Jonathan Holloway Keynote Speaker

Three-time Helpmann Award winner (Best Special Event)
Creative Director: Joe Biden’s 2016 State Dinner (Melbourne)
Produced Royal de Luxe’s Giants for Perth (1.4M attendees)

Jonathan Holloway's Biography

Jonathan Holloway is one of the world’s leading experts in large-scale storytelling and experience design.

With a career spanning senior creative roles at London’s Royal National Theatre, New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music, and as Artistic Director of major international arts festivals across the UK and Australia, Jonathan has spent decades curating transformative moments for audiences ranging from the public to the ultra-private.

He was the Creative Director for then-Vice President Joe Biden’s 2016 State Dinner in Melbourne, and for a €500,000 VIP celebration in the mountains of Mallorca in 2022, attended by global icons like Rafael Nadal. In 2015, he produced Australia’s largest-ever single arts event, where 1.4 million people walked with Giants through Perth.

Today, he advises global brands, cultural institutions, and business leaders on how to deliver experiences that balance impact, intimacy, and imagination.

Jonathan’s keynotes are immersive, idea-rich journeys into the power of storytelling, the psychology of experience, and the future of true guest engagement.

The Art of Experience

What makes an experience unforgettable – and how to design moments that resonate long after they’re over.

From Epic Scale to Private Wonder

Creative strategies for delivering high-impact events for both mass audiences and high-net-worth individuals.

Why Storytelling is a Leadership Superpower

Lessons from a life in theatre and festivals and why narrative matters more than ever in business.

Crafting the Future of Client Experience

Insights for hospitality, brands and business institutions seeking to elevate what they deliver.

Jonathan brings world-class pedigree, spanning National Theatre London and Biden’s State Dinner.
He brings experience together with creativity, making him ideal for hospitality, brand experience, and business strategy events.
He shares incredible stories with universal lessons, delivering powerful insights for leaders, marketers and creatives.
He delivers with mesmerising presence, transporting audiences while leaving them inspired and ready to act.

Videos of Jonathan Holloway

Leading Transformative Experiences Speaker - Jonathan Holloway Showreel

Comments & Testimonials

"Jonathan was the stand-out presenter at the conference and took the audience on a unique behind the scenes journey of the Giants. Funny and inspiring he gave us insightful and practical take aways to use in our own journey and most importantly dared us to be visionary and creative in all aspects of our lives."

Event Organiser – Industry Conference

"I saw Jonathan Holloway give the opening keynote at our conference and he was brilliant - funny, fast, provocative and inspiring. He really challenged the audience, but not as some kind of ‘rah rah’ motivational speaker, rather as someone who is out there doing it - dreaming large, living boldly, taking meaningful risks and making amazing things happen. He can be highly intelligent, deeply empathetic or audaciously mischievous - sometimes all in the same paragraph. He’s a no-brainer booking for conferences and events; making people laugh, feel, think and then go out and do something special."

Head of Strategy – Cisco Systems