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Adam Kingl      

Faculty at University College London School of Management and the Moller Leadership Institute at Churchill College, University of Cambridge; Author of "Sparking Success" & "Next Generation Leadership"

Author, speaker, educator and adviser Adam Kingl is sought for his expertise on the future of business. One of his primary areas of research is on the work and leadership paradigms of Generation Y, a demographic that composes half the global workforce today and 75% by 2025, to shine a light on the fundamental paradigm shifts that we will face in terms of whatâ??s important to the world of business and how it will be led. This is the subject of his book, â??Next Generation Leadershipâ??, published by HarperCollins in 2020. His next book, â??Sparking Successâ??, published in April, 2023 by Kogan Page, is about what business can learn from the arts in enhancing its innovation, creativity, adaptability and inspiration.

Kingl also speaks from a practical perspective on topics such as how to improve strategic (business model) innovation, management (or leadership) innovation, and how successfully to leverage culture, empowerment and engagement in work-life.

Kingl is Adjunct Faculty at a number of universities around the world including the University College London School of Management and the Moller Institute at Churchill College, University of Cambridge. Previously, Kingl was the Regional Managing Director for Duke Corporate Education Europe (Duke University) and Executive Director of Thought Leadership and Learning Solutions for London Business School. There, he directed some of the Schoolâ??s flagship courses including the Accelerated Development Programme. He was also an Associate of the Management Lab and Saatchi & Saatchi for two years and served on the steering committee of the European Foundation for Management Development.

Kingl has worked with organisations as diverse as Absa, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Aldar Properties, Anglo American, Arla, Atlas Copco, Bahrain Telecommunication Company, BBC, BP, Boehringer Ingelheim, Carlsberg, CGI, Daimler, DBS Bank, Deloitte, Disney, Dubai Executive Council, European Central Bank, Ericsson, Firmenich, Heidelberg Cement, HSBC, Impala Platinum, Itochu, KAUST, Kearney, Kiilto, Kuehne Nagel, Lloyds, LVMH, Maserati, McDonaldâ??s, MultiChoice, Munich Re, NN International, Normet, O2, Oman Oil, Oracle, Orica, Panasonic, Pixar, Sanlam, Santam, Saudi Industrial Development Fund, Scandinavian Airlines, Schindler Group, Shell, Siemens, SM Retail, Societe Generale, Suntory, TAQA, Tata Consultancy Services, Tesco, Woolworths Financial Services, Young Presidents Organisation and Zurich Insurance.

Kingl has spoken at public conferences including the World Expo-Business International (Milan), Global Leadership Summit, FT-Coca Cola Enterprises Future of Sustainability Summit, Future Talent Conference (London and Dubai), HR Directors Business Summit, Employee Benefits Connect, Corporate University and Learning Summit, Strategic HR Network Leadership and Talent Conference, HR Directors International Summit, EMVA Business Conference, Citywire, University Business Officers Summer Conference, National Leadership Institute (Kuwait), TUCO Conference, PCMA Conference, HR Strategy Forum, CIPD Talent Engagement Conference. Corporate conference keynotes have included those hosted by Braskem, Deutsche Bahn, EXA Infrastructure, Forsters, Harvard Business School Alumni Club, IQVIA, Kennedys Law, KPMG, L'Oreal, Pfizer, RGL Forensics, Tremco Illbruck, UBS and TiE, the global entrepreneurs network.

He has contributed to and been interviewed by publications including The Financial Times, Sunday Times, Forbes, Fortune, The Guardian, Fast Company, Business News Daily, Business Strategy Review, European Business Review, Dialogue, Employee Engagement Today, City AM, Changeboard (UK and UAE), Citywire, Dubai Eye (radio), Gulf News, Gulf Business, The National (UAE), Alrroya (UAE), People Management, Business Pioneer, Saudi Gazette, Trade Arabia, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Economic Times, Management Today, HR Magazine (UK and Hong Kong), HR Grapevine, MEED Business Intelligence, Tokyo MX (television) and Edge - the Institute of Leadership and Management.

Kingl holds degrees from London Business School, UCLA and Yale. He is a dual British-American citizen.

Speech Topics

CREATIVITY FOR LEADERS: HOW TO RADICALLY ENHANCE INNOVATION IN YOUR TEAM

With a background in both the arts and business, Adam has researched the most successful leaders in creative fields and applied their habits, processes and dynamics to leadership principles for any industry to increase an organiZation’s creativity, innovation, adaptability and inspiration. He explores ‘micro-habits’, day to day interactions, tips and exercises to enhance creativity in ways that can be applied immediately and do not require massive investment of resources. These leadership lessons are derived from enormously fun examples from Carnegie Hall, writing, television, Broadway theatre, culinary arts, painting and amusement park ride design. Audiences will be inspired and tickled by Adam’s approach, which manages to communicate profound ideas in light-hearted ways.

THE EVOLUTION OF CAPITALISM

From Shareholders to Stakeholders In August 2019, Chief Executives from the Business Roundtable, including those from Apple and JPMorgan Chase, argued that companies should no longer advance only the interests of shareholders. The shift comes at a moment of increasing distress in the corporate world amidst global discontent over income inequality, sustainability and substandard quality of work-life. Business as usual is no longer acceptable. Though this shift seems unique, history shows us that capitalism has evolved numerous times over the centuries. At this inflection point, what can businesses do to survive and thrive, and who are the bellwethers to listen to within our organisations?

A RETURN TO HUMAN-CENTRIC LEADERSHIP

In company life, we are returning, on a several-hundred year cycle, to the pre-eminence of humanity at the centre of what it means to lead. ‘Focusing on humanity’ implies recalling what followers notice first in their leaders – their behaviours. Then, we have to ask if those behaviours provide clarity, inspiration, engagement, coherence and enable creativity. The Renaissance was a flowering not only of the arts but of commerce, and the interdependency of those two forces. Are we in the midst of a new Renaissance of leadership that is asking us what it means to be human?

MANAGEMENT INNOVATION

Are Your Management Principles Fit For The 21st Century? Over the last century, business has modernised it almost every way except for how it organises, leads, coordinates and motivates its people. Yes, those organisations who have innovated their act of management are celebrated as pioneers and leaders in their respective industries. It is possible for every business to develop a formal method for reinventing its management, just as it has done for products and processes for decades. Management breakthroughs can deliver incredibly powerful competitive advantages that are more sustainable and of a larger scale than any other creative act.

STRATEGIC INNOVATION

Disrupting Your Industry with New Business Models. We often hear about innovation in the context of inventing new products or services. One of the innovation levers of senior executives, one which can be even more powerful in transforming business success, is reinventing one’s business model. While the implications of strategic innovation can be profound, the process of identifying the industry-disruptive idea that reinventing one’s business can be very simple and approachable – it’s a matter of having different and better conversations. We will explore how to do so.

GENERATION Y PARADIGMS OF WORK & LEADERSHIP

There has been plenty of literature and discussion on ‘how to manage Gen Ys’. If their paradigms of work and ‘how to be led’ are indeed very different to those of their managers of earlier generations, then surely how Gen Ys will lead their organisations in the near future will look and feel new. Therefore, the nature of work and leadership is about to change in fundamental ways.

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