The Leading Speakers Bureau

Leading Business Specialist on Asia

In January 2006 he left Arthur D. Little’s Asia Pacific Advisory Council, where he was Vice Chairman providing council on high level strategic and operational issues for companies in the Asia Pacific region.

“One of the best managers ever seen in China”

[expand title=”In detail”] Martin’s prolific career began in the automotive industry. He is the former Commercial Executive & Deputy Managing Director of the Shanghai-Volkswagen Automotive Company in China. Continue Reading »

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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Business Writer & Commentator, Former Financial Times Editor

Andrew Gowers has a lifetime’s experience in newspapers and on the front-line of corporate crises in Britain, Europe and the US. A financial journalist for 25 years, most of them at the Financial Times, as Editor, and Foreign, and Middle East Editor, he went onto work in corporate communications, first at the global investment bank Lehman Brothers and then at BP – closely involved in the two most high-profile corporate crises of recent decades. He was Head of Corporate Communications and Brand at Lehman Brothers when the bank spectacularly collapsed in 2008, triggering the global financial crisis. After a stint at London Business School, he joined the oil giant BP as Head of Group Media, and was part of the company’s communications response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

“A brilliant financial journalist”

[expand title=”In detail”] A graduate of Cambridge Uni., Andrew worked first with Reuters, then with the FT. He reported from Brussels, Zurich and the Middle East and covered subjects ranging from commodities markets to international politics. He travelled widely and became personally acquainted with many of the world’s most senior political and corporate leaders. He was appointed founding Editor of FT Deutschland until becoming Editor of the English-language FT in 2001. In 2006 he led an independent review for HM Government of the UK’s intellectual property regime and in 2008-9 he served on the advisory board for the Government’s Digital Britain review.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Andrew offers the inside track on an unusual range of subjects. As a senior communicator for leading companies, he has a truly unique perspective on the world of business and its relationship with society, the media and public opinion. He offers a broad and expert perspective on a gamut of subjects from the UK’s rapidly changing political scene, the future of the euro, European politics, the prospects for the world economy, the Middle East, to the global financial crisis and how companies manage their reputations. With many years’ experience of commenting on international affairs, he regularly reported from the Middle East during his journalistic career, and met many of the region’s leaders. He can talk with authority and insight about the current political upheavals in the Arab world and their geostrategic and economic implications.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Andrew has an informal speaking style and he leavens his talks with entertaining personal anecdotes and humour, while always leaving audiences with intelligent food for thought. He is equally at home speaking at conferences and dinners, small corporate seminars and large public events.[/expand]
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Founder of the Grameen Bank and Winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize

In 1976, Muhammad Yunus founded the Grameen Bank to make loans to poor Bangladeshis. Since then the Grameen Bank has issued more than US$ 5.1 billion to 5.3 million borrowers. The success of the Grameen model has inspired similar efforts throughout the developing world and even in industrialized nations including the USA. His methods have also been applied to Burma and in Kosovo with great success and he is now embarking upon an effort to eliminate global poverty.

Professor Muhammad Yunus 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

“By giving poor people the power to help themselves, Dr. Yunus has offered them something far more valuable than a plate of food – security in its most fundamental form.” Former US President Jimmy Carter

[expand title=”In detail”] Besides Grameen Bank he has created a number of companies in Bangladesh to address diverse issues of poverty and development. Among the companies are Grameen Phone (a mobile telephone company), Grameen Cybernet (Internet Service Provider), Grameen Communications (Rural Internet Service Provider), Grameen Software company, Grameen Information Technology Park, Grameen Fund (Social Venture Capital Company), Grameen Capital Management company and many more.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Muhammad Yunus is a highly charismatic figure with a wealth of innovative ideas and the power to help thousands of people to decide their own destiny. He carefully explains to audiences his ideas and lays the foundations for the successful implementation of his model which is eradicating poverty around the globe.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]An empowering and emotive speaker, Muhammad Yunus talks passionately about his goals and dreams and leaves audiences inspired with his simple yet effective ideas.[/expand]
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Global Energy Economist

Philip K. Verleger Jr. is the President of PKVerleger LLC and senior advisor to The Brattle Group. He has been associated with the Fred Bergsten Institute since 1986 and is a senior fellow. He has held positions at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, the U.S. Treasury, the Institute for International Economics, Yale University, the University of California, and various firms in the private sector. He is a member of the National Petroleum Council and the Council of Foreign Relations.

“The leading specialist in the study of energy commodity markets.”

