Keynotes
Perspective-shifting talks for senior leadership audiences
Each keynote draws on vivid stories from the African wilderness and decades of corporate leadership to deliver ideas that stay with people—and change how they see the challenges they face.
45-60 minutes
When The Buffalo Turns
Transforming how leaders see, interpret, and act on risk
Why This Matters Now
Risk isn't slowing down. It's multiplying—through regulatory pressure, rapid innovation, and the velocity of change in client environments. Yet in most organizations, risk is still treated as something to avoid or push onto a framework.
The result: teams freeze, defer, or act too late. The truth is: every role carries risk. Every decision is a moment of exposure. And when the unexpected hits, no dashboard or policy will save you. Only culture will.
What the Audience Will Take Away
A new lens on risk — seeing it not as something to avoid, but as the terrain of progress.
Confidence that every role matters — practical ways to empower individuals to own the risks they carry.
A culture-first mindset — clarity on why culture always outperforms playbooks when pressure hits.
Three risk mindsets — expertise, vigilance, and decisiveness, with stories and examples to bring them to life.
Key Themes & Flow
- The Story — An unforgettable wildlife encounter sets the metaphor.
- Universal Truths — Risk is terrain, every role carries risk, culture reaches beyond playbooks.
- The Mindsets — Expertise, Vigilance, Decisiveness: three anchors for strong risk culture.
- The Framework — How these mindsets intersect to create the Risk Leader.
- A Challenge — When the buffalo turns, what culture will your people act from?
45-60 minutes
The Healing Is in the Care, Not the Scalpel
Accelerating performance after change
Why This Matters Now
After the bold decisions are made—the restructure, the merger, the strategic pivot—the real work of recovery begins. This is where most leaders don't have a plan.
Without focused recovery, trust erodes, teams disengage, and top performers quietly leave. With the right approach, leaders can turn this vulnerable moment into a competitive advantage—accelerating re-engagement, rebuilding trust, and restoring performance faster.
Drawing from a formative story in a remote African mining town and decades of corporate leadership, this keynote reveals how to identify, equip, and empower Recovery Catalysts—the steady, trusted influencers who drive organizational healing and resilience.
What the Audience Will Take Away
A new lens on change — why recovery speed, not just decision-making, determines performance trajectory.
A practical method — how to find the hidden influencers who quietly hold culture together during upheaval.
A tested framework — four steps leaders can apply immediately to rebuild trust and re-engage teams.
Stories that stick — unforgettable lessons drawn from bush medicine, corporate leadership, and human psychology.
Key Themes & Flow
- The Hidden Half of Change — The unseen costs of neglecting recovery.
- From Scalpel to Care — A Botswana story that reframes how leaders see recovery.
- Four Pillars of Recovery — Spot, equip, support, and empower recovery catalysts.
- Lessons from the Frontline — Real-world recovery in volatile times.
- Call to Action — Embedding recovery-focused leadership as a strategic advantage.
Recent Audiences
- Senior leadership team at a top 10 global hedge fund
- Executive technology leadership of a major North American bank
- National risk leadership conference for a global professional services firm (700+ leaders)
- Fundraising leadership team of a global non-profit organization
Every keynote is tailored to your audience and context.
Inquire about speakingDownload keynote overviews: When The Buffalo Turns (PDF) · The Healing Is in the Care (PDF)