Their journeys often involve overcoming challenges, taking risks, and innovating within competitive industries, which gives them unique insights into what drives business success. Entrepreneurs bring practical insights into running a business, from scaling operations to managing finances and leading teams. Their experiences of both failure and success offer valuable lessons that resonate with audiences. Beyond practical advice, they inspire with their resilience, creativity, and problem-solving skills, emphasising the importance of persistence, adaptability, and vision. As keynote speakers, entrepreneurs provide a clear understanding of the strategies and mindset needed for success, motivating attendees to pursue new ideas, overcome challenges, and innovate in their own ventures. Some of our top entrepreneurs are known for popular TV shows like Dragon’s Den and The Apprentice, lending them credibility and adding expert knowledge that resonates with audiences. Their personal stories of triumph and adversity provide valuable lessons for navigating the competitive business world, making them an excellent choice for business-oriented events.
With access to a wide range of accomplished entrepreneurs, including those with notable media presence, Great Business Speakers can match you with a speaker who aligns with your event’s objectives and audience. Whether hosting a corporate seminar, conference, or virtual event, we ensure you have the right expert to elevate your event and deliver key insights for business growth and success.
Discover our Entrepreneurs below, or contact the team at Great Business Speakers to enquire or book. +44 1753 439 289
Alexandra Forsyth is a Creative and Technology Founder, TEDx speaker, British Podcast Awards Judge, and host of the transatlantic podcast Take a Chance On You.
Blending lived experience with strategic insight, Alexandra developed the H.U.M.A.N. ROI Matrix, a human performance framework designed to help organisation’s identify hidden friction points. Her work sits at the intersection of human-centered leadership and the future of work, particularly as organisations navigate AI transformation, rapid growth, and evolving workplace cultures.
Beckie Taylor is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and creator of The Sound Barrier documentary. After building and exiting the award-winning technology business Tech Returners, she now helps organisations unlock the human advantage in the age of AI.
Through powerful storytelling, business experience, and practical insight, Beckie speaks on AI and the future of work, leadership, confidence, workplace culture, and finding your voice. She challenges organisations to look beyond technology, showing why trust, human connection, and confident leadership will define the most successful businesses of the future.
Recognised as one of the UK’s Most Influential People in Technology, Beckie delivers inspiring, thought-provoking keynotes that leave audiences ready to lead with confidence in a rapidly changing world.
Shazam founder Dhiraj Mukherjee is an international keynote speaker on AI, leadership, and adapting to emerging technologies.
He helped grow Shazam from the original idea to over 100 billion uses, and was also named one of Europe’s Top 50 technology entrepreneurs by The Financial Times. Since Shazma’s sale to Apple, he has invested in over 250 leading AI and technology startups, including OpenAI (creators of ChatGPT).
He has also held senior roles in financial services, technology, media, and entertainment. Dhiraj’s expertise is in helping leaders to build adaptable organisations, combining practical experiences building and iconic company with first-hand foresight of a technology-driven future.
Dhiraj has a degree in Mathematical Economics from Dartmouth College, USA and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He advises corporate leaders to build organisations that embrace adaptability as a core competency. He guides executives to systematically create companies that learn, evolve, and reinvent themselves, rather than reacting to disruption after it occurs.
Rohit Bhargava is an expert in marketing, innovation, trends, and the future. He believes the world needs more non-obvious thinking and his mission is to help people see what others miss.
For more than a decade, Rohit has been inspiring audiences at Coca-Cola, Disney, Microsoft, NASA, Schwab, SXSW and hundreds of other clients with his signature keynote presentations. He is a master at weaving stories into his talks in a way that helps audiences better understand the world today, while also preparing for the future.
He is a three-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author of 10 books on marketing, innovation, and trends; has been invited to be a non-boring speaker to events across 32 countries; and is a frequent contributor to publications including Entrepreneur and GQ magazines.
