Non-binding request for Felix Riley
Felix Riley
Felix Riley is a keynote speaker and Moonshot Strategist who helps leaders unlock brilliant thinking, challenge limits, and act decisively in the age of AI.
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5.00 of 5
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Why book Felix Riley for your next event
- Felix combines sharp humour with practical frameworks that help leaders challenge assumptions and make better decisions under pressure.
- With experience from media, finance, negotiations, and turnarounds, Felix brings rare perspective and credibility to leadership conversations.
- His talks help smart people stop playing small, sharpen judgement, and turn ambitious ideas into decisive, real-world action.
Non-binding request for Felix Riley
Keynote speaker, Moonshot Strategist, and catalyst for sharper leadership thinking
Felix Riley is a keynote speaker, facilitator, and Moonshot Strategist who works with leadership teams that sense they need a shift. Known for his genuinely funny, sharply observed style, Felix helps organisations unlock brilliant thinking in the age of AI. His sessions challenge limited thinking, expose hidden assumptions, and give audiences practical frameworks they can use immediately. Drawing on an uncommon career across broadcasting, finance, high-stakes negotiation, and business transformation, Felix brings depth, energy, and clarity to leaders navigating complexity and pressure.
Felix Riley – A catalyst for change
Felix Riley is widely booked as a keynote speaker by organisations that want their leaders to think bigger, decide better, and act with confidence. He works at the intersection of leadership, judgement, and change, helping high-performance teams escape familiar patterns and unlock new possibilities. Felix’s work is grounded in the belief that many capable leaders are constrained not by a lack of intelligence, but by limited thinking. His role is to challenge those limits and open up fresh ways of seeing problems, opportunities, and decisions.
From mental philosophy to media & comedy
Felix studied Mental Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, where he developed a deep interest in how people think, decide, and justify their choices. He then spent a decade writing for BBC radio and television, contributing to programmes including The Zoë Ball Radio 1 Breakfast Show, The News Quiz, Week Ending, The Rory Bremner Show, and The Big Breakfast. He also created and produced Cross Talk for Radio 4, presented by Colin Dexter, and performed stand-up comedy at The Comedy Store. This background explains the distinctive tone of Felix’s keynotes: intelligent, fast-paced, and genuinely funny, with observations that land because they are true.
Finance, leadership, & decision-making under pressure
In 2003 Felix moved into finance at Cantor Fitzgerald, before founding ChoiceOdds. He later sold the business to MF Global (NYSE), remaining as Managing Director and serving on the Global Executive Board. These years sharpened his understanding of risk, performance, and leadership accountability. In 2011 Felix became Head Negotiator for Kitwe Mines in Zambia, leading politically sensitive copper negotiations that included meetings with President Rupiah Banda and complex discussions with tribal chiefs. He later turned around a struggling UK IT company, further deepening his expertise in culture change, execution, and decision-making when the stakes are high.
Author, storyteller, & business commentator
Felix is also the author of the financial thrillers The Set Up (2011) and The Inside Job (2012), published by Penguin and inspired by the 2008 financial crash. The screen rights were later acquired by La Plante Productions and Fine Line Cinema. His ability to tell compelling stories runs through all his work on stage. Felix has appeared as a commentator on Bloomberg, MSNBC, and BBC Radio 5 Live, sharing insights on markets, leadership, and business behaviour.
Keynotes & workshops organisations book Felix Riley for
Today Felix Riley works with leadership teams and high-performance organisations across law, consultancy, private banking, healthcare, the military, housing, charities, and start-ups. His keynotes and workshops tackle limited thinking and help leaders stop playing small. Audiences leave with clearer judgement, stronger confidence, and tools they can apply immediately.
Flagship talks include The Flea Jar, Lawyers vs The Machine, Failing Upwards, and Once Upon A Business. These sessions challenge assumptions about expertise, technology, failure, and success, while showing how to turn insight into decisive action.
- Practical frameworks that leaders can use the same day
- Sharp, intelligent humour that keeps audiences engaged
- Real-world insight drawn from media, finance, negotiations, and turnarounds
- A focus on judgement, culture, and action rather than theory
Felix Riley as MC, Event Host & Panel Moderator
In addition to keynotes and workshops, Felix Riley is also available as a professional MC, event host, and panel moderator. Known for his fast thinking, sharp humour, and calm authority on stage, he keeps events running smoothly while bringing energy, clarity, and momentum to the room.
From leadership offsites and industry conferences to awards ceremonies, product launches, and panel discussions, Felix helps audiences stay engaged and ensures the event feels polished, purposeful, and well-paced. He works closely with your team in advance to shape the running order and align on key messages, then delivers confidently on the day with the adaptability to handle anything live.
With roots in media and comedy, and years in high-stakes business environments, Felix combines credibility and warmth with the presence to make an event land.
Book Felix Riley for your event
When organisations book Felix Riley for their event, they are looking for more than inspiration. They want a speaker who can provoke better thinking, shift perspective, and create momentum for change. Felix delivers sessions that are energising, thoughtful, and grounded in real experience. Whether working with senior leaders or specialist teams, Felix helps people see beyond their current limits and step into more ambitious, decisive leadership.
