Leadership, Teamwork, Mental Health, Diversity, Resilience, Peak Performance, Sustained Success

Karen is the lead female analyst and pundit for men’s and women’s football on Sky Sports and ITV. When it comes to tournament football, Karen also leads the coverage for both the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups and UEFA Euro competitions on ITV, most recently the Euros 2024.

Karen is now a global ambassador for Pepsi, alongside some of the biggest names in football. In between brand work and leading TV coverage, this Summer was the second year Karen was asked to play in Soccer Aid for UNICEF, at Chelsea’s home ground, Stamford Bridge.

In the Autumn of 2022, Karen was announced as the newly appointed Chair of the Future of Women’s Football Review for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, looking into ways the Government can nurture and expand the game in the UK. The report received widespread praise when it was released last Summer, along with a TV series for ITV called ‘Leaders of the Pack’, which saw Karen, take on the role of host and in conversation with key players who were playing in the 2022 FIFA Women’s World Cup, in Australia.

Karen is a newly appointed board member at UEFA, where as a governing body, UEFA look to secure the sustainability and future of both men’s and women’s football.

With 144 caps Karen Carney is England’s third-most capped player having made her international debut in 2005 at 17. Domestically, she played for Arsenal, Birmingham City, Chicago Red Stars and retired in 2019 as captain of Chelsea, under Emma Hayes. Karen was part of the historic Arsenal side that in 2007, won the unprecedented quadruple and represented Team GB in the 2012, London Olympics.

She was awarded an MBE in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List for her services to football which was followed in 2021 with an induction into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame, where judges voted unanimously to include her “in recognition of her outstanding football career, her involvement in advancing women’s football and her overall contribution to the game on and off the field”. In 2024 she was also awarded an OBE after continuing her amazing work.

Energy Issues. Sustainability. Renewable Energy. Innovation.

Luiz Barroso is the CEO of PSR Energy Consulting and Analytics. He was the head of the Brazilian Energy Planning Agency and a visitor in the International Energy Agency. He has over 20 years of experience in power-gas systems planning, economics, operation, risk management, and market design in about 30 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Luiz has recently become clean energy advisor to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil

Luiz Barroso has 24 years of experience in the energy industry covering areas where energy planning, policy, pricing, energy transition, new technologies and decision marking overlap. He has provided consulting services for private and public investors, lenders, governments, regulators in about 30 countries on a wide variety of topics in the electricity and gas markets (financing, market design, modelling, forecasting, risk assessment, investment analysis)

Since January 2019 he chairs PSR Energy Consulting and Analytics – a BTG Pactual bank owned firm – and is a partner of BTG Pactual, the largest investment bank in Latin America.

Psychopaths. Persuasive Communication. High Performance. Social and Workplace Influence. Transformative Innovation. Perseverance.

Professor Kevin Dutton has spent the better part of the past twenty years at the Universities of both Oxford and Cambridge as a research psychologist, bestselling author, and elite performance consultant. His principal research interests are persuasion and social influence, the psychopathic personality, and elite cognition.

As a writer and professor of psychology, as well as an adventurer and consultant within both the public and private sectors, Dr Kev is a ‘mind magician’, effortlessly and expertly helping people to maximise their potential. Typically, his clients come from a wide range of fields including business, senior corporate management, the military, and elite sport.

He is also the co-host of the podcast PSYCHO SCHIZO ESPRESSO with the lead singer of Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson.

Dr Kev’s first book, FLIPNOSIS – THE ART OF SPLIT-SECOND PERSUASION, documents his quest – from the political genius of Winston Churchill to the malign influence of some of the world’s top con artists – for the psychological ‘DNA’ of persuasion. In the book, he developed the famous SPICE model of social influence – Simplicity, Perceived self-interest, Incongruity, Confidence and Empathy – which form the key ingredients of ‘extreme persuasion’, a brand of influence that has proven of considerable interest to various branches of military intelligence. In Dr Kev’s own words, this militant strain of persuasion “doesn’t just turn the tables. It kicks ‘em over.”

His second book, THE WISDOM OF PSYCHOPATHS – LESSONS IN LIFE FROM SAINTS, SPIES & SERIAL KILLERS, is an international best-seller and a cult classic. With this book, Dr Kev made psychological history by becoming the first person to systematically argue that psychopathic personality traits aren’t necessarily bad but can, dialled up in the right contexts, in the right combinations, at the right levels, and with the right intentions be good not only for the individual who possesses them but also for society as a whole.

In a follow-up book, THE GOOD PSYCHOPATH’S GUIDE TO SUCCESS, Dr Kev, together with former SAS sergeant and bestselling author, Andy McNab, further developed the concept of the “Good Psychopath” to describe those individuals – like Special Forces soldiers, top surgeons, and elite sportspeople – who are able to harness their inner ruthlessness, fearlessness and focus for the good of society rather than to its detriment.

In the summer of 2024, Kevin is leading his South North Adventure team, comprising former GB rower Stephen Feeney, and the “Warrior Monk” and SAS legend, Krish Thapa, to complete a 1500-mile rowing and cycling mission…and a historic first.

