as one of Britain’s most successful managers, he is known for combining an obsessive attention to detail with a powerful long-term vision.

“Formula One’s kingmaker…a man rated as F1’s supreme operator'” – The Observer

[expand title=”In detail”] At just 21, Ron Dennis headed up engineering and mechanics for Australia’s triple world Formula 1 champion Jack Brabham. He created the McLaren International team in 1980 when he merged his own company, Project Four, with Team McLaren Limited. The outfit dominated Formula One in the 1980s and at either end of the 1990s, with four consecutive constructors’ titles. McLaren has competed in Formula One since 1966, but it was under Dennis that it achieved dominance in the 1990s, becoming the most successful Formula One team in history at that time, with 148 Grands Prix wins. The team has also claimed eleven Formula One Drivers’ World Championships and eight Formula One World Constructors’ Championships.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Ron Dennis, the ultimate Formula One street fighter, shares with his global audiences his experience and knowledge of how to lead in the fastest, most competitive global marketplace of all. Ron’s McLaren has been called a frictionless machine and he reveals how to create a culture that brings together the top talent from your industry and unites them behind a common goal.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Ron Dennis’ truly captivating and highly motivating presentations are not to be missed. His insights into to the establishing of a world class company, that continually pushes forward the frontiers of technical design and application in many fields of advanced engineering, are relevant to every industry.[/expand]

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Former Leader at Barclays, Musician and Founder of Moving Performance

Ben Hines is the Founder and Director of Moving Performance. He has worked with some of the world’s leading companies, and after founding Moving Performance in 2009, he was able to bring together his two passions: people development and music. Ben uniquely combines his 13 years of commercial experience in the financial and legal sectors with his own musical abilities as a semi-professional orchestral French horn player.

[expand title=”In detail”] In his earlier career Ben led high-performing teams in the financial and professional service industries. As strategic marketer for Barclays PLC he created and implemented numerous innovative segmented product solutions across multiple countries extending Barclays’ international coverage. With CPA Global, a leading legal services provider, he advised and brought significant change to how the company structured itself to maximise its key markets.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]In his presentations, Ben uses music to help both executive boards and emerging leaders to reflect on their strengths and those of others, to move toward more collaborative and productive outcomes. He works across the world facilitating leadership programmes and as a conference keynote speaker.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Ben has an amazing ability to bond teams around a cause through music. It is a beautiful, uplifting and long-lasting experience. Ben offers a bespoke service to meet the need of any organisation.
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Former SAS Member

Chris Ryan made a miraculous solo escape travelling the 300km (200 miles) from Iraq to Syria on foot with no food and little water. This remarkable feat of determination was triggered when the SAS mission that he was on was compromised. Since leaving the SAS, he has written a number of best selling novels, is a military consultant to a computer games designer and co-devised and consulted on ITV1’s military action drama ‘Ultimate Force’. In 2005 Chris presented ‘How not to Die’ for Sky and was also the military consultant to Codemasters stealth-based first-person computer game – IGI2: Covert Strike

His eight day escape is the longest known in SAS history

[expand title=”In detail”] In 1984 he joined the 22nd SAS, the regular regiment, and completed three tours whose operations and exercises took him all over the world. He also worked extensively on the counter-terrorist field serving as an assaulter, sniper and finally Sniper Team Commander on the Special Projects team.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]If ever there was an example of winning against the odds, this is it. Hearing his survival experience is truly inspiring and boosts your own motivation.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]In his relaxed manner he will capture your every thought with his spell binding story.[/expand]

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Innovation & Leadership Strategist

Navi Radjou is an innovation and leadership advisor based in Silicon Valley. He is a Fellow at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge and has served as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Design Innovation. Navi is a regular columnist on Harvard Business Review and has co-authored the bestseller ‘Jugaad Innovation’ which was shortlisted for 2013 Thinkers50 CK Prahalad Breakthrough Idea Award.

