The Leading Speakers Bureau

Senior Cyber Crime Advisor at PwC

Charlie McMurdie is an acknowledged cyber-crime and security expert. She has a proven and highly acclaimed reputation for generating strategic direction and delivery of operational capability to confront the impact of cyber-crime whilst proactively utilising and responding to emerging technologies which fuel it. Charlie is the Senior Cyber Crime Advisor at PwC and currently advises and leads for PwC on a range of global strategic and operational cyber security programmes.

“An internationally acclaimed authority on cyber security”

[expand title=”In detail”] Completing almost 32 years’ service in the Metropolitan Police retiring at the rank of Detective Superintendent, Charlie is an individual who has breadth of vision, innovation and credibility as demonstrated in establishing and building the Police Central e-crime Unit, a world class cyber-crime capability and the national cyber-crime investigative and enforcement body in the United Kingdom. In addition Charlie is an internationally acclaimed authority and advisor on issues within government and industry in relation to the Internet, communication technology, computing and security sectors.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Charlie is an effective ambassador and negotiator with refined interpersonal and influencing skills who led UK policing on a range of strategic programmes and sensitive partnerships. Her tremendous comprehension of all the criteria influencing cyber security offer decision makers from all fields the most complete analysis of this topic.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]A distinguished, experienced speaker and highly respected expert, Charlie McMurdie provides excellent and useful inside knowledge on the topic of cybercrime and security. [/expand]

Continue Reading »

Expert on Strategy in Uncertain and Volatile Environments

Rita Gunther McGrath, a Professor at Columbia Business School, is a globally recognized expert on strategy in uncertain and volatile environments. Her thinking is highly regarded by readers and clients who include Pearson, Covidien, Coca-Cola Enterprises, General Electric, Alliance Boots, and the World Economic Forum. She is a popular instructor, a sought-after speaker, and a consultant to senior leadership teams. She was recognized as one of the top 10 management thinkers by global management award Thinkers50 in 2013, and won the award for outstanding achievement in the strategy category.

[expand title=”In detail”] She’s also been recognized as one of the top ten business school professors to follow on Twitter, and was named one of the 25 smartest women to follow on Twitter by Fast Company magazine. In 2009, she was inducted as a Fellow of the Strategic Management Society, an honor accorded those who have had a significant impact on the field. She serves as Dean of the Fellows. Rita McGrath appears regularly on television and radio and is often cited in the press. She maintains an active blog and is featured as a discussion leader at Harvard Business Online. Rita’s academic publications have appeared in leading journals. She is a member of several editorial boards of prestigious journals.

Rita is an exceptional instructor and is highly valued for her ability to challenge executives’ assumptions and provoke fresh thinking. Her extensive experience with companies all over the world, make her a unique resource for organizational leaders. Rita takes complex topics and makes them understandable and applicable. Her presentations are extremely informative, full of examples, case studies and questions which prompt lively discussions. Her handouts, tools, and slides enhance her classes tying academic research to actionable takeaways. [/expand]

Continue Reading »

Computer Security Expert

Avi Rubin is an internationally renowned expert on information security. He is professor of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University and Technical Director of the JHU Information Security Institute. His primary research area is computer security and the security of electronic medical records. In addition, he is the Director of the Health and Medical Security Lab at Johns Hopkins and also founded Harbor Labs, a company that provides technical expertise and testimony in high tech litigation.

“A leading voice on computer and information security”

[expand title=”In detail”] Prior to joining the faculty at Johns Hopkins, Avi worked in the Secure Systems Research Department at AT&T Labs Research. His work included the areas of cryptography, network security, Web security and secure Internet services. He has authored several books related to electronic security. Avi is a member of several advisory boards and the recipient of numerous national and international awards and recognitions. Avi received a B.S., M.S.E. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Avi’s remarks on technological and network security issues are of great interest for decision makers from all businesses. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Thought provoking and inspiring and with a captivating and humorous style, Ari Rubin’s presentations are well received at prestigious conferences around the globe. [/expand]

Continue Reading »

Privacy Economist

Alessandro Acquisti is a Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy at the Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and an Andrew Carnegie Fellow (inaugural class). He is the Director of the Peex (Privacy Economics Experiments) lab at CMU and the co-director of CMU CBDR (Center for Behavioral and Decision Research). He investigates the economics of privacy. His studies have spearheaded the investigation of privacy and disclosure behavior in online social networks, and the application of behavioral economics to the study of privacy and information security decision making.

