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
Chris Brindley MBE is a prominent UK Business Leader, Chair AT MCRactive and Zellar Limited, and Non-Executive Director (NED) at companies including Four Recruitment, Her Spirit, Equilibrium Asset Management, and Goodson Thomas. He is also an Elite Sports Business Mentor for The Premier League, Leadership Coach for Metro Bank, and a Trustee of Switch the Play Foundation.
He is the former Chair and NED of the Rugby Lead World Cup 2021 Board, Chair of GreaterSport Manchester and Sporting House, a Non-Executive at Rugby Football League, Super League, Move With Peppa, Rapport, and Manchester Football Association, and former Executive of British Gas, Metro Bank, and NatWest.
A leading authority on sales management, employee engagement and satisfaction, and customer experience, Chris holds Non-Executive Director positions at multiple organisations, and has been awarded UK Non-Executive Director (NED) of the Year, Most Outstanding Employer, and Britain’s Best Boss.
He has studied for a range of topics including strategic retail management at Manchester Business School, performance management, and executive coaching at Hult Ashridge, customer experience at Duke University, managing strategic risk at The Wharton School, managing for value creation at INSEAD, and executive leadership from the prestigious Harvard Business School.
Entrepreneurial Inspiration: Emily Newstead proves every day that nothing should hold you back from success!
Emily Newstead boasts a wealth of experience, proudly working across a wide range of business sectors and within various professional environments; Emily is a leading Yorkshire Woman Entrepreneur and Influencer with many accolades and achievements, including ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ & Finalists for ‘Ethical – Green Business of the Year Award’.
Through her dynamic storytelling and practical wisdom, Emily not only shares her journey but also empowers others to overcome obstacles and pursue their own paths to success with confidence.
Not only the CEO & Founder of her own company, new podcast, Mindset program, and property business; Emily also champions years of experience within multiple industries, business development, and leadership.
A passionate thought leader with multiple business and charitable interests, experience at the highest corporate level, and motivational speaker, Leila McKenzie-Delis is moving the dial on diversity, inclusion and equality in business.
In 2019, she founded DIAL Global, a global community for ‘Diverse Inclusive Aspirational Leaders’. She aims to foster a more open, diverse and inclusive society by helping organisations think differently about their working culture, attitudes and understanding of diversity. Not only does this include gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, mental health and disability, she also promotes the inclusion of neurodiverse employees.
Chanelle Lady McCoy is one of Ireland’s most successful businesswomen, winning the All-Ireland Business Champion Award and recently ranked no 23 in the ‘50 incredible people shaping modern Ireland.
Having previously been a co-founder of Ireland’s largest indigenous pharmaceutical company and more recently Chanelle McCoy Health, a research and development-led pharmaceutical company, Chanelle is a very motivating speaker on business and leadership.
Chanelle was previously one of the dragons on Ireland’s Dragons’ Den where she enjoyed sharing her experience of growing successful businesses and supporting entrepreneurs on their journey to business growth. She is also a huge supporter of women in business and mentoring young entrepreneurs.
Elif Köse is a transformational confidence coach, fashion designer and founder of The Leader Within You programme.
As a former full-time fashion designer who began her journey as an alteration girl with limited English, Elif Köse once held the belief that the key to confidence lay in finding the perfect outfit. She was captivated by the transformation of Wonder Woman, how her costume empowered her, and she emphasized the significance of outward appearance in bolstering confidence.
Contact Great British Speakers today to book the transformational women’s business coach and fashion designer Elif Köse for your next event. Through her impeccable tailoring skills, Elif bestowed a sense of empowerment upon countless individuals, even as she witnessed the weight of their insecurities. When the pandemic forced her to close her high street shop, Elif delved into personal development, unearthing a deeper understanding of inner confidence. Through a transformative journey marked by breakthroughs, she discovered that the puzzle was far more intricate than she had imagined.
Lars Tvede is a professional investor, serial entrepreneur and author who over the last 30 years has founded a string of companies within telecommunication, software development, property and finance.
