Robert Flint
Robert Flint is founder and chief executive of Adviserly, a referral network of over a hundred boutique law firms. Enabled by tech, they collaborate to transform the speed, quality and scope of the service they offer. Previously a partner at a boutique firm himself, he saw the challenges and the opportunities for businesses built on referrals. At Adviserly, he is mapping out a new way for professional services to operate based on collaboration, trust and referrals. He is a formidable networker himself and is an as ambassador for the Power Business School. Working with Strangers is his first book.
Olivier Courtois
Leaders around the world turn to Olivier Courtois to coach them through the dysfunctions that happen in transitions or during challenges. Whether making decisions at the top, running teams or just starting out, we’re all prone to the same patterns of dysfunctional behaviour, he says, particularly when conditions become complex or volatile. While we may all be human, we are all equally able to surpass ourselves as leaders: as a coach on five continents for over 35 years, he has opened the way for thousands of leaders to find the right path for their business, for their careers and for their lives. He is a regular keynote at conferences and trains leaders globally. He is a member of the MCE (AMA) faculty and has worked in senior positions at people consultancies, such as Korn Ferry.
Frances Trought
Frances Trought is the founder of Everything D&I (EDI), creators of opportunities for diverse talent with a focus on race, gender and social mobility. Talent is everywhere and EDI aims to ensure opportunity is too.
Frances has worked with industry leaders, including Accenture, Microsoft and Rolls Royce, to develop innovative initiatives to create a sense of belonging and awareness of career opportunities.
Frances is the author of Brilliant Employability Skills and provides a blend of coaching and mentoring to support others on their journey to career success.
Patrick Faniel
Patrick Faniel is managing director of Management Centre Europe (MCE), a leading force in developing and inspiring leaders and managers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As part of the American Management Association, MCE runs open programmes and customized learning solutions for executives, teams and organizations, bringing them up to speed with how they can become more efficient, more agile and more attractive to the next generation of talent. As a chief executive, as a founder, as a professor and in business development, Patrick Faniel has been transforming performance in ventures of all sizes for the last 25 years. At MCE, he now leads a team and an international faculty with direct strategic and operational experience of the complex challenges that leaders are now facing.
Kevin R Smith
Kevin R Smith specializes in lining up the money for entrepreneurs and founders as they grow their ventures. Originally a banker, he has acted as an independent mentor and advisor for the last 25 years, helping to join up all the pieces for start-ups and scale-ups, so they can present the best possible version of their story to investors. Kevin is the founding partner of Boom & Partners, a multi-award winning business advisory firm, a mentor at the Nat West Entrepreneur Accelerator and at The Prince’s Trust, as well as being a mentor and guest lecturer at Bayes Business School. He is a columnist on Start-ups Magazine and is a regular speaker on funding for growth.
James D Weekley
James D Weekley has been fascinated by the human challenges at work since he accidentally found himself managing an emergency evacuation for a suspected bomb. Originally a mining engineer, he became a pioneer of employee communication and engagement, working with global brands in, finance, energy, telecommunications, construction and consultancy. For the last eight years, he has been head of internal communication at RELX, the FTSE 100 specialist in information and analytics. His team recently won PR Week’s award for best digital storytellers.
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Sarah Thurstan
Sarah Thurstan has helped hundreds of speakers get their big moments right in front of a live audience. She coaches leaders, professionals and influencers on how to speak authentically in public and engage their audiences. Drawing on her years of experience as an actress in theatre and film, she develops everyone’s unique speaking style, bringing their strengths, their values and their stories to the fore. As a coach, she has helped executives from many organizations find their authentic voice and perform as their natural selves in public. She is a director of Performance Link, a company that specializes in developing a speaker’s personal presence and making them feel comfortable in their own skin about the whole experience of performing.
Adrian Burden
Adrian Burden is a scientist turned entrepreneur who built and sold a high-tech venture in Singapore. He is now a leading champion of innovation, running Key IQ, a business and technology catalyst, and the Malvern Festival of Innovation, a nationally recognized event showcasing science, technology and entrepreneurship. He recently became Royal Society entrepreneur in residence at the University of Birmingham and was ranked among Britain’s top 100 entrepreneurs in The Sunday Times.
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Marcos Kauffman
Marcos Kauffman is the director of the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (AME), a unique partnership between Coventry University and partners from manufacturing industry, which brings together business, research and education on the factory floor to accelerate the development of industry ready graduates and the commercialization of new technology across the manufacturing sector. Marcos joined AME in 2016 as innovation and digital director. Previously, he worked for ten years in the UK automotive manufacturing industry where he was responsible for solutions design and business improvement in production and research.
Hilarie Owen
Hilarie Owen is an authority on what makes great leaders and how top teams excel. She has worked for global companies and two government departments, as well as with the RAF Red Arrows and Harvard University. She has resolved leadership challenges in many different countries and is in regular demand as a keynote speaker. She is recognised as an expert for her research on how leadership is learnt, the crossovers with neuroscience and how decisions are made. Alongside her work in mentoring senior directors and top teams, Hilarie has launched a programme for women who are aiming to take up leadership roles. This is her ninth book on leadership.