The challenge will be covered by Good Morning Britain, BBC Breakfast, and Sky TV.

“Dutton is a Special Forces style psychologist. Daring. Original. No nonsense. All action.”

“Kevin was Salon North’s closing speaker, and what a speaker! He looks perfectly harmless in his cords and rock band hair, but, don’t believe it, he is in fact an arch manipulator of minds, which as a world famous academic in the field of social influence is all in a day’s work.”

Teamwork. Creativity. Motivation. Inspiration. Life story. Perseverance

Mikkey Dee has played the drums in King Diamond, Don Dokken, Motörhead and is the current Scorpions drummer.

Lemmy had repeatedly been asking Mikkey to join Motörhead since 1986. Mikkey turned him down during the years for two major reasons. The first being that he was happy with where he was and never wanted to be a drummer jumping around between bands for fame and fortune and the second reason being that he simply did not feel ready. You just don’t walk in to a band like Motörhead like it´s just another day at work. Mikkey strongly felt he had not yet earned the strips to be a full member of Motörhead. Finally, in 1991 Lemmy cornered Mikkey at the famous Rainbow Bar & Grill in Hollywood and told him to join the band already… Mikkey replied: – “Let’s do it!” and the rest is history. After Lemmy´s passing in December of 2015 Mikkey has been sharing the message to celebrate the life of Lemmy rather than mourn his death. In 2016, Mikkey joined The Scorpions permanently

One of the legendary drummers in rock, Mikkey is also a keen ice hockey player, and the owner of a rock bar in Paris called Alabama

Sustainability. What business can do to avoid greenwashing. The incredible power of the consumer. Highway to Health – healthy living while on the road. Bio foods and the future. Life and times. Personal development. Social leadership.

Tanya O’ Callaghan is an internationally acclaimed musician, keynote speaker and a lifelong activist and advocate for animal, human and environmental causes. Her passion is highlighting and simplifying the challenges faced by the world’s ecosystem by harnessing the incredible, positive powers we have as consumers with our every day choices.

She encourages and motivates to recommit and strive to do a better job on the path towards a more sustainable future; after all, the major thing we have in common is planet Earth. A life-long environmentalist and plant based health advocate when not on stages across the world, her motto is “Changing plates, changes the world!”.

A huge advocate for critical thinking and healthy scepticism, Tanya encourages people to turn off the 24/7 news cycle and fall in love with books again and encourages healthy conversations between people from very different walks of life; that is where our greatest growth happens.

Tanya’s whole mission in life is using her platform for good. As a speaker and plant-based health coach, she puts together fun, approachable and easily implementable steps for large groups of employee bases to utilise their powers as consumers and have a profound effect on their own health, while reducing their carbon footprints as individuals and entire company structures.

Tanya also created, produced and co-hosts the brand new TV show and YouTube channel Highway to Health, coming to screens in 2023. Together with Derrick Green of Sepultura they challenge stereotypes and discovers a healthier way to live while on the road. They step off the stage and take to the streets to seek exciting vegan food in fascinating places. Along the way they meet with interesting friends and guests ranging from local farmers and chefs to celebrities and experts, commenting on sustainability in all walks of life, from energy to aviation. Tanya utilises stories and insights from their journeys that your audience can apply to their professional development.

Tanya encourages everyone to use our platforms no matter how small or big, for positive change and healthy conversations; being calm, diplomatic but indefatigable in a time of short attentions spans and keyboard warriors. We don’t have time for superiority complexes, we need to focus on solutions.

“Perseverance is the bridge by which difficulty is overcome.”

Motivation. Triumph over adversity. Mental health. Win or lose – you choose. Mental boxing. Making the impossible possible. Passion, power and purpose.

Billy Schwer spent 20 years at the top of his field in arguably the most gruelling and demanding sport there is – boxing. Using the lessons he learnt during his time in pursuit of the world championship, he has built a successful business as an Inspirational & Motivational Speaker and Performance Coach.

Having been a winning fighter all his life, the fight that Billy was having was a different kind altogether and one that Billy was losing, badly. Having battled his way back from depression, divorce and even bankruptcy after his retirement from the professional boxing ring, Billy knows how to survive and thrive. He now works with individuals, groups and organisations sharing his powerful message which takes you from crisis to success, radically transforming people, shifting company performance, results and impacting the bottom line.

“Billy really gave us some different insights into the way we can … make ourselves even more successful.”

Science in education and storytelling. The value of AI to creativity. Science and technology for people who don’t like science. Technology and science. Emotional intelligence. Access to STEM for all. Creativity, spirituality, courage, love and empathy in the age of the machine. How disability has driven technological advances. How to shape your legacy. Inspirational life and times speech.

