Distinguished speaker seminar series

Our distinguished speakers are invited from all industry sectors and reflect the career aspirations and interests of our MBA class and wider University.

Speakers are founders, chairman, CEOs and other senior management and are drawn from all over the world.

 

Upcoming speakers

Sir John Kay

The first dean of Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and British economist. 

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  • John Kay

Previous speakers

Dr Kiran Bedi

Social activist, author, and the first female officer in the Indian Police Service: Kiran Bedi joined us for a special Distinguished Speaker Seminar to mark International Women's Day.

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  • Kiran Bedi

Dato' Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour

Dato' Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, talks about the importance of inclusivity, sustainability and cooperation.

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  • Dato' Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour

Christopher Springham

Christopher Springham, Chair of the Responsible Investment Forum, Europe, joined Oxford Saïd's Professor Renée Adams to share some ideas on the relationship between art and business.

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  • Christopher Springham

Professor Tima Bansal

Tima Bansal, Professor of Sustainability and Strategy at the Ivey Business School, delivers the three 2025 Clarendon Lectures in Management, titled 'Designing the future'.

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  • Tima Bansal

Rain Newton-Smith

Rain Newton-Smith, economist and CEO of the Confederation of British Industry, talks about sustainability, AI, and restoring business confidence in this Distinguished Speaker Seminar organised in partnership with the Oxford Martin School.

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  • Rain Newton-Smith

Professor Yemi Osinbajo

Professor Yemi Osinbajo, former Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, gave the keynote address at an extended Distinguished Speaker Seminar to celebrate the 60th birthday of Arunma Oteh, the global finance and development trailblazer and an Executive in Residence at Saïd Business School.

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  • Yemi Osinbajo

Warren East

Warren East, Executive in Residence at Oxford Saïd and former CEO, Rolls-Royce and ARM, discusses a promising future but some inconvenient truths in the first event of a series hosted jointly by Saïd Business School and the Oxford Martin School.

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  • Warren East

Graham Love

Graham Love, Chairman of the Royal Mint, shares this Distinguished Speaker Seminar with Canada-based Aaron Logan, CEO of clean tech company Excir. The two discuss their partnership to extract precious metals from e-waste.

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  • Graham Love

Stéphane Bancel

Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, talks about the future of healthcare.

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  • Stephane Bancel

Sergio Ermotti

UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti inspires and challenges at the launch of MBA 2024, covering careers, the future of banking and leading the integration between UBS and Credit Suisse.

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  • Sergio Ermotti

Dr Barbara Oakley

The creator of the popular 'Learning how to learn' MOOC and a leading expert on the neuroscience of learning, explores how understanding the brain's learning processes can help learners use generative AI to enhance skill acquisition and drive innovation.

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  • Dr Barbara Oakley

Sarah Kent

Journalist Sarah Kent discusses the fashion industry’s long and winding road to sustainability.

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  • Sarah Kent

Professor Daron Acemoglu

Professor Daron Acemoglu delivered the 2024 Sanjaya Lall Memorial Lecture, arguing that the choices we make now will determine how AI affects our jobs and future prosperity.

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  • Daron Acemoglu

Professor Helen Margetts, Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides

These two distinguished speakers joined Sanjaya Lall Visiting Professor Daron Acemoglu in a panel discussion on AI and the future of work, chaired by Professor Sir John Vickers.

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  • Margetts and Pissarides

Bill Browder

The international financier, political activist, and bestselling author Bill Browder discusses his new book in conversation with Rupert Younger, Director of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation.

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  • Bill Browder

Dr Albert Bourla

The Chairman and CEO of Pfizer Inc focuses on fairness and the future in the pharmaceutical industry.

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  • Dr Albert Bourla

Manal Al Madi

Manal Al Madi, Deputy Governor of Strategic Partnerships and Communication at the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), spoke about Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 development plan, which includes major policy changes designed to provide greater opportunities for women.

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  • Manal al Madi holding image

Vivienne Cox

Vivienne Cox, Vice-Chair of the Saïd Business School Board and formerly head of oil giant BP’s alternative energy division. She spoke about the future of energy in the context of the climate emergency.

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  • Vivienne Cox

Hiro Mizuno

Hiro Mizuno, Chief Investment Officer and Executive Managing Director of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF). He shared his vision on key ideas that help create more sustainable capital markets.

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  • Hiro Mizuno

Muhtar Kent

Former chairman of Coca-Cola and CEO Muhtar Kent offers a distinguished speaker seminar. Kent focused his talk on the ‘Three Ws programme he initiated - focusing on water, women and wellbeing.

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  • Muhtar Kent

John Mahama

Ghana’s former president John Mahama shared his thoughts on democracy and elections in contemporary Africa.

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  • John Mahama