The Leading Speakers Bureau

Computer Scientist

Noel Sharkey is a Professor of AI and Robotics and Professor of Public Engagement. He has held a number of research and teaching positions in the UK and the USA. Noel has moved freely across academic disciplines, lecturing in departments of engineering, philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, artificial intelligence and computer science.

“The UK’s Leading Robotics Expert”

[expand title=”In detail”] He has published over a hundred academic articles and books as well as articles and web chats for BBC web pages and regular magazine articles. Noel is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Connection Science and an editor of both Robotics and Autonomous Systems and Artificial Intelligence Review. Noel appears regularly on TV and is interviewed regularly on radio, in magazines and newspapers. He was chief judge for every series of Robot Wars throughout the world as well as “techspert” for 4 series of TechnoGames. He has been on lecture tours of India, China, Egypt with Australia and Singapore. Noel currently co-presents Bright Sparks for BBC N. Ireland.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]With unparalleled insights into what the future holds and how new technologies will affect the way we work and develop, Noel Sharkey offers audiences an invaluable sneak preview of what is just around the technology corner.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]An outstanding visionary Noel Sharkey’s fascinating hi-tech presentations and demonstrations are universally admired and enjoyed, furthering his reputation as one of the most important contributors to modern-day devices, systems and solutions.[/expand]

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Futurist, Trendwatcher and Strategist

Freija van Duijne is a foresight practitioner. She has ten years’ experience in strategic foresight at various government organisations, including the OECD. Currently she runs her own business, called Future Motions, which specializes in board room strategy consulting, scenario planning and organisational learning. Freija is fascinated about what the future might bring. She is a futurist, trend-watcher and strategist at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, a think tank in the Netherlands and an expert on future studies in area of food, natural resources, energy, health and governance. Freija is also the President of Dutch Future Society.

“It is not about prediction, but seeing strategic options”

[expand title=”In detail”] Freija’s background is in Human factors psychology. She holds a Masters from Leiden University and a PhD in Industrial design engineering from Delft University. She has been involved in foresight studies since 2006 when she worked at the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. She has received the Reward for exceptional performance at Ministry of Economic Affairs in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and has been selected for the leadership course “Master in Policy Processes” in 2010. [/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Freija’s aim is to encourage people to think about the future and she strongly believes in using foresight for creating a better future. In her presentations, she inspires companies from a wide range of fields and helps them to embrace change. She offers a fresh outlook on trends and future horizons. Thinking about the future makes people see the real questions for todays’ decision makers.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Highly energetic and provocative but with a good sense of humour, Freija’s presentations are individually tailored to be as relevant as possible. [/expand]

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Digital Business Strategist

Joaquim Alvarez is a digital business strategist with a telecommunication engineering background, specialist on software development solutions and telematics communications. He is passionate about technology and its applications to improve the quality of life of people. As the Digital Business Strategist for the Barcelona City Council, Joaquim has been instrumental in helping transform the City of Barcelona into what Fortune Magazine recently called the Most Wired City in the World.

“A thought leader on digital business strategies”

[expand title=”In detail”] One of his primary roles has been the development and operational execution of a self-sustainable mobile ecosystem in Barcelona. This has included defining a mobile relationship model between industry, government and citizens, as well as elevating the mobile industry in the City of Barcelona to the global level. He is the lead on a project entitled Apps4Bcn, a unique public-private partnership that aims to promote the creation and development of innovative initiatives that improve the quality of life of people through mobile technology, and encourage the adoption of these solutions by industry and Government. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Through his presentations, Joaquim uses his expertise to enable business leaders to design and implement digital systems. He is an inspirational leader in transforming traditional business culture into an environment ready to compete intelligently in the e-commerce world.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Joaquim is a highly motivating and articulate speaker. His enlightening presentations are always well received. He not only inspires but also presents his clients with actionable solutions that can be implemented immediately.[/expand]

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Cyborg artist

Neil Harbisson is a Catalan-raised, British-born contemporary artist and cyborg activist best known for having an antenna implanted in his skull and for being officially recog-nised as a cyborg by a govern-ment. The antenna allows him to
perceive visible and invisible col-ours such as infrareds and ultravio-lets via sound waves. The an-tenna’s internet connection allows him to receive colours from space as well as images, videos, music or phone calls directly into his head via external devices such as mo-bile phones or satellites.

