These expert speakers help companies navigate potential risks and opportunities. Therefore, businesses can make informed decisions, adapt strategies, and anticipate market shifts, ultimately improving their competitiveness and resilience as global companies.
At Great Business Speakers, our Political, Current Affairs, and Geopolitical experts can help organisations understand how global events may influence their workforce, supply chains, and regulatory frameworks. By keeping executives, employees, and stakeholders well-informed, businesses can mitigate risks, avoid surprises, and position themselves as proactive and adaptable in an ever-changing world. Their insights can be critical for strategic planning, forecasting, and maintaining long-term sustainability in finance, technology, and international trade.
Discover our Political, Current Affairs and Geopolitical Speakers below, or contact the team at Great Business Speakers to enquire or book. +44 1753 439 289
North American presenter Carl Nasman, is a TV news anchor and correspondent with more than a decade of experience in television news, reporting breaking stories from the studio and in the field.
If you watch NBC Sky World News, then you may recognise Carl as their Climate Change correspondent. His passion for sustainability and his presenting expertise make him an ideal conference and event host, moderator and keynote speaker on environmental issues, as well as digital disruption.
Carl is now based in the East Coast USA and is also a fluent Spanish and German speaker. He has reported, filmed and edited video stories for multiple outlets including AJ+, Time.com, Wall Street Journal and Global Post.
Ed Vaizey, is a prominent British peer, former minister, and influential voice across politics, media, and the creative industries. A member of the House of Lords and the Privy Council, he brings deep insight to matters of technology, cultural policy, and the digital economy.
From 2005 to 2019, Ed represented Wantage as a Member of Parliament and was appointed Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries in 2010. Serving for six years, he became the longest-serving Culture Minister in British history, playing a pivotal role in shaping policies that drove unprecedented growth in the UK’s creative and tech sectors – including introducing tax reliefs, expanding broadband infrastructure, and championing the arts.
His ministerial legacy was publicly recognised by more than 150 leading figures from the arts and media, who signed an open letter thanking him for his dedication and impact. Today, Ed continues to influence public discourse as a media commentator, columnist, podcast host, and broadcaster, while also holding advisory positions with leading organisations in technology and communications.
A trained barrister, he speaks with authority and authenticity on the intersection of innovation, creativity, policy, and culture – making him a highly sought-after speaker for events around the world.
Ed Balls is a broadcaster, presenter, writer, economist and former Member of Parliament.
Ed Balls is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, has been a Professor of Political Economy at King’s College London since 2020, and is the Chairman of Norwich City Football Club. He was the UK Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2011 to 2015 and served in the UK Cabinet as Secretary for Children, Schools and Family in 2007 for three years.
Ed is available for after-dinner speeches, keynote conference speeches, award presentations and Q&As.
Known for her work as the first female Political Editor for Sky News, Beth Rigby is a highly experienced news reporter, focussing on the UK Government and politics in general.
Since joining the channel in 2016, Beth has covered important current topics, including general elections, Brexit, and the COVID Pandemic.
Named the “stand-out political broadcaster of our times” by the Royal Television Society, Beth is a popular face on our TV screens and is now a highly respected political speaker for corporate events.
Krishnan is one of Channel 4’s lead news anchors. He is the main presenter for the Channel 4 news, both at midday and 7 pm.
As a news-reader, he has covered some of the most gripping national and international headlines, including the Omagh bombing, 9/11 and the Mumbai attacks. He has also covered five General Elections. He also presented a weekly radio programme on LBC.
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.
Baroness Floella Benjamin is a much-loved TV presenter, stage actress, author, producer, businesswoman, and diversity speaker.
She is probably best known for being the iconic presenter on BBC’s children’s programmes Playschool (1976-84) and Playaway (1977-84), through which she became a nationwide star.
Thanks to her media career and charity work, FFloella Benjamin was awarded a BAFTA Special Lifetime Award in 2004 and the J.M. Barrie Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.
“If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not BIG enough.”
BBC Bitesize science presenter Ayo Sokale possesses an array of talents and expertise, placing her at the cutting edge of the ever-evolving scientific, environmental and media landscape. She is a civil engineer, keynote speaker, entrepreneur, CEO, and the Former Deputy Mayor of Reading.
Ayo Sokale is widely recognised as one of the fastest engineers to achieve Chartered status. With an extensive background in delivering flood risk management projects, managing teams, supervising engineers, and influencing policy through key committees, Ayo is a dedicated advocate for engineering and sustainability. She works as a Major Project and Programme Delivery Business Manager for The Environment Agency.
With experience in engineering, sustainability, diversity, mental health and the environment, Ayo Sokale is the perfect inspirational and motivational speaker for a range of engagements.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Having presented BBC Breakfast for five years alongside Natasha Kaplinsky, Dermot Murnaghan moved to Sky News in 2007 where he presents their weekday breakfast show.
From 2011 to 2016, he also presented his own self-titled show, Murnaghan on Sky News which aired on a Sunday.
Since 2016 he has presented Sky News Tonight where he covered topics such as UK elections and the Brexit vote.
Alongside his job as a newscaster, Dermot Murnaghan presented long-running BBC quiz show Eggheads as well as its spin-offs Celebrity Eggheads and Are You an Egghead between 2003 and 2014. He has also hosted shows such as Treasure Hunt (2002-2003), Crimes That Shook Britain (2015-) and The State We’re In (2002-2003).
Jonathan Charles is a strategic communications and geopolitics expert, reputation management consultant and broadcaster.
Jonathan was a familiar voice and face after thirty years on BBC Television and Radio. He was a BBC Foreign and War Correspondent covering some of the biggest stories of recent years, reporting on 29 wars and conflicts including Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Northern Ireland and a host of others, winning several awards for his journalism.
Jonathan established television operations for the BBC in Brussels and Frankfurt, and operated in many conflict zones throughout the world. For five years, he presented the television news on BBC1, BBC World News and BBC News Channel.
David Shukman was appointed as the BBC’s first Science Editor in 2012, a role he retired from in the summer of 2021.
He is acclaimed for his innovative reporting from the frontlines of global change. Since joining the BBC in 1983, he has held a series of key positions for the broadcaster, reporting on conflicts, politics, research, and the environment.
For two years, David covered the Troubles in Northern Ireland before being appointed as Defence Correspondent, which took him to Berlin for the fall of the Wall, the Gulf, and some of the former Soviet Union’s most secret nuclear installations. More recently he has covered a range of news items related to the environment and sustainability issues.
Jeremy Bowen is a journalist with vast knowledge and experience of the Middle East.
From 1995-2000, he was based in Jerusalem as the BBC’s Middle East Correspondent, winning awards from television festivals in New York and Monte Carlo, as well as a Best Breaking News report from the Royal Television Society on the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.
During the Kosovo crisis of 1999, he reported extensively from the region, often in dangerous conditions, which included being robbed at gunpoint by bandits whilst reporting from the Albanian border. Since June 2005, he has been working in the newly created role of BBC Middle East Editor.
