The Leading Speakers Bureau

Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School

Dr. Josh Lerner recently led an international team of scholars in a study of the economic impact of private equity for the World Economic Forum. He founded, raised funding for and organizes two groups at the National Bureau of Economic Research: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy and the Economy. He is a member of a number of other NBER groups and serves as co-editor of their publication, Innovation Policy and the Economy. At Harvard, his research focuses on the structure and the role of private equity organizations.

“Renowned Harvard Business School professor”

[expand title=”In detail”] Josh Lerner graduated from Yale College with a Special Divisional Major which combined physics with the history of technology. He worked for several years on issues concerning technological innovation and public policy, at the Brookings Institution, for a public-private task force in Chicago, and on Capitol Hill. He then earned a Ph.D. from Harvard’s Economics Department. In the 1993-94 academic year, he introduced an elective MBA course on private equity and venture capital that has consistently been one of the largest elective courses at HBS. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]An advisor to a select group of private equity funds and major institutional investors, Josh Lerner helps his global audiences identify and respond to key trends in the private equity industry. He also examines the impact of intellectual property protection, particularly patents, on the competitive strategies of firms in high-technology industries. He presents at conferences and meetings organized by numerous accounting firms, investment banks, intellectual property trade associations, law firms, other intermediaries, private equity groups, publications and national venture capital and private equity associations.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]With a warm and genuine style, Josh Lerner skilfully does away with some of the myths surrounding private equity in his highly informative presentations.[/expand]
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Leading Authority on Business Strategy and Professor of Management

Professor Henry Mintzberg is Professor of Management at McGill University in Montreal, Canada and a Visiting Scholar at INSEAD in Fontainbleau, France. His entire career has focused on understanding how big business make decisions. In 2009 and 2007 Thinkers 50, the global ranking of management gurus, placed him among the list of most influential thinkers.

“Management is where art and craft and science meet”

[expand title=”In detail”] Henry Mintzberg holds a Ph.D. from the Sloan School of Management, M.I.T., where he studied Policy, Organisational Studies, Information and Control Systems and Political Science. During his career Henry Mintzberg has written and published numerous articles (i.e. in Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, California Management Review), monographs, reviews and books.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Henry Mintzberg’s interests focus on issues of General Management and Organisation, including the process of strategy formation, the design of Organisations as well as the impact of design on Organisations and the roles of intuition, insight and inspiration in a world of “thin” Management. It is not about empowerment; it assumes that you are already empowered and engaged too. It goes beyond, enabling you to improve yourself, your team, and your organization.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Henry Mintzberg’s presentations provide the opportunity to enhance managerial and leadership skills.[/expand]
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Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Harvard Business School

Rakesh Khurana teaches a doctoral seminar on Management and Markets as well as The Board of Directors and Corporate Governance in the Harvard MBA program. Rakesh’s current research grows out of the same interests in the social context of business leadership and the allocation of leadership positions that motivated his research on the CEO labor market.

“Expert in Leadership Development”

[expand title=”In detail”] Rakesh’s research uses a sociological perspective to focus on the processes by which elites and leaders are selected and developed. He has written extensively about the CEO labor market with a particular interest on the factors that lead to vacancies in the CEO position, the factors that affect the choice of successor; the role of market intermediaries such as executive search firms in CEO search and the consequences of CEO succession and selection decisions for subsequent firm performance and strategic choices.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Rakesh offers businesses his knowledge of how to help improve their CEO succession, governance, and executive development practices. In 2009 Thinkers 50, the global ranking of management gurus, placed him among the list of most influential thinkers. He shares key leadership skills that delegates will be able to take away and put into practice.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Rakesh Khurana provides fascinating researched insights into leadership and other issues with great clarity and charisma in his tailored presentations.[/expand]
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Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the London Business School

Rob Goffee is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the London Business School, where he teaches on the world renowned Senior Executive Programme. An internationally respected teacher and facilitator, Rob is also the Faculty Director for Executive Education at London Business School. He has taught executives from some of the world’s leading companies, including Unilever, Nestlé and Sonae. He also consults to the boards of a number of FTSE 100 companies.

“A recognised authority on organizational transformation”

[expand title=”In detail”] Rob is a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines and has appeared as a guest on many radio and television programs on business issues. In addition, he consults with a number of large corporations on organisational change, corporate culture, board governance, and management development.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Together with Gareth Jones, Rob founded CMA, a consultancy focused on organisations where creativity is a source of competitive strength. They offer substantive analysis, vivid examples, and pragmatic solutions to managers and executives who wish to explore the company’s ‘character’ and turn that into the foundation for long-term, sustainable success. In 2009 and 2007 Thinkers 50, the global ranking of management gurus, placed him among the list of most influential thinkers.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Presenting on his own or with Gareth Jones, Rob’s presentations are highly thought provoking and filled with extremely useful advice for any organisations wrestling with a cultural problem.[/expand]
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World’s Leading Historian of the Global Economy

Niall Ferguson is widely acknowledged as the world’s leading historian of the global economy. He is a prolific commentator on contemporary politics and economics and a regular contributor to television and radio on both sides of the Atlantic. He is also a contributing editor for the Financial Times. In 2010 Niall takes up the chair in History and International Affairs at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

“the most talented British historian of his generation”

