An inspirational female speaker can motivate your team, drive innovation, and highlight the benefits of a diverse workforce. Female business leaders, particularly those in less-female-oriented roles (such as STEM fields), serve as invaluable role models, showcasing the impact of diversity and the importance of representation within the workplace and society.
Furthermore, female speakers are not just for female audiences; they offer valuable insights that can inspire all genders. By sharing their experiences and perspectives, female speakers discuss a myriad of topics, including challenges women face in the workplace and society. They can guide organisations to support gender equality, respect women’s voices, better understand women’s health and promote diversity in leadership roles.
Through their stories and expertise, female speakers encourage personal and professional growth, fostering an environment of mutual respect and collaboration. Their presence challenges outdated norms, opening minds to the importance of inclusivity and empowering everyone to thrive together.
Female speakers also play a significant role in events like International Women’s Day (8th March), which celebrates women’s achievements and advocates for gender equality in the workplace and women’s health.
At Great Business Speakers, we specialise in connecting you with the perfect female speaker for your event, whether virtual or in-person. Our selection of experienced and influential speakers will inspire, engage, and drive meaningful conversations, helping your business embrace diversity and empower women in leadership.
Discover our leading Female Business Speakers below, or contact the team at Great Business Speakers to enquire or book. +44 1753 439 289
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock is a passionate space scientist, television presenter, author, and STEM speaker.
In 2009, Maggie was awarded an MBE for her services to science education. Her first TV programme, Do We Really Need the Moon? (2011) brought her to the attention of the masses and showed that space science needn’t be difficult to access and understand. The show earned her the Talkback Thames New Talent Award in December 2011.
She has since won several awards for her expertise, including the ‘Out of the Box Thinking Award’ by Yale University, and the William Thomson, Lord Kelvin Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics for her public engagement in sciences.
She has also been named an honorary doctor of science by the University of Bath, University of Leicester, and Loughborough University, and has been recognised on the UK Powerlist’s ‘Top Most influential Black People’ three times.
Katie Prescott is a familiar writer and voice to millions as The Times Technology Business Editor and, before that, a Business Presenter for Radio 4’s Today Programme and a Business Correspondent across BBC News.
She was a business correspondent across a number of platforms including television, radio, websites and social media.
Katie has presented as far and wide as Tanzania to Rwanda, Northern Ireland to Russia, China to the USA – where she worked for the BBC’s New York Bureau.
She is also a confident conference moderator, event host and keynote speaker.
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.
Ayishat Akanbi is a fashion stylist and visual expressionist. Since making her entrance onto the fashion scene in 2010, she has been a stylist for high profile celebrities in music, sport, TV and film.
Ayishat Akanbi has worked with several clients on ITV’s The X Factor, including JLS and their member Aston Merrygold when he was a judge on Sky’s So You Think You Can Dance. She has garnered the attention of many music artists and TV personalities due to her unique ability to understand an individual’s political, psychological and artistic beliefs and use this to influence their style.
Combining her passion for fashion with her belief in socio-political ideas, Ayishat has an influential voice in both the academic and creative worlds.
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.
Kate Atkin is a speaker on imposter syndrome who offers training consultant and coaching on overcoming the ‘Imposter’.
Offering her keynote talk “Success: What Lies Behind the Mask? Understanding and Exploring the Imposter Syndrome (and why it’s really a phenomenon)”, Kate has worked with many high-end clients on business, management and communication issues within their workplace.
Dr Liberty Vittert is one of the top mathematicians and statisticians, specialising in facial shape analysis. She has a PhD in mathematics and statistics and is keen to bring her enthusiasm for maths to a wider audience.
Liberty Vittert is a Professor of the Practice of Data Science at the Olin Business School at the Washington University in St. Louis, and a visiting lecturer at Harvard University, as well as being the feature editor of the Harvard Data Science Review, and co-host of the Harvard Data Science Review podcast. She is also the host of the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) podcast for the Institute of Data, Systems and Society. She is a graduate of MIT as well as Le Cordon Bleu Paris and the University of Glasgow. She is also an Ambassador for the Royal Statistical Society and Female STEM ambassador.
As an approachable, likeable and intelligent woman in the male-dominated STEM world, Liberty Vittert is often asked to share her knowledge within the media and has appeared on STV Scottish News, BBC Radio Scotland, Channel 4, Fox News and PBS. In 2017, the BBC chose her – and 19 other women – to become an Expert Contributor for their TV and radio programs. In 2018, The Herald named her as one of the Coolest People in Scotland.
