Transformational talks that ignite employee engagement, empower career conversations, and build a future-ready workforce
Antoinette Oglethorpe delivers energising, story-rich keynotes designed to spark growth, enhance career conversations, and equip people at every level—from HR leaders to individual employees.
Each talk is rooted in her signature COMPASS methodology and tailored to your audience’s unique needs.
Watch Antoinette's Showreel
Navigating Success in the Changing World of Work
In today’s fast-moving, unpredictable world of work, career paths aren’t linear – and neither are your people’s expectations. Organisations are under pressure to engage, develop, and retain talent while supporting wellbeing and growth. That’s where COMPASS comes in.
In this practical and inspiring keynote, award-winning speaker and career development expert Antoinette Oglethorpe introduces a proven framework to help your people take ownership of their development, adapt to change, and define success on their own terms.
Drawing on over 25 years of experience and filled with memorable stories, the COMPASS keynote equips people with the mindset and tools they need – and gives you a powerful platform to strengthen your organisation’s culture, retention, and leadership pipeline.
The COMPASS Framework
Clarity: Help people understand their strengths, values and
direction - leading to more focused, fulfilled, and self-driven
talent.
“Success isn’t about following someone else’s map;
it’s about creating your own.”
Ownership: Equip individuals to take responsibility for their own
development - reducing dependency on managers and
increasing engagement.
“If you don’t take the wheel, someone else will. And you might not like where they take you.”
Mindset: Build a resilient workforce that can adapt to change, bounce back from setbacks, and seize opportunity in uncertainty.
“Success is not just about ability. It’s about adaptability.”
People: Foster a culture of mentoring, where strong relationships accelerate personal growth and performance.
“Success isn’t a solo journey – it’s a shared adventure.”
Amplify: Promote meaningful career conversations at every level - boosting engagement, learning, and development across your organisation.
“People don’t grow in isolation. They grow through conversation.”
Success: Encourage people to define success in ways that energise them - improving retention and reducing burnout.
“Success isn’t about pay and promotions. It’s about enjoyability and employability.”
Small Steps: Enable consistent, lasting change through a focus on steady progress - not overwhelming leaps - making growth sustainable.
“Small steps, steady progress, lasting success.”
Tailoring COMPASS to your audience’s unique needs.
The Conversation Revolution
How Dialogue Can Drive Development, Diversity, and Direction
In a world of constant change and hybrid work, HR has the power to shape culture through connection. This keynote explores how meaningful conversations build clarity, spark development, and nurture strong relationships.
Through real stories and practical tools, attendees will discover how everyday dialogue can transform employee experience— from engagement to empowerment.
- Ideal for HR, L&D, and DEI teams
- Focuses on career development, inclusion, and retention
Inspired by Antoinette’s Amazon #1 best-selling book, Confident Career Conversations, download a free chapter.
Antoinette delivered a highly successful and insightful presentation at our ‘Reinventing HR’ conference. Her professionalism and dedication led to thought-provoking discussions among attendees, adding immense value to the event.
~ Nourain Ismail, Training Coordinator, Egyptian Banking Institute
The Inner Game of Leadership
Why Self-Awareness and Ownership Drive Lasting Influence
Authentic leadership begins within. This keynote explores how self-awareness, intentional choices, and a growth mindset form the bedrock of effective leadership.
Through real-life examples and reflective insight, leaders will uncover how to lead with purpose, navigate uncertainty, and inspire others by example.
- Ideal for senior leaders and people managers
- Covers mindset, personal clarity, and leading through uncertainty
Based on the methodologies featured in Antoinette’s Amazon #1 best-selling book, Confident Career Conversations, download a free chapter.
Antoinette is a vibrant and compelling speaker – able to convey expert knowledge of career management and learning and development concerns in a human and engaging way. Her experience of wide-ranging environments and organisations puts her in an excellent position to share deep insights. I recommend her highly as a speaker.
~ Valerie Rowles, Consultant in Career Development, Learning and Educational Project Management
Write Your Own Success Story
Finding Purpose, Power, and Progress in Your Career
Your career isn’t a ladder – it’s a story. This keynote empowers employees to take charge of their journey by discovering what matters most, making intentional choices, and defining success on their own terms.
Attendees will leave feeling inspired and equipped to turn insight into action.
- Perfect for employee engagement events, learning weeks, and internal conferences
- Covers clarity, ownership, and fulfilment at work
Includes insights from Antoinette’s Amazon #1 best-selling book, Confident Career Conversations, download a free chapter.
Antoinette, thank you so much for your incredible keynote at ICRC Career Week. The impact you had was truly remarkable – we could have heard a pin drop in the virtual room as our colleagues were completely captivated by your message. It was exactly the guidance we wanted to provide to our line managers and staff.
With 264 colleagues in attendance - our highest turnout of the week - your wisdom, energy, and dedication to fostering great career conversations left a lasting impression. We can’t thank you enough and look forward to working with you again!
~ Dannette Haley, Head of People and Career Development, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
On behalf of the Egyptian Banking Institute - Central Bank of Egypt, we would like to express our appreciation for a very successful and informative presentation by Antoinette Oglethorpe; during our HR conference “Reinventing HR”. We appreciate the time that had been dedicated from your side, which was definitely of an added value and were reflected into a constructive and fruitful discussions among all attendees. Special thanks and gratitude to Ms. Antoinette for the professionalism, dedication, that was reflected into the superior quality of work delivered. Your dedicated time, and efforts to support the HR conference are highly valued. Looking forward for more fruitful cooperation in the future.
