Non-binding request for Belinda Parmar OBE
Belinda Parmar OBE
Belinda Parmar OBE helps organisations build human leadership and empathy in an AI-driven world.
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Why book Belinda Parmar for your next event
- Learn how empathy drives measurable business performance, customer loyalty, and stronger leadership in an AI-powered workplace.
- Gain practical frameworks for leading teams through AI transformation while strengthening human judgement and decision-making.
- Discover insights from Belinda Parmar’s work with global brands, financial institutions, and government organisations worldwide.
Non-binding request for Belinda Parmar OBE
Human Leadership in the Age of AI
Belinda Parmar OBE is one of the world’s most recognised voices on empathy, leadership, and the future of work in the age of AI. As CEO of The Empathy Business, she has spent more than two decades helping global organisations turn empathy into measurable commercial performance. Her work combines human leadership, behavioural insight, and technology to help leaders build organisations that thrive through change. From global banks to automotive brands and government institutions, Belinda equips audiences with practical tools for leading in a world where AI is transforming how we work, communicate, and make decisions.
Belinda Parmar OBE – Human Leadership in an AI World
Belinda Parmar OBE is an internationally recognised expert on empathy, leadership, and business transformation in the AI era. As the founder and CEO of The Empathy Business, she has spent over twenty years helping organisations understand the commercial value of human connection, emotional intelligence, and people-centred leadership.
Her work sits at the intersection of leadership, technology, culture, and performance. At a time when AI is rapidly changing industries, Belinda helps leaders identify the capabilities that remain uniquely human and shows organisations how to strengthen them deliberately. Her keynotes combine commercial insight, behavioural science, and practical leadership frameworks that audiences can apply immediately.
Belinda’s sessions challenge organisations to rethink leadership in a future where cognitive tasks are increasingly automated. She demonstrates why empathy, judgement, trust, ethical thinking, and human connection are becoming essential business advantages rather than soft skills.
Turning Empathy into Business Performance
Belinda Parmar is one of the few leadership experts who can directly connect empathy to measurable business results. Through her work with global organisations, she has consistently shown how human-centred leadership improves customer experience, employee engagement, productivity, and financial performance.
Her clients include globally recognised brands such as Lexus, Lloyds Bank, Barclays Bank, Toyota, Aston Martin, AB InBev, and AGL. Across industries, she has helped organisations transform empathy from an abstract concept into a practical leadership strategy with measurable impact.
One of her most recognised projects involved designing and delivering an Empathy & Empowerment Programme for a major bank, where she trained more than 200 Fraud & Complaints advisors. The programme resulted in a 9% uplift in net promoter scores while simultaneously reducing call handling times by 7.5%.
Her work with energy company AGL produced similarly powerful results, contributing to a 20.9% reduction in customer complaints and generating cost savings of $1.7 million.
Belinda’s research and commercial work continue to demonstrate that empathy is not separate from business success. It is a driver of performance, trust, retention, innovation, and long-term resilience.
The Global Empathy Index
Belinda is also widely known for creating the Global Empathy Index, published in the Harvard Business Review. The index became one of the first major studies to connect empathy directly to business outcomes including earnings growth, productivity, employee retention, and organisational performance.
The research attracted international attention because it provided measurable evidence that empathetic companies consistently outperform less empathetic competitors. The findings challenged traditional views of leadership and reshaped conversations around culture, innovation, and organisational success.
Today, the Global Empathy Index remains highly influential among leaders looking to balance technological advancement with human-centred decision-making.
Leadership for the AI Era
As AI continues to reshape workplaces and leadership structures, Belinda Parmar focuses on helping organisations prepare for the human side of transformation. Her keynotes explore how leaders can maintain trust, purpose, collaboration, and ethical judgement while integrating AI into business operations.
Rather than focusing solely on technology itself, Belinda addresses the leadership decisions surrounding it. She helps audiences understand:
- What human skills become more valuable as AI advances
- How leaders can build trust during periods of disruption
- Why empathy improves innovation and adaptability
- How organisations can create cultures that balance efficiency with humanity
- What leadership qualities AI cannot replace
Audiences leave with practical frameworks for leading teams through uncertainty while maintaining strong organisational culture and human connection.
Belinda’s approach resonates with senior leaders, HR teams, innovation leaders, financial institutions, government organisations, and companies navigating large-scale transformation.
International Recognition and Influence
Alongside her work as CEO of The Empathy Business, Belinda Parmar serves as a Non Executive Director for the Ministry of Defence. She is a qualified barrister, an OBE recipient, and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.
Her expertise has made her a trusted advisor to business leaders and policymakers seeking to understand the future relationship between humans, leadership, and technology.
