The Leading Speakers Bureau

Actress, Television Personality, Historian

Due to her father İnal Batu’s occupation as a diplomat, she spent her childhood in many foreign countries including Pakistan, Czech Republic, France and the USA. She completed high school at Marymount School in New York and also pursued musical and theatre training at Mannes College of Music. After starting literature and philosophy at New York University, she switched her subject to history and completed it at Boğaziçi University. She made her film debut in Harem Suare in 1999 and has gone on to act with several more films and TV series.

Batu also hosted a show titled Tarihin Arka Odası (The Back Room of History) which aired on HaberTürk with Murat Bardakçı and Erhan Afyoncu. Interested in poetry from a young age, she has written, translated, and published many poems.
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Marine Explorer, Environmentalist, Educator & Film Producer

Jean-Michel Cousteau has for more than four decades used his vast experiences to communicate to people of all nations and generations his love and concern for our water planet. Honouring his heritage, he founded Ocean Futures Society in 1999 to carry on this pioneering work. He has served as a spokesman on water issues at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the 3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto, and the Dialogues on Water for Life and Security in Barcelona.

Dedicated to educating young people, documenting stories of change and hope, and lending his reputation and support to energize alliances for positive change

[expand title=”In detail”] Jean-Michel Cousteau spent much of his life with his family exploring the world’s oceans aboard Calypso and Alcyone. He has produced over 75 films, received the Emmy, the Peabody Award, the 7 d’Or, and the Cable Ace Award. Recognized as a voice for the ocean who communicates to a new generation, Jean-Michel appeared in a DVD special feature for Finding Nemo (Exploring the Reef with Jean-Michel Cousteau.) and in Coral Reef Adventure. In addition, he produced and appeared in a DVD special feature, Case of the Sponge Bob, for Paramount Pictures’ SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie. He also was a presenter and consultant for Sharks 3-D, an IMAX feature film.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]As Executive Vice President of The Cousteau Society for nearly 20 years, and now as Founder and President of Ocean Futures Society, Jean-Michel travels the globe, meeting with leaders and policymakers at the grassroots level and at the highest echelons of government and business. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Jean-Michel Cousteau provides a wealth of stories and knowledge from his adventurous life. Using his experiences designing artificial floating islands, schools, and environmentally responsible ocean-oriented resorts, Cousteau explains how his formal education in architecture provided him with the theories he has applied to the environment of the water as an oceanographer. Taking audiences on a tour of his childhood dreams of underwater cities to the reality of his accomplished career as an architect, Cousteau’s “Great Ocean Adventure” inspires the imaginations and dreams of all who witness it.[/expand]

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FranklinCovey Middle East General Manager

Murad Suleiman is the FranklinCovey Middle East General Manager with more than 14 years experience for Fortune 500 companies in the USA and the UAE. He also served as a senior advisor to VIPs and executive offices helping them defining the portfolio and growth strategies of their businesses.

“Businesses around the world are compelled to position uniquely and contribute to the business environment in order to excel”

[expand title=”In detail”] Murad Suleiman studied in the US and his Masters in Leadership at Exeter University. He has successfully coached and trained CEOs, Managing Directors and Top Management Teams in a variety of areas. Murad is familiar with various kinds of facilitation techniques that enable him to deliver the maximum value to his clients and meeting their expectations. During his career, Mr. Suleiman enjoyed a unique standing among leading professionals and is widely respected due to his achievements, business savvy approach, and strong international experience. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Murad Suleiman offers organizations the tools to strengthen their competitive position and profitable business expansions. He has also led the development and implementation of different enterprise change management programs that have resulted in high return of investment and significant increase in market value.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Murad is a passionate speaker who thrives on helping individuals and teams unleash their potential. He thoroughly enjoys meeting, interacting with people and being exposed to different cultures. His business rule of facilitation and consultancy is simple “if clients don’t walk out with tangible impact, it is a failure”.[/expand]

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Celebrity Chef and TV Personality

Jamie Oliver, the Naked Chef, was named the most influential person in the UK hospitality industry when he topped the inaugural CatererSearch 100 in 2005. He has also written columns for The Times newspaper, GQ, Marie Claire and Delicious magazines. In 2003, he was appointed an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. His television programmes include The Naked Chef, Jamie’s Kitchen, Jamie’s Kitchen Australia, Jamie’s School Dinners, Jamie’s Great Italian Escape and Jamie’s Ministry of Food (2008).

