"A visionary leader changing the inclusion landscape" - Billie Jean King
Dr. Michelle Penelope King is an organisational psychologist and a globally recognised expert on workplace culture, human motivation and the future of work. Her latest research explores what happens to people’s agency, capability, and relationships when AI quietly takes over the world of work that so many rely on for their identity. In her latest book, 'My Workplace Is Killing Me!', Dr. King explores how workplaces can, through bad bosses, challenging colleagues, burnout, and boredom, erode employee autonomy, competence, and connection, and why AI is making this worse.
Dr. King is also the author of two other bestselling, award-winning books: 'The Fix: Overcome the Invisible Barriers that are Holding Women Back at Work' and 'How Work Works: The Subtle Science of Getting Ahead Without Losing Yourself'. Dr. King is also a published, award-winning academic with a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial-Organisational Psychology, a Master of Arts in Industrial-Organisational Psychology, a Master of Business Administration, a Postgraduate Degree in Journalism, and a PhD in Organisations and Management.
Her work has earned widespread recognition, including accolades for innovation, workplace equity, and leadership. She has been recognised as one of the Top 100 Women at Davos, named a LinkedIn Top Voice for Workplace Equity, and shortlisted for the Thinkers50 Talent Award. Her books have also received recognition, including a Porchlight Business Book Award, an Axiom Business Book Award, and the Inc. Non-Obvious Book Award. Dr. King’s work is widely featured in publications such as The Economist, Harvard Business Review, CNBC, CNN Business, Fortune, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Time, Business Insider, The Times, Daily Mail, and LinkedIn Editors.
In addition to her thought leadership, Dr King has over two and a half decades of international experience in the private sector. She has served as the Global Director of Performance, Culture, Learning, and Talent at HSF Kramer and previously as the Director of Inclusion at Netflix and as the Head of the UN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change. In addition, she currently serves as the President of the Hearing Dogs charity in the United Kingdom and as an advisor to Girl Up, a former UN Foundation campaign. In each of her roles, Dr King is motivated to put people at the centre of her work and to build workplaces that work for everyone.
In recognition of her expertise, Michelle King was recently named one of the Top 10 Organisational Behaviour Speakers to Book - a testament to her knowledge of the importance of diversity and inclusion in corporate settings, and how to achieve such values in the workplace.
Social Media
Books
The Fix: How to Overcome the Invisible Barriers That Are Holding Women Back at Work
How Work Works: The Subtle Science of Getting Ahead Without Losing Yourself
My Workplace is Killing Me
Reviews
Michelle King received a 5 star rating across 20 events in 2023
Agent Recommendation
"Michelle King is a dynamic and insightful diversity and inclusion keynote speaker. Her expertise in gender equality and positive workplace culture is unparalleled. As the Founder of Equality Forward, she empowers leaders to cultivate equality in the workplace. Her engaging talks cover crucial topics like intersectional thinking and challenges faced by working parents. Michelle's impressive career and extensive knowledge, showcased in her book and podcast, make her an invaluable asset to any corporate event focused on fostering a more inclusive environment. Highly recommended for her visionary approach to transforming workplace cultures."
Michelle King's official speaking topics are listed below:
The Future of Workplace Culture
- Five forces are fundamentally changing how, where, and why we work. This talk equips leaders with what they need to know to stay ahead.
Inequality at Work
- Hidden barriers still block advancement for too many people. This talk identifies what they are and gives organisations practical tools to remove them.
Burnout
- Burnout is not a personal failing - it is an organisational one. This talk reveals the three core psychological needs that must be met for people to truly thrive at work.
Boredom at Work
- Disengagement is costly, but it is also preventable. This talk offers five evidence-based ways to make work meaningfully motivating again.
Leading for the Future
- The leadership playbook has changed. This talk covers the five practices that define future-ready leaders in an era of constant disruption.
The Psychological Cost of AI
- AI adoption is quietly eroding autonomy, competence, and connection at work. This talk explains the hidden human cost and how organisations can manage it.
What do High-Performing AI-Enabled Teams do Differently?
- The best teams are not just using AI - they are using it in ways that strengthen human capability. This talk reveals what sets them apart.
Closing the Graduate Skills Gap
- The next generation of talent is entering a workplace that has changed faster than education has. This talk gives leaders the insight to support them effectively
What AI Is Really Doing To Your People
- Introduces AI Positive Capability Drift, shows leaders the psychological costs of AI use across four stages, and explains how these lead to demotivation and disengagement. The talk shares what leaders need to build an AI strategy that enhances performance instead of quietly eroding it.
AI Navigation: The Number One Skill To Use AI With Agency
- This talk shares how unmanaged AI use leads to an erosion of three essential psychological needs: Autonomy, competence and connection that every human has. The talk will give people a framework for using AI in ways that build their skills and judgement rather than replace them, and to recognise the difference between AI that amplifies performance and AI that creates silent dependency.
What High-Performing AI-Enabled Teams Do Differently
- Reveals what sets the best AI-enabled teams apart and gives leaders a practical way to replicate it. This includes my need-nudge framework—actions that individuals and teams can take to support their psychological well-being and increase engagement.
The Science Of Thriving At Work
- The three psychological needs- competence, connection and autonomy- that determine whether people find meaning, motivation and purpose at work, with a practical framework leaders can use immediately. This talks about how leaders can create need-fulfilling cultures, and lead employees in the age of AI.
