Business SpeakersRené Carayol MBE is one of the world’s leading business speakers specialising in leadership, culture and business transformation.
He speaks with the authority and confidence of the expert and leader who has seen and experienced it all before.
René draws much from his own unique experiences as Managing Director at IPC Magazines and serving on a variety of boards including Pepsi, IPC Media and the Inland Revenue.
René has acquired a reputation for providing first-hand advice and support for a series of successful CEOs in the Fortune 500, FTSE 100 and all around the world.
Many may claim to have worked at the ‘sharp end’ with CEOs, but in actual fact very few have.
René Carayol has worked closely with Jim Yong Kim (President, The World Bank), Antony Jenkins (CEO, Barclays Bank), Mario Greco (CEO, Generali) and Maria Ramos (CEO, Absa Bank).
Hardly any can match his sustained track record of success.
The CEO is the most important and most challenging job in the business. On day one, it is all brand new to the incumbent, and there is no one around to show them what needs to be done. It is the role that rarely has an appropriate job description and even rarer is there any form of handover. It is, without a doubt, the toughest job in the world but with the right team around them everyone flourishes.
As the world of work faces a period of transformation, driven by the increase in racial and social awareness, our CEOs and our businesses have to meet the demands of a new generation that places Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) at their hearts.
Recently we have seen an increase in interest for René to address both ‘Leading Through a Crisis’ and ‘Cultural Transformation‘ – Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging, brought by the Black Lives Matter movement. This provides leadership teams with straightforward, compelling advice and guidance to inspire change and improve their own corporate culture.
From sitting in the boardrooms to coaching world leaders, René’s extensive experience in business has provided him with case studies and stories from the frontline.
There are exciting adventures, emotional anecdotes, and enough C-suite drama to excite any audience. René delivers learning wrapped up as unforgettable stories told by a master storyteller. You will want to hear them again and again.
René specialises in delivering performances that show precisely how contemporary leaders can electrify a crowd through a passionate and authentic connection. He demonstrates just how captivating an emotionally intelligent approach can be. He is never about theory – it is all about actions and behaviours that we can adopt that will make us more powerful when we come together.
Everyone remembers how his sessions made them feel.
René is an accomplished visiting professor at Cass Business School.
His critically acclaimed latest book, ‘Spike – What are you great at?’, enables all of us to unleash our inherent strengths and realise our true potential. As René says, “If you accept your limitations, you go beyond them”.
Keynote Speaker:
As the business world moves out of a sustained period of austerity, René Carayol specialises in helping many blue-chip businesses chart a path for growth and a culture of enterprise.
René tailors each keynote to fit the actual challenges or opportunities faced by his clients – embracing regional differences and cultural nuances learned from his years of experience working across the globe these include:
INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP
It is no longer feasible for anyone leader to do it all on their own anymore. They need support and challenge for decisions, solutions and the way forward. The days of being surrounded by more people that looked like them, sounded like them, thought like them and behaved like them are thankfully long gone in most progressive organisations, BUT sadly not yet in all organisations.
To get the very best decisions, strategy and solutions, teams need to cover all bases, and that means they must be diverse and then inclusive. Sports teams have figured this out long ago. They have specialists with differing strengths from diverse backgrounds who come together in a dynamic fashion to deliver success.
MANAGE A LITTLE LESS AND LEAD A LITTLE MORE:
In recent times, a good enough management team, a good enough strategy, and a good enough brand were good enough. This is no longer the case. The blunt instrument of Management alone just doesn’t cut it anymore. It is the time for Leadership and Inspired Leadership at that.
CULTURE IS MORE POWERFUL THAN STRATEGY:
René Carayol will share his extensive experience and exposure to some of the worlds’ leading corporate cultures, telling his inspiring stories with his deft sense of humour whilst challenging everyone in the auditorium to think again about culture.
COLLABORATION IS THE NEW LEADERSHIP:
“Nothing is best done alone anymore” – no one leader can make all the tough calls on their own anymore. In today’s unforgiving markets, every leader requires the support of a diverse and high performing team. Building a collaborative and collegiate culture demands a new approach to leadership and a change in mindset.
SPIKE:
Spike will assist you in making the most honest assessment of your true (few) outstanding inherent strengths (Spikes).
Spike is the most straightforward and perhaps radical approach to:
• Building self-esteem and confidence
• Identifying roles, job and careers that are right for you
• Building truly inclusive high-performing teams
• Ensuring no-one is left behind
This will be all done with a sharp, hard-hitting but fun presentation, with case studies and stories that no one present will forget.
