Greg Merrill

Themes: Transformation, People First, Outcomes over Outputs, Value Creation, Stakeholder Alignment, Culture and Change, Leadership

Synopsis:
Large organisations are not wired for change, they are wired to resist it. Yet transformation is no longer optional. Drawing on his decade at Nike leading digital transformation and culture shaping initiatives, Greg Merrill reveals why people are both the biggest obstacle and the greatest enabler of organisational change.

Through candid stories, humour, and practical frameworks, Greg walks leaders through the Value Chain, from vision and strategy to adoption and outcomes. He shows how to decode misaligned incentives, build cross functional trust, and shift cultures from fear to ownership.

Audiences will learn how to:

• Turn resistance into partnership by anchoring on common metrics of value.
• Move from outputs (projects, deliverables) to outcomes (impact, change delivered).
• Unlock both quantitative benefits (margin, growth, efficiency) and qualitative ones (employee engagement, customer experience, sustainability).
• Empower champions across the organisation and create adoption strategies that stick.

This keynote equips senior leaders to balance the human and strategic sides of transformation, ensuring that when the work is done, the outcomes are real, lasting, and measurable.

Themes: Authentic Leadership, Brand of One, Empathy and Engagement, Human and AI, Imagination, Emotional Intelligence, Inclusive Culture, Personal Brand

Synopsis:
In an era of constant change, disruption, and rapid advances in AI, what sets true leaders apart is their humanity. While AI can mimic empathy, replicate voices, and generate endless content, it cannot replace imagination, authenticity, or lived human experience. Greg Merrill introduces his signature concept, the Brand of One: the human behind the leadership role whose authenticity, imagination, and values may be the single greatest competitive advantage an organisation can develop.

Drawing on stories and insights from launching three companies, driving transformation at Nike, and advising executives around the globe, Greg explores how leaders can cultivate their own Brand of One:

• Authenticity as Advantage — why leaders must lean into vulnerability and curiosity: real emotion, genuine empathy, and lived experience.

• Imagination over Information — echoing Einstein’s wisdom, Greg shows why the ability to envision, create, and inspire matters more than knowledge in a rapidly shifting world.

• Emotional Mastery — how to increase the gap between stimulus and response, regulate emotions under pressure, and show up with clarity.

• Inclusive Leadership — why people do their best work in environments of belonging, and how leaders must intentionally cultivate cultures where inclusivity is foundational.

This keynote inspires leaders to build their own Brand of One, not as a performance but as a practice. By aligning passion, partnerships, and purpose, leaders can amplify both their personal impact and their organisation’s success.

Audiences will leave with a renewed sense of how to:

• Define and strengthen their unique leadership identity.

• Lead authentically in a world increasingly shaped by AI.

• Create inclusive, empowering environments where teams can thrive.

Themes: Future of Retail, Consumer Brands, Disruption, Decentralisation, Community, Loyalty, Consumer Psychology, Data Strategy, Beautiful Basics, Ambidexterity, Value Creation

Synopsis:
Chaos abounds. Commerce is being disrupted from every angle — loyalty erosion, price sensitive consumers, factory to consumer models, and the rise of social commerce. In this environment, the companies that win will not be those who chase every trend, but those who master the Beautiful Basics: strategy, data, community building, and organisational ambidexterity.

Drawing on his experience as a three time founder and Nike innovation executive, Greg Merrill shows leaders how to cut through the noise and focus on what matters most. He explores how decentralisation, community, and consumer chaos can actually unlock opportunities when approached with clarity and discipline.

Key pillars of the talk include:

• The Beautiful Basics — why a clear strategy, strong data foundation, and deep talent pool are non negotiables in times of disruption.

• From Loyalty to Community — how brands can move beyond transactional loyalty to build authentic, human centred communities that drive resilience and trust.

• Beyond Demographics — why winning companies shift from static demographic segments to dynamic consumer psychology and behaviour, creating hyper personalisation that truly resonates.

• Organisational Ambidexterity — how to balance efficiency and innovation simultaneously, ensuring today’s execution does not consume tomorrow’s growth.

• Control vs. Chaos — the mindset shift leaders must adopt: focusing on what can be controlled (strategy, data, culture) instead of wasting energy predicting the unpredictable.

Audiences will leave with a renewed framework for navigating the future of commerce, grounded not in speculation but in timeless fundamentals adapted to a decentralised, disrupted, and fast changing world. They will also take home a set of tactical questions to pressure test their own organisations: Are we measuring what matters most? How well do we understand consumers? Are we leveraging data to improve and compete? And most importantly — are we focusing energy on the things we can control, rather than chasing the chaos?