Your Career Is Dead: Four Ways To Build One That Lasts
- Based on my second book How Work Works, this talk shares a four-part framework for building a career that is resilient and rewarding in the age of AI.
The Last Skill: Learning How To Learn
- In my second book I share new research on why learning agility is the defining human capability of the AI era, and how to build the habits that accelerate it. As AI use erodes our capability, learning how to build and maintain your skills is arguably the most important skill.
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"A visionary leader changing the inclusion landscape" - Billie Jean King
"Candidly shares her personal experiences and decades of research to reveal the invisible barriers women face at work." - Tamara, Co-Founder, Jimmy Choo
"I just wanted to say thank you so much for your help in organising Michelle King at JET for IWD. She was truly amazing!" - Chloe, Technology Manager, Just Eat Takeaway
Insightful and thoroughly engaging, Michelle King provides practical solutions for bringing about tangible and lasting change, as well as an impassioned argument for equity that moves beyond the current discourse on women in the workplace." - Dr Nina, UN Women Global Champion for Innovation
"Michelle has an exquisite ability to captivate the room, whatever the audience" - Belinda, Associate Director & Diversity and Inclusion Lead, EMEIA TAS Talent EY
"Michelle is not only extremely knowledgeable with her background and research on gender inequality, but she applies those insights specifically to the workplace and brings it to life. Michelle has a truly unique way of connecting with her audience. She makes the research come to life and provides real 'a-ha' moments and practical takeaways that can be applied in any organisation" - Claudia, CEO, SHE Global
"Michelle is a speaker who sparks fires in her audience around the issues she cares about. Her in-depth knowledge and insights, paired with her ability to clearly and vividly create the case for its importance, is a unique gift to the groups she speaks to. Our community still asks us about Michelle and where to access her talks and upcoming events" - Jenn, Founder, Be Social Change
“Michelle provides actions to take that do not succumb to the notion of “fixing” women. Calling for accountability in what too often is a toxic environment is only as important as offering ways to bring about real change in that environment.” - Meredith, Founder, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls
“Michelle King candidly shares her own personal experiences and decades of research to reveal the invisible barriers women face at work. Drawing on her exposure to companies that are structured to enable only men to succeed, she suggests that our denial towards gender inequality is hurting women, and challenges the idea that women can improve their way to success. Bravely, Michelle offers the essential message that women are extraordinary as they are, and don’t need fixing - workplaces do.” -Tamara, OBE, Co-founder, Jimmy Choo
“Michelle understands that creating an inclusive and equitable workplace for everyone takes all of us. We are fortunate she is sharing her expertise and learnings, and is bringing us along this journey to implement real change.” - Dr. Cindy, Global Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, MetLife
“Always backed with tremendous expertise and experience as well as profound research Michelle managed to create awareness even with our most critical stakeholders.” - Christiane, CHRO Stepstone
"The event was a great success and we have had lots of positive comments on Michelle’s presentation – she certainly packs a punch. Her enthusiasm and knowledge of the topic definitely shines through – I don’t think she actually drew breath ….. but a fantastic presentation, hard hitting in areas but that’s what we needed – someone to share the facts with brutal honestly – but also share how we can address the issues. We loved the ACM model she shared with us and will definitely be using this going forward. We may be having a similar event in the (UK this time) in November and I’ll be discussing with our leadership team whether this would be a good one to invite Michelle back to."
"A passionate, practical roadmap for addressing inequality and finally making our workplaces work for women" - Arianna, Founder, Thrive Global
- 2027 - Third Book 'My Workplace is Killing Me!' Releases
- 2025 - Global Director of Performance, Culture & Talent for Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
- 2023 - Chief People Officer for ODI Global
- 2023 - Author of "How Work Works: The Subtle Science of Getting Ahead Without Losing Yourself"
- 2022 - Top 100 Women at Davos by Global Women's Leadership Experts
- 2022 - Named LinkedIn's Top Voice for Workplace Equality
- 2020 - Author of "The Fix: How to Overcome the Invisible Barriers That are Holding Women Back at Work"
- 2020 - Managing Director of ECCI
- 2020 - DEI, People & Culture Managing Director for The Culture Practice
- 2020 - Nobel Peace Prize Speaker
- 2020 - Managing Director of Equality Forward
- 2020 - Named a LinkedIn Top Voice for Equity in the Workplace
- 2019 - Director of Inclusion Strategy for Netflix
- 2019 - Awarded the Inspiring Innovator Award by Women in Tech Founders
- 2018 - Advisory Board Member of Girl Up United Nations Foundation
- 2017 - Head of Integrated Strategy for Gender Innovation & GICC for UN Women
- 2016 - Senior Manager of Development, Diversity and Employee Engagement for UN Women
- 2016 - Contributing Writer for Forbes
- 2015 - Corporate Affairs Manager of Communications & Culture for BHP Billiton
- 2014 - Human Resources Manager of Petroleum for BHP Billiton
- 2012 - Human Resources Manager of Group Functions for BHP Billiton
- 2010 - Workforce Strategy & Performance Manager for BHP Billiton
- 2008 - Human Resource Business Partner for Suncor Energy
- 2007 - Reporter & Producer of Breakfast Business for TVNZ
- 2005 - Senior Human Resource Business Partner for Fonterra
- 2002 - Human Resource Consultant for PwC
- Named a Davos Top 100 Women
How to hire Dr Michelle King
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Dr Michelle King for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do NOT accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
