Rahim Hirji is a future-of-work strategist, author, and keynote speaker specialising in AI and human judgement. An experienced entrepreneur, he has also founded and managed several AI-focused businesses and platforms. In 2025, he established The SuperSkills Intelligence Company, offering strategic AI counselling, keynote talks, and fractional leadership advice. Drawing on 25 years of operational experience in AI, Rahim explores the human skills needed to thrive, the importance of human judgement, and the role of effective leadership. For event organisers seeking a dynamic and engaging AI speaker, Rahim Hirji is an outstanding choice.
After graduating from Loughborough University with a degree in Computer Science and Management, Rahim completed an MBA in Strategy and Change from Alliance Manchester Business School. From there, his career spanned several senior positions, including Senior Consultant at Interactive Investor, Head of Change at Abu Dhabi Media Company and Director of Corporate Development at HarperCollins Publishers. In 2015, he co-founded EtonX, a soft skills educational platform, which was later acquired by Eton College. From there, he became the Head of International at the AI-powered platform, Quizlet. In this role, he scaled the platform to 60 million active learners across 130 countries.
Alongside his business ventures, Rahim began the Substack page 'Box of Amazing', which now has an impressive 25,000 subscribers. Responding to the latest developments in AI, he shares weekly articles on innovation, AI and human capability. In 2026, he published 'SuperSkills: The Seven Human Skills for the Age of AI', which introduces his innovative Drift vs Design framework. The framework draws on extensive research involving more than 200 organisations across over 30 countries. Since its publication, the book has been endorsed by Karim Lakhani of Harvard Business School, David Rowan of WIRED and Sherry Coutu CBE.
As AI becomes increasingly embedded in business, leadership and society, Rahim Hirji helps organisations navigate this evolving landscape, embrace change and unlock the opportunities AI presents. He speaks on how AI makes human capabilities more valuable, and what happens to human judgement when organisations hand it over without noticing. As a speaker, he has delivered valuable keynotes to senior leadership teams at Google, Next15, Trainline, Echo360, Barclays, Kaplan and Imperial College London, as well as at the Korn Ferry CLO Forum. Available as a keynote speaker, facilitator, panel guest or conference host, Rahim equips audiences with the knowledge, skills and confidence to adapt and thrive in an AI-driven world. Secure him for your next event with Champions Speakers today!
Books
SuperSkills: The Seven Human Skills for the Age of AI
Rahim Hirji's official speaking topics are listed below:
Drift versus Design
Most organisations drift. The best design.
Drift asks nothing of you, because every step is reasonable. A thousand unmade choices add up to an organisation that has handed over its judgement without ever deciding to. Design means working out in advance where human judgement has to remain, and building the work so it cannot slip out unseen. This talk shows a leadership team which mode it is running, then hands it the controls.
For executive teams, boards and senior leadership offsites. The room leaves able to
- Read the Drift versus Design matrix against their own organisation
- See how far into drift they already are
- See where AI sharpens judgement, and where it weakens it
- Leave with the start of a custody list: what this organisation has decided not to delegate
We Are Superheroes
The suit amplifies. The human decides.
AI makes everyone faster and more capable, the way a suit does. This keynote hands an audience the seven human skills that grow more valuable as the tools spread, carried by a family story across four generations and three continents. People arrive thinking AI is the story and leave knowing they are.
For whole organisations, cross-sector conferences, education and leadership. The room leaves able to
- Name the human capabilities that matter now
- Use the SuperSkills Ladder and the Augmented Mindset
- Know which of the seven to build first
WTH (What the Human)
A live test of a board's own judgement.
Most boards have never seen their own judgement on AI tested. Told in three acts, this talk ends with a live test that shows a board its own judgement, in the room and in real time.
For boards, annual conferences and organisations that want a recurring measure.The room leaves able to
- See where AI is already changing the decisions that reach the board
- Read their board's own judgement, live
- Know which AI decisions the board should keep for itself
Official Feedback From In-Person & Virtual Events:
“We brought Rahim in to help our EMEA People Operations leadership team think through AI and human judgement. He surveyed us beforehand; sixteen of eighteen answered, and he built the session from our own responses, so the whole morning was about us. I’d recommend him to any leadership team working out what should stay human.” - Karina Govindji, Director, Head of HR UK, Google
"Rahim maps the exact capabilities we need to partner with machines without surrendering our authorship." - Karim LakhaniHarvard Business School, Co-author of Competing in the Age of AI
"We brought Rahim in to open our regional retreat in Istanbul with a keynote, in front of our ANZ leadership team, partner universities and priority recruitment agency partners. He went well beyond the brief, interviewing students and families directly so he could tell us what was happening on the ground rather than what we assumed from our own data. The keynote was a highlight of the event program, sparking conversation that carried on long after the session, and has an ongoing influence in our strategic thinking and forward planning." - Tom Dunlop, General Manager, Global Student Recruitment, Kaplan University Partnerships ANZ
"We are pretty selective about the speakers we put in front of our audience: they come to our events to learn, be engaged and inspired. Rahim was a standout speaker. He told our audience something they did not especially want to hear, and explained it in a way that encouraged them to take action. He was as generous with his wisdom in the room afterwards as he was on stage." - Rebecca McKinlay, Managing Director, Oystercatchers
"We brought Rahim in to speak to our teams in the Corporate Bank about what AI actually changes for the people doing the work. He handled a demanding room and left them with something they could act on rather than only something to think about." - Stuart Foster, Head of Coverage, UK Corporate Banking, Barclays
"So thought-provoking and so well presented. It set up our board day perfectly." - Sam Knights, CEO, Next 15 Group plc
"I brought Rahim in to speak to the Luminary Community, a group of female leaders and high potentials working in HR and people. I wanted something that would make sense of AI for them without the hype and without the fear. Rahim started with the human rather than the technology, and that reframing was the thing. He made AI feel simple and made us feel capable, which is not a combination I have come across before. Our members left with something they could actually use." - Azmina Kara, Founder, Luminary
"Rahim's keynote on human judgement in the age of AI was brilliant. We asked for something realistic rather than alarmist, and equally not falsely reassuring, and he delivered exactly that. Our students were captivated by every word, and we want him back." - Charlotte Wanendeya, Head of Law, BPP University Law School
- 2026 - Published 'SuperSkills: The Seven Human Skills for the Age of AI'
- 2025 - Founded The SuperSkills Intelligence Company
- 2023 - Executive VP of Avallain
- 2019 - Head of International for Quizlet
- 2017 - Substack Writer of 'Box of Amazing'
- 2015 - Co-founder of EtonX
- 2013 - CEO of Maths Doctor
- 2012 - Principal VP of Medeleon
- 2006 - Director of Corporate Development at HarperCollins Publishers
- 2003 - Head of Change at Abu Dhabi Media Company
- 2000 - Senior Consultant at Interactive Investor
How to hire Rahim Hirji
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Rahim Hirji 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.
