James Ashton has many years of experience in elite business, as an advisor, consultant, speaker, and employee. For example, between 2015 and 2018, he was the Director of Comic Relief and a member of the charity’s commercial and technology board.

Since 2022, he has been the Chief Executive Officer of The Quoted Companies Alliance, an organisation that champions the UK’s 1,000+ small and medium enterprises and companies whose shares are publicly traded.

JAMES ASHTON | AUTHOR

To date, James has published three bestselling business books. The first, FTSE: The Inside Story of the Deals, Dramas and Politics that Revolutionised Financial Markets was released in 2020, and found itself on the ‘International Finance’ bestseller list on Amazon. This was followed up in 2021 by The Nine Types of Leader: How the Leaders of Tomorrow Can Learn From the Leaders of Today, a look into what makes great leaders tick. It would end up being shortlisted for the 2022 Business Book Awards – Leadership. Then in 2023, he published The Everything Blueprint: The Microchip Design that Changed the World; which would be named a Financial Times Best Summer Book of 2023.

JAMES ASHTON | MEDIA

In 2019, James started the Leading With James Ashton podcast; James talked to leaders at the top of a wide range of organisations in industries from charity to business, arts to support, technology to healthcare, to discover how they learnt to be leaders, the big decisions they’ve taken, and the advice they offer to others.

Through his podcast and journalism career, he has produced hundreds of interviews with leaders of Anglo American, the Bank of England, Barclays, General Electric, Huawei, Nestle, Tesco, Virgin, and WeWork.

JAMES ASHTON | OTHER WORK

Alongside his business work and journalism commitments, he runs Oscar’s Book Prize alongside his wife. James oversees the annual search for the UK’s best picture book, supported by The Evening Standard and The National Literacy Trust, in honour of his late son. He is also a non-executive director of the FTSE 250 investment trust, Finsbury Growth & Income.

James provides a writing and consultancy service, helping companies in various ways, including producing media audits, and analysing the effectiveness of existing communications. Clients include the FTSE100 professional information provider Relx, London First, and The Office Group. He also helps train business leaders in how to present themselves in the media, help them get their messages across clearly and convincingly, and suggest essential dos and don’ts to remember during an interview.

JAMES ASHTON | KEYNOTE SPEAKER

James is a popular keynote speaker on the topics of business, finance, leadership, and communication.

JAMES ASHTON | KEYNOTE TOPICS

– How are semiconductors reshaping the future of the global economy, from supply shortages to growing geopolitical tensions and the UK’s investment outlook?

– Where is the global macroeconomy, markets, and technology heading, and what are the implications for businesses?

– How can leaders survive and thrive in a modern world characterised by disruption, uncertainty and opportunity?

– How has digitalisation reshaped the modern media landscape, and what can you do to cut through the noise?

JAMES ASHTON | OTHER TOPICS

– The changing media landscape: how the drive to digital has redrawn newsrooms, monetisation, and the stories that get told today

– A macroeconomic overview: what is happening in the world right now

– Leadership, technology, and disruption: what chief executives fear most, the cult of the changemaker, and why public markets fail to incentivise risk taking

– Tomorrow’s cities: how corporations and municipal authorities must come together to capture talent and investment and tackle transport and housing challenges

Examples of conferences, panels, and webinars hosted, include:

– World Retail Congress

– British Airways Conference

– Institute of Directors Annual Conference

– CBI Annual Conference

– Chatham House Leadership One-on-Ones

– London Mayoral Business Hustings

– Tata Group Staff Conference

– Campaign Launches for Sopra Steria, EY, New West End Company

– Milken Institute’s London Summit

– The Global Peter Drucker Forum

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Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book global business speaker James Ashton for your next live event or corporate video.

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