Top ten B2B marketing keynote speakers

If you’re running a B2B marketing themed event and you’re looking for a keynote speaker, who should you consider? Having been involved in numerous B2B marketing conferences and expos over the past 20 years, here are a number that stand out.

Who are the best speakers in the world of B2B? That’s a question that I often get asked, and one that seems sensible to have a considered and robust response to. I’ve seen literally hundreds of specialist B2B marketing speakers in my time running events for B2B Marketing, and attending third party events in the category, and so I have a pretty clear idea of what good looks like.

1. Rhiannon Blackwell, client industry marketing director, PWC

The list below represents those individuals who have particularly stood out in that period – by nature of the article it’s a short list, and unquestionably there will be excellent speakers that I’ve missed. But I hope it provides a useful compendium of some of the leading figures in the field. By scanning this list, you’ll quickly see that I’ve included myself – that’s partly because one of the reasons to create it was to help in my project to build my own search visibility in this context. But given my unique perspective, position and experience, I don’t think it’s unwarranted or unjustified. I’ll let you be the judge of that!

Humour is a powerful force in B2B marketing, and there’s a small but growing number of speakers who are embracing and embodying this trend. Foremost amongst them is Rhiannon Blackwell, who is always a highlight of any conference on ABM. Her mix of compelling insights, grounded topic experience and standup style confessional life anecdotes is a heady and hilarious combination. You’ll laugh, you might cry, but you’ll certainly learn.

2. Bev Burgess, CEO of Inflexion Group

It’s not often you can an entire category of B2B marketing to a single human, but in the case of Bev Burgess and ABM, that’s certainly the case. Bev thrives in her well recognised status as the ‘mother’ of ABM, and her passion and knowledge both shine through on the stage. She is a warm and inclusive presenter, who manages to reinvent her topic every time she presents – which is no mean feat. If ABM is your thing, then Bev is your woman.

3. Paul Cash, CEO of Rooster Punk

Few people have had more ideas in their lifetime than Paul Cash has had in the average day – I’ve heard him describe himself as an ‘ideas junkie’, and that comes across every time you talk to him, or hear him speak. In writing ‘Humanising B2B marketing’ Paul literally wrote the book on era of B2B that we’re all living through, and defined the challenge that’s fundamental to success in the 2020s. He’s a rare survivor from the pioneering group of agencies that defined B2B tech in the early noughties, and both his experience and charisma shine through when he takes to the stage.

4. Sally Croft, CMO of Amadeus

Sally Croft has an unparalleled experience as a B2B CMO in a host of top tier companies, and is an energetic, candid and compelling speaker on the challenges inherent to B2B marketing leadership. She’s a great team builder, passionate about creating great marketing campaigns and as a result, an inspirational speaker.

5. Steve Kemish, CEO of IMG

If parallel universes exist, there is undoubtedly one in which Steve is a pop star, and another where he’s a standup comedian – which is a nice complement to our universe where he’s a brilliant and compelling speaker on anything related B2B marketing (not to mention interviewer and moderator). Steve loves a stage, and a stage loves Steve – at least the audience does. Data (Steve’s specialist topic) isn’t always the most compelling topic in B2B, but no one brings it alive better than Steve Kemish.

6. David McGuire, Windhover B2B

Copywriters should have a natural advantage when it comes to public speaking, and moreover writing great content for public speaking, but no one embodies this better than David McGuire. His framing of topics around creativity and differentiation in B2B are refreshing, engaging and highly amusing. He brings a wry intelligence and distinctly left-field perspective to his topics, and always a must-see when he’s on an agenda, which never fails to reframe common topics in a new context. And he has a great line in shirts.

7. Jon Miller, martech visionary

Jon Miller has been at the epicentre of two of the biggest transformations in B2B marketing in the past two decades – specifically, the development of demand generation, and latterly account based marketing. He coined the phrase ‘Modern Marketing’ and in co-founding Marketo, created one of the brands defined an era. Currently he’s in ‘dark mode’ building a new platform which we can expect to have a similarly definitive impact on B2B’s ongoing evolution. He has a unique, resonant and highly sophisticated perspective on the future of our industry.

8. Jade Tambini, founder of the B2B Breakthrough Academy

Great public speaking is about aligning with your audience, building presentations around their challenges and mindsets, and delivering power and purpose. I’ve never seen anyone do this better than Jade Tambini, who brings unparalleled levels of emotional authenticity to her speaking, hard one from her time as a marketing manager in B2B, and latterly as a coach/trainer helping this cohort to thrive.

9. Antonia Wade, Global CMO, PWC

There are few client-side B2B marketing leaders who have embraced their potential as a thought leader and champion as successfully or comprehensively as Antonia Wade. Antonia managed to write her first book on B2B marketing in her ‘spare time’ around her role as CMO at PWC, which I still find astonishing given my (so far) unsuccessful attempt at authorship. She’s become one of the highest profile and most media savvy CMOs in the world of B2B, and tremendous asset to both her firm, her industry and B2B in general. She’s refreshingly candid about the challenges she’s faced in her career and those faced by the industry in its ongoing evolution, and the audience is typically highly engaged. If you can get her (she’s very busy) book her.

10. Joel Harrison, founder of B2B Marketing, thought leader, podcaster, influencer and advisor

I’ve spent 22 years observing, participating in and commenting on the fascinating evolution of B2B marketing, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that it’s my life’s work. My currency is connectivity – I pride myself in my engagement within the market, tracking its trends seeking to make sense of all the content noise to identify the true trends. I’ve learned my trade as a public speaker during this time, and love the direct face-to-face engagement with practitioners, and the opportunity to share my unique perspective, as well as getting feedback to inform what I do next. In the past, public speaking was a necessary add-on to my role as conference producer and host at B2B Marketing’s events, but since relinquishing my operational responsibilities, I’m enjoying the opportunity to really focus on it, and further hone my skills. You should find lots more information about my speaking activities, plus video examples, on this website in the ‘speaking’ section.