Beckie Taylor is an award-winning entrepreneur, keynote speaker and community builder who helps individuals and organisations unlock confidence, leadership potential and authentic voice. Best known as the founder of Tech Returners, Beckie built and scaled a nationally recognised business that partnered with more than 100 organisations and helped over 500 professionals relaunch their technology careers before successfully exiting the company in 2023.
Launching Tech Returners in 2017, Beckie grew the business from an idea into a recognised leader in technology returnship programmes, increasing revenue 170% over a two-year period. Alongside growing Tech Returners, Beckie founded WIT North, one of the UK's leading communities supporting women in technology. The community has grown to more than 4,000 members and has helped over 200 women progress into leadership positions through events, mentoring and development opportunities. Having spent her career navigating male-dominated industries, Beckie understands first-hand the impact confidence, visibility and self-belief have on career progression and business success.
Today, her work focuses on helping individuals and organisations understand what happens when people feel empowered to speak up, contribute and lead. This mission inspired The Sound Barrier, a documentary project exploring the invisible barriers that shape confidence, communication and whose voices are heard in the workplace and society.
Combining entrepreneurial lessons, leadership insight and powerful personal storytelling, Beckie's talks leave audiences with practical tools to build confidence, communicate with impact and create meaningful change. Having delivered over 100 keynote speeches to audiences of up to 5,000 people and consistently achieving 5/5 feedback scores, Beckie is recognised for delivering engaging, thought-provoking and actionable presentations that inspire lasting impact.
Beckie Taylor's official speaking topics are listed below:
1. The Sound Barrier: Finding Your Voice in a World That Wasn't Designed For It
- Despite talent, experience and expertise, many people still struggle to speak up, contribute confidently and be heard.
- Drawing on her own journey as a founder, insights from The Sound Barrier documentary and years of supporting professionals across the technology sector, Beckie explores the hidden barriers that influence confidence, visibility and voice.
- This keynote challenges common assumptions about confidence and reveals how organisations can create environments where people feel empowered to contribute, lead and thrive.
2. Leading Beyond Self-Doubt
How Successful People Build Confidence, Manage Imposter Syndrome and Step Into Leadership
- Many of the most capable people spend their careers questioning whether they are good enough.
- Despite impressive achievements, they hesitate to speak up, hold back from opportunities and wait until they feel "ready" before taking the next step.
- Drawing on her own journey from self-doubt to building and successfully exiting a technology business, Beckie explores why confidence isn't a prerequisite for success, it is often the result of taking action despite uncertainty.
- Through powerful storytelling, practical insights and real-world lessons from leadership and entrepreneurship, Beckie challenges the myths surrounding confidence and shares the tools that help individuals step forward, increase their influence and lead authentically.
3. The Confidence Gap
- Confidence is often seen as something people either have or don't have. In reality, confidence is built through experience, action and environment.
- In this engaging and practical keynote, Beckie explores why highly capable individuals often underestimate themselves, hold back from opportunities and struggle with self-belief despite their achievements.
- Using personal stories, research and practical frameworks, Beckie shares how individuals and organisations can unlock confidence and fulfil potential
4. From Startup to Exit
- Building a successful business is rarely a straight line.
- In this honest and insightful keynote, Beckie shares the lessons learned from launching Tech Returners, scaling the business, navigating growth and successfully exiting after six years.
- This session provides a behind-the-scenes look at entrepreneurship, resilience, leadership and decision-making during periods of uncertainty and change.
5. Creating Cultures Where People Thrive
- Organisations perform at their best when people feel valued, supported and confident to contribute.
- Drawing on her experience working with organisations across the technology sector, Beckie explores what separates thriving workplace cultures from those that struggle to unlock talent and potential.
- This keynote provides practical insights for leaders who want to build environments where people can perform at their best and feel confident bringing their whole selves to work.
