In 2010 Belinda Parmar founded and became CEO of The Empathy Business, a consultancy helping some of the world’s biggest companies to use empathy to transform internal cultures and customer experience.
Belinda now works with large companies to implement hundreds of ‘nudges’ and interventions that organically build an empathy revolution and give people simple practical ways they can create more inclusive cultures. Her focus is on belonging and diversity and creating more courageous cultures.
Belinda was Empathy-In-Residence at Barclays, MediaCom, Lloyds and Centrica, and she created the first-ever Empathy Hub in Europe’s largest bank.
Her Empathy and Empowerment Programme that she completed for one bank, saw her train over 200 fraud and complaints advisors, delivered a 9% uplift in net promote rates, and a 7.5% reduction in call handling times. Her work with AGL produced a 20.9% reduction in customer complaints and $1.7 million in cost savings.
As AI absorbs more cognitive work, Belinda helps leaders identify what only humans can do and build it deliberately.
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A qualified barrister, OBE recipient, and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, she is currently writing a leadership playbook for Penguin Random House on turning empathy into a practical toolkit for the AI era. Audiences leave with a framework for making the leadership calls AI cannot make for them and the confidence to lead the transition rather than be led by it.
Belinda Parmar OBE | Service to Women in Tech
Belinda was awarded an OBE in 2015 by the Queen for her services to women in technology. In 2020, she was chosen as one of the top 20 Global Public Figures in Diversity and in 2021 she was voted a top 20 Diversity Champion. Belinda has a law degree and a languages degree and believes that the magic in companies happens when you combine rational and emotional thinking to drive change.
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Belinda Parmar | Little Miss Geek
In 2012, Belinda founded Little Miss Geek, a social enterprise dedicated to inspiring the next generation of young women to become technology innovators. The same year, she published Little Miss Geek, which is now used in schools to inspire young women to look at the tech industry for careers.
She also led the Little Miss Geek campaign which aims to inspire women to follow careers orientated towards technology. In 2018 she started campaigning against “junk tech”. She states that, in regard to how we use tech now, “we no longer control technology: it controls us”, claiming that technology is having a negative impact on mental health and compared social media to fast food.
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Belinda Parmar OBE | Awards & Recognition
- Global Leaders in Consulting 2023 – ALM Consulting 2023
- Best Business Consultancy 2022 – CEO Monthly 2022
- Leader of the Year, HR Awards, Shortlist, 2022
- Woman of the Year, Shortlist, 2022,
- Women In Marketing 2021, nominee
- Top 20 Diversity Champions in 2021
- Top 20 Global Diversity Figures in public life in 2020
- Changemaker 2020 Finalist in the Drum
- Awarded in 2020 a Champion of Change commendation by Management Today
- Listed as one of the UK’s most influential women in tech in 2020 & 2021
- Received an OBE in 2015 for services to women in technology
- Spoke at Davos in 2020 & 2019 on Responsible Leadership, Empathy and Mental Health
- Pioneered the first Global Empathy Index published in the Harvard Business Review
- Set up the first ever Empathy Hub within an organisation at Europe’s largest bank
- Chosen to be a Young Global Leader for The World Economic Forum
- Been voted by Forbes as one of the most innovative women on Twitter
- Chosen by Cranfield as “Boardroom ready” and “One to watch”
- Named one of Business Insider Australia’s “100 most influential tech women on Twitter
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Belinda Parmar | Keynote
Human Leadership in an AI World: Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the way we live and work, yet it cannot replicate the essence of what makes us human: our ability to connect, to feel, and to lead with empathy. In this keynote, Belinda explores what human leadership means in an AI-driven world, drawing on her experience working with organisations across the UK, USA, Australia, and South Africa, and how leaders navigate complexity where trust, technology, and human judgement collide.
Belinda will answer three big questions:
1) Can AI fake feelings, and what does that mean for trust in organisations?
2) How can leaders use empathy as a measurable, practical tool rather than a soft skill?
3) What does human leadership look like in the age of algorithms, automation, and constant change?
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Belinda Parmar | Speaking Clients
King, Tedx, Microsoft, BBC, Gartner, Lloyds Bank, London School of Economics, Huawei, Retail Week, World Economic Forum, NHS and Salesforce.
To check fees and availability for Belinda Parmar OBE, contact Great Business Speakers on 0044 (0)1753 439289