His work has won him numerous international awards, including the Wall Street Journal Europe Innovation Award, Red Herring Global 100 Award, and Swiss IMD Startup Award.
Brad Burton is a force to be reckoned with in the world of motivational speaking and team building.
Known for his infectious enthusiasm, humour and high-energy dynamic approach twinned with street-smart wisdom, Brad has carved a unique niche in the industry, speaking globally at the highest level blending his background as a multi-million-pound business owner with his no-nonsense, motivational style.
At 50, he’s not just a speaker; he’s a doer, embodying the very essence of motivation and action. Brad’s journey is one of transformation and tenacity.
Blaire Palmer is the authority on disrupting the future of leadership, and wants to provoke senior leaders to think more critically about the idea of work and leadership itself.
After starting her career as producer of the BBC’s Today programme, she took the leap from this safe and respected job to train as one of Europe’s first corporate coaches and start her own company. Since then, she has worked with many multinational corporations and organisations such as Mattel, Airbus, Roche Pharmaceuticals and the FA.
Blaire can help make sense of the perfect organisational storm of generative AI, hybrid working and the long tail of the pandemic, growing understanding of mental health, the rising cost of living and cost of supply, and global unrest.
Lara Morgan is CEO/MD of consumer services businesses with global experience and a track record of delivering accelerated and exceptional growth. She is an inspirational leader with a legacy of building world-class teams and aligning organisations with a clear strategy.
Having started as a salesperson Lara Morgan continues to practice daily the art of selling and creating win-win customer partnerships. Relentlessly learning Lara has specific expertise in strategy, customer insight and brand development, multichannel and multisite management and organic or M&A and partnership driven expansion.
Bianca Miller-Cole is an award-winning entrepreneur, personal brand strategist, executive mentor, Sunday Times bestselling author and internationally renowned keynote speaker. She initially came to prominence appearing on BBC’s The Apprentice (2014) where she pitched her idea to redefine nude hosiery. It was this commitment to e-commerce that saw her being named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List.
With a career spanning entrepreneurship, personal branding, leadership, business growth and financial empowerment, Bianca is passionate about helping individuals and organisations turn potential into influence, opportunity and sustainable success. Bianca founded the ‘go to’ personal branding company, helping to harness workforce potential. The business has an impressive list of clients including Accenture, AMEX, Barclays, BT, CMS LLP, EY, Google, HSBC, KPMG, LSE, PWC, and UAL.
Bianca’s business influence has also resulted in her being awarded a Top 10 ‘Power Profile Leader’ via LinkedIn out of 20 million members, alongside Richard Branson. She appears in the Top 50 Future Leaders lists for the Financial Times HERoes (women only) and EMpower (ethnic minority) lists for her success in business.
Lady Michelle Mone, Baroness of Mayfair OBE, is one of the most sought-after inspirational speakers of our time. Recently voted the UK’s Number 1 Woman speaker, she is best renowned as one of Britain’s most influential ladies; both an entrepreneur and an advocate for equality for women in business.
Founder of Ultimo Brands International, the UK’s leading lingerie brand for the last two decades, she set out with a vision of helping women look and feel they’re very best. It was upon that simple concept Baroness Mone built her career and influence, being honoured with a Life Peerage to the House of Lords by the Prime Minister and an OBE from Her Majesty the Queen for her outstanding contributions to the business.
Baroness Mone grew up in the impoverished East End of Glasgow when, at the age of fifteen, her father fell ill and was subsequently declared paraplegic and wheelchair-bound for life. This forced Michelle to leave school without any qualifications in search of full-time employment, sparking her instinct for entrepreneurship. At the age of just 22, she excelled herself to Head of Sales and Marketing in Scotland for the Glasgow-based Labatt’s Brewers, however, was made redundant after two short years.
Duncan Bannatyne OBE is a highly respected entrepreneur known for his no-nonsense business style, inspirational story, and role as a former “Dragon” on BBC’s Dragons’ Den.
