Award winning social entrepreneur and inspirational speaker, Sam Conniff, is also a best selling business author. His key presentation themes are leadership, change and embracing uncertainty.
Inspirational speaker, Sam Conniff, is a multi-award-winning social entrepreneur, best known as the co-founder and former CEO of Livity, Don’t Panic, and Live Magazine. He is also the co-author of How to Be More Pirate. Sam works as a purpose-driven strategy consultant with global brands including Roald Dahl, Red Bull, Unilever, and PlayStation. A champion of “business as unusual,” he helps organisations rethink their approach to impact, innovation, and purpose.
Starting his entrepreneurial journey at 19, Sam has since mentored thousands of young entrepreneurs and changemakers worldwide. His teenage raves carried the banner Saving The World, a vision that grew into ventures that reshaped industries. Sam’s bedroom start-up became a BAFTA-winning activist content studio. This first business plan earned UK Social Enterprise of the Year, awarded by both Prime Ministers and The Queen, and helped set new ethical standards across industries. His youth development NGO expanded from London to Lagos, equipping hundreds of thousands of young people with digital skills. Through Livity Africa, in collaboration with Google, he launched one of the largest digital training initiatives, aiming to empower nearly a million young Africans.
Sam has also broken new ground in media and youth engagement. He produced the world’s first multi-platform interactive drama. Thus sparking social debates with millions of young people, and led the largest youth program of the London 2012 Games, transforming unused spaces into opportunities for a new generation.
His best-selling book Be More Pirate: Or How to Take on the World and Win has become a manifesto for “Good Trouble” and grassroots change. This pioneering work has been recognised with accolades such as EY’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year and Global CSR Leader at the Global CSR Awards. Sam co-hosts the Be More Pirate podcast and leads workshops through Uncertainty Experts. These events are designed to help teams reframe challenges as opportunities. His forthcoming book is, The Uncertainty Toolkit: How to Feel Calmer, Happier, and More Confident in an Uncertain World (2026). It has already been described by Sue Perkins as “a wonderfully extraordinary experiment.”
As an international keynote speaker, Sam is acclaimed for his ability to blend humour, insight, and practical tools with compelling storytelling. His talks include:
Navigating Uncertainty – science-backed, interactive session based on Sam’s four-year research project Uncertainty Experts and his upcoming book The Uncertainty Toolkit. Audiences leave with increased Uncertainty Tolerance (UT) and practical ways to turn uncertainty into opportunity.
Be More Pirate – A motivational framework inspired by the real, untold strategies of Golden Age Pirates, showing teams and organisations how to create, manage, and thrive through change.
Chief Purpose Officer – data-rich exploration of why “purpose” has shifted from a nice-to-have to an essential driver of business in the knowledge economy.
The Hustle Generation – A deep dive into emerging youth culture trends and their implications for the future of business, education, and technology.
The Talent Gap – Practical strategies for engaging and retaining Gen Z talent, with real-world case studies and future-of-work insights.
With his infectious energy and compassionate approach, Sam delivers more than inspiration — he equips organisations with the tools and confidence to create meaningful change. Audiences consistently describe his sessions as engaging, interactive thought-provoking, and transformative.
“Sam empowers OUR teams to overcome uncertainty, rewrite rules, and lead with creativity & courage. He’s not just a thought leader, he’s a movement builder.” NETFLIX
“Sam is a regular speaker and facilitator on our executive cohorts and is always the highest rated and most talked-about.” Head of Digital Academy, Google
“Sam owns the room, his gravitas, credibility and leadership style always has a positive impact. His energy is infectious, he walks the talk, and as a result leaders listen to him and he shifts mind sets.” Global Head of Talent, Dyson
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