Vanessa Sturman

Who is Vanessa Sturman

Vanessa Sturman is a speaker, coach, and performance nutrition expert known for translating evidence-based nutrition into practical habits that work in real life. She supports leaders, teams, and athletes who operate under pressure and need strategies that are sustainable, enjoyable, and culturally relevant.

Her work is built on a clear principle: the way we eat can directly influence focus, resilience, and performance. By linking nutrition with behaviour change and sustainability, Vanessa helps organisations understand how everyday food choices can support productivity, wellbeing, and long-term performance. In the UK alone, poor staff health and lost productivity cost businesses an estimated £100–138 billion each year, making this conversation both timely and commercially relevant.

Vanessa’s style is engaging, warm, and grounded. She avoids extremes and perfection, focusing instead on realistic shifts that people can maintain alongside demanding careers, travel, and changing routines.

What Vanessa Speaks About

Vanessa delivers keynotes, workshops, and panel sessions that explore how nutrition and small habit changes can support performance and adaptability under pressure. Her sessions are designed to be immediately useful, empowering audiences to take action without overwhelm.

Her core speaking themes include:

• Performance nutrition for leaders, teams, and athletes

• Building resilience and focus through small, sustainable habits

• Energy management in fast-paced, high-demand environments

• Food, culture, and inclusivity in modern workplaces

• The link between personal wellbeing, business performance, and planetary health

Vanessa is also regularly booked for Mental Health Awareness events, corporate wellbeing weeks, and leadership programmes. In addition to talks, she runs energising team cooking sessions that bring her messages to life in a memorable and engaging way.

A Practical and Inclusive Approach

What sets Vanessa apart is her deeply practical approach. She meets people where they are and works within real-world constraints such as deadlines, stress, and diverse food cultures. There is no restrictive dieting, no rigid rules, and no one-size-fits-all solution.

Her work is shaped by her recovery from teenage binge eating, her experience as a person of colour raised by an immigrant mother, and her professional background as a Sustainability and Behaviour Change Consultant. These experiences inform an inclusive perspective that respects cultural food traditions while supporting health, performance, and environmental impact.

With a strong love of flavour and global cuisine, Vanessa makes eating feel enjoyable and exciting rather than bland or prescriptive. Her work is evidence-based, grounded in lived experience, and focused on progress rather than perfection.

Credibility, Media, and Awards

Vanessa is educated at the University of Cambridge, where she completed a BA in Social Anthropology and postgraduate degrees in Biological Anthropology. She is an APMG-accredited Change Manager, a published recipe developer, and an experienced 1:1 coach.

Her clients include Fulham Football Club, Cambridge University, Brooks Macdonald, and Octopus Electric Vehicles. She is a regular media contributor and has appeared on Sky News, BBC Radio, LBC, and other outlets. Vanessa is also a Health Expert for BBC Radio Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

Her engaging delivery has been recognised with two prestigious awards from The Speaker Awards, reflecting her ability to connect with audiences across corporate, academic, and live event settings. She also serves on the Board of Advisors for Food Facts, supporting efforts to tackle misinformation in nutrition and the media.

Book Vanessa Sturman for Your Event

Vanessa Sturman brings clarity, warmth, and practicality to conversations about performance, wellbeing, and resilience. Her sessions leave audiences informed, motivated, and equipped with tools they can use straight away.

If you are looking to book Vanessa Sturman for your event, conference, leadership programme, or wellbeing initiative, she delivers high-impact sessions that resonate across industries, cultures, and levels of seniority.