Eddie Obeng

Prof. Eddie Obeng is a British inspirational keynote speaker, educator & organizational theorist, author, entrepreneur, and digital pioneer. He is an exponent of "New World Management," which addresses solutions to rapid global change and uncertainty.

He founded Pentacle The Virtual Business School in 1994 after becoming Ashridge's youngest Executive Director in 1987 and is a visiting professor at Henley Business School and Fellow of the Association for Project Management. Formerly an engineer, his work at Royal Dutch Shell earned them valuable patents. He designed the most energy-efficient food processing plant, which notably won an EU prize. As a digital pioneer, he created QUBE, a 3D virtual world platform for immersive learning, collaboration, and simulations, enabling teams to collaborate and innovate five times faster with higher engagement at lower costs.

Obeng speaks insightfully on the key topics and challenges of the day: AI & digital enablement, leading people in complex uncertainty, growth in challenging geopolitics. His ability to move on from the usual keynote "why and what" to the pragmatic "what to do about it and how to go about it is exceptional." His motto is 'Inspire|Educate|Provoke to Act'.

Over his career, Obeng has been asked to deliver assignments to over 70% of the FT100. Notable projects include the turnaround of Rolls Royce and Bentley motor cars, reinvigorating the British aerospace industry, and animating the design industry (UK Design Council and IDEO).

Obeng has authored over 10 books, including two Financial Times bestsellers "All Change!"(2nd ed., 2023) and "Making Reengineering Happen." He has developed and popularized hundreds of people engagement and productivity enhancement tools for which he was awarded the Sir Monty Finniston Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. The UK government uses his SPARQS model is to assign investment for innovation.

The creation of a complete ecosystem for cultural change on a QUBE campus of, processes, tools and capabilities has many memorable proof cases.

Santander called him their "secret weapon" for transformation; Sony credited his analysis as a "vital catalyst" for reinvention; HSBC described his sessions as "inspirational"; Microsoft praised his "high-energy" approach; GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis noted benefits like risk mitigation in digital initiatives, saving millions. Red Bull called him “ Human Red Bull”.

Obeng's content, teaching, and keynotes foster "smart failure" and adaptability in a fast-changing world. His 12-minute TED Talk, viewed millions of times, inspires resilient productivity through humorous, engaging delivery, helping leaders discard outdated thinking and adopt a mindset for success in our new complex, AI technology-enabled, uncertain world.