Dr Mark McBride-Wright is a safety engineer, leadership expert, author and keynote speaker specialising in psychological safety, inclusive leadership and high-hazard industries. With over a decade of experience in engineering safety and risk, Mark helps global leaders build cultures where staff feel safe to speak up, challenge decisions, and perform at their best.
After achieving a PhD from Imperial College London, Mark worked as a safety engineer at ERM and KBR before co-founding InterEngineering, an organisation dedicated to promoting LGBT inclusion within the engineering sector, which won Corporate Rising Star at the 2016 British LGBT Awards, among other commendations. Mark then undertook multiple roles as a diversity and inclusion consultant, leader and manager at various high-profile organisations, such as the Royal Academy of Engineering. Eurostar, Leona, GKN Aerospace, the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, and Vodafone. In 2017, he founded is the CEO of EqualEngineers, a space for connecting inclusive engineering and technology employers and diverse engineers. Since 2019, Mark has run the Engineering Talent Awards and is currently a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor of Inclusive Engineering Leadership at University College London, developing impactful training aimed at inclusive engineering leadership.
Alongside his meaningful work, Mark has had the opportunity to be a judge for the 2020 Women’s Engineering Society’s Top 50 Women in Engineering and the 2024 Ingenious Awards. Mark is also the author of ‘The SAFE Leader’. Mark is a Rooke Award winner and was recently recognised as a Category Leader in the STEM list of Attitude 101, a testament to his ongoing advocacy and impact. Mark was also appointed MBE for services to diversity and inclusion in engineering.
With clients ranging from EDF Energy to McLaren Racing, Mark bridges the gap between technical safety and human behaviour, showing leaders how trust, belonging and psychological safety directly affect operational performance, innovation and risk management. His SAFE Leadership Framework (Share, Act, Feel, Empower), which he hosts a podcast of the same name, has been adopted by a vast array of organisations across the engineering, energy, infrastructure and technology sectors. Blending real-world experience with actional leadership tools, Mark covers masculinity in leadership, mental health, speaking up in high-risk environments and the future of safe work.
Books
The SAFE Leader
Dr Mark McBride-Wright's official speaking topics are listed below:
1. The SAFE Leader: How Great Leaders Build Cultures Where People Speak Up
Why silence is one of the biggest risks in modern organisations - and how leaders can create environments where challenge, honesty, and trust thrive.
Audience takeaway:
A practical leadership framework to strengthen psychological safety, accountability, and performance.
2. Psychological Safety: The Missing Link Between Safety, Performance, and Trust
From boardrooms to frontline teams, Mark shows how psychological safety directly influences operational risk, innovation, and wellbeing.
Audience takeaway:
Clear actions leaders can take immediately to reduce risk and improve engagement.
3. Engineering Safer Cultures: What High-Hazard Industries Can Teach Every Leader
Lessons from engineering, aviation, and process safety applied to leadership, decision-making, and culture in any sector.
Audience takeaway:
How to embed learning cultures instead of blame cultures.
4. Speaking Up: Why Good People Stay Silent - and What Leaders Must Do About It
Exploring power, fear, identity, and hierarchy - and how leaders unintentionally shut down voices that matter most.
Audience takeaway:
Tools to encourage challenge, dissent, and courageous conversations.
5. Masculinity, Mental Health, and Leadership
A powerful and honest conversation about emotional suppression, identity, and wellbeing - particularly in male-dominated industries.
Audience takeaway:
How healthier leadership behaviours improve safety, retention, and performance.
6. Inclusive Leadership Without the Jargon
A pragmatic, non-political approach to inclusion—grounded in safety, ethics, and leadership responsibility.
Audience takeaway:
How inclusion strengthens teams without alienating or overwhelming leaders.
Official Feedback From In-Person & Virtual Events
“Mark has a rare ability to connect safety, leadership, and humanity in a way that truly resonates. His message cuts through and stays with you.” — Senior Leader, Global Energy Organisation
“One of the most impactful speakers we’ve had. Honest, practical, and deeply relevant to how leaders actually operate.” — Director of Health & Safety, Infrastructure Sector
“Mark doesn’t lecture—he challenges. Our leaders left thinking differently about trust, accountability, and what it really means to lead safely.” — Head of Learning & Development, FTSE Organisation
“A compelling storyteller who combines technical credibility with emotional intelligence. Exactly what our audience needed.” — Conference Organiser, Engineering & Technology Event
- 2026 - Recognised as a Category Leader in the STEM list of Attitude 101
- 2024 – Published ‘The SAFE Leader’
- 2024 – Judge, Ingenious Awards
- 2022 - Rooke Award Winner
- 2022 – Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor, Inclusive Engineering Leadership, University College London
- 2020 – Judge, Women’s Engineering Society Top 50 Women in Engineering
- 2020 – Group Diversity & Inclusion Manager, Vodafone
- 2020 – Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, Institution of Mechanical Engineers
- 2019 – Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Lead, GKN Aerospace
- 2019 – Founder, Engineering Talent Awards
- 2019 – Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Lead, Leona
- 2018 – Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Lead, Eurostar
- 2017 – Founder & CEO, EqualEngineers
- 2017 – Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, Royal Academy of Engineering
- 2017 – Managing Director, McBride-Wright Ltd
- 2017 – Head of Business Development, Radius Business
- 2016 – Senior Safety Specialist, KBR, Inc
- 2016 – InterEngineering shortlisted for LGBT Community Organisation of the Year
- 2016 – InterEngineering won Corporate Rising Star at the British LGBT Awards
- 2015 – InterEngineering ranked #2 in Financial Times Top 30 Future LGBT Leaders
- 2014 – Chair & Co-Founder, InterEngineering
- 2013 – Safety Engineer, KBR / Granherne
- 2012 – Safety Engineer, ERM: Environmental Resources Management
How to hire Dr Mark McBride-Wright MBE
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Dr Mark McBride-Wright MBE 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.
