Matthew Syed is one of the world’s most influential thinkers in the field of high performance and cultural change and has worked with many leading organisations to build a mindset of continuous improvement. He is the author of 3 best-selling books on the science of performance – Bounce (2010), Black Box Thinking (2015) and You Are Awesome (for children – 2018). Matthew Syed is a multi-award winning columnist for The Times and regular TV and radio broadcaster.

Alongside Sunday Times responsibilities and columns in Professional Investor and Industrial Review, David is a prolific book-writer. In speeches David likens low oil prices to a major tax cut, and distinguishes between good (UK) and possibly bad (Eurozone) deflation. He might also reveal the latest findings of his own Skip Index, a reliable indicator of the state of the domestic economy.

After a successful spell at top ten ad agency TBWA, working on disruptive brand strategies for clients like PlayStation and Nike, at the age of 24, Nick decided to set up on his own. He founded a pioneering innovation consultancy, which has seen him work on numerous global launches including Xbox, Unilever’s 7 year future of laundry, the BBC’s most successful TV show of all time (Dancing with the Stars) and sustainable cities for the UK government.

Jim Lawless is one of the most popular inspirational speakers in Europe and the only authority on personal development to have put his life on the line to prove his approach. The author of Taming Tigers, he transformed himself to test his theories on mental toughness and in the process broke the British free-diving record. He became the first Briton to pass the magic 100m barrier on a single breath. Lawless shares his proven theories and inspires audiences to their best.

Adam is Managing Director at Duke Corporate Education, the executive education arm of the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. Previously, he was Executive Director of Thought Leadership and Learning Solutions for London Business School. He served on the School’s Executive Education Board and was responsible for curating and representing the School’s research, and transforming it into many formats for a practitioner audience. He was also an Associate of Management Lab and Saatchi & Saatchi.

Philippe Legrain is a critically acclaimed thinker and communicator with high-level policy experience. He is a senior visiting fellow at the London School of Economics’ European Institute, the founder of Open Political Economy Network (OPEN), an international think-tank, and a columnist for Project Syndicate, Foreign Policy and other international media outlets. Previously, he was economic adviser and the head of the team providing strategic policy advice to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, special adviser to World Trade Organisation Director-General Mike Moore and trade and economist correspondent for The Economist. His four best-selling books include European Spring: Why Our Economies and Politics are in a Mess – and How to Put Them Right, which was among the Financial Times’ Best Books of 2014.

Greg is a globally-acclaimed thought leader, author and keynote speaker who has delivered more than 350 talks to executive audiences around the world. His work focuses on how leaders and organisations thrive in a world of accelerating change – through developing behaviours, processes and culture which support creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

Julian is a sound and communication expert. He travels the world training people to listen better and create healthier sound. He is author of the books How to be Heard and Sound Business. Julian’s five TED talks have been watched more than 40 million times. His latest, How to speak so that people want to listen, is in the top 10 TED talks of all time. Julian is regularly featured in the world’s media, including TIME Magazine, The Times, The Economist and the BBC. Julian is also founder of The Sound Agency. The audio-branding company asks and answers the question “How does your brand sound?”. The Sound Agency work with some of the world’s biggest brands to improve their sound. Their award-winning work has made headlines internationally. Julian’s love of sound stems from his early experience as a musician. He was a drummer for British brand The Transmitters, amongst many others, and played on their second Peel Session in 1981. Before The Sound Agency, Julian spent 30 years working in advertising and publishing. He founded, grew and sold contract magazine publishing agency TPD. Nowadays, Julian splits his time between London and Orkney, where he lives with his fiancee and youngest daughter

Jonathon Porritt, Co-Founder of Forum for the Future, is an eminent writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development. Established in 1996, Forum for the Future is now the UK’s leading sustainable development charity. The Forum has a growing presence in the United States, India, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. In addition he is a Non-Executive Director of Willmott Dixon Holdings, a Trustee of Ashden, and a Director of Collectively (an online platform celebrating sustainable innovation). He was formerly Director of Friends of the Earth, co-chair of the Green Party and as Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission until 2009, he spent nine years providing high-level advice to Government Ministers. Jonathon was installed as the Chancellor of Keele University in February 2012. He is also Visiting Professor at Loughborough University and UCL. Recent books are ‘Capitalism As If The World Matters’ (2007) and ‘The World We Made’ (2013) - which seeks to inspire people about the prospects of a sustainable world in 2050.

Nick Saunders has a 25 year track record as an international keynote speaker and trainer. Nick is known as The Family Man because he demonstrates that workplaces are like families; you can choose your friends but work colleagues and families you’re stuck with. However, you can still get on with them and Nick shows you how… by turning relationships into results. He delivers his powerful message in a highly entertaining style that is unusual, unstuffy and unpretentious.

Steve Beshear served as the 61st Governor of Kentucky from 2007-2015. He also served as Attorney General from 1979 to 1983, Lieutenant Governor from 1983 to 1987 and was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974-1979.

James Bannerman is a lateral thinking specialist who combines creativity with psychology to help businesses innovate. As an Innovation consultant and International speaker he has worked with multiple organisations across the globe from Aston Martin to British Airways, Disney to Rolls-Royce and Schroders to Unilever, as well as at the National Space Centre on a mission to Mars. He also lectures on business innovation, creativity and enterprise on the MBA programmes at Warwick Business School and Oxford Brookes University where he is currently completing a PhD on the impact of lateral thinking upon organisational performance. Prior to working in business he was a platinum-selling songwriter, a freelance cartoonist eg. Punch, a trained clinical psychotherapist, and he has an M.A. Hons in English Literature from Edinburgh University. James is also the best-selling author of 2 books: Genius! deceptively simple ways to become instantly smarter and Business Genius! deceptively simple ways to sharpen your business thinking (Pearson), which have gone on to be translated into multiple languages around the world from Chinese to Japanese, and Italian to Thai.