The Leading Speakers Bureau

Andes Aeroplane Crash Survivor

Nando Parrado is one of the survivors of the dramatic aeroplane crash on October 13, 1972 when a plane carrying a Uruguayan old boys rugby team over the Andes lost its bearings in bad weather and crashed in the remote mountains. Despite spending 74 days on a glacier at 18000 ft, without suitable clothing, training, equipment or supplies and against all odds Nando walked out of the mountains to raise the alarm to save his stranded companions

“It is better to decide and make a mistake, that not to decide. There is always time to turn back”
Nando Parrado

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Nando now lives in Montevideo, Uruguay and has rebuilt his life to become a very successful businessman. He is the owner of a cable television channel, he produces six television programmes and he also runs family businesses in the United States and Europe[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Nando talks candidly about his experiences in the Andes and how it has affected him. He offers audiences a very close and personal account of the events after the crash and explains how camaraderie and relationships are the keys to survival.[/expand]
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British Politician and Renowned Businessman

From 1991 until 2000, Archie Norman was Chief Executive and then Chairman of Asda, the large supermarket chain, and was credited with turning it around and making it the second largest in the UK, before its sale to Walmart in June 1999. He helped form the think tank Policy Exchange. In 2002 he joined Energis as Chairman having led a consortium of banks in the purchase and refinance of the UK arm from the administrators of Energis Plc.

“Archie is without doubt one of the UK’s most respected retail executives”

[expand title=”In detail”] Mr Norman was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for Tunbridge Wells in the 1997 general election. Whilst in Parliament he served as a shadow minister from 1999 until 2001, when he returned to the backbenches. He stood down as MP at the May 2005 general election. He has also previously been a Member of the HM Government Deregulation Taskforce (1993-1997) and a Member of the Anglo-German Deregulation Taskforce in 1995. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]A remarkable and successful businessman, Archie has held a number of prestigious positions for major blue-chip companies. Drawing on his experiences he is able to show decision makers how to design effective business strategies to improve performance, to successfully motivate the workforce and to effectively deal with change.[/expand]
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Leading Management Strategist

Dr. Kenichi Ohmae is an acclaimed management strategist renowned for his work on globalisation and the borderless economy. He is a concert playing flutist, a nuclear physicist, would-be politician, a former McKinsey consultant and much more. He is also the dean of two private schools in Tokyo: Isshinjuku, which studies public policy, and Attacker’s Advantage, which studies Entrepreneurship. He is also the Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the UCLA School of Public and Social Research.


The Financial Times called Kenichi Ohmae “Japan’s only Management Guru”

Kenichi Ohmae has been ranked among the top 50 most influential business thinkers. In 2009 Thinkers 50, the global ranking of management gurus, placed him among the list of most influential thinkers

[expand title=”In detail”] A graduate of Waseda Unversity and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ohmae joined McKinsey consultants in 1972 after the completion of his PhD at MIT. He spent 23 years at McKinsey where he cofounded its strategic management practice, eventually leaving to stand for the Governorship of Tokyo in 1995.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]His special area of expertise is formulating creative strategies and developing the organizational concepts to implement them. Some of the world’s most successful companies continue to seek his help in shaping their competitive global strategies. He urges executives to tap into the new global stage and its new platforms of economic power and growth.[/expand]
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Global Marketing Expert

René Jäggi is the former CEO of Adidas International and Chairman of H.T.M. (Head– Tyrolia-Mares-Penn) the international sports group. He is also the former Chairman of the Board of Head N.V and he was CEO of the LOC Venue office during the football world cup in 2006 in Germany. He is currently on the board of several international companies and Chairman of Flora Eco Power AG in Munich, a public bio energy company. In May 2007 he was appointed as a new member of the Board of Directors of Hong Kong Based Artificial Life, Inc. a provider of award-winning mobile 3G technology and applications.

