The Leading Speakers Bureau

Media Mogul and Broadcaster

Andrew Neil is a publisher, broadcaster and company chairman working out of London, New York, Dubai and the South of France. He is currently Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Press Holdings Media Group, publishers of The Spectator, Spectator Business, Spectator Australia, Spectator India and Apollo, the world-renowned art magazine. He currently presents four editions of the Daily Politics on BBC2 every week, the award-winning This Week on BBC1 and Straight Talk with Andrew Neil on BBC News 24.

“An acknowledged expert on British, European & US politics & business”

[expand title=”In detail”] During his career, Andrew has been lobby correspondent in the British Parliament, White House correspondent then British Editor of The Economist, Editor of The Sunday Times of London and Executive Chairman of Sky Television, which he launched in 1989 as Britain’s first multi-channel satellite TV platform. Until recently he was a member of the International Advisory Board of Al Jazeera, the international news channel based in Doha, Qatar; and Publisher of The Scotsman Group of newspapers in Edinburgh. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]In addition to his business responsibilities, Andrew is a well-known anchorman on BBC TV. At the forefront of world news and digital television developments he is well placed to comment on the information revolution. A widely respected opinion leader and a businessman with real and current knowledge, he will help you plan your future communications strategy. As well as being a versatile commentator on British and US politics and business, Andrew enjoys a ringside seat on all major developments in media and technology.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Informal but professional, humorous but thought-provoking, Andrew will add pace and energy to your event.[/expand]
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Philanthropist, World Famous Author & Creator of the Harry Potter Series

Joanne “Jo” Murray OBE better known as J. K. Rowling is perhaps equally famous for her “rags to riches” life story, in which she progressed from living on welfare to multi-millionaire status within five years. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, sold more than 400 million copies, and been the basis for a popular series of films. Time magazine named her as a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fandom.

Forbes ranked J. K. Rowling as the forty-eighth most powerful celebrity of 2007

[expand title=”In detail”] In 2000, graduate of Exeter University, a teacher and then an unemployed single parent, “Jo” established the Volant Charitable Trust, which combats poverty and social inequality and in 2005 founded the Children’s High Level Group. She is the president of the charity One Parent Families. She has received honorary degrees from St Andrews University, the University of Edinburgh, Napier University, the University of Exeter and the University of Aberdeen. The Harry Potter novels have been translated into more than 60 languages.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Perhaps no one in our time has done more than J.K. Rowling to inspire young people to experience the excitement and the sheer joy of reading. She conveys the idea that we do not need magic to transform the world. She emphasizes that we should not be afraid of failure in life as our imaginations are our greatest gifts. She is an experienced speaker, having spoken at prestigious global events including being Harvard University’s principal commencement speaker.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]J. K. Rowling speaks from the heart and provides inspiration to a wide ranging worldwide audience.[/expand]
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Technology Guru, Founder & Director, Persuasive Technology Lab, Stanford Univ., Palo Alto

B.J. Fogg is best known for promoting the concept of “captology,” a word he coined to describe the overlap between persuasion and computers. The founder of the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab is one of the most sought-after thinkers in Silicon Valley today. As a psychologist he brings a new perspective on working with technology innovations. He holds at least seven patents, and has additional patents pending.

Fortune Magazine recently listed BJ as one of “10 New Gurus You Should Know”

[expand title=”In detail”] B.J. Fogg has held full-time positions at Interval Research, HP Labs, Sun Microsystems, and Casio Research. In 2003, shortly after publishing his book, he began investigating how computers can help people develop close personal relationships. This work has led to a startup and Internet service YackPack. Stanford University awarded BJ the Maccoby Prize in 1998 for four years of experimental research on how computers can change people’s attitudes and behaviours.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]B.J. Fogg applies his findings to companies like eBay (where he’s working to improve customer service) and Nike (where he has helped simplify its sports technology line) and shares his insights with his worldwide audiences. His research goes deep into investigating the psychology of Facebook, how Web site or cell-phone design can impact consumers and he has started research into Peace Innovation (the vision is to innovate persuasive technologies that can bring about world peace in 30 years). [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]B.J.’s life’s work is to shape technology innovation in ways that benefit the world and make people happier and his powerful and passionate presentations draw us all that little bit closer.[/expand]
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Founding Director of Mythodrama

Richard Olivier is Artistic Director and founder of Olivier Mythodrama. He works internationally as a leadership development consultant, keynote conference speaker and workshop leader. Richard is the founding voice within Mythodrama – a new form of experiential learning which combines great stories with psychological insights, creative exercises and organisational development techniques to explore issues faced by modern leaders.

