Chris Gardner

As the inspiration behind the Hollywood movie, The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith in the lead role, Chris Gardner has an incredible story to tell. A man who journeyed from homelessness to Wall Street, Gardner has made a huge success of a life that at one stage in the 1980's only looked like going in the opposite direction.

After finding himself homeless and the sole carer of his young son after a series of unfortunate circumstances arose, Gardner showed great desire not to give in as he enrolled on a low paid trainee scheme at a stock brokerage; using any money he had to pay for his son to attend nursery in the day whilst he worked. As it turned out, Gardner was a natural at selling stocks and shares, resulting in the company running the scheme offering a full time role at the end of his training.

From the very bottom of the ladder, he worked himself up to the top of firms including Dean Witter Reynolds and Bear Stearns & Co before he made the bold decision to set up his own brokerage firm in 1987. This firm, Gardner Rich, was a huge success and completed the most miraculous of turnarounds.

In 2006, Gardner released his autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness, which detailed his story and was the inspiration behind the film of the same name, starring Will Smith. Smith went on to receive Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award nominations for his portrayal of Gardner.

Now a motivational and inspirational speaker, Gardner travels the world addressing audiences on how to overcome obstacles in life and how to break out of cycles that look to be heading in the wrong direction. A truly incredible speaker to have at your event, there is no doubting that audiences will be enthralled with the story of Chris Gardner and his life.