First officially recognized Cyborg by a government

[expand title=”In detail”] Neil Harbisson studied art and mu-sic at various schools in Spain. At the age of 11, he began to com-pose his first piano pieces and with 16 years, he studied fine art at the Institut Alexandre Satorras. In 2001, Harbisson moved to Ireland to finish his piano studies at Dub-lin’s Waltons New School of Music. In 2002, he moved to England to study music composition at Dartington College of Arts. The antenna is a result of the co-operation between Adam Montandon, a cybernetics graduates, and Neil Harbisson himself. For this work, they earned the award for Innovation and Submerge in Bristol and the European Award for multimedia interface Design EUROPRIX Top Talent Award in Vienna. Together with Moon Ribas he co­founded the Cyborg Foundation in 2010, an international organisation that aims to help humans become cyborgs, defend cyborg rights and promote cyborgism as a social and artistic movement.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Harbisson identifies himself as a cyborg, he feels both his mind and body are united to cybernetics. In his presentations Neil Harbisson kidnaps his audience in his world and illu-strates in a brilliant way how his an-tenna really works. Furthermore, he underlines how important new tech-nologies really are and tells funny anecdotes he already has expe-rienced because of the antenna. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]His special and unconventional presentations, as well as his great mixture of a good sense of humour and simple explanations about tech-nology, making him a highly appreci-ated guest for every kind of event. [/expand]

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Economist, Nobel Prize Winner 2011

Christopher Sims is an American econometrician and macroeconomist. He is currently the John F. Sherrerd University Professor of Economics at Princeton University. Together with Thomas Sargent, he won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2011. The award cited their “empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy”. He has published numerous important papers in his areas of research: econometrics and macroeconomic theory and policy.

“One of the most relevant macroeconomists”

[expand title=”In detail”] Sims earned his A.B. in mathematics from Harvard University magna cum laude in 1963 and his PhD in Economics from Harvard in 1968. He has held teaching positions at Harvard, University of Minnesota, Yale University and, since 1999, Princeton. He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1995 he was elected President of the Econometric Society and in 2012 he was elected President of the American Economic Association.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Christopher Sims’ work during the 1970s and 1980s has been adopted by both researchers and policymakers throughout the world. Today, the methods developed are essential tools in macroeconomic analysis.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]His highly informative presentations on economics make Christopher Sims a sought after commentator at prestigious conferences around the globe.[/expand]

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Former Regional Director BBC Worldwide, Media & Communication Expert

Hani Soubra is an experienced media and communication expert who worked in the Arab world for the last 20 years. With an extensive knowledge of the Gulf region, Hani has contributed significantly to debates in the field of politics and economics. For 13 years he was Regional Director for BBC Worldwide, handling their development in the MENA region across all BBC platforms.

“An eye-opening commentator on Middle East related issues”

[expand title=”In detail”] Hani studied Economics at the American University of Beirut and earned an MBA from the University Glasgow. He is an acclaimed author on politics and current affairs in the Middle East and a lecturer at the University of Middlesex, Dubai campus. In addition, he taught masters students Media and Creative Industries and is currently teaching global Journalism for undergraduates. As a public speaker, Hani lectures on media, culture, politics and current affairs at universities and forums around the world. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]The personification of the youth of the Middle East, Hani’s informed opinion and in depth analyse of Middle East and global political issues make him a sought after commentator at events around the globe. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Hani is an energetic and passionate speaker with a clear view of current affairs. His presentations are well received by any audience. [/expand]

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Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Danielle George is Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, and a Professor in the Microwave and Communications Systems research group at the University of Manchester. Danielle’s expertise in radio frequency and microwave communications has a wide range of applications across a number of industries. To date most of her research and development work has been carried out on a variety of aspects relating to ultra-low noise receivers for Space and Aerospace applications.

