From the clinic to the boardroom
Dr Tharaka Gunarathne spent sixteen years practising as a doctor, including working as an NHS consultant psychiatrist. His job required him to establish what was really happening with a person before anyone decided on the treatment. That same diagnostic mindset now sits at the heart of his work as a keynote speaker.
Dr Tharaka began speaking in 2016 and left the NHS in 2021 to pursue it full time. As he moved from the psychiatrist's chair into organisations, he recognised a familiar problem. Leaders were often reacting to what they could see rather than investigating what was actually driving it. When business problems are really people problems, treating the visible symptom can send an organisation in entirely the wrong direction.
Dr T challenges audiences to reconsider the labels they place on their biggest challenges. What looks like an AI adoption problem may really be an identity problem. A retention problem may be a silence problem. Resistance to change may have more in common with grief than stubbornness.
As a British Sri Lankan psychiatrist who reads rooms across cultures and industries, Dr Tharaka brings a distinctive perspective to human behaviour at work. He has delivered keynotes for Shell, Logitech, Calvin Klein, St James's Place and KPMG and has worked with everyone from startups to organisations employing more than 100,000 people.
Diagnose before you act
The central idea behind a Dr Tharaka Gunarathne keynote is straightforward: diagnose before you treat.
Organisations can spend enormous amounts of energy, time and money trying to solve the wrong problem. Dr T takes audiences beneath behaviour and explores the psychological forces influencing what people do, how they respond and why they sometimes resist even well-intentioned leadership initiatives.
His sessions help audiences identify the personas genuinely present within their organisation, understand what is driving each one and determine the leadership response that makes sense for each. The result is a way of defining problems that helps teams avoid taking massive action in the wrong direction.
Across his keynote work, Dr Tharaka focuses on four outcomes: clarity, calm, confidence and cohesion. His approach is relevant both for senior leaders responsible for setting direction and for employees experiencing change first-hand, which is why his talks are available in leadership and all-staff versions.
Keynotes for leaders and teams
Dr Tharaka offers four signature keynote talks addressing some of the most pressing human challenges facing organisations.
Future-Proof You explores the psychology of AI adoption. As technology changes roles and expectations, Dr T examines how organisations can keep people engaged and help employees feel that they still matter.
Stability Through Change focuses on staying steady when everything feels uncertain. The keynote explores what actually holds people together when familiar structures, expectations and certainties are shifting.
Together We Are addresses psychological safety, trust and cohesion, helping audiences understand the human dynamics that allow people to contribute, connect and work effectively together.
Designed To Think examines the conditions leaders need to create for a healthy and high-performing workforce, connecting the psychology of people with the environments in which they are expected to perform.
Every keynote moves beyond identifying the issue. Audiences leave with a clearer understanding of who is really in the room, what is driving their behaviour and what leaders can do next.
A different kind of after-dinner speaker
For awards evenings and after-dinner events, Dr Tharaka offers Unforgettable Connections, a funny, participative and genuinely educational experience built around memory, attention and human connection.
Rather than a conventional keynote, the session becomes a live demonstration of how memory and attention actually work. Dr T explores why certain people stay in our minds and the powerful idea that the people we remember are often the people who made us feel remembered.
His combination of psychiatry, behavioural insight, audience participation and energy gives organisations an after-dinner option designed to entertain while still giving guests something meaningful to take away.
Behavioural analysis beyond the stage
Dr Tharaka's ability to interpret human behaviour has also taken him into celebrity television. He is the behavioural analyst broadcasters call on to explain what people are really doing, including reading players and their behaviour on programmes such as The Traitors and Big Brother, seen by millions.
He is a three-time TEDx speaker and has also been featured in The Telegraph and Radio Times. Whether analysing behaviour on television or addressing a room of business leaders, his focus remains consistent: look beyond what is immediately visible and understand what is actually happening underneath.
Clients highlight both his practical approach and his ability to engage a room. Monika Khullar, Vice President HR at Shell, described how Dr T partnered with the organisation to understand its needs before delivering a keynote to an audience of more than 1,000 people, leaving them with practical tools to boost energy and resilience. She also highlighted his high-energy and engaging speaking style.
Following another event, Louise Edwards, Senior Events Adviser at OEUK, praised Dr T for nailing the brief and creating an atmosphere where the lawyers were laughing and enjoying themselves, describing his enthusiasm and energy as infectious.
Book Dr Tharaka Gunarathne for your event
Based in Aberdeen and speaking worldwide, Dr Tharaka Gunarathne is equally comfortable working with twelve people in a boardroom or addressing an audience of a thousand in an auditorium.
Book Dr Tharaka Gunarathne when you want your audience to look beneath the obvious explanation. His combination of clinical experience, behavioural analysis and keynote delivery helps leaders and teams understand what is really driving AI adoption, change, trust, cohesion, engagement and performance.
The goal is for audiences to leave with both the diagnosis and the direction. Because once you figure out what's really going on, you can figure out what you really need to do.