[expand title=”In detail”] Niall Ferguson is Professor of History at Harvard University and Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. In 2009 the London School of Economics appointed Niall to chair History and International Affairs. For a documentary series based on his book ‘The Ascent of Money’, Niall received the International Emmy for Best Documentary. He is currently researching the life and times of Henry Kissinger for a new book.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Named as one of the world’s hundred most influential people by Time magazine, Niall believes that money is the cornerstone of human progress but can also be the catalyst for catastrophe for individuals, companies and nations. Through his in-depth analysis and research into historical events as well as current economical and political trends, he offers invaluable advice for leading businesses world wide.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]An experienced television and radio presenter, Niall Ferguson is an accomplished and dynamic speaker. His thought-provoking presentations are delivered with the perfect balance of wit and analytical clarity to challenge conventional thinking.[/expand]
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International Entrepreneur and Businessman

Sir Richard Branson is the eccentric and outspoken chairman of Virgin Atlantic Airways and Chairman of the Virgin Group. An experienced daredevil, Branson has raced powerboats across the ocean and has set distance records in hot air balloons. His unconventional style of living is only a part of his undeniable knack for beating impossible odds in business and in life. In his latest venture Richard Branson announced the signing of a deal under which a new space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, will license the technology behind Spaceship One to take paying passengers into suborbital space. In 2009 Thinkers 50, the global ranking of management gurus, placed him among the top ten most influential thinkers.

“Richard Branson has got the Midas Touch”

[expand title=”In detail”] Richard Branson received his education at Stowe School, where he established a national magazine entitled Student at the age of sixteen. He started a Student Advisory Centre at 17, aiming to help young people. At twenty years old, he founded Virgin as a mail order record retailer and a short while later; he opened a record shop in Oxford Street, London. In 1972, a recording studio was built in Oxfordshire where the first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield, recorded “Tubular Bells”, later released in 1973.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]In his presentations Richard Branson talks about his business philosophies as a “transformational leader” with his unique business strategies. He stresses that the Virgin Group is an organization driven on informality and information, one that is bottom-heavy rather than strangled by top-level management.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]A charismatic and charming individual, Richard Branson talks candidly about his business ventures and the leadership skills which have made him into a truly global player.[/expand]
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Author and Expert on Leadership and Change Management

Robin Sharma is the author of eight number one international bestsellers including ‘The Greatness Guide’ and one of the world’s top experts on leadership, change management and personal mastery. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Sharma Leadership International Inc., a widely respected leadership development firm that has helped over 4 million people in 50 countries.

“All people have greatness within them – they only need to remember and reclaim it.”

[expand title=”In detail”] Robin is one of the most in-demand speakers in the world, frequently sharing the stage with individuals such as Bill Clinton, Jack Welch, Stephen Covey, Ken Blanchard, Deepak Chopra and Dr. Phil. a former litigation lawyer, holding two law degrees including a Masters of Law, Robin is also a leading executive coach, having worked with billionaires, major CEOs and celebrity entrepreneurs.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Robin’s mission is to help human beings become extraordinary and organizations get to world-class. He explains when individuals begin to think, feel and act like leaders they become part of the solution rather than part of the problem. And when each of us shows leadership behaviour, we elevate our personal lives, our families, our organization, our communities and our world.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]An inspirational speaker, Robin tailors his presentations to precisely meet clients’ needs and he always leaves audiences energized and re-invigorated. He is also part of our Top Leadership speakers.[/expand]
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Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics 2009

Prof. Oliver E. Williamson was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for “his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm” in 2009, sharing it with Elinor Ostrom. He is the Edgar F. Kaiser Professor Emeritus of Business, Economics and Law and Professor of the Graduate School, both at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. He is a prominent author in the area of transaction cost economics and related disciplines and is credited with the development of the term “Information Impactedness”, which applies in situations where it is difficult to ascertain what the costs to information are.

“Oliver E. Williamson is one of the leading economic theorists of our time”

[expand title=”In detail”] Oliver E. Williamson received his B.Sc. in management from the MIT Sloan School of Management, M.B.A. from Stanford University, and his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University. He is recognised for developing a theory where business firms serve as structures for conflict resolution, and has argued that hierarchical organisations, such as companies, represent alternative governance structures, which differ in their approaches to resolving conflicts of interest.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Author of one of the most important books on the corporation, Prof. Williamson has been instrumental in establishing economic governance as a field of research. His focus on the cost of transactions has led him to distinguish between repeated case-by-case bargaining on the one hand and relationship-specific contracts on the other. He is highly sought-after by government organisations and corporations eager to reap the benefits of his considerable expertise, in-depth research and proven economic strategies.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Oliver E. Williamson is an engaging, enlightening and highly informative speaker with an unparalleled level of knowledge of today’s economic markets.[/expand]
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Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University

Alberto Alesina is a leader in the field of Political Economics and has published extensively in all major academic journals in economics. He is also a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Center for Economic Policy Research. He has been a co-editor of the Quarterly Journal of Economics for eight years and Associate Editor of many academic journals. He has published columns in many leading newspapers around the world and has visited several institutions including MIT, Tel Aviv University, University of Stockholm, The World Bank, and the IMF.

“One of the eight best economists under the age of forty in the world and most likely to win a Nobel Prize in the future” The Economist (1990)

[expand title=”In detail”] Alberto Alesina obtained his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1986 and served as Chairman of the Department of Economics from 2003 – 2006 and was the Taussig Research Professor of Economics from 2006 – 2007. He is a member of the Econometric Society and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Alberto Alesina’s offers a unique perspective on a variety of topics. He expertly points out how Europe should handle labour productivity, labour market regulation, globalization, support for higher education and research, fiscal policy, and its multiethnic societies. His wake-up call will ring loud and clear for anyone concerned about the future of Europe and the global economy.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Alberto Alesina is a highly respected, knowledgeable and provocative speaker with the ability to engage audiences worldwide. He has an informative presenting style – he is clear, direct and thought provoking.[/expand]
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