Rui Pedro Silva Keynote Speaker

European Digital Leader of the Year
SVP Direct-to-Consumer Technology @ Puma Group
Holds a Ph.D in the field of Organizational Science & Digital Transformation published in high ranked scientific journals

Rui Pedro Silva's Biography

Dr Rui Pedro Silva is a Portuguese executive, author, TEDx speaker and global voice on leadership transformation and organisational development. Born in northern Portugal to a low-income family, he has navigated ADHD, OCD and mental health challenges for over 20 years—an experience that underpins his message of resilience and self-leadership. Equipped with a PhD in Organisational Transformation, Rui blends academic rigour with real-world delivery to help leaders and teams perform at pace with purpose.

Rui is Senior Vice President at the PUMA Group, a role he assumed in 2026, where he leads on global technology strategy for the company’s direct-to-consumer platforms. Previously, he spent several years at adidas, serving as Global Vice President for eCommerce Platform and later as Global Vice President for Leadership & Talent Development, shaping high-trust, high-performance cultures across a worldwide organisation. His career spans six countries and multiple industries, including senior roles with A.P. Moller–Maersk, ERIKS and SONAE. Earlier, he led product for e-commerce logistics at Maersk, aligning digital strategy with operational excellence across a global network.

Named European Digital Leader by CIONET (2020), Rui connects technology, talent and transformation with clarity and conviction. He is the author of Pensa Digital, Mas Não Compliques (Officina do Livro, 2022). In 2025, his peer-reviewed research in the Journal of Innovation & Knowledge introduced a model to assess digital readiness in SMEs, adding Q1-level evidence to his practice.

On stage, Rui combines authentic storytelling, executive-level insight and evidence-based methods—with humour and humanity. His keynote, “Beyond skills: The inner structure of leadership and behavioral change,” equips audiences to build resilient cultures, scale leadership and lead change that sticks. As a TEDxAveiro speaker (May 2022), he also addresses the leadership duty to combat misinformation.

The Brutal Truth About Transformation

Why most transformations fail — and how to make yours succeed.
Rui Pedro pulls back the curtain on digital transformation with brutal honesty. Drawing from 20 years leading global digital adoption paired with his own scientific research and findings, he shares hard-earned lessons and stories that reveal why organizations stumble — and what leaders must do differently to truly deliver change.

The Four Floors of Success

How to turn bold visions into practical results.
Every company has big ambitions, but few know how to build them step by step. Rui shares real-world stories of businesses that transformed by moving through four “floors” — from defining a vision to executing with precision. A simple, powerful roadmap for results, very disruptive when it comes down to digital transformation.

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Leadership

What global changemakers teach us about leading with heart.
From Uganda to Singapore, Rui has interviewed people who created extraordinary impact with limited resources. Paired with his own story — from humble beginnings in Portugal to leading at Adidas while navigating ADHD and OCD — he reveals the deeper truths of leadership: it’s not about titles or skills, but about who you are when it matters most.

What Sports Teach Us About Leadership

High-performance habits from the world’s greatest game.
From interviews with 60+ football legends of Portugal and Brazil to his role at Adidas, Rui uncovers the habits and mindsets that drive champions. He shows how these lessons apply to business leadership, inspiring teams to embrace discipline, resilience, and teamwork.

Crafting a Culture That Lasts

The hidden architecture of thriving organizations.
Culture is more than words on a wall — it’s the values people live by, the behaviors leaders model, the systems they embody, and the shared stories that hold it all together. Drawing on global leadership insights, Rui shows how to design culture with intention, turning it into a competitive advantage that endures long after strategies and structures change.

He brings rare authority at the intersection of leadership, talent and transformation, shaped by his role as Global VP for Leadership & Talent Development at adidas and a career spanning six countries and industries.
He turns organisational science and digital transformation research into clear leadership frameworks that help teams build high-trust cultures and deliver at pace with purpose.
He connects technology, talent and operational reality with the credibility of senior roles at adidas, A.P. Moller–Maersk, ERIKS and SONAE, aligning strategy with execution across complex global organisations.
He combines executive insight with authentic storytelling on resilience and self-leadership, drawing on lived experience of ADHD, OCD and long-term mental health challenges to strengthen leaders from the inside out.
HHe equips audiences to lead change that sticks, using evidence-based models and practical tools validated through peer-reviewed research and his work shaping leadership capability at scale.