“A pioneer in the emerging field of the behavioral economics of privacy in social networks”

[expand title=”In detail”] Alessandro’s studies have been published in journals across several disciplines, as well as edited books, conference proceedings, and numerous keynotes. Alessandro has been the recipient of the PET Award for Outstanding Research in Privacy Enhancing Technologies, the IBM Best Academic Privacy Faculty Award, the Heinz College School of Information’s Teaching Excellence Award, and multiple Best Paper awards. Alessandro holds a PhD from UC Berkeley, and Master degrees from UC Berkeley, the London School of Economics, and Trinity College Dublin. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]The line between public and private has blurred in the past decade, both online and in real life. In his presentations Alessandro Acquisti explains what this means and why it matters. He shares details of recent and ongoing research, including a project that shows how easy it is to match a photograph of a stranger with their sensitive personal information.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]In his thought-provoking, slightly chilling talk, Alessandro engages his audiences as he explores new landscapes of research. [/expand]

Continue Reading »

One of the World’s Leading Style & Retail Experts

Kinvara Balfour has become a leading web expert and an authority on everything from fashion and beauty to food and retail culture, having worked in almost every area of the fashion industry. She has contributed to The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Vogue, Sunday Times Style, The Observer, ES and Quintessentially magazines. She has sat on the British Fashion Council’s prestigious London Fashion Week selection committee and, for several seasons, compiled much of their official literature.

“Kinvara shares her views on consumer & product trends of the future”

[expand title=”In detail”] After university, Kinvara Balfour worked as Fashion Assistant and then Features Writer at Tatler. Her appointment as Style Editor at the Saturday Telegraph Magazine followed, where she gained a reputation as one of London’s most instinctive style writers. Having won the Lloyd’s Bank Fashion Challenge out of 29,000 entries at 16, she began her career assisting the competition’s judge, Vivienne Westwood, in her design studio. Several years at Tomasz Starzewski followed, alongside a spell as a fashion model. Three years later she was awarded the role of London Editor for daily email phenomenon DailyCandy.com. A cult hit in USA, this was to be DailyCandy’s first international edition, and she launched it to mass acclaim. In addition, she trained as an actress at Central and has written two plays.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Fashion trend hunter, Kinvara Balfour advises today’s culture-conscious brands on what is happening in the world of fashion, beauty and style, both physically, on the catwalk and most famously, on the web. Her topics extend well beyond the field of fashion – she speaks on subjects ranging from youth markets to recognising trend changes and leading brand strengths. Today she hosts trend presentations and consultations around the world. Having consulted some of the largest global retail brands, she offers an edge as sharp as any Samurai sword; her insights translate into profits for clients. [/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Kinvara Balfour is an articulate and informative speaker with an impressive knowledge of what is happening in the world of style, fashion and beauty. Her sense of humour and charming character serve her well, she is an intelligent and very likeable individual with an infectious enthusiasm.[/expand]

Continue Reading »

Former Model, Entrepreneur, Campaigner, Activist and Speed Ski World Record Holder

Heather Mills’ many roles have taken her around the world to remote and dangerous places. Her message is simple: never give up. She recounts tales of her varied and interesting life and draws them back to business matters. Heather worked in war-zones as an activist and London as a businesswoman and model until 1993 when, having returned from war-torn Yugoslavia, she was involved in a road accident. She lost her left leg, crushed her pelvis, her lung was punctured and her family were told that she would die. Since that date she has continued to campaign but has also become a global ambassador for high-achieving amputees, winning Gold medals and holding world records in adaptive speed skiing.

“Heather has made a real difference to families, communities, countries and to our world” Hillary Clinton

[expand title=”In detail”] Heather is an activist charity campaigner, philanthropist and United Nations Association Goodwill Ambassador who campaigned for over 15 years to raise funds and awareness to rid the world of landmines. Her charity work as an Ambassador for the global landmine campaign helped raise over $18.5 million and her team became the largest funder of landmine clearance in the world. Heather has appeared both as a guest and as a presenter and journalist on countless TV shows and channels including Larry King Live, Oprah Winfrey and the BBC.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Activist, campaigner, ambassador, medal-winner, wife and mother – Heather has worked and lived under a number of labels with one core focus: overcoming adversity. With an outstanding perseverance and dogged commitment, Heather’s work and perseverance serve as an inspiration to many. She offers audiences the opportunity to see for themselves the difference one person can make to the quality of lives of thousands of people around the world. She demonstrates the courage required overcoming the odds and how her determination has motivated her over the years.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Heather is a shining example of how a positive attitude can overcome adversity. She has the power and ability to instil enthusiasm and positive thinking into others and her attitude is contagious. Her ability to address a wide range of audiences has taken her as a guest speaker to meetings all around the world.[/expand]

Continue Reading »

Documentary Producer, Best Selling Author and Satirist

Michael Moore is one of America’s most popular satirists and documentary makers. His documentaries and publications have received numerous prizes and have been translated into 24 languages. Famous for his provocative populist presentations and documentations that are unapologetic attacks on callous business corporations and opportunistic right wing politicians, Michael provides a powerful and entertaining, but thought provoking view on culture and society.

