The Leading Speakers Bureau

Award-Winning Singer, Actress, Songwriter, Devoted Mother, Humanitarian & Breast Cancer Survivor

Olivia Newton-John’s distinguished career has spanned more than three decades and she is still a vibrant, creative individual that is adored by fans across the world. With three Grammys, numerous American Music and People’s Choice Awards, five #1 hits, and 15 top ten singles to her credit, she also starred in one of the most successful movie musicals of all time, Grease. Her music has been successful in multiple formats including pop, country and adult contemporary and has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

“Olivia Newton-John’s public appeal has proved to be timeless”

[expand title=”In detail”] Olivia Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England, to a Welsh father and a Jewish-German mother, the eldest child of the Nobel prize-winning atomic physicist Max Born. She was bestowed an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 1978 for services to the performing Arts. In 1991 she co-founded the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC). In the 90’s, she successfully overcame her own battle with breast cancer. Most recently, she was named Woman of the Year by the American Red Cross. She was invited by the Vatican on behalf of Pope John Paul II to perform at the Jubilee Celebration for the Sick and Healthcare Workers and, she was thrilled to perform at the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics to an estimated global viewing audience of four billion people.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Olivia Newton-John’s charitable work and commitment to making others’ lives and the life of the planet better is so inspiring. A role model, using her experiences to gain greater self-awareness and became a positive inspiration to millions of people battling cancer, she continues to give back to the community generously and has been acknowledged many times by charitable organizations for her contributions. [/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Having enjoyed one success after another during her illustrious career, Olivia Newton-John is a remarkably down-to-earth, charismatic personality who talks openly about cancer and promotes awareness of the importance of early detection – something she continues to do today.[/expand]
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President, Stradbroke Advisors, Leading Digital Media Strategist & Venture Capital Investor

Inma Martinez is the President of Stradbroke Advisors, a corporate advisory and fund-raising firm based in London. She is the Co-Founder & Former Chief Executive of Escape Velocity, a 3i-funded AI software company in the early days of mobile services. She has been described by Fortune and TIME magazines as one of Europe’s top talents in Human Factors and Social Engagement through technology. Combining her academic background with that of finance, technology and entrepreneurship has allowed her to bring to organisations a broad and creative vision, an active attitude towards problem-solving and an approach to innovation that empowers companies and increases shareholder value.

Inma is considered one of the few evangelists of the new economy

[expand title=”In detail”] Inmaculada Martinez has a PhD in American Literature and has developed her professional skills in international government agencies such as the UN, global financial institutions and technology companies. After holding senior level positions in Goldmans Sachs and the telecommunications sector, Inma founded and led her first entrepreneurial venture in 1999 and continued to co-found and lead at the helm two other companies, the latter one in Finland, as a mandate for 3i Ventures. In less than 18 months she successfully grew the business from start-up to a fully fledged company and achieved the global technology launch for its prime clients, NOKIA and HP in 2006. She is an advisor to SPORT ENGLAND for their Innovation Investment Fund.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Inma offers great insight into innovation technologies and the transformation of technology. She is a profound believer in technologies that reduce man’s alienation when confronting technical complexities. She supports very strongly the concepts of brand-value, and the respect for human “illogical thinking processes” whenever new applications come to market. She is also regularly invited to industry conferences as a speaker on mobile and web technologies, as well as on entrepreneurial issues such as growth, funding, selling technology products to consumers and how the social web is transforming corporations. Working across a wide variety of projects, she considers herself fortunate and honoured to have been directly involved in the emergence of many of today’s digital technologies (Web 2.0, Mobile, Wifi, Blogs).[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]An experienced speaker and conferences moderator Inma is relaxed, enthusiastic and a quick witted communicator. In her presentations her passion for new media and the future of technology is clear and apparent. Her energy and strength come from her love for her work and her familiarity with learning and hard work.[/expand]
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Expert on Macroeconomics, Corporate Strategy & Business Leadership

Margaret Doyle is the Financial Services Columnist for Reuters. She comments regularly on business, the stock market and the economy for a variety of news organisations, including BBC Radio and Television, America’s NBC and NPR networks, Japan’s NHK, Sky News and CNN. She currently advises KPMG International on thought leadership.

