The Leading Speakers Bureau

Executive Product Manager of BBC iPlayer

Linda Davidson is the Executive Product Manager of BBC iPlayer, the heart of BBC’s online TV and radio services. She developed the first BBC sites, launched E4 and led digital distribution deals before broadening her base as European IT Director for Discovery Networks. She now lectures and helps companies innovate and diversify into new, validated revenue streams. Linda believes the challenge is to keep up with consumers’ expectations and what the workforce expect of their technology stack and that any investment in digital has to deliver measurable and meaningful ROI.

“A leading expert in digital media and online business”

[expand title=”In detail”] A former actress, writer and a media corporate, Linda attended drama school in London and moved into television acting where she appeared in several BBC series. She also worked as a TV sitcom writer, director and voiceover. She wrote for BBC Online, making contributions to Tomorrow’s World and Good Homes online and in the mid 90s, she was in charge of all the BBC’s drama websites.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]In her presentations Linda explores what digital can do for businesses and how to distinguish yourself from competitors. She also explores the latest trends, from Google hang-outs to hackathons and ‘unified’ communications.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Eye opening and highly inspiring, Linda Davidson is a great choice to speak at a wide range of corporate events. [/expand]

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CEO Saatchi & Saatchi Germany, Expert on Digitalization

Christian Rätsch is a passionate advocate of digital communication. A consultant, speaker and moderator who advised companies for many years during their way of getting digital, in November 2013 he was appointed CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Germany. Christian joined Saatchi & Saatchi from the client side, coming from Deutsche Telekom where he was Head of Marketing for small and medium enterprises and formerly SVP Marketing Communications.

“A digital native and renowned commentator and leader in social and digital marketing”

[expand title=”In detail”] Christian began his career in advertising at EURO RSCG. He went on to roles with BBDO Consulting, a top management consultancy advising C suite clients at Mercedes Benz/BMW, Allianz and Swisscom, before entering the T-Systems as SVP Corporate Marketing & Communications. He is currently Head of the GWA’s Jury for their Effectiveness Award and is the recipient of numerous Marketing accolades including three golds for Corporate Publishing and two GWA Gold Awards for Effectiveness. He is an active blogger on the subject of online marketing. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Bringing communication to the point is Christian’s major concern. His experience of both, the client and agency side, as well as his rich experience in digital environments is a winning combination for clients from all businesses. As an expert on digitalization, he highlights the importance of Internet and its challenges for companies and above all, he analyses the subject of social media.
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[expand title=”How he presents”]Challenging and sharp, Christian Rätsch’s presentations are a highlight at prestigious events around the globe.[/expand]

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Adventurer and Motivational Speaker

Alex Flynn is a prolific adventurer and extensive world traveller, experienced in dealing with different types of cultures, terrain, and adventure. After being diagnosed with the degenerative disease Parkinson’s in 2008, he decided to tackle his disease head on and set himself the ’10 million meters’ challenge. Before the end of 2014, the 10 Million Metres Challenge will take him more than 6,200 miles around the world, encompassing some of the world’s more interesting and dangerous races.

“EVERYTHING is possible”

[expand title=”In detail”] Alex has become the first person to traverse the 3256 miles from Santa Monica to New York and has traversed the Amazon basin, climbed 90 km of the Dolomites and run 236 km across the Colorado Rockies among others. He has raised awareness of the funds for Parkinson’s research and his media in the last 24 months (to September 2013) is in excess of 115 million households worldwide. Alex is also a writer and has contributed to magazines and newspapers both in the UK and internationally. Previously he has worked as a lawyer and General Counsel for numerous multinationals. [/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Alex’s story remains an incredible feat of human courage and determination. The ideals, passions, goals and dreams he holds are no different from anyone’s and he is a living example of human perseverance against the odds. He motivates and energises audiences and work teams for companies across the world.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Alex’s speeches always captivate the audience and inspire everyone with his determination to support his cause.[/expand]

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Adventurer & Motivational Speaker

Jacek Palkiewicz is one of the most renowned reporters and explorers who visited all geographical zones and many of the almost inaccessible places of our planet, frequently travelling in the style of a 19th Century explorer. He has collaborated with some of the most respected newspapers, including Corriere della Sera, Rzeczpospolita, Newsweek and National Geographic and has authored more than 30 books documenting his expeditions. In the corporate circuit Jacek became an internationally recognized expert on the subjects of overcoming difficulties and building resilience in extreme conditions.

