Mairi McHaffe Keynote Speaker

Mairi McHaffe has worked with emerging and senior leaders for over 16 years. She designs and delivers bespoke people-development and talent initiatives globally across sectors. She specialises in behavioural change and career development initiatives. Her USP is helping individuals find their voice and unique presence—developing visual, vocal and verbal impact—and flexing behaviours with confidence to build interpersonal skills.

Trained as an actor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Mairi has had a successful career as a BBC TV presenter and reporter, and as a theatre, TV, and film actor. A sought-after speaker and moderator for large-scale corporate events, she builds on her classroom and conference work to deliver a multitude of virtual, global, interactive learning events. These enable cross-cultural clients to manage change, support their people and customers, and effectively evolve behaviours.

Mairi is currently focusing on the generational divide between the expectations of Gen X leaders and Gen Z talent, with a particular lens on upskilling the communication capabilities of the younger generation navigating into careers. She is the founder of the UK Houses of Parliament Women into Leadership Mentoring Programme and a regular expert trainer for the University of Oxford.

Her expertise includes Influencing Skills, Presenting with Impact, Gen Z Communication Skills, Unconscious Bias Awareness, Respectful Behaviours, Building Effective Teams, Managing Change, Managing Crucial Conversations, Physical Intelligence, and Coaching Skills for Success. Mairi uses psychology, performance techniques, and skills practice to enable behavioural change in individuals and influence successful organisational culture. She has been a judge for the BBC Apprentice Finals and the WeAreTheCity Rising Stars Awards for pipeline female talent across industries. She is the mother of two boys and occasionally dabbles in stand-up comedy.