The first man on the GH cover since King George V in 1937

[expand title=”In detail”] Jamie grew up surrounded by good food: his parents ran the Cricketers pub in Essex and, from the age of eight, he started cooking and helping the chefs. The first series that featured Jamie’s cooking was the Naked Chef, an overnight success, attracting the kind of audience that wouldn’t normally watch food programmes. The book that accompanied the series became a bestseller and the young chef, always fully clothed, was catapulted into the limelight. Wanting to create something positive using his wealth and fame, Jamie conceived and established the Fifteen charity restaurant where he trained 15 disadvantaged young people to work in the hospitality industry. Following the success of the original restaurant in London, more Fifteens have opened around the globe. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]A great proponent of fresh organic foods, Jamie believes it’s crucial to get people excited about cooking good food again and to pass it on to as many friends, colleagues and family as possible. Having been the public face of the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain in the UK since 1998, appearing on television and radio advertisements and in-store promotional material he is known both in the UK and internationally, having starred as one of the judges in the 2008 US series The Big Give hosted by Oprah Winfrey on ABC among other appearances.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Jamie’s natural charisma, charm and down-to-earth style in front of live audiences make him a highly sought-after personality at any event, wowing all generations of food lovers with his fresh, no-nonsense cooking style and his inspiring recipes.[/expand]

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Versatile Actor and Photographer

Boman Irani is an Indian film and theater actor, voice artist and photographer. He started his acting career as a theatre artist and at the age of 44 made his Bollywood debut with a role in Shah Rukh Khan starrer Josh in 2000. After appearing in some films it was his role in the 2003 super-hit film Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. that brought him into limelight. He was recognised as an actor after this film and was seen in many films since then.

“The clicks of his camera, combined with his charisma, introduced him to the world of acting ”

[expand title=”In detail”] Some of his notable films include Main Hoon Na, Veer Zara in 2004 and No Entry in 2005. In 2006 he was seen in Lage Raho Munna Bhai and this role earned him Nomination at the Filmfare Awards. His role in Rajkumar Hirani’s blockbuster film 3 Idiots is one of his most remembered roles and also earned him his first Filmfare Award. He is a graduate of Mithibai College in Mumbai. His love of acting was always present even during school and college. He trained under acting coach Hansraj Siddhia from 1981 to 1983 and adopted professional acting methods. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Boman is well placed to suitably rouse any event. He exudes warmth and spontaneous good humour and it’s always a delight to be entertained by him. He provides a seamless connection between the stage and the audience.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]A charismatic and charming speaker, Boman’s speeches are always cultured, entertaining and provocative. He is a relaxed performer who is in great demand at prestigious events.[/expand]

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Best Selling Author of the Shiva Trilogy

Amish Tripathi is an Indian author. He is known for his novels ‘The Immortals of Meluha’, ‘The Secret of the Nagas’ and ‘The Oath of the Vayuputras’. The three books collectively comprise the Shiva Trilogy. His debut work ‘The Immortals of Meluha’ was a surprise bestseller, breaking into the top seller charts within a week of its launch. The Shiva Trilogy has become the fastest selling book series in the history of Indian publishing, with 1.7 million copies in print and over Rs 40 crores in sales.

“Paulo Coelho of the East”
Business World

[expand title=”In detail”] Amish Tripathi is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. Although he originally wanted to be a historian, Amish initially chose a career in finance because he couldn’t afford the former. He worked for 14 years in the financial services industry, in companies such as Standard Chartered, DBS Bank and IDBI Federal Life Insurance, before starting his writing career. He is passionate about history, mythology and philosophy, finding beauty and meaning in all world religions.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]He takes his audience on a journey of spirituality which leads to self-recognition. He highlights the aspects of life that need to be organised in such a way that each human gives a positive impact towards society building.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Amish Tripathi is an outstanding storyteller with a captivating style. Filled with energy and wisdom, his keynote lectures inspire audiences all over the world.[/expand]

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Former Chairman and CEO of Warner Music International

Patrick Vien is a media executive with 22 years of leadership experience in television, music and digital industries in the US and globally. He is currently working with LEPE Partners, a UK merchant bank focused on media, to acquire TV production groups around the globe. Mr. Vien was President and COO of Bankable, a high-growth branded entertainment company established by Tyra Banks. He was also Chairman and CEO of Warner Music International where he oversaw all strategic, commercial and general management aspects

“Patrick Vien is a leading digital entrepreneur”

[expand title=”In detail”] Mr. Vien earned a Master’s Degree in Business Communications from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California and Graduated from McGill University in Montreal, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. Mr. Vien served as President of NBC Universal’s Global Networks Division since 2004 and was responsible for the division of NBC international recorded music activities, which wholly owns and operates 11 television channels in territories around the world.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]An experienced keynote speaker Patrick provides international audiences with investment and strategic planning as well as operational implementation measures for traditional and new media companies. He offers invaluable advice to new media start ups as well as insights into the future of the global television landscape and talks about the importance of branding to generate money in the digital arena. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Patrick has a charming, commonsense speaking style and a wealth of wisdom and stories from his many years in business that give his presentations immense practical value.[/expand]

