Previous Speakers at the UK Speechwriters’ Guild

Since 2009, the following speakers have addressed the European Speechwriter Network and UK Speechwriters’ Guild conferences and events.

Many of the contributions have been recorded as podcasts, which are available for download here.

1st Conference, Arts University, Bournemouth, September 2009

Tobias Ellwood MP, Dr Max Atkinson (former speechwriter to Paddy Ashdown), Dr Johann Siebers (University of Central Lancashire), Martin Shovel and Martha Leyton (Creativity Works), Dr Susan Jones (UK Government speechwriter), Phil Collins (former speechwriter to Tony Blair), Phillip Khan-Panni, (former Toastmasters International Finalist)

2nd Conference, Executive Business Centre, Bournemouth, September 2010

Martin Shovel (CreativityWorks) Charles Crawford (former British Ambassador to Belgrade and Poland), Roger Lakin (UK Government speechwriter), Edward Mortimer (former speechwriter to Kofi Annan), Sir Martin Broughton (Chairman of British Airways), Phillip Khan-Panni, (former Toastmasters International Finalist), Graham Davies (Straight Talking), Dr John Shosky (former White House speechwriter)

London, 2010

Hal Gordon (former White House speechwriter), Jeffrey Archer (novelist)

3rd Conference, Executive Business Centre, Bournemouth, September 2011

Stuart Mole (Sarlsdown Communications), Fred Metcalf (speechwriter to David Frost), Conor Burns MP, Rod Clayton (Weber Shandwick), David Murray (Editor, Vital Speeches of the Day)

4th Conference, Institute of Government, London, February 2012

Leon Conrad and Giles Abbott (Academy of Oratory), Ben Duncan (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control), Renée Broekmeulen (Holland), Alexei Kapterev (Russia), Graham Davies (Straight Talking), Phil Collins, (Tony Blair’s former speechwriter)

5th Conference, Executive Business Centre, Bournemouth, September 2012

Jan Sliva (European Investment Bank), Piers Letcher (ITU), Christian Eversbusch (Rhetor), Phil Waknell (Ideas on Stage), Caroline Goyder (Voice Coach), Chris Witt (Witt Communications).

London, October 2012

Lord Ashdown (former leader of the Liberal Democrats) Olly Grender (Liberal Democrat),

6th Conference, Institute for Government, London, May 2013

Professor Tim Bale (QMUL), Denise Graveline (The Eloquent Woman), José Iturri (European Commission), Rory Sutherland (Ogilvy), Annelies Breedveld-Smit (Dutch Ministry of Defence), Edmée Tuyl (Speechless)

7th Conference Brussels, September 2013

Amélie Crosson, (Bank of Canada), Baroness Mia Doornaert (speechwriter to the Belgian Prime Minister), Jonathan Parish (NATO), Rune Kier Neilsen (Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy & Building), Luuk van Middelaar (speechwriter to Herman Van Rompuy), Professor Richard Toye (Exeter University)

Porculiss House, London, November 2013

Emily Thornberry MP, Zena Elmahrouki (speechwriter to Nick Clegg), Lady Fiona Montagu (Beaulieu), Baroness Joan Hanham (Conservative).

8th Conference, Trinity College, Oxford, April 2014

Professor Jens E. Kjeldsen, (University of Bergen), Caroline Johns (Deloitte), Willi Vogler (Verband Redenschreiber deutscher Sprache), Sam Leith, (journalist), David Krikler, (former speechwriter to Ron Prosor), Ben Locker (Professional Copywriters’ Network), Professor Robert Lehrman (former speechwriter to Al Gore), David Day, (Former Principal of St John’s College, Durham), Dick Mullender (former Metropolitan police detective), Marion Chapsal (Ideas on Stage), Neringa Vaisbrodé (speechwriter to the President of Lithuania), Clarke Judge (former speechwriter to Ronald Reagan).

9th Conference, De Burcht, Amsterdam, October 2014

Jan Sonneveld (Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Climate Change), Julia De Clerck-Sachsse (European External Action Service), Ryan Heath (European Commission), Alexei Kapterev (Russia), Richard Newman, (UK Bodytalk), Andreas Kluth (The Economist), Marcus Webb (TEDMED).

St Matthew’s Conference Centre, London, November 2014

Steve Bee (Pensions guru)

1oth Conference, Westminster College, Cambridge, April 2015

Alan Leaman, (Management Consultancies Association) Revd Dr Kate Bruce, (Durham University), Alexander von Reumont, Hanneke Kulik (Dutch Ministry of Finance), Jesper Langergaad (Danish Ministry of Science), Hal Gordon, Lucia Hodgson (Whitehall speechwriter), Steve Bee (UK Business Communicator of the Year 2014), Tom Morrisey (Disney)

11th Conference, Neuer Mälzerei, Berlin, October 2015

Brent Kerrigan, (Global Speechwriter) Jacqueline Schäfer, (Verband Redenschreiber deutscher Sprache), Nicholas Wyke (EUROCONTROL), Hans Kristian Amundsen (Speechwriter to Jens Stoltenberg), David Krikler (Aperture Communications), Marina Lacroix (McKinsey Amsterdam), Suzanne Levy (Dutch Ministry of OCW), Jay Heinrichs (jayheinrichs.com)

12th Conference, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, April 2016

Rodger Evans (Scottish Parliament), Neringa Vaisbrodé (Lithuanian Foreign Office), Frank van Hoorn (Royal Dutch Shell), Lee Jackson (PowerPoint Surgeon), Andrew Crofts (Ghostwriter), Antti Mustakallio (Finland), Mette Højen (Csuite), Sarah Lynch (European Commission), John Yorke (Author, Into the Woods), Phil Collins (The Times)