Egyptian Banking Institute – Central Bank of Egypt
On behalf of the entire People and Culture team at the World Bank Group, we sincerely appreciate your invaluable contribution as a guest speaker in our Career Week 2023. I really appreciated the brilliant presentation. The feedback received so far on the session are very positive. I’ve heard from several participants that they really appreciated hearing about your journey, your perspective and practical advice on rethinking career development, taking ownership, the importance of career conversation and leveraging all available support mechanisms to enrich one’s portfolio. Thank you for your contribution in making Career Week 2023 a great success and we look forward to having you again at future events.
On behalf of the ICRC Career Week team, thanks so much for your interaction and workshop today. We could have heard a penny drop in the virtual room as our colleagues were ever so captivated by your message. Which by the way was exactly the message that we want to give our line managers and staff. There were 264 colleagues in the session hanging on your every word – the biggest attendance of all the sessions all week. Again, we can’t thank you enough for your wisdom, your energy and your dedication to bringing great career conversations to managers and staff. We so look forward to working with you again!
Dannette Haley, Career Development Advisor, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Antoinette has delivered many excellent workshops for the CCS(Career Counselling Services) Alumni Network. She is a thought leader and presents her ideas on Career Management in a way that always engages the audience. She focuses on the bigger picture as well as the detail and, having chosen to specialise in career management, has built an expertise which clients, individuals and organisations, can gain from.
Rob Nathan, Director, Career Counselling Services
Antoinette spoke at our D&I event focusing on Gender Equality within the workplace - The Fearless Female Conference. Despite having the sometimes unenviable final slot of the day Antoinette delivered an inspiring session that not only presented some unique insights from her own experience but also enabled a fresh perspective on some of the key areas already covered. Antoinette's delivery was excellent. Heartfelt, engaging and a great way to end a thoroughly inspiring day.
Paul Scrivens, Chief Executive, LoveLocalJobs
Antoinette has been a delight to work with and has added real value to HR Vision. When you run a premium event the quality of the chairing is crucial - and she has been exactly what we hoped she would be.
Nick Tyrrell, Founder, OsneyMedia
Antoinette is an outstanding industry expert with extensive knowledge and understanding of the HR sector. Not only has Antoinette helped shape our programmes & agendas for our international HR conferences, she has also successfully chaired a number of them over the years. Antoinette is a natural communicator with excellent interpersonal skills and always receives the highest ratings from our conferences delegates from around the world.
Georgios Kipouros, Managing Director, OsneyMedia
Antoinette delivered an engaging and interesting presentation at a market event that I organised on managing talented people in the workplace. She is professional, reliable and a delight to work with. She has an amazing ability to communicate effectively with a broad range of people.
Amanda Touhey, Learning and Development Specialist, Hiscox
Antoinette has worked with us on a number of HR Vision events, both in a chairing and facilitation role, and helping to co-create the agenda in an advisory role. Her knowledge and expertise in the Talent, Leadership and HR space is invaluable.
Anisa Cousin, Divisional Director, Osney Media
Antoinette is a vibrant and compelling speaker - able to convey expert knowledge of career management and learning and development concerns in a human and engaging way. Her experience of wide-ranging environments and organisations puts her in an excellent position to share deep insights. I recommend her highly as a speaker.
Valerie Rowles, Consultant in Career Development Learning and Educational Project Management
We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to you for being with us at Careers@UNHCR event. We appreciate the time you took from your busy schedule to deliver the How to adopt a growth mindset to support your career development session, for sharing your career journey and experiences with colleagues across the Organization. We are all grateful for the knowledge and experience which you shared with us. Your contribution to the event was invaluable, and we could not have asked for more engaging and inspirational speakers. Your participation was not only informative but also inspiring as it provided colleagues with a wealth of information to help them grow and develop in their careers. Again, thank you for making the Careers@UNHCR event memorable and such a success.
UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency)
Previous Speaking Events
Collinson Group Career Month, Virtual, June 2025
International Women's Day, Birmingham, February 2025
Essex County Council LearnFest, Virtual, December 2024
IAEVG International Conference, Finland, November 2024
Career Thought Leaders Consortium Conference, Lisbon, April 2024
Essex County Council LearnFest, Virtual, December 2023
Cranfield Venture Day, UK, June 2023
UNDP Career Week, Virtual, June 2023
World Bank Group, Career Week, Virtual, May 2023
UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency), Careers@UNHCR, Virtual, June 2023
Egyptian Banking Institute, Conference, Reinventing HR Conference, Egypt, January 2023
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Career Week, Virtual, February 2022
Association of Test Publishers (ATP) Special Interest Group Conference, Vienna, September 2019
University of New Mexico Mentoring Institute Conference, Albuquerque, October 2018
The Fearless Female Conference, Brighton, May 2018
Career Thought Leaders International Conference, Madrid, April 2018
Annual HR Summit, Amsterdam, March 2018
Key Person of Influence PitchFest, London, December 2016
Annual Women in Leadership Summit, Berlin, November 2016
Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Talent Forum, October 2015
HR Vision Amsterdam, June 2015
International Mentoring Association (IMA), April 2015
Career Development Institute (CDI), November 2014
HR Vision London, October 2014
Association for Coaching Conference, September 2013
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