“The Economist’s fiendishly intelligent finance correspondent” – David Cox, New Statesman

[expand title=”In detail”] Margaret Doyle earned a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School (HBS), where she was a Fulbright Scholar and a Baker Scholar. She began her career as a management consultant in the Financial Institutions Group of McKinsey & Company. She covered business and finance for The Economist and The Daily Telegraph for a decade and for two years edited Global Agenda, the magazine of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting at Davos. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2003.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]An expert in all things financial including banking, accountancy, regulation, insurance and public finance Margaret has a particular skill for analysis. As a frequent chair of conferences, broadcast commentator and radio presenter, Margaret Doyle is known for her ability to present new insights on complex subjects in a straightforward and engaging way.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Margaret Doyle has charm, intellect and is a powerful communicator. Her superior grasp of current topics and strong skills as a moderator keep sessions engaging and of great interest to worldwide audiences.[/expand]
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Physicist, Philosopher, Environmental Activist, Eco Feminist & Author

Vandana Shiva is a world-renowned environmental leader and thinker. She is a councillor of the World Future Council. Intellectual property rights, biodiversity, biotechnology, bioethics, genetic engineering are among the fields where Shiva has contributed intellectually and through activist campaigns. She has served as an adviser to governments in India and abroad as well as non governmental organisations, including the International Forum on Globalization, the Women’s Environment & Development Organization and the Third World Network.

“Vandana Shiva is author of over 300 papers in leading scientific and technical journals”

[expand title=”In detail”] Vandana Shiva received her Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Western Ontario, Canada. She has assisted grassroots organizations of the Green movement in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Ireland, Switzerland and Austria with campaigns against genetic engineering. Before becoming an activist, Shiva was one of India’s leading physicists. The founder of Navdanya “nine seeds”, a movement promoting diversity and use of native seeds, she also set up the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology in her mother’s cowshed in 1997. Its studies have validated the ecological value of traditional farming and been instrumental in fighting destructive development projects in India.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]One of the world’s most prominent radical scientists and a leader in the International Forum on Globalization, Vandana Shiva has been recognised by Time magazine as an environmental hero, and Asia Week called her one of the five most powerful communicators in Asia. Director of the Research Foundation on Science, Technology, and Ecology and a prolific author, she illustrates to audiences the undeniable connection between industrial agriculture and climate change, acting as your bridge to understanding how we can feed the planet in a socially just, environmentally sound way.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]In her trademark style, Vandana Shiva is inspiring, gripping, compassionate and unflinching with a fierce intellect and her disarmingly friendly, accessible manner. She is a truly compelling and powerful speaker who has devoted her life to fighting for the rights of the ordinary people of India and who draws solutions to our world’s most pressing problems.[/expand]
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Multi Award Winning TV and Film Actress

Sigourney Weaver received worldwide recognition for her role as Ellen Ripley in Ridley Scott’s Alien, Aliens, and two other sequels in the Alien series. She is also known for her roles in the Ghostbusters films, Gorillas in the Mist, The Ice Storm, Heartbreakers, Holes and in Avatar. In 2009, she starred in her first made-for-TV movie, Prayers for Bobby, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award.

Called ‘The Sci-Fi Queen’ on account of her many science fiction and fantasy films

[expand title=”In detail”] Born in New York, she was named Susan Alexander Weaver and later chose her name Sigourney Weaver; she graduated from Stanford University with an English degree. She spent some time living in Israel on a kibbutz before enrolling at the Yale School of Drama. One of the very few actresses so honoured for a role in a science fiction movie, she is a three-time Academy Award nominee for her performances in Aliens, Gorillas in the Mist, and Working Girl winning Golden Globe Awards in the latter two films. She has done voice work in television and film and also hosted two episodes of the long-running NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Three times Oscar-nominated Sigourney Weaver is a great keynote speaker and host for tech. companies, women’s events or anything environmental or SciFi related. Sigourney speaks on many platforms, but is uniquely able to speak about technology and its impacts from a celebrity point of view. She is also available for personal appearances and endorsements.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Sigourney Weaver has a unique presence and charisma, adding prestige and glamour to any event. She gives a human face and personal perspective to the changing landscape of the film industry.[/expand]
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The Fifth Executive Director of UNICEF (2005 – 2010)

Ann Veneman recently completed a five-year term as executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund, travelling to more than 60 countries to review the plight of children and UNICEF’s work to assist them. In a personal capacity, she serves on the Board of the Close Up Foundation and has previously served on a number of advisory councils and committees. A champion of UN coherence and a strong voice for children as well as Millennium Development Goal implementation, her legacy at UNICEF is an organization that is financially and intellectually strong and well-equipped to meet the challenges children face in the twenty-first century.