Kirsty Hulse is an award-winning keynote speaker, bestselling author, and confidence expert who helps organisations transform how their people communicate, influence, and lead. Having delivered over 2,000 keynotes and workshops globally with 100% positive audience feedback, she has trained more than 150,000 professionals across companies, including Amazon, LinkedIn, and Spotify.
She is the creator of Confidence Live, a 1,300-delegate conference bringing together world-class speakers, comics, and wellbeing experts. Founder of a marketing agency serving clients such as IBM and Virgin Atlantic, Kirsty built a million-dollar business by the age of 26.
A former stand-up comic who has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and The Comedy Store, Kirsty blends research-backed insight with sharp humour to make complex ideas stick. Her practical frameworks help organisations boost engagement, strengthen leadership presence, and build resilience during periods of change, leaving audiences with tools they can apply immediately.
Alex Liberman is the co-founder, ex-CEO, and current Executive Chairman of Morning Brew. He scaled and sold the business for $75 million
Alex is dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs with insights on building and scaling successful businesses, and runs a number of successful startups.
Alex shares valuable lessons and frameworks for navigating the challenges of start-up life. Passionate about the future of AI, Alex advocates for business to embrace AI-native strategies to thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Mary Portas is one of the most influential voices shaping the future of retail, branding, and customer experience. Known for her bold thinking, deep commercial insight, and passion for transforming businesses, Mary Portas is a highly sought-after keynote speaker for conferences, leadership events, and corporate gatherings worldwide.
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With more than three decades of experience advising global brands and helping organisations navigate changing consumer behaviour, Mary delivers keynote presentations that challenge audiences to rethink how businesses operate in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
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As a broadcaster, bestselling author, and founder of the consultancy Portas Agency, she combines strategic business insight with an inspiring belief that companies must reconnect with customers, communities, and purpose.
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Event organisers looking to book Mary Portas as a keynote speaker can expect a presentation that is energetic, thought-provoking, and packed with practical insights for modern organisations.
Caspar Craven has over 30 years’ experience in building teams to make things happen, and has vast experience in a range of companies and environments. He’s consistently found that the most successful leaders and teams are the one who recognise we are all building two teams: a work team and a home team.
He has worked with companies big and small, worked in professional services for over a decade, including five years at KPMG Corporate Finance, has been a CFO and CEO, and has built-up a number of his own highly successful start-ups, one of which he sold for a seven-figure sum.
He has sailed twice around the world – the first time on the Yacht Quadstone for the BT Global Challenge Yacht race, and the second with his family team, his wife and three children under the age of 10.
Caspar Craven’s USP is with setting, tackling and achieving big and bold goals. He is a best-selling author, highly popular face in the media, intrepid explorer and passionate keynote speaker.
In his speeches, he reveals to audiences a rarely discussed ‘secret to success’ for business and for families, which involves applying work values to home, and home values to work, for the betterment of both. Audiences come away empowered to thrive and live their best lives both at work and at home.
Simon Morris is arguably one of the most successful creative entrepreneurs in the UK. For over a decade, Simon has worked at Amazon, first as a Director of Advertising, then Global Creative Director, and now Chief Creative Officer, with his leadership elevating the brand to new heights.
He is the current Chairman of the award-winning producers Object Studios, the AI-driven creative optimization business DiO, and for Novel, the UK’s leading podcast-to-streaming creator. In 2023 he was named as a Governor of the Museum of London. He is the mastermind behind several projects, including the iconic Alexa Super Bowl campaign which captured global acclaim.
Simon’s experience includes launching Sega in his territory, making Sonic the Hedgehog a household name, managing the largest software sales for Sonic 2, and generating over £1 billion in revenue thanks to his campaigns – an achievement which saw him inducted into the UK Marketing Hall of Fame.
“Stick to your beliefs, ensure everything is consistent with the brand and create an environment of trust.” – Tamara
Tamara Lohan is a co-founder and CEO of Mr & Mrs Smith, the boutique hotel booking specialists.