“His activities have led to mutual understanding between people and have contributed to the protection of the environment” Michail Gorbachew

[expand title=”In detail”] Jacek graduated in Geographical Sciences and was made a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Geographical Society in London. In 1996 he led one of his most important expeditions ever, “Amazon Source ’96”, which established the actual source of the river Amazon. This discovery was accepted by Lima’s Geographic Society and is now certified that the river is the longest in the world. In 2003 he received the Official Honours of the Order of Knighthood of the Italian Republic and in 2010 he was awarded with the Golden Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontefice by Pope Benedict XVI.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Jacek founded the art of survival, constantly in search of finding the ultimate limits under extreme conditions of nature. He advises companies, organisations and governmental institutions around the world showing the similarities between the difficult challenges faced by the corporate world today and the challenges faced by explorers in dangerous and hostile environments. [/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Charismatic and engaging, Jacek Palkiewicz inspires any audience at a wide range of events around the globe.[/expand]

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Philosopher

Nick Bostrom is Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford University. He is the founding Director of the Future of Humanity Institute, a multidisciplinary research centre which enables a few exceptional mathematicians, philosophers, and scientists to think about global priorities and big questions for humanity.

[expand title=”In detail”] Nick co-founded, with David Pearce, the World Transhumanist Association, a non-profit grassroots organization. He was also involved in founding the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, a non-profit virtual think tank. The objective was to stimulate wider discussion about the implications of future technologies, in particular technologies that might lead to human enhancement. He is recipient of a Eugene R. Gannon Award (one person selected annually worldwide from the fields of philosophy, mathematics, the arts and other humanities, and the natural sciences). He was included on Prospect magazine’s World Thinkers list, the youngest person in the top 15 from all fields and the highest-ranked analytic philosopher.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Philosopher Nick Bostrom envisioned a future full of human enhancement, nanotechnology and machine intelligence long before they became mainstream concerns. Nick approaches both the inevitable and the speculative using the tools of philosophy, probability theory, and scientific analysis.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Nick Bostrom is renowned for his clear and fluent speaking style and continues to be in great demand by clients the world over.[/expand]

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Leading Entrepreneur and Activist

Chris Ward is an author, activist, cyclist and coffee geek. With an espresso and laptop to hand, the extra productivity and creativity he is able to generate by not being ‘trapped at the office’ has resulted in him not only working with some of the world’s most successful brands (BBC to Facebook), causes (Comic Relief to London 2012 legacy) & individuals (Lewis Hamilton to Desmond Tutu) but achieving it in less than 40 hours a week.

“The boss who works from coffee shops” BBC

[expand title=”In detail”] Chris Ward left school with one Art qualification but built and sold two successful commercial marketing agencies – Beatwax & Firstmovies, before becoming Creative Director at Comic Relief, Director on the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and legacy board member for the 2012 Olympics. He is currently Chairman of Blue Dot World, working with the likes of ITV, One Direction, Coldplay, BBC & The Nelson Mandela Foundation to engage millions of people in good causes. From founding and selling companies for multi-millions to cycling the whole of the 100th Le Tour de France route, Chris inspires a movement of people and businesses that are both thriving at work AND doing more of what makes them happy![/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Chris shows how to be a business manager in this new landscape, through the productivity and not the presence of the staff, and how to motivate, inspire and energise. He explains how everyone can achieve literally 50% more productivity and creativity. Getting flexible, remote working right saves companies time and money while increasing the overall happiness of employees.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Chris’ passion, commitment and energy enable him to inform and stimulate audiences of all levels. He connects with them on an emotional level and brings to life the determination to change lives. [/expand]

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Innovator & Global Brand Strategist

Mark Brill has been working as an innovator and strategist with global brands for over 20 years. He founded a web development business, Formation, in 1992, at the beginning of the internet revolution. Starting with web design, he led the company to deliver a range of large-scale online projects for brands, government agencies and major charities. His work is now focused on developing innovation through emerging technologies, particularly wearable and connected devices, along with the opportunities from developments in open and big data.