“Thinkers50 Innovation Award 2013 for re-shaping the way we think about and practice innovation”

[expand title=”In detail”] Navi served as Executive Director of the Centre for India & Global Business at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. Previously, he was a VP/analyst at Forrester Research in Boston and San Francisco and advised senior executives on breakthrough growth strategies. Navi has consulted with leading organizations including E&Y, TCS and Microsoft and has addressed speeches at the WEF, Harvard and the MIT. He was featured in the NYT, Wall Street Journal and The Economist amongst others and his 2014 TED Global talk on frugal innovation was viewed over 1 million times. Navi studied at Ecole Centrale Paris and the Yale School of Management.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Navi advises leading organisations and helps them to compete and win in the global economy. He helps leaders find good ideas with bigger impact, bring innovative products and services to growing segments and tap undiscovered markets. He also identifies cutting-edge growth strategies from emerging markets that can help the world’s top companies innovate and grow faster and better in a complex environment.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]An energetic and passionate speaker with a clear view of global markets, Navi’s ideas are fresh and his delivery is filled with stories and humour.[/expand]

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Founder of JQED, Speaker and Author

Jamil Qureshi is one of today’s foremost practitioners of performance enhancing psychology. As the founder of JQED and creator of Mind Shaping, Jamil has enjoyed working with a rich diversity of the most talented business and sports people in the world. Ranked among the most influential figures in British sport in 2009, Jamil was voted in the top 100 most powerful men in golf last year by his international peers.

“We are all inherently self-limiting and are unwittingly sabotaged by hidden fears and insecurities created by past experiences”

[expand title=”In detail”] Jamil has worked with business leaders and companies in over 24 different countries last year alone helping teams to fulfill their potential by orchestrating change and performance programmes. He has developed and delivered management and leadership programmes at board level for Coca Cola, Hewlett Packard, Emirates Airlines, Serco, Orange, and Royal Bank of Scotland Having spent fifteen years working with the world’s elite, he is in a genuinely unique position to define ‘the difference that makes the difference’. Jamil is one of only a few external psychologists ever to be allowed to study astronauts on the NASA Space Programme.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]In his talks, Jamil shares with his audiences his practical insights into the psychology of attaining high performance as an individual or team. His knowledge in the area of optimizing human potential comes from his experience of working with top performers in the world of sport and business, many of which have been in the top ten in the world in their chosen profession, and indeed in a few cases, number one.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]His talks are fun, sometimes interactive, but always engaging and thought provoking. Jamil delivers all his talks in ‘learning points’ to ensure audiences obtain real value from the content and can take away the content in the most personally beneficial way.[/expand]

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Market Guru and Global Entrepreneur

Alpesh Patel is a barrister, broadcaster and asset manager who reaches 280 million viewers through his newspaper review on the BBC, discussing politics, economics and social issues from the Arab Spring to US and Chinese elections. He has been appointed as Dealmaker for the British Government covering India and China. His role is to find the most innovative technologies, from cybersecurity and cleantech to mobile apps and healthcare, and help the companies of outstanding entrepreneurs go global.

“The UK’s best known internet trader”

[expand title=”In detail”] Alpesh was appointed by the Foreign Secretary as the youngest member of the UK-India Roundtable to examine ways of improving bilateral relations between the two countries and report directly to the Prime Minister. His role was to advocate creative solutions from areas of academic exchanges to bilateral trade to tourism. He has written for the Financial Times since 1999, and provided regular market views for Barclays, Merrill Lynch and HSBC, as well as investment talks for American Express and Goldman Sachs He is a former Visiting Fellow in Business of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and a trustee of the Royal Institute of International Affairs.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]In his presentations Alpesh Patel combines practical wisdom with academic insights. What makes Patel special is not just his insightful observations of social and economic trends, but the engrossing way he presents them. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Alpesh is an accomplished speaker, gauging his audience perfectly which makes him an extremely engaging speaker, bringing his audience with him every step of the way. He comes across as charismatic and knowledgeable with a relaxed style to his lively and entertaining talks. [/expand]

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UN Peace Keeper Hostage who escaped from Sierra Leone Rebels

Major Phil Ashby is a true hero! He is renowned for his daring and dramatic escape, leading a group of hostages to freedom from rebel forces in war torn Sierra Leone. Although perhaps the most difficult thing he has had to deal with is the virus he picked up whilst in Sierra Leone which left him paralysed from the waist downwards. In 2005 he made his television debut in BBC’s SAS-Survival Secrets and won the punishing North Pole Race in record time. Most recently, in 2006 he presented Simply Arctic, also for the BBC.

