Global Keynote Speaker

Reputation. Power.
Trust. Influence.

Farzana Baduel speaks to global audiences about the forces reshaping reputation and leadership: AI, geopolitics, declining trust and an increasingly volatile information environment.

Drawing on her experience advising leaders and governments, teaching at Oxford and analysing high-profile reputation crises for BBC Radio 4, Farzana brings together the boardroom, newsroom and global stage.

Her keynotes challenge audiences to think differently about how power and influence work, and what leaders must do to earn and protect trust when the stakes are high.

Invite Farzana to speak
Farzana Baduel, keynote speaker, speaking on stage
Keynotes

Ideas for a world in flux

Farzana’s keynotes explore the intersection of reputation, technology, geopolitics and leadership.

They can be tailored for global conferences, senior leadership teams and organisations navigating periods of profound change.

Farzana Baduel delivering a keynote at the lectern

Trust After Truth

Leading when seeing is no longer believing

AI is transforming not only how information is created, but how trust itself is formed.

As synthetic media, misinformation and algorithmic influence reshape the information environment, traditional approaches to corporate communications are becoming obsolete.

Farzana explores what happens when authenticity can be manufactured, authority is contested and every organisation is potentially one viral moment away from a crisis of trust.

For: Technology · Financial Services · Leadership Conferences · Boards
Farzana Baduel during her Bowling Residency at the University of Kentucky, 2026

The CEO Is the Media

Leadership in the age of radical visibility

The boundary between corporate leadership and public communication has disappeared.

CEOs are no longer simply represented by their organisations. Their words, behaviour and silence travel instantly across employees, investors, customers, media and social platforms.

Farzana examines how leaders can build influence without becoming influencers, and communicate with authority in an environment where leadership itself has become a form of media.

For: CEOs · Founders · Executive Teams · Leadership Conferences
Farzana Baduel on stage at the ICCO Global Summit, Istanbul 2024

Soft Power,
Hard Results

What organisations can learn from how nations build influence

The world's most sophisticated governments understand that influence cannot simply be demanded. It is accumulated through relationships, culture, credibility and reputation.

Drawing on international communications and public diplomacy, Farzana translates the principles of soft power into lessons for business.

What makes people trust one institution over another? Why do some organisations command influence far beyond their size? And how can leaders build reputational capital before they need to spend it?

For: Global Business · Geopolitics · International Leadership · Financial Services
Farzana Baduel speaking during her Bowling Residency at the University of Kentucky, 2026

When It Hits the Fan

Reputation when the pressure is on

A crisis rarely creates an organisation's weaknesses. It reveals them.

Drawing on her work advising organisations through complex reputational challenges and analysing crises for BBC Radio 4, Farzana examines what happens when leadership, judgement and communication collide under pressure.

Why do intelligent organisations make terrible decisions in a crisis? When should leaders speak? When should they stay silent? And why is the reputation you build before a crisis often more important than the statement you issue during one?

For: Boards · CEOs · Risk Leaders · Corporate Affairs · Crisis Leadership
Farzana Baduel speaking at the CIPR Fellows' Lunch 2026

The Reputation Advantage

Why reputation has become a leadership issue

Reputation is often treated as something to protect when things go wrong.

Farzana argues that this fundamentally misunderstands its value.

Strong reputations create trust, attract talent, provide resilience during crises and give leaders greater freedom to act. In an environment of institutional distrust and relentless scrutiny, reputation has become a form of strategic capital.

This keynote explores how leaders build it long before they need it.

For: Executive Leadership · Boards · Financial Services · Professional Services

What audiences say

“I didn’t expect one conference to make me rethink how I understand PR, but Farzana’s keynote did exactly that.”
PR Specialist, European technology company Forum Media, Prague
“Your presence and contribution played an important role in making the event a resounding success.”
American Chamber of Commerce Executive audience, Colombo

From the boardroom to the global stage

Farzana has spent more than two decades at the intersection of reputation, leadership and international affairs.

She is CEO and Co-Founder of Curzon PR, President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, an expert at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and co-presenter of BBC Radio 4’s When It Hits the Fan.

Her perspective is shaped by working across business, government, media and academia, and by advising leaders operating in environments where reputation, politics and culture collide.

Farzana Baduel speaking at the Al Baraka Forum

Selected stages & organisations

BBC Radio 4 logo
University of Oxford logo
University of Cambridge logo
London Business School logo
University of Kentucky logo
UK Parliament logo
KPMG logo
PwC logo
Barclays logo
IBM logo
Ipsos logo
Oliver Wyman logo
American Chamber of Commerce logo
ICCO Global Summit logo
Forum Media logo

Beyond the keynote

Keynotes

Provocative, high-energy talks designed to change how audiences think about reputation, leadership and influence.

Executive Briefings

Private sessions for boards and senior leadership teams exploring the geopolitical, technological and societal forces reshaping their reputation environment.

Leadership Conversations

Fireside conversations bringing Farzana’s broadcast interviewing experience to complex questions of leadership, reputation, crisis and change.

Reputation is built before you need it.

Farzana’s speaking brings together reputation, technology, geopolitics and public trust to help leaders understand the forces changing their world, before those forces change it for them.

Invite Farzana to speak

Past Speaking Engagements

2026

  • January, 2026 – Business and Democracy Report Launch, Physical
  • February, 2026 – PRAXIS MENA, Physical, Panel Moderator
  • February, 2026 – Makkah Halal Forum, Physical
  • February, 2026 – Winona State Uni Guest Lecture, Virtual
  • February, 2026 – Institute of Directors Women's Business Forum, Physical
  • February, 2026 – London College of Communications PR Industry Networking Event, Physical
  • March, 2026 – Indiaspora’s International Women’s Day Celebration, Physical
  • March, 2026 – Diversity UK's Changemakers Series, Physical
  • March, 2026 – BSBI Future Lab Talk 2026, Online
  • March, 2026 – City St George Guest Lecture, Physical
  • April, 2026 – CIPR Wessex Event Panel, Virtual
  • April, 2026 – CIPR Midlands Awards, Birmingham, Physical
  • April, 2026 – CIPR International Country Branding Webinar, Online
  • May, 2026 – Guest Lecture, London College of Communications, Physical
  • May, 2026 – CIPR Executive Dinner Series with Lewis Silkin
  • May, 2026 – The Podcast Show London, Physical
  • May, 2026 – CIPR Not-for-profit AI Webinar, Virtual
  • June, 2026 – 3rd AlBaraka Summit, Istanbul
  • June, 2026 – AI for PR Conference
  • June, 2026 – The Baduel Brief
  • July, 2026 – CIPR Excellence Awards
  • July, 2026 – CoCo Connects Event
  • July, 2026 – ACN x Preethi Nair Event
  • July, 2026 – The Baduel Brief
  • August, 2026 – Impact Beyond Borders Report Launch Webinar, Virtual
  • September, 2026 – CIPR Crisis Comms Guide Launch
  • October, 2026 – Bowling Residency, University of Kentucky