August Bernstein is head tutor at The Raymond Blanc Gardening School at Le Manoir aux Quait’Saisons Hotel in Oxfordshire.
August shares both the impressive kitchen garden at Le Manoir and her own garden with over 100,000 followers on her Instagram platform.
August also runs her own seed activity pack business, Seed Explorers, for children and families. In her spare time, August is studying for a degree in Environmental studies.
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.
Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent is a record-breaking, award winning adventurer, writer and broadcaster specialising in telling environmental and humanitarian stories from remote parts of the world.
Prior to 2018, Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent worked as a freelance television producer, having worked on BBC’s World’s Most Dangerous Roads, ITV’s Tom Hardy’s Poaching Wars, Joanna Lumley’s India, and Joanna Lumley’s Silk Road Adventure.
Antonia has journeyed to remote parts of the world and shared her travels, including trips to Vietnam, Laos, north-eastern India, Thailand and Russia.
She is a regular contributor to publications including The Telegraph, and The Guardian, and has produced documentaries for Radio 4 on subjects as diverse as snow leopards, the Black Mountains, the Vietnam War, community conservation in Nagaland and traveller communities in the UK.
Dr. Cristiana Pace is a leader and innovator in motorsport with a focus on sustainability and change management strategies.
Cristiana has made her mark in a 20 year career, which has seen her become the first woman to work alongside the FIA technical department in Formula 1, make key contributions to the FIA’s safety legacy and work with Williams Advanced Engineering to advance and utilise motorsport technology both in the industry and far beyond the racetrack.
In 2021, she was voted one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering by WES and The Guardian for her involvement with the Covid Appeal having worked on the development of the Oxford Box, a shield designed to protect NHS staff and patients during the intubation process. She is also an ambassador of the Silverstone Technology Cluster. Cristiana is a Chartered Engineer of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and a Fellow of the Women in Engineering Society (WES).
She is a well-respected speaker on technology transfer, motorsport, e-mobility, STEM and diversity.
Karen Blackett OBE is the UK Country Manager for WPP and Chairwoman of MediaCom UK and Ireland. She is a renowned business leader with an impressive track record in creating vibrant cultures, energising teams and consistently delivering business growth and success.
Named by Vogue as one of the 25 Most Influential and Inspirational Women of 2018 and ranked top of the EMpower 100 Ethnic Minority Executive Leaders list, Karen was appointed the national Race Equality Business Champion by then-Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018.
Karen is now a popular keynote speaker who can energise teams and promote diversity in the advertising and media industry to create a vibrant company culture.
June Sarpong OBE is an award-winning author, TV Presenter and Director of Creative Diversity at the BBC.
She has enjoyed a career spanning over 20 years, in which she has become one of the most recognisable faces on British television. She began her career at Kiss 100 before moving on to MTV UK & Ireland and T4 where she interviewed the then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
She has hosted events such as the 2005 Make Poverty History event, the MOBO awards on several occasions, presented at the UK leg of Live Earth in 2007 and hosted Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday celebrations in front of 30,000 people in London’s Hyde Park in 2008. June has interviewed some of the world’s biggest names including HRH Prince Charles, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and George Clooney.
From human rights to feminism to workplace discrimination, June’s pioneering influence has sent positive ripples throughout British business, politics and society. She has spoken at a number of high-profile events – including the DNA Summit – to share her unique understanding of inclusion and diversity.
From child prodigy to MBE, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon is Head Stemette and co-founder of Stemettes, the award-winning social enterprise inspiring the next generations of females into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) roles via a series of events, talks and opportunities.
She completed her GCSEs whilst in primary school, won a scholarship to study mathematics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore at the age of 13, and was awarded a Masters degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Oxford at age 20, becoming one of the youngest people ever to do so. Unsurprisingly, Anne-Marie’s career has continued to soar.
In 2018 alone, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon was named in Forbes’ list of the Top 50 Women in Tech in the World, voted the 5th most influential woman in IT by Computer Weekly and was the recipient of the prestigious Barclays UK Woman of the Year Award.
Named amongst the top 10 BAME Leaders in Tech by The Evening Standard, Anne-Marie’s impact in STEM is unmatched. A champion for women in the sector, she discusses the future of work, why technology needs diversity and company culture transformation.
Anita Brightley-Hodges is a family business advisor, mentor, exceptional mediator, coach, keynote speaker, and champion of women.
With over 35 years of experience in working with families, Anita has the experience and passion to ensure your event goes without a hitch.
