Simon Banks

Not your ordinary keynote speaker

Creative, Experienced, Engaging …and (dare we say it), FUN!

Simon Banks is an author, podcaster and international speaker on creativity, innovation and design and a happily recovering artist.  He describes his geek-out spot as the intersection of creativity and design, learning, people and passion which he sees as essential building blocks for future leaders and developing a culture of innovation. His Big Why? To use his artist’s curiosity combined with his 20-year corporate career to build a more creative world to enable people and business to thrive in the Modern Age. 

Simon has substantial experience, with over 1300 events facilitated across Europe, Asia, America and Australia across a diverse array of sectors and organisations. These include Keynotes, visual storytelling programs, exploring and developing strategy, innovation programs, rapid prototyping and design sprints and design thinking workshops.

He’s worked to turn creative thinking up to 11/10 and bring innovation out of teams with companies that include: EY, The Federal Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, BHP Billiton, Google, Sportsbet, Geoscience Australia, NAB, Carat Media, University of Technology Sydney, Laing O’Rourke, and Volkswagen, to name a few.

Simon is also a talented professional artist, exhibiting both in Australia and the UK, has lectured at the National Gallery of England and has developed programs for institutions such as The Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.

The ‘Simon effect’ is a unique combination of his ability to meld the corporate and creative sectors, bringing a completely different perspective to curly business conundrums.  His way of shifting thinking galvanises forward-moving, creative outcomes which outperform business-as-usual thinking every time (and it’s the asset that clients buy).

His particular skill is audience engagement – a critical piece of the event jigsaw. Simon keeps the energy in the room at a high, putting the audience in a great place so they stay fascinated, smiling and happy.

Drawing on his arts background, Simon is a masterful illustrator and uses these skills across all of his work including live on stage in a keynote, creating rapid visual representations of ideas and using it to hone and shift people’s thinking, especially in an innovation or strategic setting. This talent makes complex problems simple to understand, and gives people a tool to use to solve wicked problems. His rapid-fire pace means feedback is instant, moving the event along at a cracking pace towards solutions, while keeping everyone engaged.

He marries his creative abilities with his in-depth knowledge of the corporate world to ignite fresh, innovative thinking in his audiences…and help you create a unique event, one that will engage your people not just for the event, but for a long time afterwards too.

His book, A Thousand Little Lightbulbs: How to kickstart a culture of Innovation in your Organisation, is out now and provides a guide to leverage the greatest innovation tool in your business: your people. His podcast, The Occupational Philosophers is a not-so-serious business podcast to spark imagination, creativity and curiosity and is downloaded across the globe.

Simon brings a fresh set of eyes to any conference, workshop or event. From designing the whole day’s agenda, to assisting with presentation preparation, development of interactive programs and breakout sessions – whatever you need, Simon can work through it with you and design a bespoke, creative solution.

If you’re after an MC, keynote speaker, event facilitator or innovation maverick who can help your organisation embrace their creative potential with the professionalism, creative flair and energy your audience expects, you’ve found him.

Ticket to Ryde was our first all staff conference to be delivered over 4 days – and we knew we had to create a memorable and high energy event with impact! Simon was a true professional. From our first conceptual brainstorming session, Simon worked closely with us until we moulded the prefect blend of information, fun and connection into our program. We went into the event knowing Simon would deliver and engaging, thought provoking keynote and he went above and beyond in facilitating our workshops with high energy and purpose. With 4 keynotes and 16 workshops facilitated over 4 days, it was a huge thankyou to Simon for inspiring our staff to be curious, creative and imaginative – bringing our ideas to life!
Kate Rodger, Organisational Development and Capability Lead, City of Ryde

As MC for EDA’s flagship event, the National Economic Development Conference (NEDC21), Simon Banks steered us through this virtual 3-day event with expertise and creativity. Simon kept delegates engaged in the virtual world, reminding attendees to tap into their creative thinking and facilitating great discussion and thought. Simon’s attention to detail and professionalism is evident in the way he prepared for the conference, ensuring he had strong program content knowledge so he could engage with expert speakers and delegates successfully. We look forward to working with Simon again, hopefully to experience all he can offer in a face-to-face environment!
Jacqueline Brinkman, Chief Executive Officer, Economic Development Australia