[expand title=”In detail”] Michael started his career in the 1950’s as journalist and editor of the famous magazine ‘Mother Jones’. In 1989 he produced the Grammy winning documentary ‘Roger and Me’ the most successful documentary ever. Moore’s film shows what happens when General Motors decides to close down its plant in Flint, Michigan. 30,000 people lost their jobs and Flint’s economy was plunged into depression. The film details Moore’s attempt to get an interview with GM head Roger Smith to show him the devastation done to his hometown. In the following years he created and moderated shows like ‘Awful Truth’ and ‘TV Nation’ which have now a cult status and which won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Series in 1995. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]He has been challenging economic and political giants for more than two decades and has emerged as one of America’s freshest and funniest political voices. As host and executive producer of TV Nation, he redefined the TV news magazine for a new generation and created what The Wall Street Journal called “the rarest of species – a television programme both funny and important”.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]‘Bowling for Columbine’, a hard hitting documentary about gun control has won 33 awards, including an Oscar for the best documentary in 2003 and has been called the best documentary of all time. His exceptional book ‘Stupid White Men’ was over one year on the New York Times Bestseller list and was translated into 24 languages with over 3 millions copies worldwide.

With a lively, humorous and satirical style of presentation, Michael is a sought after and effective speaker at corporate events. [/expand]

Continue Reading »

Award Winning Film Producer

Michael Rose is an award-winning film producer. Together with producer Martin Pope, he runs London based Magic Light Pictures which they founded in 2003. Specialising in comedy and family, the company produces talent driven, quality entertainment, both live action and animation, for a worldwide audience. They have just completed production of Sparkle, a comedy feature film which will be released in the UK in 2007.

“A highly renowned film producer”

[expand title=”In detail”] Michael began his career programming independent cinemas in the UK. He has previously worked for Channel Four Television, buying series, movies and short stories. In 1994 he headed up the feature film division of a leading UK animation studio Aardman, and brokered Aardman’s $250m multi-picture deal with Hollywood studio Dreamworks. He was executive producer of the hit animated picture Chicken Run (2000) and this year’s Oscar and BAFTA winning Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Wererabbit, two of the most successful ever British feature films. Michael was joint producer of Nick Park’s 1995 Oscar winning Wallace and Gromit film, A Close Shave, and has won two BAFTAS for the animated short films, A Close Shave and Stage Fright. He has produced two other Oscar nominated short stories; Wats Pig and Humdrum. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Michael draws on his extensive experience to provide audiences with invaluable insights into the world of film production. He shares his secrets into the production of some of Hollywood’s hottest animations. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]A brilliant communicator Michael talks passionately about his experiences and always leaves audiences inspired and motivated.[/expand]

Continue Reading »

British TV News Reporter & Interviewer

Riz Khan currently hosts his own television show on Al Jazeera English. In 1996 he launched his interactive interview show CNN: Q&A with Riz Khan and he has conducted interviews with guests including former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela to name a few. He also secured the world exclusive with Pakistan’s General Pervez Musharraf following his coup in 1999. He was a presenter and reporter at the BBC for eight years and was the first mainstream Asian newsreader for their international network.

“A recognised face worldwide following extensive careers with the BBC & CNN prior to joining Al Jazeera”

[expand title=”In detail”] Riz Khan joined the Air Training Corps, graduated with a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Medical Physiology from the University of Wales, and then completed a postgraduate course in Radio Journalism at the University of Portsmouth. He first rose to prominence while working for the BBC and CNN and would later become one of the founding News Presenters on BBC World Service Television News. He hosted the news bulletin that launched BBC World Service Television News in 1991. In 1993, he moved to CNN International, where he became a senior anchor for the network’s global news shows.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Riz Khan has vast media experience interviewing analysts and policy makers. He offers strong presenting and interviewing skills and a world view.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Riz Khan is a highly respected presenter and interviewer who offers a unique window into the lives and activities of the world’s top political and business leaders resulting in a treasure trove of invaluable insights and information.[/expand]

Continue Reading »

Director of Henley Centre for HR Excellence & HR/Performance Strategist

Nick Holley is currently Professor and Director of Henley Business School’s Centre for HR excellence. He also runs his own HR performance consultancy and provides one to one coaching for a number of senior leaders. Nick has a unique background that combines experience as an army officer, ten years as a successful futures and foreign exchange broker with Merrill Lynch and sixteen years in senior organisational, leadership and people development roles in large global organisations. In his last two roles, Nick was partner in charge of learning for Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa for Arthur Andersen and director of global people development for Vodafone. His work on leadership development at Vodafone was externally benchmarked amongst the top five in Europe. This extensive commercial experience and customer focus provides a strong link between organisational change and bottom line performance improvement.

Voted the 5th most influential thinker in HR by Human Resource Magazine

[expand title=”In detail”] Nick has recently carried out research on employee engagement, HR and Big Data, HR careers, HR in the recession and recovery, HR leadership, HR organisational models, leadership development, performance management, talent management and what CEOs want from HR. Nick has worked with a number of major global businesses and governments in North and South America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe on a number of projects looking at change management, HR strategy and capability, leadership development, strategy implementation and people, performance and talent management.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Nick has been involved in creating and managing large scale organisational change, leadership and people development programmes and performance and talent management processes and systems but his real expertise lies in embedding them in day to day operations. Most organisations have great strategies but fail to deliver them. Nick understands the theory but combines this with a proven ability to deliver and sustain them in highly complex organisations.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Nick has the ability to turn solid ‘academic’ insights into practical and workable solutions and in his engaging, humorous and pragmatic presentations, he always energises and enriches his audience.
[/expand]

Continue Reading »