Book Ross Pambrun for your event
Ross Pambrun is an international keynote speaker, futurist and engaging storyteller who brings together perspectives rarely found in one speaker. His experience spans artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, healthcare, firefighting, cybersecurity, Indigenous culture, media and organizational leadership. This breadth gives Ross a distinctive ability to connect emerging technology with the realities of people, communities and organizations.
Named the 2026 Most Compelling Calgarian by the Calgary Herald — selected from a city of more than 1.8 million citizens — Ross has also taken his ideas to the Wall Street Journal Future of Everything Festival in New York City, where he spoke about the social progress of Artificial Intelligence.
Ross uses humour and storytelling to make complex subjects accessible without losing their substance. Whether the conversation is about adopting AI responsibly, leading people through uncertainty, understanding cybersecurity risk or strengthening Indigenous relationships, his presentations connect big ideas with human experience.
His ability to engage a room is also shaped by years beyond the traditional keynote stage. Ross is a popular emcee with experience as an actor and musician, giving him a natural sense of timing, audience connection and storytelling.
AI, cybersecurity and the human future
Ross is CEO of The Memphis Group, an award-winning Artificial Intelligence company and 2023 Innovation Award winner. The company uses AI, machine learning and approaches derived from cybersecurity to protect communities and values at risk from wildfires and environmental threats around the globe.
This work places Ross at the practical intersection of emerging technology, risk and human responsibility. His AI presentations explore the opportunities surrounding artificial intelligence while addressing the questions organizations need to consider as adoption accelerates: literacy, ethics, bias, trust, cybersecurity and responsible implementation.
His expertise is strengthened by studies at MIT, Harvard and the Alan Turing Institute, deepening his understanding of AI, ethics and innovation and adding academic rigour and global perspective to his practical experience.
Cybersecurity forms another important part of Ross Pambrun's speaking portfolio. He explores cyber risk leadership, cyber literacy, responsible security culture and the convergence of AI and cybersecurity. Rather than treating technology as separate from organizational culture, Ross examines how people, leadership decisions and systems interact when organizations face new forms of risk.
Leadership built through experience
Ross' perspective on leadership and change has been shaped by environments where decisions have real consequences.
Before his work in AI, he built VIP Occupational Health into a national success and led the business through a successful sale. That entrepreneurial journey now informs his presentations on organizational transformation, purposeful growth, resilience and change management.
Ross also spent seven years as a Registered Nurse working in advanced critical care. That experience developed the empathy, situational awareness and ability to remain calm under pressure that continue to influence his approach to leadership, AI ethics and community.
Alongside his healthcare career, Ross served for more than 25 years as a firefighter, rising to the rank of Captain. He proudly wears medals awarded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Alberta and the City of Calgary in recognition of his service.
Ross is also an Emeritus Chief Science Officer in Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine with the Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Society. This recognition reflects his long-standing commitment to bringing science, ethics and practical application together.
Together, these experiences allow Ross to approach change management from a human-centred perspective. He explores resilience, systems thinking, emotional intelligence, organizational culture and the realities of transformation in the age of AI.
Keynote topics with real-world relevance
Ross Pambrun's keynote presentations span five core areas, giving organizations the opportunity to explore both emerging challenges and enduring human questions:
- Artificial Intelligence: AI literacy, ethics, bias, trust, cybersecurity and responsible adoption.
- Change Management & Leadership: resilience, systems thinking, emotional intelligence, culture and human-centred transformation.
- Indigenous Peoples & Culture: reconciliation, relationship building, sovereignty, community and heritage.
- Innovation & Entrepreneurship: curiosity, storytelling, continuous learning and purposeful growth.
- Cyber Security & Cyber Innovation: cyber risk leadership, AI-cybersecurity convergence, cyber literacy and responsible security culture.
His recent presentations have explored awareness, application and the challenges of artificial intelligence, alongside a human-centred approach to managing change in the age of AI.
With a strong Métis heritage, Ross also speaks about navigating the Indigenous landscape and strengthening Indigenous relationships. He shares stories that build awareness and encourage audiences to participate in informed, constructive conversations around reconciliation, community, sovereignty, heritage and relationship building.
A storyteller on stage and screen
Storytelling is central to how Ross Pambrun communicates. His experience across healthcare, emergency response, business and technology gives him an extensive range of real-world stories, while his work in entertainment helps him turn those experiences into presentations that hold an audience's attention.
Ross completed a 100-episode podcast series in which he interviewed guests from diverse backgrounds, developing conversations around different experiences and perspectives. He can also be seen weekly on the five-time nominated treasure hunting television show Red River Gold, filmed across Canada and the UK and airing internationally.
His work as an actor, musician, podcast host, television personality and emcee complements his professional expertise. He understands how to read a room, create energy and communicate ideas in ways people can follow and remember.
For organizations looking to book Ross Pambrun, his keynotes offer a combination of technological insight and deeply human experience. From critical care and firefighting to entrepreneurship, AI and cybersecurity, Ross connects subjects that can appear separate and reveals the people, decisions and relationships at their centre.
Audiences leave with new perspectives on how technology is changing the world, how leaders can respond to uncertainty and how curiosity, empathy and responsible innovation can help organizations and communities navigate what comes next.