Customer Reviews
5 of 5
"A HUGE THANK YOU for a very inspiring presentation yesterday, it was definitely my highlight of the day." "Felix, I was at your talk yesterday. It was brilliant. The highlight of my day." "For me, Felix Riley had the talk of the day… It really did help me to think bigger and afterwards I took myself off to a quiet café nearby to reflect on it. What an impact." "Smart, practical and genuinely funny. A great reminder that clear thinking and a sense of humour go a long way when it comes to building resilient businesses." "Felix Riley's workshop on brilliant thinking stood out for me amongst all the AI chat- the importance of creativity, finding the best, best, best idea, and not being afraid of failure!"
AttendeesLegal Geek, London June 20225
5 of 5
“Your talk was both emotional and inspiring. A heartfelt thank you for sharing your experiences. Your contribution was truly appreciated. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and many found your session both engaging and thought-provoking. We're grateful for the time and effort you put into preparing and delivering your talk.”
Margaret GoddardGroup Director, Assets, Torus
5 of 5
“We booked Felix to deliver a keynote speech at our annual conference for General Counsel. His talk engaged the audience brilliantly. It was full of energy, warmth and practical inspiration and we have already had a lot of great feedback from our attendees. I would wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone who is looking for inspiration and help in thinking more brilliantly.”
Rowan TurrallPartner, Boyes Turner
Rated 5.00/5 based on 3 customer reviews
Keynotes
Keynote by Felix Riley:
The Flea Jar: What Traps Our Thinking, How To Untrap It, And How To Do Brilliant Thinking Instead
A fast, funny, story-driven keynote about the invisible limits that hold smart teams back. Felix shows how organisations drift into learned helplessness, status quo bias, and “safe” thinking – often without realising it – and why intelligence alone does not protect us from these traps.
Using memorable stories, sharp observation, and real-world examples, Felix reveals how assumptions harden into habits, how success can quietly shrink ambition, and how well-meaning systems end up capping imagination. He then gives leaders practical tools to spot the lid, challenge inherited thinking, and replace automatic caution with deliberate curiosity. The keynote equips teams to make imaginative thinking a repeatable habit, not a one-off brainstorm, and helps leaders create environments where better ideas are noticed, tested, and acted on.
Keynote by Felix Riley:
Failing Upwards: From Fear to Resilience – Rewriting Your Relationship with Failure
A high-energy, sharply funny talk that reframes failure as data, not identity. Felix explores how fear quietly shapes behaviour in high-performing organisations, driving caution, perfectionism, and overthinking long before anyone notices the cost.
Audiences learn why smart people often become risk-averse, how reputational anxiety slows decision-making, and how organisations accidentally punish learning while claiming to value it. Felix shares practical behaviours that help leaders normalise intelligent failure, recover faster when things go wrong, and separate judgement from outcomes. Participants leave with a clearer, healthier relationship with risk – and concrete ways to build a culture where people take ownership, experiment responsibly, and build momentum rather than waiting for certainty.
Keynote by Felix Riley:
Lawyers vs The Machine: How AI Will Change Legal Work, What It Will Never Replace, and How To Out-Think the Algorithm
A punchy, practical keynote for legal and professional-services audiences navigating the real impact of AI on their work. Felix cuts through hype and fear to explain what AI will commoditise, where human value increases, and how firms can stay ahead rather than react late.
He translates technology into clear business implications – pricing, delivery models, talent development, client expectations, and trust – and shows how AI reshapes what clients are really paying for. The focus is not on tools, but on judgement. Felix highlights the enduring human edge that machines cannot replicate: contextual decision-making, creativity, ethical reasoning, empathy, and the ability to inspire client confidence. The result is a grounded, future-focused talk that helps professionals think strategically about their role in an AI-shaped market.
Keynote by Felix Riley:
Local Minds, Global ROI: How To Break National Silos and Use Your Global Network to Learn Faster and Win Bigger
A lively keynote about turning global scale into a competitive advantage rather than a coordination headache. Felix shows how national silos form naturally, why “local optimisation” quietly kills learning, and how success in one market often fails to travel.
Through stories and practical examples, he reveals how incentives, pride, and speed combine to block collaboration – even in well-intentioned organisations. Felix then shares clear leadership moves that enable faster knowledge transfer, smarter reuse of ideas, and stronger cross-office collaboration. Leaders leave with practical ways to turn global networks into engines of learning, accelerate innovation, and create repeatable wins across borders without adding bureaucracy.
Keynote by Felix Riley:
Once Upon A Business… The Storytelling Secrets That Turn Strategy into Persuasion and Purpose
A highly engaging talk on the leadership skill most strategies forget: narrative. Felix explains why data rarely changes behaviour on its own, how stories shape belief and identity, and why people act when they can see themselves in the future being described.
Drawing on his background in broadcasting and storytelling, Felix breaks down the mechanics of persuasive narrative and shows how leaders can turn complex strategy into clarity people remember. He shares practical techniques to craft stories that travel, align teams, and create momentum. Whether you are selling a strategy, leading change, or winning clients, this keynote shows how to turn vision into a message people repeat, believe, and act on.
Felix Riley An Introduction
Watch Felix Riley in action!
