Athena Peppes keynote at the Global Marketing Summit

Speaking

Helping leadership teams close the gap between AI spend and AI return

Keynotes and workshops that inspire senior leaders and their teams for the human + AI era

Athena is a sought-after speaker at international conferences and leadership forums, with appearances at SXSW, the Global Marketing Summit, KIMRA, The Forward Institute and Rialto’s Board Briefing series.

Her audiences have included senior leaders from organizations including Accenture, BCG, BT, Bupa, Centrica, Channel 4, EY, Fortnum & Mason, Microsoft, Nationwide, Primark, Virgin, the UK Space Agency and government departments.

She is a regular radio and podcast guest, where she unpacks what AI and emerging technologies really mean for everyday life and business.

Why book Athena?

“Unanimously positive reviews. For anyone wanting to get ahead in the AI revolution, she is your person! “

Farrah Morgan

“Her ability to take deep expertise and apply it practically, smart, commercially grounded and genuinely engaging. Highly recommend booking her for events, leadership teams or company sessions if you want someone who can make people properly think.”

Paul Armstrong

“A fabulous Conference Chair”

Simon Burton

“I would highly recommend Athena to any organization seeking a dynamic and forward-thinking keynote speaker who can inspire their team to navigate the challenges and possibilities ahead”

Steve Cumming

Athena speaking at the Forward Institute Leadership Development program

Formats

  • Keynotes for conferences and flagship events.
  • Fireside chats and on-stage interviews, as guest or interviewer.
  • Panels, as contributor or moderator, keeping the exchange sharp and on point.
  • Executive and board briefings, closed-door sessions that apply the argument to your leadership team’s own context.
  • Virtual keynotes and webinars, the same substance for a remote or hybrid audience.
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Most requested keynotes

Athena’s keynotes combine robust research with deep experience of business challenges. Inspirating and practical, all keynotes are tailored to your audience and your goals.

The future of leadership

When AI levels a capability across an industry, the old sources of advantage disappear and the constraint moves elsewhere. The leaders who win are the ones who see where it moves before their competitors do. This is the new leadership imperative of the Human+AI era, and it has little to do with the size of anyone’s tech budget.

This talk makes the case that AI investments succeed or fail on leadership readiness, not technology. It shows why foresight and strategic thinking matter more as machines take on more of the work, and where senior leaders should look for their next source of edge.

Audiences leave with: a clear view of why leadership decides whether AI pays off, and where competitive advantage moves once AI commoditises a task.

Best fit: strategy off-sites, innovation conferences, and CEO forums.

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The secrets of high AI-Q leaders

In original research with nearly 200 senior leaders, one finding stood out. High AI-Q leaders are more than three times as likely to report a measurable business outcome from AI in the past twelve months, and to put a number on it.

The difference is not AI budgets. It is AI-Q.

This talk opens up what those leaders do differently, through the MAP model at the heart of the book: three mindsets, five abilities, and five practices. It turns a fuzzy idea of being “good with AI” into something specific, learnable, and worth building toward.

Audiences leave with: the three mindsets, the core abilities, and the everyday practices that separate high AI-Q leaders from the rest, and an honest robust assessment on where they sit today.

Best fit: boards and executive committees facing scrutiny over AI return.

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The AI readiness gap

A leadership team can be fluent in AI while the organisation around it is not. Personal AI-Q and organisational AI-Q are different things, and the bridges between them are where most AI strategies quietly break. The gap carries a cost that grows while everyone waits for certainty.

This talk shows where the gap opens and how to close it, through the five practices that move an organisation from isolated pockets of progress to AI that scales.

Audiences leave with: why personal fluency does not scale on its own, the five practices that close the gap, and the cost of leaving it open.

Best fit: CEOs, transformation leads, and heads of HR and Learning and Development.

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“A fabulous conference Chair, able to understand and articulate how complex technology megatrends may impact across a range of nuanced topics.” 

 

Simon Burton, Managing Director, KIMRA Conference

“What came through most was her ability to take deep expertise and apply it practically across very different scenarios, particularly during the spicier parts of the Q&A. Smart, commercially grounded and genuinely engaging. Highly recommend booking her for events, leadership teams or company sessions if you want someone who can make people properly think.”

Paul Armstrong, CEO, TBD Group and TBD Conference

“Attendee feedback was very positive, and her keynote received a rating of 4.6 out of 5 for being ‘interesting, relevant with clear messaging’.”

Steve Cumming, Director of Strategy & Planning, MEDA

Athena is an excellent host and speaker on the topic of AI readiness. We recently collaborated on a masterclass that had unanimously positive reviews. For anyone wanting to get ahead of the trends in the AI revolution, she is your person!

Farrah Morgan, organiser for AI readiness masterclass

“We asked Athena to speak at our AI event for financial services leaders based on her invaluable insights from interviewing leaders for her book. She was outstanding at sharing relevant stories and shifting perspectives on the role we play as humans in the advancement and adoption of AI.”

Andy Ayim MBE, "AI, Humans and the Future of Financial Services" host