“A constructive & engaging Speaker”

[expand title=”In detail”] Shortly after the turn of the millennium, Mark saw the opportunities from mobile technologies becoming a media and marketing channel. Through the development of early messaging and content management systems, he established a leading role in this field. Besides global brands, this has led him to work with start-ups in the field of wearable computing, and open data management.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]With the emergence of social media alongside mobile, Mark has been a thought leader and in-demand consultant to major brands, helping them to understand how to engage consumers in these channels. Mark brings an enormous breadth of experience covering every aspect of the sector.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Speaking at conferences and events around the world, Mark has gained a reputation as enthusiastic, insightful yet down-to-earth speaker. [/expand]

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Creative Consultant, Visionary, Futurologist and Innovation Expert

Dietmar Dahmen was Creative Director with DDB, Executive Creative Director with Ogilvy, Chief Creative Officer with BBDO and now works as a creative consultant, with emphasis on up to date marketing and digital trends and solutions. Since 2011 he holds the position of Chief Innovation Officer with the multinational online agency ecx.io. In 2013 he also co-founded the eco-platform Earthback in Berlin, where he operates as a consultant and partner.

“Dietmar is an enricher of people, brand, user experience”

[expand title=”In detail”] Dietmar started out as a strategic planner, and later moved on to become a highly decorated creative. For almost 10 years he lectured disruptive advertising at the Film Academy Baden Württemberg in Germany, winning 16 times gold and silver awards with his students at the Young Directors Awards in Cannes. He is a member of both the Creative Club Austria and the Art Directors Club Germany and functions as the expert for digital transformation and innovative marketing with the European Association of Communication Agencies (EACA).[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]In his presentations, Dietmar Dahmen discusses how people and organisations can adapt to change. With over 20 successful years of experience in the ever-shifting, innately competitive world of advertising, he knows his subject well.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]As he makes clear in his presentations, Dietmar is keenly aware of the importance of staying ahead of the curve and the pitfalls of falling behind. Change happens quickly, and brands must be responsive to this.[/expand]

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Professor of Finance, London Business School

Alex Edmans is a Professor of Finance at London Business School. Alex’s research interests are in corporate finance, behavioural finance, corporate social responsibility, and practical investment strategies. His research has been published or is forthcoming in the American Economic Review, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Financial Studies. Alex co-led a session on behavioural economics at the 2014 World Economic Forum in Davos.

“A promising financial talent”

[expand title=”In detail”] Alex graduated from Oxford University and then worked for Morgan Stanley in investment banking (London) and fixed income sales and trading (New York). After a PhD in Finance from MIT Sloan as a Fulbright Scholar, he joined Wharton in 2007 and was tenured in 2013 shortly before moving to LBS. At Wharton, he won 14 teaching awards in six years, and served as Faculty Graduation Speaker to the MBA class of 2014. Alex is also a Faculty Research Fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, and a Research Associate of the European Corporate Governance Institute.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Alex has a unique combination of deep academic rigour and practical business experience. In his presentations, Alex’s aim is to make complex finance topics accessible to a general audience.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]With meticulous preparation Alex’s presentations are rich with detail, financial acumen and invaluable insights.[/expand]

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Serial Tech Entrepreneur, Futurist and advisor to the TechCast Technology Think Tank

Nicklas Bergman is a serial entrepreneur, technology investor, futurism researcher, speaker and writer. He has spent the last 20+ years working as an entrepreneur and investor with a focus on emerging technologies, currently through 20 direct and indirect technology investments. He searches for new opportunities which arise from the ever changing technological landscape.

“A futurist of highest rank”

[expand title=”In detail”] Nicklas is an advisor to the TechCast Technology Think Tank based in Washington where he works in a world-wide network of scientists, policy makers and business executives with the aim of understanding the impact of disruptive technologies. In addition, as part of an emerging research project at Lund University in Sweden, he focuses on humankind’s relationship to technology and technological development and more specific, on the business implications of multidisciplinary and transformative emerging technologies in the coming 5 to 50 years.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Through the combination of his entrepreneurial experience, technology investments and ongoing research projects, Nicklas is uniquely suited to guide decision makers to understand what the future will bring. He also takes a holistic approach communicating what we might expect from a technological perspective and how technological development will affect us as individuals, companies and society as a whole.
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[expand title=”How he presents”]Nicklas customises his presentations to each audience and presents credible facts in an entertaining, surprising and challenging way.[/expand]

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