Dan Cobley is one of the biggest names in the technology industry. As the former Managing Director and VP of Brand Solutions at Google, he spent eight years generating over $5 billion in revenue. While managing the team behind Google’s largest market outside North America, Dan produced substantial growth for the search giant. He has since co-founded ClearScore, which has over 20 million global users, and Salary Finance, a financial well-being venture. As a keynote speaker, Dan leverages his industry knowledge to educate and inspire audiences, leading to more innovative thinking and problem-solving.
Before joining Google, Dan was the VP of Marketing for Capital One and Ask Jeeves. His strategic vision was then developed at the global search engine, where Dan produced creative marketing campaigns and expanded Google’s services. An entrepreneur at heart, Dan co-founded ClearScore in 2015, a fintech company that today serves millions of users. His financial wellbeing platform, Salary Finance, has received numerous awards for its services, including 2021 Company of the Year and 2020 Consumer Champion of the Year. Further, Dan’s various advisory and board roles have led to the success of multiple digitally driven businesses.
As well as an accomplished entrepreneur, Dan is also a captivating public speaker. His TED Talk, What Physics Taught Me About Marketing, published in 2010, has garnered over two million views. His talk’s popularity highlights Dan’s ability to explore complex concepts with clarity and understanding. Additionally, his media appearances include BBC’s Tomorrow’s World as a technology commentator and in the 2014 series of The Apprentice, where Dan assisted Alan Sugar’s selection process. In recognition of his work, Dan was ranked third in Wired UK’s Top 100 list, which celebrates technology trailblazers, and Maserati’s 100 Innovators of the Year. Business Insider also listed Dan as one of the Top 100 Innovators on their 2019 list, further cementing him as an industry thought leader.
Among other qualities, Dan is a knowledgeable and insightful public speaker. He talks on many keynote topics, including learning how to fail, based on his start-up experience and disruption within the finance sector. Additionally, Dan provides training workshops for corporate audiences that focus on innovation, setting objectives and overcoming failure. He truly excels onstage, particularly as a moderator and interviewer, where Dan speaks confidently on topics like technology and disruption. With over decades of industry experience, audiences come away with a valuable understanding of the finance sector and practical takeaways for digital disruption.
Our Content Executive, Sophie Wheeldon, was lucky enough to sit down with Dan in June 2021 and discuss all things FinTech, advanced technology and more. Read our interview with Dan Cobley or watch our exclusive interview with Dan Cobley!
Dan was also featured in official lists such as the Top 16 Future of Work Speakers for Conferences and the Top Trending Digital Disruption Speakers Ranked by Popularity.
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Reviews
Dan Cobley received a 5 star rating across 23 events in 2023.
AGENT RECOMMENDATION
"Dan Cobley is an exceptional technology speaker. His insights into digital innovation and leadership captivate audiences, blending deep expertise with engaging storytelling. His ability to simplify complex concepts and inspire action is unparalleled. Dan’s presentations are both informative and motivating, making him a standout in the tech speaking circuit."
How to hire Dan Cobley
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Dan Cobley 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.
Dan Cobley's official speaking topics are listed below:
The Digital Imperative:
- For organisations seeking to drive digital transformation, Dan will light a fire under the project. With rich data and memorable anecdotes, he will help engage everyone in the room in the cause and give highly practical advice on how to build a culture that can succeed on the journey.
Learning How to Fail:
- For companies that are seeking a more agile, innovative organisation, learning how to fail (quickly, cheaply and in a way that drives learning) is critical. With lessons from Google and startup land, Dan will make the case for a culture change and give you the tools to make it happen.
Disruption in Financial Services:
- Financial services are going through a period of dramatic change like never before, with the UK at the vanguard. Drawing on his experience with a number of leading UK fintechs, Dan will explore the drivers of change, the characteristics of winners, and the imperative for everyone in financial services that want to survive.
Second Order Impacts of Technology:
- Ideally suited to a fireside chat format, Dan will answer questions on what has driven the massive technology-led disruption of the past decades and how we should have seen it coming. Then he will look ahead at future disruption (AI, autonomous vehicles, etc.) and explore what primary shifts will be and the important second order impacts.
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"Everyone is talking about it today! How I found you and how interesting the hour session was. You had a tough act to follow as the 372 had been there since 10 am and was starting to flag after all the sessions, so to bring them all back into the ballroom, uplift and inspire them was a job very well done." - Deloitte
"Your own participation received one of the two highest ratings for the summit overall, together with much very favourable written and verbal feedback. On behalf of Fidelity International, I would like to thank you sincerely for your significant contribution towards making this year's summit a success." - Peter, MD Global Institutional Business, Fidelity International
"Thank you so much for your time on the Elite Programme a couple of weeks ago. I have had so many positive messages of feedback on the content and delivery and how you engaged with the questions they posed." - Chris, Elite Programme Coordinator, UK Sport
"Thank you for a brilliant, thought-provoking session. It flowed perfectly into the rest of the day too." - AB Foods
"I would like to extend my warmest thanks of appreciation for your talk at our 3rd MEA Fintech Forum. We have received exceptional and unprecedented accolades from our guests and the media." - Dr Susan, Conference Director, MEA Fintech Forum
"Dan presented at our Middle East Forums and was fantastic. He is an engaging and entertaining speaker, is deeply knowledgeable and is intuitive to his audience. He was very well received by our clients, many of whom commented on his presentation skills and content. Thank you Dan for your invaluable contribution and for helping make our first Forums a success." - Ruqaiyah, Head of Marketing, Middle East BCG
"Thank you for doing such a masterful job with the panel this morning. It's always tough to bring four disparate voices together, but your preparation, skills and knowledge shone through." - Diana, Strategy & Programmes, Pi Capital
"Everything ran smoothly. Dan was a really great panellist and it was nice how he came prepared with metrics he'd looked at and contributed so well!" - Liz
Feedback from Virtual Events:
"LOVED your talk just now at SICTIC (virtual event)! I haven't heard a speaker yet that has incorporated ALL the concepts that I have followed in my corporate and startup experiences around innovation!" - Swiss ICT Investor Club
- 2023 - Spoke at the 2023 Commsvision Conference
- 2022 - Advisory Partner of Blenheim Chalcot
- 2021 - Non-Executive Director of Admiral Pioneer
- 2020 - Non-Executive Director of Admiral Finance Services
- 2019 - Co-Founder & Chair of EnglishScore
- 2017 - Co-Founder & Chair of Koodoo
- 2015 - Co-Founder & Chair of SalaryFinance
- 2014 - Co-Founder & Director of ClearScore
- 2014 - Managing Partner of FinTech for Blenheim Chalcot
- 2014 - Director of Brightbridge Partners Limited
- 2014 - Strategic Advisor to the Board of Digital & Innovation for Santander
- 2014 - Vice President of Brand Solutions for Google
- 2011 - Managing Director of UK & Ireland for Google
- 2010 - Vice President of Marketing Europe for Google
- 2009 - NED & Chairman of the Digital Board of the Telegraph Media Group
- 2009 - European Board Advisor of eHarmony.com
- 2008 - Board Member of The Marketing Society
- 2006 - Director of Marketing of UK, Ireland & Benelux for Google
- 2002 - Vice President of Brand & Marketing Europe for Capital One
- 2000 - Vice President of Marketing for Ask Jeeves
- 2000 - Vice President of Marketing for HomePro Ltd
- 1995 - Marketing Manager & Director of PepsiCo
- 1989 - Engineer for Schlumberger
- Chair of Pirkx & Anya
- Investor & Advisor for TRIVER, Ferovinum, Auxia & Chimnie