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Expert on Crowdsourcing and Social Innovation

Gaurav Mishra is a thought leader on social innovation and crowdsourcing. He is Founder and CEO of FutureCrafting, an innovation lab that explores how early adopters are using technologies like quantification, gamification and augmentation for health and wellness. He has helped create a crowdsourcing, social analytics and social curation software as well as several crowdsourcing-driven social platforms for organisations worldwide.

“Gaurav Mishra is a global expert on social innovation”

[expand title=”In detail”] Gaurav studied at IIM Bangalore. He held senior marketing roles at Tata Group and taught Social Media at Georgetown University. He also launched the crowd-sourced election monitoring platform Vote Report India, co-founded the social business consulting firm 2020 Social (acquired by Publicis), and created global insights and innovation offerings for organisations around the globe. He was a 2008-09 Yahoo! Fellow, a 2009 SNCR Fellow, a 2009 TED Fellow and a 2013-14 THNK Research Fellow. Gaurav has written reports, op-eds, a weekly newspaper column, a quarterly magazine and an award-winning blog.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]In his presentations Gaurav gives strategic insights on clients’ businesses which help them understand and manage issues on social media. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Gaurav is an energetic speaker with a sound knowledge in his area of expertise. He interacts with the audience and keeps them engaged and focused. His presentations and workshops are challenging and highly thought provoking. [/expand]

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Leadership Coach & Mountaineer

David Lim is best known for leading the landmark 1st Singapore Everest Expedition in 1998 (as well as the second in 2001). Partially disabled from a devastating rare nerve disorder since 1998, his comeback story of overcoming the odds made the cover of the Readers Digest magazine in 2001, and has since been translated into eight languages. He was in management at a publishing house for nearly a decade until 1998.

“…..your talk was very motivating, very moving and certainly inspiring”
Frankie Tan
President, Rotary Club of Raffles City

[expand title=”In detail”] A past President of the Asia Professional Speakers (2007-8), his work included being an adjunct lecturer for INSEAD Business School (2000-2009). David hasn’t given up climbing, and is a veteran of over 60 alpine and expedition ascents around the world, and most recently returned from the Tien Shan ranges in Kyrgyzstan, having climbed three virgin peaks. David is also an Associate Meta-Coach, certified practitioner in Neuro-Semantics and Neuro-Linguistics Programming. His coaching practice has been widely profiled in The Wall Street Journal and Singapore’s The Straits Times newspaper.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]David is a sought-after leadership coach, with expertise in negotiation skills, facilitating change, building high performing teams, and creating experiential learning programmes. These add value to any client event or sustainable change initiatives[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]David’s presentation style is breezy with lots of humour, audience-interactive and backed not only by decades of leadership achievement, but also with the rigour of an understanding of how adults learn. This makes his solutions to a presentation or event programme so very different than just hiring an ‘achiever’ type of speaker who may lack a people-development background.[/expand]

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Best-selling Author ‘The Laundrymen’

Jeffrey Robinson is the American born British based international best-selling author of 23 books, and a recognised expert on organised crime and money laundering. A native New Yorker who has been living in Europe for 35 years, Robinson’s 1995 investigative tour de force, ‘The Laundrymen’, uncovered the true extent of global money laundering. It is considered the definitive book on the subject, and now used in universities and law schools as a text.

“Who benefits the most from globalisation? Coca-Cola? Microsoft? McDonalds? More likely the Mafia”

[expand title=”In detail”] Robinson is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, and a veteran of the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. When his military obligation was completed at the end of 1970, Robinson took up residence in a small village in the south of France. Using that as his base, he vagabonded around the world, writing articles and short stories for leading North American and British periodicals. After more than 600 published stories and articles, Robinson moved to the UK in 1982 to concentrate on writing books. Robinson continues to write for radio and television, has scripted and hosted various projects in the UK. He conceived and wrote the pilot for the British crime drama series, Tightrope and also completed the pilot episode for a series on financial crime called Follow The Money.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]In his gripping presentations Jeffrey Robinson exposes the shocking and disturbing lengths that transnational organised criminals go in order to build multi-national corporations, making them the major beneficiary of globalisation.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Jeffrey’s eye-opening presentations are brilliantly delivered with humour and his trademark New York wit. They are always well received by audiences around the world.[/expand]

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