Dr Aarti Anhal is a leading keynote speaker and resilience, leadership, and performance specialist. Dr Aarti works with organisations navigating transformation and adversity, and founded her consultancy, Before Nine, in 2017 to support leaders and teams with integrated, proactive strategies. Dr Aarti has delivered impactful keynotes to a variety of leading companies, including SSE plc, British Airways, London School of Economics and Political Science, and PA Media. In 2026, she was invited to the Swedish Chamber of Commerce UK People and Talent Forum by Hult International Business School, where she delivered a fascinating talk on business and the role of AI. Ideal for a range of events, Dr Aarti is a fantastic addition to conferences, workshops, and forums.
Dr Aarti completed her LLB (Maîtrise) in English and French Law in 1998, followed by an MA in International Peace and Security from King’s College London in 1999. She later gained her PhD from the University of Cambridge and recently completed her postgraduate diploma in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology from the University of East London. Dr Aarti began her career as an Executive Assistant at Goldman Sachs International before becoming a Policy Planning Consultant at the European Commission, and later an Associate Analyst for RAND Europe. In 2008, she was made Director of Future Operations at Crisis Solutions and later joined 4C Strategies as a Partner and UKI Chief Operating Officer. In 2014, she was appointed Partner and UKI Chief Sales Officer at 4C Strategies, where she led the growth of their Exonaut software suite and broadened their client portfolio to include global banks, retail groups, and defence institutions.
As an EMCC-accredited coach and an accredited trainer for the Institute of Risk Management, Dr Aarti delivers high-impact training, mentors professionals at all levels, and supports organisations in strengthening their risk management. In addition, Dr Aarti shares her insights through frequent and diverse media appearances. She has been featured in several magazines and articles, including HR Magazine, Management Today, Business Continuity Institute, and Continuity & Resilience Magazine. She has also been invited to speak as a guest on multiple podcasts, including Disaster Empire Podcast, Moving Dialogues, and ResiliencePod, where she explores leadership, AI, positive psychology, and resilience in greater depth.
Dr Aarti Anhal is a fantastic keynote speaker for organisations seeking evidence-based insights on leadership, AI, resilience and psychology. With fifteen years of experience in high-pressure environments and a wealth of knowledge across business, AI and keynote speaking, Dr Aarti delivers warm and lively keynotes that keep audiences engaged throughout. Tailoring her keynotes to event objectives, Dr Aarti shares information through accessible frameworks and strategies that resonate with audiences across a variety of sectors and industries. To hire Dr Aarti for your next event, don't hesitate to contact Champions Speakers today!.
Dr Aarti Anhal's official speaking topics are listed below:
Resilience Reimagined: Thriving Through Uncertainty and Change
How can organisations move beyond “coping” and build cultures that truly thrive? In this session, Aarti shares a new, evidence-based approach to resilience - one that combines psychology, leadership, and systems thinking to create organisations that adapt, grow, and perform through disruption.
The Psychology of Crisis Performance: What Great Leaders
Do Differently Under Pressure
Leading your organisation through tough times is unbelievably demanding. Drawing on her background in crisis management, leadership, and psychology, Aarti explores the mental habits and behaviours that enable high-performing leaders to stay calm, maintain perspective, and perform at their best under unimaginable stress – and shares how leaders can create the conditions for others to do the same.
Positive Leadership for a Complex World
In a time of change fatigue, employee disengagement, and burnout, traditional leadership models are failing. Quite simply, because they’re not focused on how to bring out the best in people. Aarti reveals the principles of Positive Leadership – a science-backed approach that helps leaders energise their teams, drive sustainable employee performance, and position their people and their business to meet challenges and exploit opportunities head on.
The AI journey Relies On People-Powered Transformation
Organisational success in the world of AI will not come from strategy and systems alone – taking people with us will be key. Aarti explores the key human factors that need to be designed into the way organisations adopt AI – from value propositions and wellbeing strategies, to building a culture of trust and psychological safety.
Culture: Lessons from the Frontline
Organisations that thrive in the future will be intelligent about how, when and why they take risk, and ready to use disruption and change to grow. Using real-world insights drawn from her twenty-year career of helping governments and businesses navigate uncertainty, Aarti will share practical strategies for bringing the allimportant human lens to the daily conversations and decisions that truly define organisational resilience.
Official Feedback From In-Person & Virtual Events:
"Dr Aarti Anhal spoke at our Leadership Summit and left everyone with a strong sense of the leadership they want to bring to the organisation, across technical-, project- and line managers. Her multifaceted background, from risk and resilience to business development, her wealth of leadership insights and her ability to communicate with impact and wit, left a big impression on our leaders." - VP People and Culture, COWI
“Aarti gave an absolutely fantastic talk at our team away day. Everyone in the team took something away from her session and the discussion afterwards reflected this great emotional and personal impact. All the team learnt something about themselves that really resonated. I highly recommend!” - Chief Technology Officer, NSPCC
“It was a pleasure to work with Dr Aarti Anhal as part of our inaugural alumni conference, for around 100 delegates. Aarti was very conscientious in her approach and diligent in incorporating the feedback from our planning sessions. She was very passionate and knowledgeable about her work, thus enriching our conversations around leadership. During the presentation itself, she authentically connected with the audience and was an integral part of the interactions.” - Programme Lead, Atlantic Fellows
"Dr Aarti Anhal was absolutely, positively, completely and utterly amazing. She said the words I didn't know I needed to hear. She was a phenomenal speaker, and the keynote was so helpful in reminding us of the resilience we have all been showing just getting through this pandemic!" - Deputy Chief Operating Officer, The London School of Economics and Political Sciences
- 2026 - Keynote talk for the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK People and Talent Forum hosted by Hult International Business School
- 2017 - Founded Before Nine
- 2014 - Partner and UKI Chief Sales Officer for 4C Strategies
- 2011 - Partner and UKI Chief Operating Officer for 4C Strategies
- 2008 - Director, Future Operations at Crisis Solutions
- 2001 - Associate Analyst at RAND Europe
- 2000 - Policy Planning Consultant at European Commission
- 1999 - Executive Assistant at Goldman Sachs International
How to hire Dr Aarti Anhal
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Dr Aarti Anhal 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.
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