The Leading Speakers Bureau

Leading HR Thinker

Dr. Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge is the creator and driving force behind Quality & Equality. She founded the company in 1987 after a distinguished career in academia and in the marketplace. Her areas of expertise are organisation development, big system change, equality and diversity. In June 2008 she was voted one of the 25 most influential thinkers in HR by the HR Magazine.

“One of the most influential HR experts”

[expand title=”In detail”] Mee-Yan is the author of several OD articles, she frequently teaches on the National School of Government and other major corporate Top Management Programmes and is a Visiting Fellow of Roffey Park Institute. Mee-Yan worked with more than 300 clients from all sectors, including multinational blue chip companies, higher education, government agencies, public sector organisations and charities. She has committed to facilitate and support major change programmes and to ensure that change is synonymous with development.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]With an extensive theoretical and practical knowledge of organisation development, Mee-Yan explains how organisations work. She gives an understanding of the role senior managers play and also her own strong commitment to organisation development approaches and values. She has direct experience in delivering culture change within organisations and has improved organisational effectiveness and performance. [/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Her powerful presentations and successful working experience make Mee-Yan a highly sought-after speaker at prestigious conferences worldwide.[/expand]
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Iconic Singer, Writer, Symbol of Enduring Excellence, Dedicated Activist & Campaigner

Annie Lennox OBE is one of the world’s most renowned singer songwriters, formerly with the Eurythmics. She is celebrated as an innovator, an icon, and a symbol of enduring excellence. Annie’s music career is peerless with over 80 million record sales to date. In 2011, Annie received an OBE in the New Years Honours list. Throughout her career she has been honoured with prestigious awards in recognition for both her brilliant music and the great campaigning work she does for humanitarian causes around the world.

“After personally witnessing Nelson Mandela describing the African HIV AIDS pandemic as a genocide, with women and children being the frontline victims, I set out to try and do something” Annie Lennox

[expand title=”In detail”] Eurythmics released their first album, in 1981, but it was not until the worldwide success of their second album, (Sweet Dreams Are Made of This) in 1983, that Eurythmics became the musical phenomenon we know today. In 2007 Annie released her much-anticipated album, Songs of Mass Destruction to critical acclaim. The album featured SING a new song featuring 23 or the world’s most acclaimed female superstars, invited by Annie to appear on the record to help draw attention to the HIV AIDS pandemic. Now, the SING campaign continues to raise funds and awareness in order to contribute to support and change. In addition to that, Annie is an Ambassador for UNAIDS, Oxfam, Nelson Mandela’s 46664 Campaign, Amnesty International, The British Red Cross, as well as supporting numerous other organisations.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Annie Lennox uses her unique voice to fight stigma and bring about change. A tireless campaigner against HIV/AIDS in South Africa and its impact on women’s and children’s lives, she openly shares her experiences in South Africa and her fight against the HIV / AIDS epidemic at prestigious worldwide events including TEDGlobal 2010, having already raised 2 million dollars so far through her SING campaign.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]The most successful female British pop musician in history, Annie Lennox is a highly motivational and passionate speaker who powerfully and emotively explains the action everyone can take in fighting the pandemic. Drawing on her talents, she combines music and film to put a human face on the crisis and emotionally connect people to the cause.[/expand]
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Award-Winning Humanitarian & Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is courageous freedom fighter, one of the most influential and outspoken political figures of our time. A political crisis surrounding the potential stripping of her Dutch citizenship led to her resignation from the parliament, and led indirectly to the fall of the second Balkenende cabinet. She was named one of TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” of 2005, one of the Glamour Heroes of 2005 and Reader’s Digest’s European of the Year for 2005. In 2004 Ayaan gained international attention following the murder of Theo van Gogh who had directed her short film Submission.

In government she found her voice as an advocate for an “enlightened Islam”

[expand title=”In detail”] The daughter of a political opponent of the Somali dictatorship, Ayaan grew up in exile, moving from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia then Kenya. After earning her M.A. in political science, she worked as a researcher for the Wiardi Beckman Foundation in Amsterdam. She served as an elected member of the Dutch parliament from 2003 to 2006. While in parliament, she focused on furthering the integration of non-Western immigrants into Dutch society, and on defending the rights of Muslim women. She campaigned to raise awareness of violence against women, including honour killings and female genital mutilation, practices that had followed the immigrants into Holland.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]A fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, Ayaan Hirsi Ali has previously spoken to quite diverse audiences: in addition to many college venues where she has spoken, she has also been very well received at hedge funds, leadership conferences, Jewish community events, state department events, law enforcement / judiciary conferences. With her deft and thoughtful handling of a wide range of questions she provides moments of electric dialogue and debate.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a great speaker and a gracious person. Her talks are well-crafted and thoughtfully executed. Determined to voice the truth, she speaks about the importance of freedom of speech and the defense of the principles of the Enlightenment, the need to reform Islam, the rights of Muslim women.[/expand]
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Chairman of the British Film Institute and Former Director General of the BBC

Greg Dyke was appointed Chairman of the British Film Institute in February 2008. He was previously Director-General of the BBC. In his four years at the BBC he started four new digital television channels, five new digital radio channels, opened two new BBC regions, launched the BBC’s interactive television services and helped create Freeview. Greg reversed the trend at the BBC which took employees away from making programmes and made them into managers. In doing so he reduced administration costs dramatically from 24% of total income to 15%. In 2005, he became chairman of HIT and in 2006, he became chairman of Brentford Football Club.