René Jäggi is a recognised corporate marketing expert

[expand title=”In detail”] In addition to his corporate work Mr Jäggi is also the former President of the Executive Board of the Kaiserslautern Football Club and former President of Football Club Basel.
He was also Chairman of the advisory board of Romika GmbH, the sports shoe manufacturer as well as holding prior management positions in marketing and sales at battery giant Duracel and Reynolds the tobacco giant. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Drawing upon his considerable expertise both in the corporate sector and the world of professional sports, Mr Jäggi carefully explains his marketing strategies. He offers audiences great insights into how he managed to turn around numerous companies to create brand leaders around the globe.[/expand]
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Former CEO of Burger King

Barry Gibbons earned the title of ‘Turnaround Champ’ from Fortune Magazine thanks to his phenomenal success in boosting Burger King’s fortunes. Within a year of taking on the role, Burger King was opening two new restaurants a day around the world. Having retired from big business, he is now a successful author, speaker and is co-founder of the UK publishing business Infinite Ideas.

Believing that managing isn’t enough he debates what it really takes to be distinct in your leadership, product development, service delivery and customer relationships

[expand title=”In detail”] During Barry’s 5 years as the US-based Chairman/CEO of Burger King he received international acclaim. He has since co-founded and invested in a variety of ventures including a branded food service business, a magazine-CD publishing company, speciality coffee bars and a Latin theme restaurant that opened in Disneyland. He was also Executive in Residence at the University of Miami School of Business and is a regular on the BBC’s Bottom Line business broadcast.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Barry has made over 250 speeches to blue-chip corporate audiences on four continents. His aim is to show audiences – internal and external – how to stay ahead in fast changing and unpredictable markets.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]With his Anglo-Irish charm he shows how to lead (not manage), and how to energize people who work for you, with you and above you. He illustrates how, in a world of virtually unsatisfiable customers, to develop a connection with them that is beyond satisfaction, exploring ‘intuitive marketing’. Above all, he offers ideas on how to bring it all together to get distinction and excellence in all that you do. Wit and energy are in plentiful supply from this refreshingly alternative thinker and business leader.[/expand]
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Founder of easyJet

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is a Monaco based entrepreneur of Greek-Cypriot origin. He stepped back from the board of EasyJet in 2010, now concentrating fully on the role of shareholder. True to his beliefs in serial entrepreneurship, Stelios consolidated the ownership of the easy brand into his private company, easyGroup, comprising several easy-branded businesses – all dedicated to offering consumers more value for less.

“A Serial Entrepreneur”

[expand title=”In detail”] Prior to founding the low-cost airline that revolutionized European air travel, Stelios created Stelmar, a shipping company which was floated on the New York Stock Exchange in 2001 and subsequently sold to a rival in 2005. Stelios received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for services to entrepreneurship. More recently, through the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, he has expanded his dedication to making a difference to society by launching a number of philanthropic initiatives supporting entrepreneurship, higher education and environmental sustainability. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Few are better qualified to talk about the power of the internet and how to make a successful on line enterprise than Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou. Talking candidly about the easyJet phenomenon, his presentations are filled with wonderful insights and inspirational ideas for budding entrepreneurs.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Stelios is a compelling and dynamic speaker – both in front of large audiences as well as smaller, targeted groups. [/expand]
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Former CEO of Starbucks

Orin C. Smith was President and Chief Executive Officer of Starbucks Corporation from 2000 to 2005. He joined Starbucks as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 1990, became President and Chief Operating Officer in 1994, and became a director of Starbucks in 1996. Mr. Smith has been a Director of The Walt Disney Company since 2006 and he has been a Director of Nike Inc. since September 20, 2004 and serves as a Member of its Audit Committee.

“Embracing diversity is not only the right thing to do socially or ethically, it’s good for business.”

[expand title=”In detail”] Prior to joining Starbucks, Mr. Smith spent a total of 14 years with Deloitte & Touche. He serves on the Advisory Board for the University of Washington School of Business, the University of Washington Medicine Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of Conservation International. He was also a Director of Oakley Sunglasses, Watches, Shoes, and Apparel from August 1995 until July 10, 2003. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]As one of America’s most respected and successful corporate leaders, Orin C. Smith offers audiences valuable insights into the strategies which have made him so successful. He carefully explains in great detail the importance of strategic leadership and how to create a global brand[/expand]
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Former Adviser to Mikhail Gorbachev

Alexander Likhotal served as adviser to Mikhail Gorbachev for many years and is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Geneva-based Green Cross International. He is a member of the International Council for the Earth Charter and Adviser to the Club of Madrid and has launched internationally acclaimed initiatives such as the Earth Dialogues Forum and has spearheaded Green Cross International’s global campaign for the Right to Water.

