Keynote speaker. Author. Transformation specialist.
Blaire Palmer is a leading voice on leadership and the future of work in an era of constant transformation.
She works with senior leaders and organisations navigating the realities of growth, disruption and change—helping them address a simple but often uncomfortable truth: the leadership habits that created past success are often the very ones limiting future growth.
At the sharp end of transformation
For more than 25 years, Blaire has worked alongside boards and executive teams at the sharp end of leadership and cultural transformation—not in theory, but in practice.
Her work focusses on what actually shifts behaviour inside organisations:
- how decisions get made
- how leaders lead under pressure
- how trust is built (or lost)
- and how culture either accelerates strategy—or quietly constrains it
This is not abstract leadership thinking.
It is grounded in what leaders are dealing with every day.
A distinctive voice in a changing world
At a time when organisations are grappling with AI, hybrid work, rising expectations, economic pressure and constant change, Blaire cuts through the noise.
Her keynotes don’t recycle leadership clichés.
They dismantle them.
Drawing on experience with organisations including Airbus, Roche, GSK, AXA, Heineken, Santander and the FA, she brings real-world credibility to the stage—combining bold thinking with sharp commercial relevance and practical shifts leaders can act on immediately.
Audiences experience a style that is warm, witty, challenging and deeply engaging—and leave with insights that continue to shape conversations long after the event.
Beyond the keynote
Alongside her team at That People Thing, Blaire designs and delivers leadership and culture programmes for organisations:
- scaling into new markets
- integrating acquisitions
- professionalising for top-tier competition
- or transforming in response to industry change
The work is bespoke, rigorous and focused on execution—removing the friction that stalls momentum when leadership habits haven’t caught up with strategy.
This is where insight becomes behaviour change.
Author and perspective
Blaire is the author of four books on leadership and work, including her latest, Punks in Suits: How to Lead the Workplace Reformation (2024)—a rallying cry for organisations to question whether the way they lead, work and change is still fit for purpose.
Her perspective connects the forces reshaping organisations now—AI, workforce expectations, complexity and pace of change—with practical, contemporary ways of leading that enable organisations not just to cope, but to perform.
A full technical bio is available on request.
What clients say
“Blaire captivated our audience… upbeat, engaging and gave us confidence that we are on the right journey.”
— Melanie Williams, VP HR EMEA, McCormick
“A wealth of experience, all relevant to today’s business demands… valuable insights and actions to take.”
— Kosta Christofi, Santander UK
Blaire works at the point where leadership behaviour shapes organisational performance—and helps leaders do something about it.