The leaders of tomorrow will need to be ordinary human beings with extraordinary talents

[expand title=”In detail”] He has worked extensively in the fields of Organisational and Personal Development and his work today is at the leading edge of bringing the world of theatre into the development of authentic leaders. He was a leading theatre director for over 10 years and directed Henry V for the opening of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London in 1997. He was a guest speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2003 & 2009 and collaborates with many other global organisations.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Richard uses Shakespeare’s Henry V as a rich source of inspiration for his presentations. A near perfect story of successful leadership – it’s not just the famous speeches that offer lessons for the modern manager, but also the intricate subtleties of incidents throughout the play. From the first line to the last scene the plot reflects invaluable insights into leadership.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Tailoring each event to the client’s needs, Richard’s highly entertaining and unique presentations make him one of the most sought-after motivational speakers available.[/expand]
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Business Guru and Media Personality

René Carayol is an internationally renowned business guru and media personality. René is a regular broadcaster for the BBC and has presented the influential Pay Off Your Mortgage In 2 Years series, BBC2’s flagship business offering The Money Programme and the critically acclaimed Mind Of A Millionaire and Man From The Met documentaries.

René’s focus is on inspirational leadership and culture, bound together with a compelling philosophy founded on his own board level experience.

[expand title=”In detail”] He is the bestselling author of the influential ‘Corporate Voodoo’ and ‘My Voodoo’ books, a frequent voice on Radio 5 Live, a regular fixture reviewing the press on Sky News, a former Non-Executive Director of the Inland Revenue and a former Director of IPC Media and Pepsi. René has provided leadership support to the likes of the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, the Home Office and McKinsey and Co, and is now an accomplished Visiting Professor at Cass Business School. In 2004 he was awarded an MBE for outstanding service to the business community.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]René has built his reputation on knowing businesses better than they do themselves; providing answers and solutions no matter how big or small the problems that simmer below the surface. He brings real case studies from the leadership frontline, describing both abject failure and winning from the front.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]His messages are practical, real life experiences presented with electrifying effect. He both shakes up and inspires his audiences, showing them not only what lies within their grasp but when to grasp the nettle.[/expand]
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International Drummer, Motivator, Educator

Born in L.A, Mark Schulman has developed a career as a successful and multi-faceted musician performing as a drummer for rock, pop and jazz at numerous concerts and for a huge variety of internationally celebrated artistes. His work as a first class motivator is outstanding as he communicates with audiences across the globe who are stunned by his incredible life changing seminars. Mark has gained a reputation as an outstanding keynote speaker and motivator working with a huge variety of top clients including Cisco Systems.

“A unique motivator with a unique style”

[expand title=”In detail”] Mark Schulman is a trained audio engineer and an active educator, teaching at the Los Angeles Music Academy as well as holding drumming clinics around the world. Mark is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Create Now!. An organization founded in 1996 created to help troubled children change their lives through creative arts mentoring.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Mark delivers powerful, fun and massively entertaining models for success, leadership and ‘stress busting’ drawing on his wealth of experiences and work with world-class artists. Mark draws on the most unique and effective motivational methods to inspire teamwork, increase productivity, reduce stress and stimulate productivity.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Incorporating interactive drumming, live video and remarkably unique concepts, Mark captures the audience with his non-stop entertainment and anecdotal stories from being on the road.[/expand]
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One of the World’s Leading Wine Authors and Oeonologists

Hugh Johnson is considered worldwide as the leading wine author. The two exceptional successes of his amazing career are ‘The World Atlas of Wine’ which is celebrating its quarter century and the annually updated ‘Pocket Encyclopedia of Wine’ now in its second decade.

With his extensive knowledge and his outstanding talent Hugh’s strength is taking the incredibly complex subject of wine and making it accessible to any audience.

International Wine & Spirit Competition 1998 Communicator of the Year.

[expand title=”In detail”] Hugh Johnson began acquiring his knowledge of wine as a member of the Wine and Food Society at Cambridge University. In 1963 he succeeded André Simon as editor of ‘Wine and Food’. With the publication of his first book ‘Wine’ he established himself, at the age of 27, as one of the subject’s foremost writers. Hugh regularly publishes articles in the most prestigious magazines worldwide. He was feature writer for Condé Nast Magazines, Editor of the Wine and Food Magazine, Wine Correspondent for the Sunday Times and Wine Editor of the New York Cuisine Magazine. Currently Hugh is President of The Sunday Times Wine Club and The Hugh Johnson Collection Ltd.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]A highly respected author, editor and broadcaster, Hugh is a brilliant communicator and experienced speaker who inspires his audiences with his sensibility and expertise.