“The past has shown that new security threats would emerge in the form of global terrorism and that globalisation and our continued reliance on fossil fuels would raise the environmental stakes even higher”

[expand title=”In detail”] Prof. Likhotal was the Deputy Spokesman for the President of the USSR and has held a number of academic positions internationally specialising in European security and NATO. He was visiting professor at the Northeastern University, Boston, USA, Research Associate at the Institute of European Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow and Associate Editor of Security Dialogue Journal, Oslo, Norway.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Having witnessed first hand the wide reaching effects of “glasnost” in Russia and the rapidly changing global political horizon, Professor Likhotal is ideally positioned to advise organisations around the world on the social, economic and political future of an increasingly climate conscious world. [/expand]
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The World’s Greatest Chess Player and Sport star speaker

Garry Kasparov has been the highest-rated chess player in the world and is widely considered the greatest chess player that ever lived. He is also a writer and political activist. He is the founder and inspiration behind the Kasparov Chess Foundation whose mission is to introduce chess into the educational system worldwide. He is a regular contributor to the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal and remains the highest-rated player in the history of chess and the only icon in the game of over 100 million players. In 2005, Garry announced his retirement from competitive chess after 21 years as the #1 ranked player in the world to devote his time to politics and writing. He was a candidate for the 2008 Russian presidential race, but later withdrew.

“Chess is mental torture”

[expand title=”In detail”] Garry became the world junior champion at the age of 16, and in 1985, became the youngest ever World Champion at age 22. He was the undefeated world champion for 15 years, defending his title more than any other world champion in modern times. He has played several high-profile matches against supercomputer chess programs. His battles with IBM’s “Deep Blue” were worldwide headline news and he has been at the forefront of innovation in chess for over twenty years. He has been at the cutting edge of research and the battles between humans and computers from as far back as 1990. He won the Chess Oscar a record eleven times.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]As a master of strategy, he applies the insights and unique perspective from his extraordinary chess career to the issues of leadership, strategy and success in business. Known as an extremely intuitive chess player, he also emphasizes intuition’s role in achieving an individual’s full potential and achieving superior performance as the leader of an organization.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]His global reach is fed by a steady stream of keynote speaking engagements predominantly in Europe and the United States. His speech topics vary from country to country but he is never far from what he knows best – strategy and logical thinking. He takes his listeners into the world of calculus, deep thought, the analytical mind and what constitutes intelligence without reducing the answer to plain black and white. He is also part of our Top Leadership speakers.[/expand]
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Leading Authority on Leadership & Leadership Development

John Adair is one of the world’s leading authorities on leadership and leadership development. In 2009, John was appointed Chair of Leadership Studies United Nations System Staff College in Turin. Recently the People’s Republic of China awarded him the title of Honorary Professor in recognition of his ‘outstanding research and contribution in the field of Leadership’.

“John Adair is without doubt one of the foremost thinkers on leadership in the world” Sir John Harvey-Jones

[expand title=”In detail”] Between 1981 and 1986 John worked at ICI introducing a leadership development strategy that helped to change the loss-making, bureaucratic giant into the first British company to make a billion pounds profit. After being senior lecturer in military history and adviser in leadership training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and Associate Director of The Industrial Society, in 1979 John became the world’s first Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Surrey.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]John Adair will assist companies to re-energise their approach to leadership. Whether you want to introduce a consistent approach to leadership training in your company or you want to promote a culture of growing future leaders within your organisation, John will use his expertise to help clients achieve their potential.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]John is an experienced speaker and seminar leader on platforms around the globe, an effective performer with a clear and valuable message. He speaks authoritatively on all aspects of leadership – great leaders, leadership development and strategic [/expand]
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