Simon Hampel – Keynote Speaker

Simon is the founder and CEO of Sarsen & Light exploring how consciousness, energy & technology come together to create tipping points for change in the world. The gap between our cleverness and our wisdom is growing ever greater as exponential change and AI create huge ripples & anxiety for us individually, in our organisations, and in our broader systems. Simon explores how AI can be a bridge between that gap, using his technology background and life story to have another perspective on what’s possible.

Additionally, Simon loves to work with leaders, drawing out how to grow and expand their capacity to deal with all that is in front of them. As expressed in Simon’s recent talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos, his area of deep exploration is around how to be present in the day. What tools, practices, and habits can be developed to allow this, and then how to make the most of the consequences that then flow, from increased energy to better connection to those we’re engaging with or the challenges of the day. The additional performance benefits for leaders and their team from being present is greater resilience in the face of so much intensity, helping intuition not just be a happy accident and quietening our racing minds.

Simon is able to bring these topics alive through his extraordinary life journey, mixing stories, reflections, and insights with practical gifts that will leave the audience inspired and better equipped to step back into the world. Now as a 55-year-old father of 3 small kids, he is finally able to see how all his tributaries lead to one river. He spent his early career from 1993 to 2001 as a serial entrepreneur, launching businesses in the UK, Europe, the US, and Canada in the fields of financial services, leisure, consultancy and technology. After great success, in 2002 he lost everything he had and moved to Sevilla to recover. From there he went walkabout in South America and ended up joining an Amazonian expedition. For the next four years, Simon led expeditions back in the Amazon, across the Himalayas, through Mongolia, and down Ethiopia’s Blue Nile. In that time he navigated a team being captured by bandits and having to release them, discovering the leg of a Mongolian T-Rex, building wells and schools in remote locations, and having to make life-saving decisions on a regular basis. In 2006, he became the CEO of Right to Sight, an International NGO tackling needless blindness, developing sustainable eye care projects whilst living and working in hospitals and clinics across Africa and India.

Simon resigned from Right to Sight in 2010 and accidentally spent a couple of months learning about meditation and awareness in a Zen monastery in Tamil Nadu. On returning to the UK Simon joined Leaders’ Quest, rising to the role of Joint Managing Partner and working globally, exploring how to build wise, compassionate leaders and challenging our existing mindset. In addition to being an entrepreneur and leader, he is a qualified coach, mentor & facilitator. Alongside Sarsen & Light, Simon is also a Partner of Leaders’ Quest, an advisor at Cool Planet & a Trustee of the MOE Foundation and the Power of Zero.