Winner of the 2016 Fred Metcalf Memorial Trophy for After-Dinner Speaking: Lech Mintowt-Czyz

13th Conference, The Scottish Parliament, October 2016

Alex Marklew (UK Civil Service), Leonoor Russell (Dutch Senate), Blair McDougall (Scottish Labour), Vincent Stuer (European Commission), Charlie Ward (Social Speechwriter), Mariusz Zagórski (University of Warsaw), Barton Swaim (Author of The Speechwriter)

14th Conference, Magdalen College, Oxford, April 2017

David Vigar, Sarah O’Reilly (Royal Society of Chemistry), Geoffrey Mamdani (European Commission), Jörg Hackeschmidt (German Chancellery), Michel Reinders (Dutch Ministry of Finance), Mari K Niemi (University of Turku, Finland), Alexander Drechsel  (European Commission), Dr Geoffrey Stevenson (Edinburgh University), Mike Long (Georgetown University)

Winner of the 2017 Fred Metcalf Memorial Trophy for After-Dinner Speaking: Guy Doza

15th Conference, Leuven Institute for Ireland in Europe, Leuven, October 2017

Nathalie Milio, (Province of Antwerp), Lech Mintowt-Czyz (Shell), Dr Lodewijk van Wendel de Joode (Dutch Counterterrorism & Security Department), Patrick Stephenson (Security Europe),  Dr Brian Murphy (Taoiseach), Hélène Faure, (Matignon), Lindsay Hayes (US Republican Speechwriter)

16th Conference, King’s College, Cambridge, April 2018

Jessica Cunniffe (Speechwriter to David Cameron), Anders Thor (Speechwriter to the Swedish PM), Kelly Agathos (European Commission), Jan Walravens (Speechwriter to the Dutch PM), Shais Taub (Chabad rabbi), Pacelle van Goethem (Persuasion Expert),  Mette Pedersen (Danish Agriculture and Food Council), Jeremy Gardner (Translator), Professor Alan Finlayson (University of East Anglia), Stephen Krupin (Former White House Speechwriter)

Winner of the 2018 Fred Metcalf Memorial Trophy for After-Dinner Speaking: Tom Moylan and Geoffrey Mamdami

17th Conference, House of the Estates, Helsinki, October 2018

Dan Sobovitz, (European Commission), Alison Reid (University of Teesside), Thomas Hart (Dutch Minister of Economics and Climate),  Alexander Stubb (Former Prime Minister of Finland), Dr Max Atkinson (Author), Alexei Kapterev (Presentation Expert), Anthony Lichi (Speechwriter to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe)

18th Conference, Queen’s College, Oxford, April 2019

Edward Mortimer (former speechwriter to Kofi Annan), Henk Boon (Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment) , Mallika Lecoeur (Beyond Communications), Amélie Blanckaert (Coup de Plume), Kevin Toolis (Many Rivers Films),  Natasha Bertaud, (Speechwriter to Jean-Claude Juncker), Lewis Iwu (Purpose Union), Richard Newman,(UK Body Talk), Kresse Wesling (Elvis & Kresse), Sarah Hurwitz (former speechwriter to Michelle Obama)

Winner of the 2019 Fred Metcalf Memorial Trophy for After-Dinner Speaking: Martin Shovel

19th Conference, Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, September 2019

Melanie Dunn (Globalspeeches.com), Kevin Toolis, Antonia Fleischmann (Bundesbank), Pauline Genee (Dutch Foreign Office), Tom Moylan (European Commission) Jennifer Migan (The Speech House), Lucie Robin (American Embassy in Paris)

20th Conference, Emmanuel College, Cambridge, March 2022

Nick Hawton (ICRC), Lieke Hagebeuk (Dutch Ministry of Health), Anne Pédron-Moinard, (Guilde des Plumes), Professor Alan Finlayson (University of East Anglia), Patrick Maloney (Verband Redenschreiber deutscher Sprache) Angel Gurria-Quintana, University of Cambridge, Bjorn Berge (Deputy Director General, Council of Europe), Professor Jens Kjeldsen (University of Bergen), Terry Szuplat (former speechwriter to Barack Obama)

Winner of the 2022 Fred Metcalf Memorial Trophy for After-Dinner Speaking: Justine Bashford

21st Conference, Brasenose College, Oxford, March 2023

Renée Broekmeulen, Caspar Strand & Anita Furu (Formerly Danish Prime Minister’s Office), Matt Greenough, James McCabe (The Story Doctor), Marie Algoud (Ubisoft), Peter Sprong (Verband Redenschreiber deutscher Sprache), Åse Thomassen, Jörg Hackeschmidt (Formerly Bunderskanzleramt) Jessica Cunniffe (Formerly 10 Downing St), David Murray (Professional Speechwriters Association (US)).

Winner of the 2023 Fred Metcalf Memorial Trophy for After-Dinner Speaking: Patrick Ross

22nd Conference, The Social Hub, The Hague, October 2023

Abele Kamminga (Municipality of Groningen), Hanneke Kulik (Dutch Government), Rodger Evans (Scottish Parliament), Juliana Dahl (German President/ESM), Kevin Toolis, Antti Mustalkallio (Finland), Jim Holtje (Columbia University), Ron Meerhof (Dutch Government)

Brilliant Communicators’ Conference, Westbourne Park Baptist Church, London, November 2023

Joshua Molofsky, (Former speechwriter to Senator Chuck Schumer), Professor Alan Finlayson (University of East Anglia), Katja Andrusz (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights), Linnea Swedenmark, (Former speechwriter to the Swedish Prime Minister), Edmund Hall (Banner Maker), Abigail Martin (Speechwriter to the Archbishop of Canterbury), Matthew Collins (Voice coach)