What a cracking event yesterday. Everything was superb. Everyone’s still talking about it. The vibe in the office is charged, as it was at the event also. Absolutely nailed the brief and got everyone excited about our new brand. Thanks for keeping so cool under pressure and a huge thanks to your team for being so wonderful and helping us during the madness that was the room set up. YOU’RE AMAZING!!!
Leanne Mederios, Senior Internal Communications & Events Specialist, REST Industry Super

Simon Banks hosted the noumi Executive Strategy Session Roadmap to 2025 recently. Simon was engaging, innovative and kept the two days of presentations and discussions on time and focussed. Simon’s intelligent and witty summary of each session was topped only by his outstanding illustration of each session, which captured key points of each workshop and presentation in a picture. I would recommend Simon to anyone who values a friendly, flamboyant, creative and professional conference facilitator, who brings much more than organisation to your company’s professional event.
Dr Sonja Kukuljan PhD, Group General Manager Nutrition, Freedom Foods Group Nutritionals

The keynote was awesome. Your presentation style rocks. You have made the most of doing talks remotely, your creativity, drawing and visuals are such a clever adaptation to this new environment. I really enjoyed spending time with you.
Peter Seaman, Head of Continuous Improvement and Innovation – International Visitors at nib Health Funds

Keynotes

• Reimagine: It’s your key to thriving (right now)

Imagine if there was a way to enable you, your team and your organisation to thrive rather than feel like you’re just reacting. To ride the wave of all the endless stuff that’s been a feature of the last couple of years – and that just keeps coming. Imagine you’re primed to see potential opportunities rather than endless problems. You don’t just batten down the hatches and ride it out. You have that tool, it’s just waiting for you to use it. That tool is your ability to Reimagine.  What are you waiting for? Let’s do it.

• A Thousand Little Lightbulbs

Kickstarting a culture of innovation (change which adds value) can feel pretty hard but it doesn’t have to. You don’t have to ride a unicycle or start eating kale salads, I promise (though I won’t stop you if you want to). Small steps can make a huge difference, so if you’re looking to kickstart a culture of innovation, fulfil your organisation’s potential and have a constant stream of little lightbulb moments this keynote is for you.

• Future Skills: It’s time to be human

Welcome to the workplace of the future. It’s a new way of thinking, being and working built around imagination, empathy, multidisciplinary thinking and curiosity, something we all have in abundance, if we choose to use it. Explore that ‘if’ and find out what gets created in the space we give it. It’s time to be human.

• Crafting beautiful stories

Humans have been telling stories since day one. They’re an essential part of our communication. A good story makes us think and feel, and speaks to us in ways that numbers, data, and dull presentation slides simply can’t. Learn why we need to put information in a way that our 21^st Century minds crave – simple, meaningful and engaging. Whilst technology can spice up storytelling, it’s the most basic human traits of human connection that drive a story and its ability to cut through and make meaning for your audience.

• Busting Assumptions

Technology is driving and forcing change at a pace never seen, however technology by itself Is not enough. The intersection of humanity, creativity and technology is the most exciting part and where we will see the most revolutionary strides in the future. Digital transformation and human transformation go hand in hand. Embrace the marriage of human and tech with this inspiring keynote.

• Getting to yes

Ideas can get stuck or shut down all too easily, killing inspiration and innovation in their tracks.

Getting to yes is a highly interactive keynote session that uses the principles of improv theatre, storytelling and Simon’s unique delivery style. He enables delegates to move to a place where rewarding conversations, captivating stories and great ideas exist and enable a culture of innovation and freshness to thrive every day. (Note: This session is in person only)

Workshop Topics

Simon delivers a wide variety of workshops and conference programs that shift people’s stale thinking and develop skills essential for thriving in the future of work.

These include:

• Design Thinking
• Design Sprints
• Visual Storytelling and Visual Communication
• Innovation and Innovation Hackathons
• Co-Creation and Co-Design programs
• Storytelling
• Rapid Prototyping
• Creativity and Problem Solving
• Visual Strategy programs