With a dynamic career spanning health clubs, hotels, spas, and media, he brings unmatched insight into business growth, resilience, and innovation. As a speaker, Duncan captivates audiences with his authenticity, humour, and real-world wisdom.
Duncan’s career path was not traditional, but his success speaks for itself – he is in the top 16 Glasgow Rich List. He has a net worth of approximately £500 million, despite leaving school with no qualifications and spending time doing several manual, low-paid jobs.
In 2004, Duncan received an OBE for his charity work. He is a keen anti-smoking campaigner and an active advocate for several charities, including Comic Relief, Scottish International Relief, and UNICEF.
Presenter on ITV’s Love Your Home & Garden, Property Expert, Problem Solver, and Social Entrepreneur, Kunle Barker began his business career whilst studying for an MA at the University of Leeds.
Kunle has set up several successful companies including Illustrious Homes an award winning Construction and Design Management Company.
Dr Misha Engineer MBBS BSc (Hons) MBA has significant experience in building resilience.
From NHS doctor to joining the family business to starting her own high-growth, social impact business, achieving considerable success and selling her stake within 6 years of inception; Misha has been recognised independently by the London Business School Review as one of the ‘30 People Changing the World’.
Ben Alldis is one of the UK’s most popular Peloton instructors with nearly 300k followers on Instagram. Formerly a finance professional in the City of London, Ben pivoted his career and followed his dream of healthy living to become a superstar in his field.
Having drastically expanded his own envelope, he is able to relate directly to people who feel the need to get motivated and expand their own life outside of their comfort zone.
He is available both in-person and for virtual engagements and fireside chats.
Belinda Parmar OBE is an expert in Human Leadership in AI, a diversity campaigner, CEO of The Empathy Business, and a Non-Executive Director for the Ministry of Defence.
As one of the world’s leading authorities on empathy, technology, and business performance, she uses the science of empathy to change the way companies transform their organisations, focussing on leadership, operations, and communications. She has spent over 20 years helping global companies, including Lexus, Lloyds Bank, Barclays Bank, AGL, Toyota, and Aston Martin, turn empathy from a soft aspiration into a hard commercial advantage.
She is the creator of the Global Empathy Index which was published in the Harvard Business Review- the first index to measure empathy and inclusion at scale.
A dynamic entrepreneur and keynote speaker, Belinda has a proven track record in delivering change management programs for major businesses and governments. Recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, Belinda has spoken at Davos and has received an OBE for serves to women in tech.
Dr Makaziwe Mandela was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and is the eldest daughter of Evelyn Mase and Nelson Mandela.
After attending high school in Swaziland, she went on to study for her BA degree in Social Work at Fort Hare University in the Eastern Cape, followed by her Honours Degree in Sociology at the University of Natal in Durban.
Dr Makaziwe Mandela is an inspiration to all, a passionate campaigner and speaker for diversity and inclusion, female empowerment, social justice, economic deprivation and education.
Turnaround expert Kevin Gaskell fixes and builds companies. Recognised as one of the world’s foremost leadership and business revitalisation experts, Kevin is a sought after keynote speaker who shares his practical methods and solutions of how to lead through adversity and make the complex simple, inspire action and achieve commercial success.
A former MD of Porsche (GB) and BMW (GB), Kevin is now a leading entrepreneur and investor.
His earliest challenges were to rebuild a broken Porsche brand and then to inspire the team at BMW GB to achieve a 500% improvement in profit while transforming the service levels of an industry.
He is actively involved in many of the worldwide businesses he has built (and in some cases rebuilt) in sectors including: technology, data, manufacturing, professional services and consumer brands. Winning numerous awards for excellence along the way, his companies and teams have created £3 billion of shareholder value.
Kelly Armatage is a coach, trained counsellor, cognitive behavioural therapist, TEDx speaker and the inventor of the cognitive tool, The A.S.K Technique.
She has facilitated over 15,000 seminars, 1:1 sessions, and therapy clinics in the UK, USA and Middle East. She is a media favourite, having appeared in The Huffington Post, The Sunday Express, and Women’s Health magazine, to name a few.