“Mr Dyke is an outstanding business speaker”

[expand title=”In detail”] In 2004 he was formally appointed by the University of York as its new Chancellor. In this role, he is the honorific and ceremonial head of the University, as well as heading the University Development Board. In July 2004 Dyke was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Sunderland and Middlesex University.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Mr Dyke is an outstanding business speaker, he speaks in detail about his leadership methods and how at the BBC he successfully improved programming, reduced costs and increased the cultural diversity of the BBC’s work force.
Lech was inspirational and very interesting. Even though translated his presentation was well understood and the attendees rated him excellent – Global Business Management Software [/expand]
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Cultural Theorist, Novelist & One of the Most Relevant Philosophers Today

Prof. Kwame Anthony Appiah is one of America’s leading public intellectuals and an eminent philosopher. A renowned philosopher known for forging a code of ethics to fit a globalized world, he was once described as “our postmodern Socrates”. He has spent the last decade thinking about what it takes to turn moral understanding into moral behaviour. He challenges us to look beyond the boundaries — real and imagined — that divide us, and to see our common humanity. He is the Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University and the President of the PEN American Center, the internationally acclaimed literary and human rights association.

“In fitting abstract concepts to the changing demands of the modern world, he is trying to make philosophy relevant again”

[expand title=”In detail”] Kwame Anthony Appiah was educated at Cambridge University, where he received a Ph.D. in philosophy. As a scholar of African and African-American studies, he established himself as an intellectual with a broad reach and has now taught philosophy on three continents, having taught at Yale, Cornell, Duke, and Harvard universities and lectured at many other institutions in the US, Germany, Ghana and South Africa, and Paris. In 2008, he was recognized for his contributions to racial, ethnic, and religious relations when Brandeis University awarded him the first Joseph B. and Toby Glitter Prize.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]In his acerbic presentations, Kwame Anthony Appiah explores some of the central ethical questions of our time. Named by Foreign Policy magazine to its 2010 list of top global thinkers, he offers answers that are grounded in a new ethics (Cosmopolitanism) which celebrates our common humanity, while at the same time offering a practical way to manage our differences. He lays out a concept that is, not only compelling in its own right, but also suggests a connection that may in time help to collate biological and cultural exploration of human morality.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]With wit, reason and humanity, Kwame Anthony Appiah offers a new approach to living a moral life in the modern age, often achieving a Malcolm Gladwell-like balance between argument and storytelling. With fluency of argument and erudition, he asks profound questions about identity and ethics in a world where the sands of race, ethnicity, religion and nationalism continue to realign and reform before our eyes.[/expand]
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Authority on Security and Counter-terrorism

Martin Smith has had a fascinating and varied career in the world of espionage. He is one of Europe’s greatest authorities on counter-terrorism, counter-fraud and computer security. He had spent 15 years as a commissioned officer in the Royal Air Force, firstly as a fast jet pilot and then assigned to counter-espionage and counter-terrorism duties

“One is less likely to be eaten by an alligator than nibbled to death by a thousand chickens!”

[expand title=”In detail”] After being awarded membership of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for this work, he left the Service to carve out a second career, this time in the commercial sector. He joined Touche Ross Management Consultants before becoming the Senior Director of Corporate Security for Kroll Associates, the world’s foremost commercial counter-intelligence and security organisation. He then joined the Standard Chartered Bank as Head of Information Security.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Martin’s unique knowledge and skills are in enormous demand from international financial and manufacturing corporations Over the years he has presented at all the leading world security conferences. He recalls the lessons he has learned during his career and relates them to the modern business world.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Martin presents with a refreshing, amusing and captivating speaking style, avoiding the prescriptive approach and making the subject interesting to everybody. In addition he is an accomplished and hilarious after-dinner speaker.[/expand]
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Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO, Global Adjustments Services Pvt Ltd.

Ranjini Manian is the founder and CEO of Global Adjustments Services Pvt Ltd, India’s 15-year-old destination and cross-cultural services company. Having worked with thousands of clients from over 75 nationalities, success is immutably bound to her commitment in promoting intercultural understanding. She is the only Indian on the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University.

