Tom Emery Keynote Speaker

Founder of HEX & creator of CHRO Impact Framework®
Amazon bestselling author of People People
Trusted advisor to C-suite leaders across UK PLCs

Tom Emery's Biography

Tom Emery is the Founder and CEO of HEX, and a strategic partner to CEOs, CPOs, and other c-suite leaders.

Tom spent several years on the c-suite as a Chief People Officer in both UK PLC and a PE-backed businesses. His time at the sharp end of executive life has given him a detailed knowledge of what it looks like when executive teams are firing on all cylinders, and when they’re not. He brings these insights to his work today, partnering with CEOs to build, align, and strengthen the leadership teams and wider organisations around them. He helps CEOs make sense of their roles, have the conversations that others avoid, and close the gap between how they behave and what their businesses actually need from them.

Tom is the Amazon bestselling author of People People: Reach Your Full Potential as a CHRO, which has been shortlisted for the 2026 Business Book Awards. He is a sought-after speaker on leadership and organisational performance, co-host of the renowned Beyond Potential podcast, and regularly shares insights and thought leadership across a broad variety of human centred topics.

Tom leads the brilliant HEX team; a handpicked group of consultants, coaches, and thinking partners who work across a broad range of businesses to help individuals, teams, and organisations to reach their full potential.

Leading high-performing teams in complex environments

How do leaders enable teams to perform when the environment is uncertain, fast-moving and demanding? Tom explores the leadership behaviours and practical tools that help teams stay aligned, focused and effective even in complex situations.

Building trust and psychological safety at work

Trust is the foundation of every high-performing team. In this keynote, Tom explores how leaders can build psychological safety, encourage open dialogue and create environments where people feel confident to contribute ideas, challenge thinking and do their best work.

Leadership effectiveness in times of change

Change places new demands on leaders at every level. Tom shares practical insights on how leaders can communicate with clarity, maintain trust and guide teams through uncertainty while keeping people engaged and motivated.

Unlocking individual and team potential

Organisations perform best when individuals feel empowered to contribute their strengths. This keynote explores how leaders can create the conditions that unlock potential, strengthen collaboration and help teams achieve more together.

Culture as a driver of business performance

Culture shapes how decisions are made, how people collaborate and how organisations perform. Tom explores how leaders can intentionally build cultures that support accountability, engagement and sustainable business success.

Developing resilient and future-ready leaders

Leading HR as a strategic business function, not just operational support

Practical frameworks for delivering transformative HR outcomes, including the CHRO Impact Framework®

People-centric leadership in the age of AI and disruption

Why Book Tom Emery as a speaker?

Tom delivers engaging, commercially grounded keynote sessions that translate leadership insight into practical strategies leaders can apply immediately. Drawing on his experience operating at executive level, he brings credibility, energy and real-world relevance to the stage, helping audiences navigate complexity, build trust, strengthen team effectiveness and unlock sustained high performance within their organisations.

Real executive experience
Tom brings over 20 years’ experience partnering with CEOs and executive teams across multinational banking and fast-growth organisations, including operating at board level as a Chief People Officer. His insights are grounded in real commercial leadership, not theory.
Commercially focused leadership insight
Tom connects leadership, culture and people strategy directly to business performance, helping audiences understand how leadership effectiveness drives measurable organisational outcomes.
Practical frameworks leaders can apply immediately
Audiences leave Tom’s sessions with clear tools and frameworks they can put into practice straight away, including insights from his CHRO Impact Framework®.
Elevates HR into strategic leadership
Tom is known for helping organisations shift HR from an operational support function to a strategic business driver, equipping people leaders to influence enterprise value and decision-making at board level.
Engaging high-energy delivery
Tom delivers keynote sessions that are thought-provoking, engaging and grounded in real-world experience, ensuring audiences remain energised and actively involved throughout.
Leadership for complex, fast-changing environments
Tom helps leaders navigate uncertainty, complexity and transformation with confidence, strengthening trust, resilience and performance within teams and organisations.
Future focused perspective
Tom explores how organisations can build people-centric leadership in the age of AI and disruption, ensuring leadership capability and organisational culture evolve alongside technological change.