Belinda is also currently writing a leadership playbook for Penguin Random House focused on transforming empathy into a practical toolkit for the AI age. Her work continues to shape how organisations think about leadership, culture, and business performance in a rapidly evolving world.
Book Belinda Parmar for Your Event
Belinda Parmar OBE is an engaging and thought-provoking keynote speaker for conferences, leadership summits, corporate events, and innovation forums. Her presentations combine research, real-world business results, and practical leadership tools that resonate with audiences across industries.
Whether speaking to executives, leadership teams, customer experience professionals, or organisations navigating digital transformation, Belinda delivers actionable insights that help audiences lead confidently in an AI-driven future.
Audiences leave with a deeper understanding of the human capabilities that will define successful organisations in the years ahead — and the confidence to lead change rather than react to it.
Customer Reviews
5 of 5
“Belinda is a natural speaker; her delivery is clear, controlled and engaging. She seamlessly applied the talk to topics relevant to the finance industry. When asked challenging questions, Belinda answered with honesty and passion. The feedback in the room was fantastic, and everyone undoubtedly left with actionable takeaways.”
Victoria BurdettPeople Department
5 of 5
Your presentation on Human Leadership in an AI World really resonated with our people. I particularly love that shift from inspiration to action. I feel empowered to do instead of just talking about it now. Thank you and what an amazing event!
Novartis - February 2026
5 of 5
Belinda is a natural speaker – her delivery is clear, controlled and engaging. She was able to seamlessly apply the talk to topics relevant to the finance industry. When asked challenging questions, Belinda answered with honesty and passion. Our feedback in the room was fantastic and undoubtedly everyone had some great actions to take away with them.
Janus Henderson Investors - March 2026
5 of 5
Belinda delivered a compelling and impactful session that clearly resonated with leaders. She positioned empathy as a core leadership capability — not a “nice to have” — and explored how it enables leaders to support people through change, build trust, and sustain performance in times of uncertainty. The practical insights and tools gave leaders a clear line of sight between empathetic leadership and successful change outcomes, reinforcing empathy as a critical enabler of how we lead at Kier.
Kier Group - April 2026
5 of 5
Just wanted to give you some feedback on Belinda, who spoke at our IWD event today as we really couldn't have asked for a better speaker. She took the time to prep with us (more than once), she really listened to our goals for the event and tailored her content with examples to match our audience expectations. Her delivery on the day was incredible; personable, funny, authentic and solicited really strong feedback from our attendees. We would absolutely recommend her to other businesses looking for someone to speak in her area of expertise and please don't hesitate to contact me if anyone needs a reference.
Laura HillierMarketing Director EMEA Bullhorn
5 of 5
Belinda led a half-day empathy workshop for our AB inBev Direct-to-Consumer People (HR) team and it was the perfect session to upskill our team members on this important quality. Belinda really stepped in and got to know our team, our organisation and the individuals in the session, which meant the workshop was perfectly tailored to our specific needs and challenges. It was clear that during the session, the team responded to this and instantly connected and felt safe with Belinda. Belinda is a true expert when it comes to Empathy, but her super-power is
bringing this to life within a corporate environment, to draw out the “so what?” and bring people on the journey with her. Whilst we loved the session, the whole team were left wanting more and I know this is therefore only the start of us working together with Belinda! Thank you again Belinda and team.
Annie GormanDTC AB-InBev
Rated 5.00/5 based on 6 customer reviews
Keynotes
Keynote by Belinda Parmar:
Human Leadership in an AI World
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the way we live and work, yet it cannot replicate the essence of what makes us human: our ability to connect, to feel, and to lead with empathy. In this keynote, Belinda Parmar OBE explores what human leadership means in an AI-driven world, drawing on her experience working with organisations across the United States, Australia, South Africa, and the UK, and how leaders navigate complexity where trust, technology, and human judgement collide.
Belinda will answer three big questions:
- Can AI fake feelings, and what does that mean for trust in organisations?
- How can leaders use empathy as a measurable, practical tool rather than a
soft skill? - What does human leadership look like in the age of algorithms, automation,
and constant change?
Belinda Showreel 2024- CTA
Watch Belinda Parmar in action!
For women in tech, size matters | Belinda Parmar OBE | TEDxUCL
Watch speaker Belinda Parmar talk about women in tech:
Blog posts by Belinda Parmar
Why Failing To Address Conflict Costs Your Company - And What To Do About It
In a world of toxic positivity, we are all too often encouraged to put a rosy sheen of optimism on challenging situations and emotions. This can result in avoiding conflict at work. In my experience, few people like to “rock the boat.” Yet, the evidence shows that avoiding conflict can be incr