An entrepreneur with a background in marketing and technology, Tamara and her husband founded the company in 2002, and have been responsible for evolving the company’s digital infrastructure ever since.
From working in sales to marketing to business consultancy, Tamara has worked as the CTO, COO, and CEO of Mr & Mrs Smith. As CTO, she oversaw the development of their in-house booking engine and proprietary availability-management systems, apps, and Alexa voice skill.
The brand was acquired by Hyatt in 2023, and it now has offers all over the world and represents over 1,000 of the world’s best boutique hotels.
Tamara and her husband were both awarded MBEs in 2014 for their services to the British travel industry.
Recently named as a global top 10 speaker by MSN, Nick Jankel is a transformative keynote speaker at the very top of his game. A professional futurist, Nick helps leaders both see and shape the future of work, leadership, education, business, healthcare, and more.
With over 30 years of experience, Nick is a world authority of leading in and through change, and how to unlock innovation, business transformation, and rapid adaptation through an uncertain and volatile business landscape. A Cambridge-educated medic, Nick is the creator of the neuroscience-led BTX® Method for leading change and transformation, which he has presented to over 100,000 leaders, and more than 100 Fortune 500 companies.
He is highly sought after for his customised and WOW-making keynotes that inspire hearts, influence minds, and ignite change. He has worked with some of the top corporations, including Google, Pfizer, LEGO, Unilever, HP, and with No 10 Downing Street. His keynotes dazzle even the smartest minds, and are designed to plant seeds of concrete change in his audiences. With over 250 leadership development journeys and 100+ innovation programs designed and led by him, he is a highly experienced facilitator and transformation catalyst who sees a keynote as the accelerator of change.
Lorraine Wright MBE is a multi-hyphenate leader; a British-Ghanian entrepreneur, Oxford Executive MBA Graduate, and strategic advisor, with over 15 years of experience in education, tech, real estate, and social impact. Blending corporate strategy with cultural fluency, Lorraine helps professionals and organisations to turn their bold ideas into tangible results, delivering talks that are powerful, practical, and punchy.
She is currently the Head of Patronships at Amicable Divorce, leading the strategy to scale across the UK’s leading separation and divorce support service. Lorraine works at the intersection of business strategy, societal impact, and workplace wellbeing, partnering with corporate, professional networks, and wellbeing platforms to embed Amicable as a workplace benefit and community resource.
Lorraine was recently named as a Top 25 Black Entrepreneur to watch by HSBC and the UK Black Business Show, and was named an MBE in 2022.
Matthew Griffin is one of the world’s most renowned futurists and leadership coaches. Once referred to as a “walking encyclopaedia of the future”, he helps build tomorrow’s high-performance companies.
Matthew Griffin is the founder of the Futures Advisory firm, 311 Institute, and is a 15-time author of the hit Codex of the Future series.
Matthew has a reputation for identifying, tracking, and explaining the impacts of emerging technologies and trends on global business, society, and culture. He has worked for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, and his client list includes royalty, world leaders, and global investors.
Named by The Observer as “one of the world’s leading thinkers”, and by Vogue as “one of the world’s most inspiring women”, economist Professor Noreena Hertz is a board member, senior advisor, bestselling author, and keynote speaker.
Noreena, a global economist whose work intersects the nexus of economics, politics, society, and technology, is a pioneering and renowned thinker on AI, community building, decision-making, and the post-millennial generation. She is also an advisor to some of the world’s largest organisations on strategy and transformation.
She sits on the boards of Nasdaq-listed companies Mattel and Warner Music Group and also the board of the HR Tech Company, Workhuman. She has served on Citigroup’s Politics and Economics Global Advisory Board, the Inclusive Capitalism Taskforce’s Advisory Group, and RWE’s Digital Transformation Board. Her thinking served as the inspiration for Bono’s Product (Red).