He has appeared in several TV series including ‘Wine – A User’s Guide’. ‘Vintage – A History of Wine’ and ‘Return Voyage’.

Acknowledged as a leading authority he won numerous awards including the contested Literature prize from the Academy of Bordeaux, 1987, in 1998 he won the highest decoration from the German Gastronomic Academy (GAD) and 1998 he was chosen as the Communicator of the Year from the International Wine and Spirit Competition.[/expand]
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Expert on Leadership and Former General Secretary for the UK TGWU

Lord Bill Morris is renowned for his achievements as one of the UK’s most prominent union leaders. Now retired from the TGWU, he is involved in a range of activities. These include being a member of The Panel for Mergers and Takeovers, Chair of Midland Heart and serving as a lay Judge on the Employment Appeals Council. He is a regular broadcaster on current social, economic and political issues, and he presented a BBC Radio Four series, Workaday World which looked at the changing patterns of work in the UK and further a field.

”Diversity is the compass which guides our moral pathway”
Bill Morris

[expand title=”In detail”] Former non-Executive Director of the Bank of England and the Unity Trust Bank, Bill also served on the Royal Commission on the Reform of the House of Lords, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Advisory Councils of the BBC and IBA. His lifelong enthusiasm for education has led to numerous honorary degrees, and he is Chancellor of the University of Technology in Jamaica and Stafford University. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]A “people’s champion”, as the most skilled negotiator and confirmed social reformer, he can guide audiences through the challenges of change like no other. He offers unique perspectives of globalisation and the changing world and his leadership qualities, skills as a negotiator and political acumen have made him a force to be reckoned with.[/expand]
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Director of Global Logistics for Amazon.com

Girish Lakshman has been a part of the Amazon.com e-logistics strategy since July 1999, he has been instrumental in shaping the logistics strategy of the company and is now a recognised leader in this field. He has thirteen years experience in the manufacturing and automotive industry, and has provided corporate strategy advice in the biotech industry in India.

Through his presentations he explains how to develop prototypical decision support systems to demonstrate the benefits of using IT for creating an optimal level of core inventory. Girish also uses his expertise to enable business leaders to design and implement systems to project production at cost for different manufacturing facilities to level load production and reduce manpower requirements.

[expand title=”In detail”] He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Osmania University, India, and studied a variety of topics at the Graduate School of the University of Missouri Rolla. He has been an officer of the Young Orators Club for several years, learning and teaching the art of public speaking.

He has led the effort to establish an optimised inventory distribution plan across the network at Amazon.com, including formulating the functional specifications to correlate split shipments with inventory placement and distribution centre capacity, systems evaluation and integration.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Girish has been an inspirational leader in transforming traditional business culture into an environment ready to compete intelligently in the e-commerce world. His experience has been hands-on and has left a legacy of leadership and forward thinking in all the places he has worked.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Most recently he has designed several decision support systems, and has implemented a number of training programmes to demonstrate the complexities of IT systems and the benefits that can be reaped by correct system application.

Girish Lakshman is a highly motivating and articulate speaker, his enlightening presentations are always well received. He not only inspires but also presents his clients with actionable solutions that can be implemented immediately.[/expand]
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Founder and Director of the Lean Enterprise Academy

Daniel Jones is Founder and Director of The Lean Enterprise Academy where the main thrust of his work has been to develop and help to implement the ’Lean Business System’. Based on ‘Lean Thinking’ principles learnt from Toyota, this starts by defining customer value, which then leads to the reorganisation of every step required to design, order, build, deliver and maintain this value across all the organisations involved.

Professor Jones has helped to establish a global network of institutes dedicated to researching, educating and publishing action-oriented knowledge on the Lean Business System

[expand title=”In detail”] After a research career at the National Institute for Economic and Social Research in London and the Sussex European Research Centre and Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University he was appointed Professor of Manufacturing Management at Cardiff University Business School in 1989, where he was the founding Director of the Lean Enterprise Research Centre (LERC) from 1994 to 2001.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Daniel is dedicated to helping corporations to identify and achieve first-class performance levels throughout the globe. In his enlightening presentations he shows decision makers how, by implementing ‘Lean Thinking’, firms can do more with less, respond more quickly to customer needs, create more rewarding jobs for employees and reduce their impact on the environment.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]An experienced speaker, Professor Jones’ presentations are filled with actionable information and are invaluable for all businesses wishing to apply the innovative approaches in making the transition to ‘Lean Management’.
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