Official Feedback From In-Person & Virtual Events:
"We were delighted to welcome Beckie to one of our bi-annual company-wide strategy events. She delivered an insightful and engaging talk on building connections and enhancing communication within our teams. The session showcased practical tools to use with our teams and was followed by a comprehensive toolkit to help us navigate our high-growth, fast-paced environment. The session was valuable, equipping us with actionable strategies for stronger, more effective relationships. Feedback from the team was great, in particular, they valued Beckie's ability to make the content related to both a workplace and personal setting, creating relevancy for all" - Rachael Minnis, Chief People Officer, Cavu
"Beckie was great to work with, not only delivering an amazing, engaging talk and sharing an inspirational story, but also going above and beyond to tailor it to Zuto, making sure that it truly aligned with our culture and values." - Lauren Whittaker, Zuto
“Beckie’s talk at Computer Weekly’s Diversity in Tech conference made a huge contribution to the overall theme of the day – how the acceleration of AI needs to be matched by accelerating diversity. She’s a warm and knowledgeable speaker who really engages the audience, and her talk generated a lot of discussion and interest among the audience. She’s been at the heart of supporting women in tech for many years and is a valued part of that community.” - Bryan Glick, Editor In Chief, Computer Weekly
"Beckie delivered an outstanding talk for our Women in Tech community on the
topic of Returning to Work. She shared invaluable insights on recognising the
depth of your professional experience and reframing career gaps as opportunities. Her advice was not only practical but also deeply empowering, supported by relatable anecdotes that truly resonated with the audience. Beckie’s public speaking skills were exceptional, engaging everyone from start to finish." - Shenelle Kelleher & Emma Tighe, LYTT
"The feedback from our members, particularly those on maternity leave, was overwhelmingly positive. Beckie went above and beyond, taking the time to answer every individual question and concern. Her personal attention and thoughtful responses really made a difference for our community. I highly recommend her as a speaker—she
truly exceeded all expectations.” - Louisa Hutchinson, Scope AT Recruitment
"Beckie delivered a wonderful keynote talk at our staff event in London. She
inspired the team through sharing her experience in growing SaaS businesses
through the value of people. She was transparent, sharing what didn’t work, as well as what worked for Tech Returners' growth strategy. Beckie’s passion for women in tech is infectious. We would recommend Beckie as a speaker and most definitely work with her again” - Dawn Blenkiron, Marketing Manager, GFT
"Beckie delivered a really well-prepared workshop to support confidence and
public speaking, she kept the whole group engaged throughout the session.
We were keen to ensure that the group had some takeaways from the session
that they could use in everyday life and Beckie met this brief perfectly.
Beckie’s honest and relatable approach meant people felt at ease immediately
allowing them to open up and get the most out of the session." - Kate Wood, AMS Accountants Group
"I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. The worksheet was easy to understand and
a great tool to help plan a talk. Beckie really highlighted the importance of public speaking and why people should consider improving their skills to raise
awareness on something important to them. Although public speaking if something most people find uncomfortable, Beckie made people feel at ease." - Stacey Jessup Bould, AMS Accountants Group
"I really enjoyed the session, and It was insightful to hear Beckie’s story. I struggle with confidence and speaking in large groups, and it was helpful to me to understand it is a normal thing and many people feel the same. She provided tips and tricks on how to overcome this and be more confident as your voice does matter. Thanks Beckie" - Hollie Fitzgerald, AMS Accountants Group
"Beckie delivered a great session and was so engaging. As someone who really struggles with confidence during public speaking it was insightful hearing all the ways to combat the nerves and the tips about how to breakdown what you are delivering are ones I can start implementing and they will make a difference so thank you." - Kelly Bodley, AMS Accountants Group
- 2026 - Created the 'The Sound Barrier' documentary with her speaker platform Voices in Tech to explore the unseen barriers women face
- 2025 - Named in Computer Weekly's Most Influential People in Tech list
- 2025 - Finalist in the Women of the Year Awards
- 2025 - Co-founded Empower
- 2024 - Founder of Voice in Tech
- 2024 - Named The Ultimate Northern Gamechanger
- 2024 - Ranked 13th in Computer Weekly's Most Influential Women in Tech
- 2024 - Regional Lead of the Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce for the City of London Cooperation
- 2023 - Won the Women in Software #WIS Changemakers Award
- 2022 - Won the Women in Software #WIS Changemakers Award
- 2022 - Won the Inspiring Women Award
- 2022 - Won the Talk Talk Women in Tech Outstanding Achievement Award and Team Award
- 2021 - Won the Northern Power Women Transformation Leader Award
- 2021 - Won the Women in Software #WIS Changemakers Award
- 2019 - Founder of the Reframe Women In Tech Conference
- 2018 - CEO and founder of The Confidence Community
- 2017 - CEO and co-founder of TechReturners
- 2017 - Organiser for DisruptHR Manchester
- 2016 - Co-founded WIT North, the largest non-profit Women in Tech conference in the North
- 2014 - Global Head of HR for ResponseTap LTD
- 2008 - HR Manager for Document Express
How to hire Beckie Taylor
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Beckie Taylor 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.