In 2009, Ann Veneman was named to the Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women list, ranking #46

[expand title=”In detail”] A lawyer by training, Veneman has practiced law in Washington, DC and California. Prior to joining UNICEF, Ann Veneman served as Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), overseeing 110,000 employees and an annual budget of $113 billion. In 2003 she hosted the first-ever Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology, bringing together leaders from 120 nations. She held various other positions at USDA, including Deputy Secretary, Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs and Commodity Programs and Associate Administer of the Foreign Agricultural Service. She also served as Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. [/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]With first-hand knowledge of how children’s lives are saved and having stressed a culture of continuous improvement to help achieve lasting results for children, Ann Veneman offers insights into her leadership and vision that has been recognized both nationally and internationally. She has helped children around the world by advocating for and protecting their rights.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]The first woman to become the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Ann Veneman is a distinguished orator who impresses with her extraordinary energy and immense dedication. She has become a catalyst for global action to help children reach their full potential.[/expand]
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Environmentalist and Best-Selling Author

In 1991, Erin Brockovich was a single mother with small children. She uncovered evidence that the Pacific Gas and Electric Company had been aware of the danger of a chemical it had allowed to leak into the groundwater around Henkley, California. In 1993 she put together over 600 plaintiffs and partnered with a powerhouse law firm to win the suit. Eventually the case lead to a $333 million judgement, one of the largest legal settlements in U.S. history, against the utility company.

“Inspiring!”-Julia Roberts – (Julia played the part of Erin in the self-titled Hollywood Blockbuster)

[expand title=”In detail”] Erin Brockovich grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, and completed one year at Kansas State University. She received an associate’s degree from a Texas business college. No longer a file clerk, Erin now serves as director of environmental research at Masry and Vititoe.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Erin Brockovich delivers her irrepressible spirit and down-to-earth wisdom in a stunning trove of stories, lessons, and motivational strategies audiences can use to summon their inner strength and free the winning forces that lie within us all.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Erin is a truly remarkable speaker and her presentations are highly entertaining, captivating, motivating and above all inspiring.[/expand]
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The Most Celebrated Photographer of our Time

Annie worked for Rolling Stone until 1983, and her intimate photographs of celebrities helped define the Rolling Stone lookAnnie Leibovitz is a unique photographer, the recipient of many honours, including being decorated a Commandeur in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2006. She has covered Richard Nixon’s resignation and Barack Obama’s campaign, along with a Rolling Stones Tour, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, The Blues Brothers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keith Haring, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Patti Smith, George W. Bush, William S. Burroughs, Kate Moss and Queen Elizabeth.

“Annie worked for Rolling Stone until 1983, and her intimate photographs of celebrities helped define the Rolling Stone look”

[expand title=”In detail”] When Annie Leibovitz returned to the US in 1970, she started her career as staff photographer, working for the recently launched Rolling Stone magazine. In 1973, publisher Jann Wenner named her chief photographer of Rolling Stone, a job she would hold for 10 years and going on to shoot for Vanity Fair and Vogue. She has created several influential advertising campaigns, including her award-winning work for American Express and the Gap, and has collaborated with many arts organizations. She was chosen as the official photographer of the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Annie Leibovitz’s large and distinguished body of work encompasses some of the most well-known portraits of our time. She provides fascinating insights into how she catches her subjects at their most “real” and discusses portraiture, reportage, fashion photography, lighting, and digital cameras.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]America’s most renowned portrait photographer, Annie Leibovitz’s presentations are delivered expertly using images from her unqiue persepctive.[/expand]
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Professional Facilitator, Consultant and Author, Leading Authority on Leadership

Kate Sweetman is co-author of ‘Leadership Code: 5 Rules to Lead By’ and an experienced leadership consultant, educator, author, editor, and speaker. Currently an instructor at MIT’s Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship, she collaborates with gifted young entrepreneurs from emerging and developing countries including India, Rwanda, Colombia, Vietnam, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and North Africa. While an editor at Harvard Business Review, Kate acquired and edited articles by top business executives, academics, and consultants around the globe on the topics of business creativity, organizational change and development, leadership psychology, teamwork, and social enterprise.

“The organization’s leadership moves from the outside in, and the individual leader’s strength moves from the inside out”

[expand title=”In detail”] Kate Sweetman is a founding partner of Sweetman Consulting, LLC, an education and organizational development firm based in Milton, MA. In addition to her career in executive and management education, she has worked in publishing and academics. She was also a Research Associate at Harvard Business School, and later taught the Management Communications course there. Kate has a BA in English from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Kate Sweetman’s speciality is crafting customized cases around issues of leadership, strategy, organizational development, and implementation that help organizations look at themselves, what they do well, and what they need to improve. She has written hundreds of cases, scenarios, vignettes, role plays, scripts and other creative materials designed to open up essential discussions around strategy, leadership, and organizational behaviours.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Kate Sweetman’s ability to bring the best out of herself and others in front of audiences has been appreciated by clients including Citigroup, Novartis, Verizon, Johnson & Johnson, British Petroleum Exploration and AstraZeneca among others. She is also part of our Top Leadership speakers.[/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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