Ranjini personifies the essence of the true global Indian with “Indian Roots and Global Wings”

[expand title=”In detail”] Ranjini Manian attained a Bachelors degree from Elphinstone College, Mumbai, and a Diploma in French Literature from the University of Sorbonne, Paris. An indelible part of her service in the last 15 years is the magazine she pioneered and continues to be the editor of: At A Glance – Understanding India was the country’s first free cultural magazine for expatriates, that even earned a congratulatory note from the then President of India, Dr Abdul Kalam. [/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Ranjini Manian’s deep knowledge of the Indian ethos, her excellent orientation and communication skills and understanding of world cultures, continually proves to be the perfect combination in helping audiences understand the nuances of Indian culture for personal, as well as business needs. An accomplished author, she writes regular columns in leading business dailies and is a highly sought-after speaker. She shares insights about Indian culture, particularly in the context of foreign businesses operating in India.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Ranjini Manian is a clear and warmly communicative speaker and a multicultural expert at sharing her knowledge with business professionals. She is known to be an anecdotal and entertaining speaker with practical advice to make you “India credible” and ready. She is also part of our Top Indian keynote speakers. [/expand]

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Former Senior Director of Trends & Strategy at Philips Design, Recognized Authority on Social & Cultural Change

Josephine Green is an internationally aclaimed speaker in the field of social and cultural change and innovation having been Senior Director of Trends and Strategy at Philips Design from 1997 to 2009, responsible for research into Society, Cultures and People and its implementation into the Strategic Futures Programme. She pioneered the Strategic Futures Program that helps companies and organizations think about and implement a human focused approach to innovation and growth. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the European Futurists Conference Lucerne and has worked both in international sales and marketing and in futures and social research for advanced strategy.

“Josephine promotes new thinking & new knowledge in the specific field of Social Foresight for Strategy & Innovation”

[expand title=”In detail”] Josephine Green studied History and Politics at Warwick University, England. She has consistently worked with customers to introduce new thinking and sustainable development into their culture and processes. She has given many international presentations, and lectures at a number of universities’ masters and executive courses.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]A consultant for a number of European Futures programmes and advisory boards, Josephine Green promotes working in emerging social space both as an opportunity and as a necessity and sees design and the new technologies as important enablers towards more social and sustainable solutions for the 21st century. Her main focus is on the critical transformation we are experiencing as we journey from one way of thinking, of being and of doing (the techno-industrial era) to another (the socio-ecological era).[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]An inspiring speaker, Josephine Green’s passion is now in promoting new thinking and new knowledge in the specific field of Social Foresight and Innovation which she does in a clear and frank manner.[/expand]
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International Management Consultant, Specialist in Strategic, Cultural & Behavioural Change

Phil Atkinson has been driving management and organisational change in ‘blue chip’ multinationals for more than 20 years. He is the director of Philip Atkinson Consultants and an associate of Woburn Consulting Group Ltd providing services to many blue-chip companies. He also designs learning strategies and business simulations and games to enable organisations to develop tailor-made strategies for accelerating and sustaining the implementation of change.

“One of those rare individuals who can significantly influence a company’s profitability and future”

[expand title=”In detail”] Phil Atkinson has partnered with a variety of blue chip companies in the UK, Europe and North America in industries ranging from Pharmaceuticals to Genetics and the Automotive Industry to Finance & Banking. His articles are regularly published in a number of management journals. He is the author of seven books on change management and regularly presents at conferences and workshops.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]As a specialist in change management, Phil Atkinson presents his view on helping people to transform themselves in order to make strategic leaps in improving their businesses. He facilitates a strong business culture focused entirely on the customer or your client. He helps people discover new tools for driving personal branding, showing us all how personal branding and influencing can enhance business performance, productivity and international competitiveness.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]A leading thinker, writer and practitioner in change, Phil’s master classes are geared to be highly interactive, candid and pragmatic in approach.[/expand]
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Pioneer of “market-based” philanthropy

Jacqueline Novogratz founded and leads Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that takes a businesslike approach to improving the lives of the poor. She’s become a leading voice of the new philanthropy, which emphasizes sustainable bottom-up solutions over traditional top-down aid.

[expand title=”In detail”] One of the most innovative players shaping philanthropy today, Jacqueline Novogratz is redefining the way problems of poverty can be solved around the world. Drawing on her past experience in banking, microfinance and traditional philanthropy, Novogratz has become a leading proponent for financing entrepreneurs and enterprises that can bring affordable clean water, housing and healthcare to poor people so that they no longer have to depend on the disappointing results and lack of accountability seen in traditional charity and old-fashioned aid.

The Acumen Fund, which she founded in 2001, has an ambitious plan: to create a blueprint for alleviating poverty using market-oriented approaches. Indeed, Acumen has more in common with a venture capital fund than a typical nonprofit. Rather than handing out grants, Acumen invests in fledgling companies and organizations that bring critical — often life-altering — products and services to the world’s poor. It’s a fascinating model that’s shaken up philanthropy and investment communities alike. And their success can be traced back to Novogratz herself, who possesses that rarest combination of business savvy and cultural sensitivity. In addition to seeking out sound business models, she places great importance on identifying solutions from within communities rather than imposing them from the outside.

Prior to Acumen Fund, Jacqueline founded and directed The Philanthropy Workshop and The Next Generation Leadership program at the Rockefeller Foundation. She also founded Duterimbere, a microfinance institution in Rwanda. She began her career in international banking with Chase Manhattan Bank. She is currently on the advisory boards of Stanford Graduate School of Business and of Innovations Journal published by MIT Press. She is an Aspen Institute Henry Crown fellow and a Synergos Institute Senior Fellow. She is a frequent speaker at international conferences, including the World Economic Forum, the Clinton Global Initiative and the TED Conference.[/expand]
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