[expand title=”In detail”] The author of over 100 articles and books on energy economics, Dr. Verleger has testified frequently as an expert witness for parties in private disputes and as an independent authority to the U.S. Congress. His testimony before Congress has addressed regulation, taxation, the behaviour of markets, and most recently, mergers. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1971.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Adept at both the podium and with the pen, Philip, the author of numerous studies on international energy and petroleum issues, brings his experience and analytical prowess to bear on the conventional economic wisdom, reaching insightful conclusion others simply can’t.[/expand]
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Expert on Energy and the Environment

Claudia Kemfert is Head of the department Energy, Transportation, Environment at the German Institute of Economic Research (DIW Berlin) and Professor of Energy Economics at Humboldt University, Berlin. She advises EU president José Manuel Barroso as a member of the High Level Group on Energy and she is an external advisor for the World Bank, the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“Germany’s leading exponent of green economic policies”

[expand title=”In detail”] Prof. Kemfert was awarded from DAAD and was honoured in 2006 as top German Scientist from the German research foundation (“Elf der Wissenschaft 2006”). She is a member of renowned expert commissions, sustainability advisory councils and is a member of the editorial board of Energy Economics, Gaia and Energy Efficiency. Her research activities concentrate on the evaluation of climate and energy policy strategies.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]With a wealth of unparalleled expertise in the social and economic effects of climate change, Claudia Kemfert offers organisations the necessary tools to expand without adversely affecting the environment. She shows decision makers how it is possible to achieve sustained growth and profits whilst simultaneously implementing “greener” business policies[/expand]
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Professor of Strategic and International Management at LBS

Costas Markides is Professor of Strategic and International Management at London Business School. A native of Cyprus, he received his BA (Distinction) and MA in Economics from Boston University and his MBA and DBA from the Harvard Business School. Prior to joining London Business School he has worked as an Associate with the Cyprus Development Bank and as a Research Associate at the Harvard Business School. In 2009 and 2007 Thinkers 50, the global ranking of management gurus, placed him among the list of most influential thinkers.

“Costas Markides is an expert on creating breakthrough strategies with proven results”

Costas Markides 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”] His work has been has published in a wide range of journals such as the Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Directors & Boards, Long Range Planning, British Journal of Management, Journal of International Business Studies, Strategic Management Journal and the Academy of Management Journal.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Having taught on many in-company programmes Prof. Markides is without a doubt one of Europe’s most experienced and respected business strategists. His presentations are ideal for decision makers keen to sustain and develop superior competitive performance by implementing and understanding new business strategies.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Costas Markides is a captivating and engaging speaker and he has designed his lectures with just the right blend of humour and useful actionable information. His appearances are consistently well-received making him one of the most sought-after and prized speakers currently available.[/expand]
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Former Member of the European Commission

During his 10 year tenure as one of Europe’s most senior Commissioners in Brussels, Dr Martin Bangemann was instrumental in shaping Europe’s telecommunications and IT policy in a world of rapid technology developments. He stepped down from this position in June 1999. From 2000 to 2005 he was a non-executive Advisory Board Member of Telefonica, Spain. He is currently writing a new book.

“Dr Bangemann has a firm grasp on the future of the information industry”

[expand title=”In detail”] He received a doctorate in law from the University of Munich and became a practising lawyer in Germany in 1964. He entered the European Parliament in 1973 on the Budget Committee and became Chairman of the European Parliament Liberal Democratic Group in 1979. From 1984 to 1988 he was Federal Minister of Economic Affairs for Germany.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]In his presentations Dr Bangemann deals with the social and economic impact of new information technologies. He identifies the enormous growth potential of new technologies and shows organisations how to benefit from these technologies[/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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Former Chief Investment Officer of Baring Asset Management

Michael Hughes is one of the City of London’s best-known economists and as the Chief Investment Officer of Baring Asset Management, he was responsible for the management of US $47 billion in funds. Michael uses his considerable knowledge of the global and European economic landscape to provide essential information and insights to enable decision makers to plan strategically and gain the all important competitive advantage.

“A highly respected Global Finance Expert”

[expand title=”In detail”] Michael Hughes joined Baring Asset Management in 1998, from Barclays Capital, where he was the Group Economic Advisor and the Chairman of Barclays Capital Pensions Ltd. Prior to that, he was a Managing Director and Global Head of Economics and Investment Strategy at BZW Securities Limited.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Michael has the skill and knowledge which allows his audience to delve into the extremely rich and varied vein of economics and business strategies. Business leaders benefit from his astute insights and analytical brilliance of the economic landscape.[/expand]
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