“A genuine hero”

[expand title=”In detail”] He joined the Royal Marines at the age of 17 as a Second Lieutenant, the youngest commissioned officer in HM Forces. Having completed his Arctic Warfare training, and earned his Green Beret, he was sponsored by the Marines to attend Pembroke College, Cambridge. On leaving the university, he served in Alaska, Brunei, Central America, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, and Norway, and then undertook a year of specialist training as a Royal Marines Mountain Leader. In 1999, he was promoted to Major, the youngest person to hold that rank in the whole of the armed forces, and was posted to Sierra Leone. He was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his dramatic escape from rebel forces there. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Phil can really reach, move and entertain his audiences. He draws on his astonishing experiences to demonstrate that through true determination and sheer will power you can achieve almost anything. He is a natural storyteller who can adapt to suit any occasion. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]A powerful and charismatic speaker Phil is in great demand from audiences eager to learn from his truly inspirational story.[/expand]

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Former Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, European Commission

Michel Barnier was, until 2014, the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services and is also a Vice President of the European People’s Party. As European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, he handled many important issues, such as the reform of the financial sector (40 pieces of legislation between 2010 and 2014), the banking union (starting with the Single Supervisory Mechanism) and the digital single market. In early 2015 he was appointed as Special Adviser on European Defence and Security Policy.

“One of the leading figures in European Politics”

[expand title=”In detail”] Mr. Barnier served as European Commissioner in the Prodi (1999-2004) and Barroso II (2010-2014) Commissions. In 2001 he chaired the Working Group on European Defence as a member of the Praesidium of the Convention on the Future of Europe. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs in the French Government (2004-2005). In 2006 Mr. Barnier, acting as Special Advisor to then Commission President José Manuel Barroso, he presented a report to the European Council proposing the creation of European civil protection force. In the Barroso II Commission, he was one of those leading the ‘Defence’ Task Force and oversaw the European Commission’s Communication on European defence markets.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]A world-wide respected politician, Michel Barnier brings a wealth of useful information to decision makers from all businesses wishing to expand their operations in Europe. Drawing upon his experiences as European Commissioner, he addresses vital issues particularly on Europe and International Relations.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]His excellent leadership qualities and outstanding knowledge as one of Europe’s foremost politicians make Michel Barnier a highly sought after commentator at the most prestigious conferences around the world.
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Former EU Commissioner & Authority on EU, Latin American and Caribbean Business Relations

Benita Ferrero-Waldner is a diplomat, politician and business woman. She is the President of the European Union-Latin America and Caribbean Foundation (EU-LAC Foundation) which was created in 2010. The Foundation aims at transforming the strategic partnership between the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean. A career diplomat, she has been Secretary of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs in her native Austria and Commissioner of the European Union.

“A leading figure on Europe’s policy making and international relations”

[expand title=”In detail”] Benita Ferrero-Waldner has a doctorate in Law from the Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg. Her career highlights include Head of Protocol to the Secretary General of the United Nations and President of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Today, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the German insurance company Munich Re. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Príncipe de Girona Foundation, a member of the Bertelsmann Foundation and of the think tank Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y Diálogo. She has received numerous decorations from countries around the world including the 2010 Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]In her presentations Benita Ferrero-Waldner provides valuable insights into European issues, international trade and particularly Europe’s business relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. Her advice is well received by decision makers from all fields.

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[expand title=”How she presents”]Thanks to her outstanding leadership qualities and extensive experience in international policy making and the global business scenario, Benita Ferrero-Waldner is a highly sought-after commentator at prestigious conferences around the globe. [/expand]

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