Anita Brightley-Hodges has spoken at events all around the world, appearing at leadership conferences, award ceremonies, university courses, networking events, on radio shows, and podcasts, and has worked for clients including the University of Oxford, EY, Campden Wealth, Saïd Business School, and KPMG.
Juliette Foster is an award-winning TV and radio presenter who has enjoyed a high-flying broadcasting career presenting flagship programmes at some of Britain’s biggest broadcasters.
At Sky News, she fronted the breakfast show Sunrise and Sky News at Ten, after initially presenting their business bulletins.
“Made a genuine difference to the team – gave them the tools to understand their own blockers and how to overcome them.” – Landmark Geodata
How do you sell if you hate selling?
An experienced sales person & mindful sales speaker, and agile mindset expert, Anis Qizilbash knows cognitive tricks to make you stop procrastinating, overcome fears, and appreciate your value. Her tools help leaders and teams unlock growth to achieve predictable, consistent, and powerful results in all areas of their professional or personal lives.
Anis Qizilbash helps leaders and teams from around the world create value for their clients, grow their businesses, and – most importantly – achieve their goals. individuals and companies alike have grown their sales, boosted performance, and gained renewed self-belief and motivation after a talk or workshop with Anis.
Julie Waddell grew up in Northern Ireland, surrounded by foodies as her Grandparents were in the catering trade.
After university, Julie ended up working as a radio news presenter at the BBC in 2005.
Julie’s passion for food and broadcasting came together when she took on a role on BBC Radio 4 as a journalist on The Food Programme in 2012.
Angeline Francis Khoo is the founder and chief executive of Rosie On Fire, a luxury kimono brand that blends high-end fashion with social impact.
Rosie On Fire is a purpose-driven fashion company that puts into practice Angeline’s combined passion for business, social impact and fashion retail.
Inspired by the challenges faced by her autistic siblings in finding work, Angeline founded Rosie On Fire in 2013 to both fill a gap in the market in creating easy, glamorous pieces for women, and stable, meaningful job opportunities for marginalised people often excluded from the workforce.
Julie Etchingham is Anchor of ITV News at Ten and ITV Tonight. She is a journalist with 30 years experience at the BBC, Sky News and ITN.
She has twice won the RTS News Presenter of the Year Awards, the first woman to do so.
She is also a highly experienced moderator of live debates and events and recently has extended her skills to host numerous webinars.
Jules Coleman founded, built and sold UK based domestic cleaning marketplace start-up, Hassle.com, an online cleaning service platform.
Famous for bronzing more celebrity bodies than we’ve had hot dinners, Judy Naaké is an entrepreneur with a difference.
Most recently seen as the subject of Eamonn and Ruth’s highly acclaimed How The Other Half Live and BBC2’s much acclaimed Peter Jones Meets series, Judy’s story is an inspirational one.
Andini Makosinski is a Filipino-Polish-Armenian “Renaissance Woman”. inventor, STEM, UN Youth ambassador, writer, and influencer.
When Ann was fourteen years old, she found out that her friend Maria in the Philippines failed a grade in school because her family couldn’t afford electricity. Maria therefore had no light to study with when darkness hit at 6 pm, so Ann set about finding a solution. Ann ended up inventing the Hollow Flashlight, a flashlight that runs off the heat of the human hand. During the beginning of her grade 11 year, the flashlight went viral online and Ann won in her age category at the Google Science Fair in Mountainview, California.
Ann Makosinski then invented another device – the eDrink. The eDrink harvests the excess heat of one’s hot drink and converts it into electricity, giving one’s phone a boost of energy.
More awards and interviews followed, and Ann with her father set up Makotronics Enterprises Incorporated in Victoria BC to manage the patenting and licensing of her inventions.
Ann’s gift of speech and presentation launched her into becoming one of the most sought-after keynote speakers of her generation. She has spoken at places and events ranging from Peter Diamandis’ Singularity University, 5 TEDx , Dubai, Iceland, Chile, Argentina, Berlin, Armenia, etc.
Jodie Armore-White is a bilingual English/Japanese speaker and presenter who was born in Australia, had a global upbringing and now lives in the UK.
Jodie prides herself on being a ‘realist’ and offers an insight into the role that psychology and experience play in personal, professional and business behaviour and performance. Her style is refreshing, factual and importantly, humorous.
Regardless of the subject matter, she’s conscious that her keynote is strategically well balanced verbally and visually to ensure maximum delegate engagement, benefit and entertainment.
