National Convention & Exhibition 2026

Richard Gerver is a sought-after speaker, bestselling author and world-renowned thinker. His career began in education, first as a teacher and then as a school principal, when he turned the fortunes of a failing school and its pupils around in just two years.

Since the success of his first book, focusing on his experience in frontline education, Richard has devoted himself to advancing society’s thinking on learning, change, and how best to realise our full potential. He has since written several books on leadership and innovation, including the bestsellers Change and Simple Thinking.

Now regarded as one of the world’s leading thinkers on human leadership and organisational transformation, Richard has worked with an extraordinary range of people, from elite athletes to US President Barack Obama. Named UK Business Speaker of the Year three times, Richard has been invited to speak on the world’s most recognised stages, including TED, the RSA and the BBC.

In 2019 Richard was asked by LinkedIn to create bespoke courses for their online learning portal LinkedIn Learning. Drawing on content from Richard’s keynote speeches and his best-selling books, the courses teach Smart Thinking Under Pressure and Developing Mental Toughness. The courses have been taken by hundreds of thousands worldwide, and translated into several languages including Spanish, French and Japanese.

With his unique insight into our development from infants to adults, Richard helps us understand the nature of our personal and professional responses to risk, change, creativity, and development. His ability to connect experiences across many often seemingly different environments helps individuals, companies and organisations expand their thinking and their perception of their own potential.