Gordon Glenister is a highly experienced marketing and sales professional, who has worked with a number of recognised businesses over the years. His main focus is on influencer marketing, membership, and promotional merchandise.
His journey started when he was just 15 years old. Always the entrepreneurial type, he made his first £1,000 selling plants and serving gardens in Essex. A few years later, Gordon was thrust into the world of business, working for companies including Bryant and May.
He then moved on to a bigger role, working for Grants of James, where he consistently beat his sales incentives and was one of the top salesmen in the team. From there, he moved to HP Bulmer as one of the youngest ever regional sales managers, and by the time he was 26, he was managing a £21 million Whitbread account.
Gordon Glenister has also made over 160 episodes of the Influence Global Podcast interviewing all sorts of well-known individuals. As an international speaker and moderator of over 300 events, Gordon specialises in helping audiences unlock their influence and build a strong personal brand. As a professional journalist, Gordon is able to moderate on panel discussions getting the very best from his guests.
He also presented the BPMA awards for over 10 years with an audience in excess of 900. Gordon also sits on various boards including a metaverse company.
Gordon is also the director of the development board of the Arcola Theatre, is a board member for VERCHOOL HOLDINGS, and is a brand ambassador for Home Grown Club, and 1 Club.
Charlie Whyman knows that facing redundancy, navigating career changes, and starting new ventures can be daunting, but she also knows they can be opportunities for growth. As the Manging Director of TGIS Aviation, Charlies specialises in solving complex, time-critical challenges. She is passionate about helping others to take control of their careers and to build the courage to take action, no matter the obstacles.
With a background in engineering, marketing, and business, Charlie has built her career across male-dominated industries, including automotive, aviation, mining, and shipping. In 2006, Charlie founded and award-winning Sardinian Olive Oil business Palmavera, and after facing redundancy twice, she launched her own consultancy business in 2017.
As a university dropout with no formal qualifications, Charlie is open and honest about the twists and turns in her career, and uses her story to show that fear doesn’t need to hold you back. Through her experiences as a speaker, business leader, entrepreneur, and parent, she demonstrates that with the right support and courage, it’s possible to take control and create your own path to success.
Jo Fairley is a serial entrepreneur, best known for co-founding the luxury chocolate brand Green & Black’s. Leaving school with just six O Levels, Jo became the UK’s youngest-ever magazine editor at Look Now.
Today, Jo continues to make influential contributions to Green & Black’s, as well as to the wider industry. She has founded several businesses across industries, but always themed around the senses.
Jo is a highly sought-after speaker, sharing her experiences, invaluable expertise, and advice for fellow entrepreneurs. Jo was once awarded the World Aware Award for her influential entrepreneurship, a testament to her dedication to ensuring all she works on is environmentally friendly.
Debra Searle MVO, MBE, is a unique and inspiring individual. A businesswoman, professional adventurer, and motivational speaker, Debra is convinced that learning to choose the right attitude, can transform our personal and professional lives.
Debra has launched five companies, presented over 40 programmes for the BBC, won Gold World Championship medals for Team GB, was the youngest ever trustee of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and successfully rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Once voted World #1 Female Motivational Speaker in the Global Gurus ranking, Debra has been honoured twice by the late Queen, an MBE in 2002 and an MVO in 2014.
She is a successful author, and has spoken at over 1,300 events across 40 countries about her incredible achievements. In fact, the movie of her solo Atlantic row is currently in development in Hollywood!
Reuben Christian is an uplifting, award-winning edutainer, speaker, podcast host, coach, presenter, moderator, facilitator, and host, with over 20 years of experience. His contagious energy has enlivened conferences, festivals, and events around the world.
Reuben is the founder of Dream Rehab, a live show that harnesses the power of community for individual and collective growth. Focussed on helping people achieve their goals. Reuben hosts for companies, communities, and events, helping people overcoming barriers, and align purpose to inspire action and success.
