Sebastian Sheppard Keynote Speaker

Led 150+ engineers at Alpine F1 (2019–2025)
Head of Transformation & Integration, Altran UK & NE
Royal Navy anti-submarine helicopter pilot (1990s)

Sebastian Sheppard's Biography

Sebastian Sheppard operates at the sharp end of elite performance as an Engineering expert in Formula 1.

Across more than 20 years in high-tech sectors—aerospace, cyber security, defence, data science and telecoms—he equips leaders with pragmatic tools for resilience, motivation and sustained excellence. His speaking style is incisive and story-rich, translating hard-won lessons from fast, high-stakes environments into actions teams can use immediately. He engages diverse, international audiences with clarity and impact.

At Alpine F1 (2019–2025), Sebastian led a 150-plus engineering organisation responsible for the time-critical design and development of race cars. He built a world-class culture anchored on psychological safety, clear cadence and accountability—proving that high performance is about consistently getting the best from motivated people, not just assembling specialists. He frames resilience as a trainable mindset: convert inevitable setbacks into learning, then into competitive advantage.

Alongside his leadership role, Sebastian is a sought-after speaker on high-performance leadership in the AI era, delivering his “F1 Mindset” keynote to global organisations including leading technology firms, defence organisations and international conferences. He regularly works with senior leadership teams, translating lessons from Formula 1 into practical strategies for performance in complex, fast-moving environments.

Seb’s leadership foundation was forged as a Royal Navy Lieutenant piloting anti-submarine helicopters, including work alongside the Spanish and Chilean Navies. Before military service, he spent two years on expeditions in Patagonia—an early apprenticeship in grit, teamwork and judgment. He later directed post-merger integrations as Head of Transformation & Integration at Altran (now Capgemini) across the UK and Northern Europe, safeguarding value through a people-first PMI approach. Earlier, he held senior roles at Airbus, overseeing the A400M Wing Final Assembly Line in Seville and delivering a logistics turnaround.

Born and educated in Chile, Sebastian is a fluent Spanish speaker with a truly international outlook.

A visiting lecturer at the Universities of Oxford, Edinburgh and Melbourne, he teaches high-performance leadership, motivation and resilience. He has also delivered guest lectures at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile, bringing audiences operational depth and on-the-ground credibility.

High-Performance Leadership in the Age of AI: Insights from the Ultimate Data-Driven Enterprise

Formula 1 is the world's most intense, data-driven enterprise. This keynote explores how leaders manage teams at the cutting edge of AI and data science, where the competitive edge is within the "blink of an eye".

Learn the F1 frameworks for leveraging AI from:

Concept to Track in car design, to using data for Strategic Decision-Making.
Using real lived experiences, the talk emphasises that while AI drives speed, Culture and Psychological Safety are the true competitive advantage.
Discover how leaders can champion a Culture of Innovation and Experimentation, and successfully implement a Visionary Strategy to stay ahead of the curve while navigating the risks of a data-first world.

The North Star Strategy: Aligning Teams for Championship Results

This talk focuses on Vision, Strategy, and Alignment. Drawing parallels with an F1 team's singular goal ("make the car go faster") and elite military operations, discover how:

A clear, unwavering "North Star" objective drives every decision.
Leveraging from real lived experiences, learn practical frameworks for defining a compelling vision, ensuring strategic alignment across all projects and stakeholders, and making tough resource allocation choices to achieve challenging, mission-critical goals.

High-Velocity Decisions: Lessons in Risk and Execution from F1 Pit Stops

Explore the science of High-Speed Decision-Making and Risk Management in dynamic environments. Using the F1 pit stop as a masterclass in synchronised, rapid execution, and special forces operations as a model for decisive action under pressure, learn how to build Rapid Decision Cycles.

This session covers contingency planning, using real-time data for accuracy, and creating a culture of disciplined execution when time is the critical constraint. Using real experiences from Elite units and F1, this talk will help focus teams into high performing units.

The Data-Driven Leader: F1 Insights on Continuous Improvement & AI

Go inside the "Design-Build-Race-Optimise" cycle of Formula One to reveal how elite teams achieve Continuous Improvement and Iteration.

This keynote demonstrates how AI and Data Science are not just tools but a core part of strategic advantage. Businesses will learn how to:

Apply agile principles for rapid development
Establish a culture of learning from failure, and implement effective retrospective practices to accelerate innovation cycles and maintain a competitive edge.

Leader vs. Manager: Cultivating Trust and Psychological Safety in Elite Teams

Take a deep dive into Strategic Leadership focusing on the crucial distinction between leading people (inspiring, coaching, empowering) and managing processes.

Using examples of F1 team principals and military Mission Command and real lived experiences, this talk reveals the foundation of sustainable high performance:

Culture and Trust. Learn how to foster Psychological Safety so teams feel empowered to speak up and challenge, enabling decentralised decision-making and unlocking latent team capability for superior results.

Retention Through Purpose: The Three Pillars of Sustainable High-Performance

Address the critical business challenge of retaining high-performing talent. Using F1 and Elite units cultures and behaviours, this session breaks down the Fundamentals of High-Performance Teams into Three Pillars:

Purpose (connecting roles to the North Star)
Positive Engagement (building strong relationships and investing in teams)
Clear Communication (transparency and two-way dialogue). Discover the leadership behaviours and systems that create an environment where top talent thrives and commits for the long term.

Leadership at the Cutting Edge: Resilience and Humility When Failure Isn't an Option

A powerful, high-energy session blending stories from military aviation and Formula One to highlight the characteristics of Leadership at the Cutting Edge. The focus is on clarity, resilience, and humility—the traits required when leading technical teams in high-stakes environments. Drawing from real lived experiences, attendees will gain guidance on applying elite leadership habits to navigate complexity, build accountability, and make effective decisions under the most intense organisational challenges.

High-Performance Leadership from Formula 1: How to Outpace the Competition and Drive Sustained Success

This keynote uses the high-stakes, data-driven world of Formula 1 to reveal the strategic and cultural blueprints for sustained success. Discover how elite teams build the Chassis of Success through vision, trust, and resilience. Drawing from real lived experiences, the session decodes the Race Strategy for high-speed decision-making and agility, and explores how the Pit Crew achieves flawless execution through synchronisation and collective accountability.

Attendees will learn how to transition from individual talent to a collective force, leading teams that are highly adaptable and capable of outpacing any competitor to drive sustained excellence.

He operates at the sharp end of elite performance in Formula 1, leading large engineering teams where speed, precision and accountability decide outcomes.
He translates high-stakes lessons from aerospace, defence and cyber security into pragmatic tools leaders can use to build resilience, motivation and sustained excellence.
He shows organisations how to create high-performance cultures anchored in psychological safety, clear cadence and rigorous execution, even under relentless pressure.
He brings rare operational credibility from Royal Navy aviation to boardroom transformation, helping leaders turn setbacks into learning and competitive advantage.
He delivers incisive, story-rich keynotes in English and Spanish, engaging international audiences with clarity, energy and immediate takeaways.