Felix Riley is a keynote speaker, facilitator and Moonshot Strategist who helps organisations unlock brilliant thinking in the age of AI. Felix is known for sessions that mix sharp humour with practical decision tools, built from a career that spans BBC comedy writer, Founder of ChoiceOdds, and Managing Director at MF Global (NYSE), where he also served on the Global Executive.
Felix began in comedy, learning how to hold a room, land a message, and make complex ideas feel simple. After graduating in Mental Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh, he wrote for BBC radio and television, including The Zoë Ball Radio 1 Breakfast Show and satirical formats where speed, accuracy and audience empathy mattered. That early training shaped his speaking style, pacey, story-led, funny and relentlessly clear. He then made an unusual leap into finance, joining Cantor Fitzgerald in the City, where he saw how incentives, fear and status quo thinking can quietly steer smart people towards safe decisions.
From there, Felix built and sold a business at pace. He launched ChoiceOdds, then sold it to MF Global, staying on as Managing Director and joining the firm’s Global Executive. He later swapped the trading floor for copper mining in Zambia, negotiating directly with senior political figures, such as President Bandam and local leaders, an experience that sharpened his ability to read stakeholders, handle high-stakes uncertainty, and stay calm when outcomes matter. Back in the UK, Felix took on turnaround work, including a stint as Interim Managing Director at an IT company, before spending the last decade advising leaders as a Business Strategist. Alongside his commercial career, he is a Penguin-published author of ‘The Set Up’ and ‘The Inside Job’, using thriller storytelling to explain systems, risk, and human behaviour.
Clients hire Felix because he resets how teams think, then shows them how to act. His talks cover tackling limiting beliefs, unleashing the power of our team's thinking, AI, professional services, resilient leadership, innovative thinking under pressure, and storytelling that turns strategy into belief. These topics matter because high-performing organisations still get trapped by invisible limits, over-cautious decision-making, and slow consensus. Felix brings practical frameworks audiences can use immediately, plus stories from comedy rooms, trading desks, boardrooms and Zambia that make the lessons stick. If you want a keynote that sparks braver choices, faster learning and clearer leadership, Felix delivers.
Books
The Inside Job
The Set-up
Felix Riley's official speaker topics are listed below:
The Flea Jar: What Traps Our Thinking, How To Untrap It, And How To Do Brilliant Thinking Instead
A fast, funny, story-driven keynote about the invisible limits that hold smart teams back. Felix shows how organisations drift into learned helplessness, status quo bias, and “safe” thinking - then gives leaders practical tools to spot the lid, challenge assumptions, and make imaginative thinking a repeatable habit.
Failing Upwards: From Fear to Resilience - Rewriting Your Relationship with Failure
A high-energy, sharply funny talk that reframes failure as data, not identity. Audiences learn how fear quietly drives caution and overthinking, and leave with practical behaviours for smarter risk, faster recovery, and a culture where people take ownership, experiment, and build momentum.
Lawyers vs The Machine: How AI Will Change Legal Work, What It Will Never Replace, and How to Out-Think the Algorithm
A punchy, practical keynote for legal and professional-services audiences on what AI will commoditise, where human value increases, and how firms stay ahead. Felix translates the tech into clear business implications - pricing, delivery, talent, trust - and focuses on the enduring human edge: judgment, creativity, empathy, and client confidence.
Local Minds, Global ROI: How to Break National Silos and Use Your Global Network to Learn Faster and Win Bigger
A lively keynote about turning global scale into a competitive advantage rather than a coordination headache. Felix shows how national silos form, why “local optimisation” kills learning, and how leaders can build faster knowledge transfer, stronger collaboration, and repeatable cross-office wins.
Once Upon A Business… The Storytelling Secrets That Turn Strategy into Persuasion and Purpose
A highly engaging talk on the leadership skill most strategies forget: narrative. Felix explains how stories create clarity, belief, and action - and shares practical techniques to turn vision into a message people remember, repeat, and act on, whether you’re selling a strategy, leading change, or winning clients.
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
“We booked Felix to deliver a keynote speech at our annual conference for General Counsel. His talk engaged the audience brilliantly. It was full of energy, warmth and practical inspiration.” - Rowan, Partner, Boyes Turner
“Your talk was both emotional and inspiring. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and many found your session engaging and thought-provoking.” - Margaret, Group Director Assets, Torus
“A HUGE THANK YOU for a very inspiring presentation yesterday, it was definitely my highlight of the day.” - Attendee, Legal Geek
- 2025 - Delivered a standout session at Legal Geek Growth 2025
- 2025 - Spoke at the General Counsel and Heads of Legal Conference in London
- 2023 - Became a full-time Professional Speaker alongside his strategy work
- 2013 - Appointed Interim Managing Director, leading an IT turnaround
- 2012 - Began over a decade as a Business Strategist advising leaders across sectors
- 2010 - Became a Penguin-published author with 'The Set Up'
- 2009 - Chief Negotiator Kitwe Mines, Zambia
- 2008 - Served as Managing Director and Global Executive member at MF Global (NYSE)
- 2007 - Sold ChoiceOdds to MF Global
- 1998 - Received the BBC Radio Comedy Writers’ Bursary
How to hire Felix Riley
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Felix Riley 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.
