Margie Warrell
- Bestselling Author of Make Your Mark, Stop Playing Safe and Brave
Margie Warrell Speaker Biography
Dr. Margie Warrell ignites action, closing the gap between knowing what’s needed—and having the courage to do it.
Drawing on decades of experience emboldening people and organizations worldwide, Margie brings a rare ability to bridge intellect and emotion—connecting strategy with psychology to equip leaders to navigate today’s complexity with greater clarity, conviction and courage.
A dynamic keynote speaker with authentic Australian warmth, Margie has delivered high-impact presentations for organizations ranging from NASA to Google to US Special Operations. Her message resonates whether she’s advising Fortune 500 executives or business owners: courage is the ultimate differentiator—essential for taking smart risks, bridging divides, accelerating adaptation, and shaping a stronger future.
As a former Senior Partner in C-Suite Advisory at Korn Ferry, Margie brings executive-level depth to her speaking, having guided boards and C-suite leaders through critical challenges in leadership, team performance, succession, and cultural transformation. Her research-backed insights provide practical tools to overcome hidden derailers to ensure stronger decision making, accelerated innovation and critical conversations.
Margie’s journey from rural Australian dairy farm to global thought leader brings rare credibility to her work. Having lived and worked across four continents—Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America—she offers a globally grounded perspective on the universal challenges we all face. This rich international experience enables her to cut through complexity, cut straight to the heart of what both limits and unlocks human potential across industry sectors, cultures and geographies. Her authentic style enables her to connect deeply with audiences at all levels, blending data-driven insights with memorable storytelling that leads to lasting behavioral shifts that move the needle.
Based in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, Margie embodies the courage she champions in others—from climbing Kilimanjaro with her four children to crossing the Sahara to, most recently, running her first (New York) marathon. For an unforgettable keynote that emboldens people to take the bold action these times demand – Margie delivers.
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Speech Topics
MAKE THE BRAVE CHOICE
How leaders turn uncertain moments into defining decisions
We’ve never had more information–or faster tools to process it. Yet at decision making tables across the world, leaders are getting more hesitant, not less. More risk-averse. Less decisive.
The problem isn’t insight. It’s the internal capacity to act on it.
In a world of accelerating AI disruption, relentless complexity, and rising stakes, the ability to make values-anchored, brave decisions–with clarity, conviction, and consistency–isn’t a soft skill. It’s a fundamental leadership capability. And most leaders have never been explicitly taught it.
Click here for less detailsabout the MAKE THE BRAVE CHOICE keynote — audience takeaways
Audience takeaways
- Recognize the “fear traps” that derail decisions
- Right-size risk–and recognize the “Timidity Tax” that compounds
- Read emotional signals accurately so pressure expands possibilities
- Apply a 3-step framework for making values-anchored decisions
- Manage decision fatigue and reset the nervous system
COURAGE TO LEAD MORE HUMAN IN AN AI WORLD
The deeper intelligence no algorithm can replicate
AI is changing how organizations operate, but the deeper human intelligence that makes leadership work has never mattered more. The capacity to bring full presence under pressure is the defining leadership competency of our era.
As uncertainty pulls leaders to move faster to feel safer, the durable edge belongs to those with the interior depth to lead with wisdom over knowledge, and the courage to make the calls that data alone could never justify.
Click here for less detailsabout the COURAGE TO LEAD MORE HUMAN IN AN AI WORLD keynote — audience takeaways and ideal audiences
Audience takeaways
- Distinguish what AI can accelerate from what it can’t replace
- Recognize when fear is governing your decisions
- Make high-stakes calls when data is incomplete
- Name what’s driving you before it drives your decisions
- Build psychological safety that invites bigger thinking
DARE TO CHANGE BEFORE YOU HAVE TO™
Grow courage to be change-ready, not just change-managed
Thriving through disruption doesn’t require eradicating fear. It requires managing the fear that drives our decisions, and learning to act before circumstances force our hand.
What separates organizations that adapt from those that languish is the collective capacity of their people to seek out and embrace change rather than wait for it. That readiness is learnable, and this keynote builds it.
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Audience takeaways
- Understand why even chosen change triggers the fear response
- Spot the early signals that say “change now”
- Interrupt the instincts that protect an eroding status quo
- Regulate emotion under pressure to widen your options
- Build proactive courage to reinvent ahead of disruption
SPEAK BRAVELY
Brave the awkward conversations in a world built for avoidance
After 25 years working with leaders across every sector, Margie has found one pattern behind dysfunctional teams and low-performing cultures: the awkward conversation nobody had, for fear of what might happen if they did.
In today’s world of digital distance, avoidance has never been easier. And its cost compounds silently through eroded trust, stalled decisions, and talent that checks out long before it leaves.
Click here for less detailsabout the SPEAK BRAVELY keynote — audience takeaways and ideal audiences
Audience takeaways
- Name the true cost of avoided conversations
- Apply the 3C Framework: Clarity, Courage, and Connection
- Deliver honest feedback that strengthens relationships
- Navigate tension without appeasement or shutdown
- Build cultures where honesty is a reflex, not a risk
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