“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be involved in science and technology”

[expand title=”In detail”] Danielle completed her BSc in Astrophysics, MSc in Radio Astronomy at The Victoria University of Manchester based at Jodrell Bank Observatory, and her PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering with UMIST. She worked at Jodrell Bank Observatory as a senior Radio Frequency Engineer until 2006 when she took up a lectureship post in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. She was awarded a Professorship in 2015. Danielle has worked with agriculturists on the development of instrumentation to measure water usage and with a number of multi-national companies such as Rolls Royce where she worked on industrial gas turbine engines.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]Danielle demonstrates innovative concepts and ideas for commercial success.She isalso passionate about raising public awareness of the positive impact engineering and science has on all aspects of our everyday lives and highlighting to young people the immense depth and breadth of opportunities a career in engineering can offer.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Danielle is able to both inform and inspire and can connect with audiences of all levels and functions and is a popular choice for a variety of conferences and events.[/expand]

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Futurologist, Digital Philosopher and Professional Troublemaker

Aric Dromiis the Chief Futurologist for one of the world’s most well-known and respected vehicle manufacturers and a leading developer of premium, autonomous and electric vehicles. He looks into new ways of thinking about how things work.

“Turning Science Fiction into Reality”

[expand title=”In detail”] Outside of this he splits his time between his consultancy TEMPUS.MOTU a social and technology strategic think-tank and a series of advisory roles. He sits on the advisory board of NTT Innovation Institute, Inc. (NTT i3) the Silicon Valley-based innovation centre for NTT Group, one of the world’s largest ICT companies. He also supports the UNLEASH innovation team; they are a global innovation lab with a focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. He also holds a position with the AIIA, Artificial intelligence & Intelligent Automation Network which advises business executives on the world of AI. Aric is also an author and an artist.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Aric helps change the way we experience the world and transforms the way we understand change. He explains the future, makes it tangible and, most importantly, makes it relevant.He deliverscaptivating speeches that frame questions and help people identify and abandon old paradigms and rethink thinking.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]A passionate and engaging speaker, Aric’s presentations are a veritable wealth of new ideas delivered in a unique and highly creative way.[/expand]

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Former SAS Member

Chris Ryan made a miraculous solo escape travelling the 300km (200 miles) from Iraq to Syria on foot with no food and little water. This remarkable feat of determination was triggered when the SAS mission that he was on was compromised. Since leaving the SAS, he has written a number of best selling novels, is a military consultant to a computer games designer and co-devised and consulted on ITV1’s military action drama ‘Ultimate Force’. In 2005 Chris presented ‘How not to Die’ for Sky and was also the military consultant to Codemasters stealth-based first-person computer game – IGI2: Covert Strike

His eight day escape is the longest known in SAS history

[expand title=”In detail”] In 1984 he joined the 22nd SAS, the regular regiment, and completed three tours whose operations and exercises took him all over the world. He also worked extensively on the counter-terrorist field serving as an assaulter, sniper and finally Sniper Team Commander on the Special Projects team.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]If ever there was an example of winning against the odds, this is it. Hearing his survival experience is truly inspiring and boosts your own motivation.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]In his relaxed manner he will capture your every thought with his spell binding story.[/expand]

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Chairman and CEO of Biotechonomy

Juan Enriquez is recognised as one of the world’s leading authorities on the economic and political impacts of life sciences. The Harvard Business Review showcased his ideas as one of the breakthrough concepts in its first HBR List. Fortune profiled him as “Mr. Gene” and Time asked him to co-organize the life sciences summit commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of DNA.

“Shaped our Identity, our Culture, and the World as we know it.”

[expand title=”In detail”] Juan previously served as CEO of Mexico City’s Urban Development Corporation, coordinator general of economic policy and chief of staff for Mexico’s Secretary of State. He currently serves on a variety of boards including Cabot Microelectronics, The Center for the Advancement of Genomics, The Harvard Medical School Genetics Advisory Council, The USDA Advisory Committee on Biotechnology Group, The Chairman’s International Council of the America’s Society and amongst others. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Enriquez offers audiences the real reasons why gene research is the single most important driver of new computers and software systems, why cosmetics companies are hiring molecular biologists, why energy companies are thinking about very different ways to generate renewable fuels, and how seed companies have become information-processing companies. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]In his keynotes Juan skilfully puts audiences face to face with a series of unprecedented political, ethical, economic, and financial issues, dramatically demonstrating the cascading impact of the genetic, digital, and knowledge revolutions on our lives.[/expand]

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