He is the co-host of the What Is This Behaviour? podcast – interviewing South Asian trailblazers – which reaches 16 million travellers on British Airways flights. Reuben also served as a senior mentor for Samsung Not a School, an innovative alternative education initiative inspiring the next generation of forward thinkers.
Reuben can count names such as Aviva, Barbican, Samsung, the BBC, Red Bull, Virgin Media, the Old Vic, Deutsche Bank, and Wilderness Festival among his corporate credits.
A thriving workplace isn’t just about technical skills—it’s about communication, creativity, and emotional intelligence. Reuben trains teams in the soft skills that drive engagement, innovation, and collaboration. His corporate training sessions aren’t about passive learning; they’re about real conversations, practical exercises, and tangible takeaways that create lasting change
Deborah Meaden is a businesswoman, entrepreneur, TV personality, writer, and inspirational business speaker. She is best known for appearing on BBC’s Dragons’ Den (2006-).
She champions ethical and fair practices in both her personal life and her business investments, believing that caring for the environment is crucial for our wellbeing.
She is a popular keynote speaker, offering talks on business, the environment, investing, selling and retail, and other financial matters.
David Meikle – a leading thinker and innovator in marketing and advertising and an accomplished business author, combines unparalleled experience and expertise with an ambition to transform business relationships.
He has worked with some of the world’s most prominent brands through roles at global agencies like Grey and O&M and as Group Managing Director of Ogilvy Russia. His expertise lies in driving impactful marketing strategies and organisational transformations within the advertising sector.
Over the years, David has gained a renowned reputation as a speaker on Leadership and Management, delivering seminars, workshops, and training courses to various businesses, organisations, and professional bodies across the globe: from the largest advertising agency networks in the world to the European Commission, from New York to Dubai to Singapore.
David’s unique delivery style combines real-world case studies, academic theory, and personal anecdotes wrapped in his signature wit. Whether addressing leadership, marketing transformation, or mental health, his talks leave audiences inspired, entertained, and equipped with practical tools for change.
Cassandra Stavrou MBE is the founder of food company, PROPER Snacks, who make the bestselling PROPERCORN and PROPERCHIPS.
Spearheading the healthy snack boom, Cassandra built the business into Europe’s largest independent snacking company, reaching over £100 million in sales!
Her products are sold around the world in over 20 countries, and are for sale in every major UK retailer. PROPER Snacks were also the first ever B Corp snacks company – certified as a company that meets “high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability”.
In 2020 she was awarded an MBE from the late Queen for services to the food industry.
Allyson Stewart-Allen is an expert in leadership, development, and internationalisation. Allyson helps leaders, brands, and businesses successfully expand internationally by giving them the tools to be more effective globally.
Sky News once dubbed her the “Muse of Marketing”. She has collaborated with companies, media channels, and publications worldwide, including BBC News, CNN, and The Financial Times. She has also appeared on BBC1’s The Apprentice, and has created one of LinkedIn Learning’s most popular courses on leading international growth.
She has worked with over 260 organisations across 26 countries, including Burberry, Cadbury, Chanel, HSBC, and Shell. She is also one of the original mentors for the Mayor of London’s International Business Programme.
Shakaila Forbes-Bell is a qualified Fashion Psychologist, author, and presenter.
She became the first black person in the world to earn a Master’s degree in fashion psychology; her focus was the underrepresentation of black models in fashion media, the impact of that on consumer behaviour, and the idea of self-concept. Her Master’s paper would go on to be published in the International Journal of Market Research.
Since qualifying, she has collaborated with a range of high-end and high-street fashion brands, delivered workshops to industry professionals, spoken at keynote events, and been featured in publications including Marie Claire Magazine, Grazia Magazine, and The Times.
She is also the founder of Fashion Is Psychology, and released her bestselling book, Big Dress Energy in 2022.