Holding 32 honorary degrees from UK and foreign universities, Lucy has received numerous honours including the Legion d’Honneur from the French Government, an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians, The American Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award, and The Australian Medical Research Society Medal. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Influential populariser of science; best-selling author and story-teller, Lucy is the daughter of Theoretical Physicist Stephen Hawking, and Chairperson of the Stephen Hawking Foundation. Lucy Hawking makes science accessible and entertaining to young people through her “George” book series of fantasy adventure novels based on real science. Written in collaboration with world-leading scientists including her father, the late Professor Stephen Hawking. Lucy created the Principia Space Diary with Curved House Kids for the UK Space Agency. Principia Space Diary represents an innovative educational concept for primary students which allowed them to write their own book about astronaut Tim Peake’s mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

As well as editing the text for her father’s final book, Brief Answers to the Big Questions, Lucy wrote the afterword for the posthumous book and recorded the audio version for Audible and Radio 4. Lucy has also made documentaries for BBC Radio 4 about the impact of technology on different aspects of human life. She is currently working on a series of podcasts for Audible about the future of the human race in space.

Lucy sheds light on the universal law of cosmic sustainability as discovered by her father: nothing is lost, only transformed. She will touch upon her father’s life and work and how they ended up working together to write a series of books for kids, which includes an explanation of how the universe began and how stars form – leading to the remarkable conclusion that we are all formed from the recycled products of stars.

“If you have a question, you must ask it. It doesn’t matter if you think ‘Oh, I wonder if they’ll think I’m silly.’ Don’t worry, ask the question … because that’s what scientists do, they ask questions. So always ask because you never know where the answer might lead.”

Entrepreneurship and excellence. Entrepreneurial leadership. Business success. Talent management. Inspirational stories. The key to success

Carl Leighton-Pope started his career in 1964 aged 18 working at the Marquee Club in Soho, London with the likes of Rod Stewart, The Who, Eric Clapton. Those days as a Mod riding a scooter and shopping in Carnaby Street signalled the start of a long career in the music business lasting over 55 years.

In 1972, Carl opened a recording studio in South Wales and managed Sassafras a band on Chrysalis Records releasing 3 albums and touring Europe and the USA.  1976 saw Carl move back to London and kick started his agency career.

Early signings included Patti Smith, The Motors, and a number of major bands from America: Styx, Journey and Huey Lewis. By 1978, Dire Straits, Simple Minds, UFO, and Wishbone Ash were added to his list of clients. Carl became one of the top agents in Europe.

In the 1980s he found Bryan Adams, Climax Blues Band, and Matt Bianco, and were all added to the roster. He also signed Van Morrison and Bonnie Tyler. During the ‘90s he found and produced The Chippendales and toured them extensively in the UK and Europe. With the turn of the century, Michael Bublé, Billy Ocean, Jeff Healey, Keith Urban, and Chris Rea had also been added to Carl’s growing client base. WWE wrestling and Harlem Globetrotters soon joined the ranks. Bryan Adams, Michael Bublé, and Billy Ocean are still clients today.

Theatre has also been an important part of Carl’s story, writing and producing Carnaby Street the musical, and a new play “LOVE” set for the West End at the end of 2023.

“Carl is an interesting and highly entertaining speaker. He spoke to us about his early experiences in the music industry and brought to life an amazing array of colourful characters and extraordinary situations. Hilarious stories told with wit, charm and a twinkle in his eye.”

Threat and risk management. Privacy and security. The world of intelligence. Team building.

Julian Fisher is an intelligence specialist and author of Think Like a Spy: Master the Art of Influence and Build Life-Changing Alliances (Hachette 2024). In that book, Julian explains how readers can apply the nine secret skills of espionage to help them achieve their personal and professional goals. In 2017, he was the lead trainer on the Channel 4 TV series Spies, which put sixteen ordinary people through a series of challenges to find out if they had what it takes to be a spy.

Julian previously worked in a specialised branch of the British Diplomatic Service, for which he saw action in challenging locations around the world. He went on to work for a global private military company, operationally active in Africa. In his time, he has seen off camel-rustlers in Somalia, faced down gun-toting soldiers in The Congo, trained a newly-formed intelligence service in South Sudan and been invited to help plot a coup in West Africa (he declined).

Julian is an experienced and inspiring public speaker, with a strong track-record in the following areas:

• Keynote addresses at conferences and corporate awaydays.
• After-dinner and motivational speeches.
• Workshops and seminars.
• Themed team-building events.
• Tailored training events.

A specialist in the ‘people’ side of intelligence, Julian talks about what companies and individuals can learn from this world to enhance their effectiveness and productivity.

He focuses on leadership, interpersonal skills, motivations and influence. He also guides organisations on the uses of intelligence in threat and risk management, privacy and security. He can provide insights into global security matters, geopolitical risk and the realities behind headlines about terrorism, China, Russia and beyond.

Examples of keynote speeches that Julian offers include:

“Think Like a Spy: How Spies Achieve the Unimaginable and How You Can Too”. This is a motivational talk that focuses on personal-development lessons to be learned from Intelligence Officers’ use of interpersonal skills and human psychology.

“The business of spying: lessons from a parallel world”. Again, this is a motivational talk that examines how businesspeople can think like a spy to grow client-bases and improve inter-cultural communication and understanding.

“Thank you for a wonderful talk. The whole team thoroughly enjoyed the session and it prompted a lot of interesting discussions at drinks afterwards and in the office”