Throughout her 20+ year career, Kelly’s mission has been the same, “to help alleviate suffering through internationally acclaimed therapy tools, courses, sessions and seminars”.
Dr Lynda Shaw is a cognitive neuroscientist and business psychologist who works with senior leaders and wider teams to better understand the emotional responses of clients.
Together with her clients, Dr Lynda aims to harness this knowledge to improve business culture, unite managerial teams, ensure employee job satisfaction and turn fear and stress into profit and loyalty. Together this is achieved through consultation, workshops, coaching, group mentoring and keynote presentations.
She is an experienced entrepreneur having owned three businesses including a health club with 2000 members and 20 staff. She is also a business psychologist and holds a doctorate in neuroscience, specialising in the unconscious processing of emotion and communication. She works with senior leaders and their teams who want to better understand the emotional responses of clients and colleagues and harness this power to increase business growth and dramatically improve communication and long term business relationships.
Katie Bulmer Cooke is a professional speaker and young entrepreneur with vast experience in delivering to the health and fitness industry and business arena. She has a unique ability to inspire SME’s, students and employees with her down-to-earth style and usable business takeaways.
If you want humour, truly useable content and a fresh and motivating experience, then you need to look no further.
Fitness entrepreneur Katie, began her journey in the world of business at the age of 16, setting up exercise classes in her hometown of Sunderland. Fast forward 14 years and Katie is now selling her fitness DVDs and online training programmes in the 11 countries across the world, as well as educating her fellow fitness professionals on how they can grow their businesses and developing new group fitness concepts for leisure trusts, councils and the private sector.
Austin Healey is one of the most recognisable and popular English rugby players in the modern era. He played full-back for Leicester Tigers, earning himself 237 caps, won 51 caps for England and toured with the Lions in 1997 and 2001. For his country, Austin covered all positions from scrum half, fly-half, fullback and wing, and was as famous for his attitude as well as his skill, gaining the nickname ‘The Leicester Lip’.
Since retiring from playing rugby, Austin Healey has become a familiar face on television and radio, particularly as a rugby analyst for sporting programmes. Since taking on the role as lead rugby analyst on BT Sport in 2013, he has covered the Aviva Premiership, European Cup and Premiership 7’s matches.
In addition to these rugby roles, he is highly regarded by brands and has collaborated with a number of corporate sponsors including Aviva, Sigma Sports, GOPO Joint Health, BMF, Ladbrokes, Citroen and DHL.
Austin is a favourite amongst rugby fans and business people alike; thanks to his versatility, charismatic wit and passionate nature, Austin is now an extremely sought after rugby speaker across events.
Kate Ancketill is a business futurist and conference speaker who helps the world’s biggest consumer-facing brands see what’s coming before it’s obvious.
For 25 years she ran London-based consultancy GDR Creative Intelligence, tracking global innovation for clients including P&G, Tesco, Sephora, Microsoft, Target, Google, and Coca-Cola.
Where most speakers stay inside one industry, Kate reads them all as one connected picture – spotting cross-sector signals everyone else misses. She was named Best AI and Future Technology Speaker at the 2025 Speaker Awards, and she has delivered the flagship trends keynote at the NRF Big Show for 10 consecutive years.
Named as one of the world’s Top 30 Professional Speakers by Global Guru, and one of the Top 10 Thought Leaders on AI by Thinkers360, Karl Lillrud is one of the most experienced eCommerce business professionals, as well as a business coach, and bestselling author.
His book You, Me and AI (2023), Karl delves into the AI revolution from 54 different angles, underscoring his extensive understanding of the subject. He also explores how AI is transforming society in areas such as education, creativity, work, and our sense of identity, identifying topics including digital immortality, machines understanding spirituality, and the reinvention of democracy through AI governance.
In huge demand, Karl provides keynotes on the topics of business growth, eCommerce, consumer behaviour, and online business strategies. He has worked with and spoken to clients across the globe, from the UK and the US to Norway, Sweden, Spain, and France.
