Sir Craig Oliver was the Director of Politics and Communications for the British Prime Minister, David Cameron for six years. He worked at the heart of No 10 Downing Street and was responsible for the Government’s strategy, messaging and campaigns.
During that time Sir Craig was Director of Communications on a number of political teams, including the 2015 General Election – defying the polls and winning an unexpected overall majority.
Famously, he was the Director of Communications for the campaign to keep Britain in the European Union during the Brexit Referendum. Sir Craig wrote a bestselling book about the experience – “Unleashing Demons” – which was the inspiration behind the Channel 4 drama “Brexit: The Uncivil War” depicting Sir Craig and Dominic Cummings as the main protagonists, with Rory Kinnear and Benedict Cumberbatch playing their respective characters.
His day-to-day work inside No 10 included a radical overhaul of government communications, making them fit for the digital age. Digital transformation, communications strategy and leadership are among the themes Sir Craig explores in his work as a Keynote Speaker, reflecting on the challenges in navigating what he’s coined “a 360 degree media world” at a time of extreme change and volatility. He was at David Cameron’s side as they faced a series of crises and offers sharp insights and fascinating anecdotes reflecting the unique position he held at the heart of government and public affairs.
Before working with Mr Cameron, Sir Craig was a multi-award winning journalist, with jobs ranging from editing the BBC’s flagship television news programmes to Controller of BBC Global, responsible for the corporation’s TV, radio and online content around the world. Sir Craig now often finds himself on the other side of the camera as a broadcaster and commentator and is in demand as a moderator and host for events where his expertise enables him to facilitate and augment panel discussions on the full range of issues and challenges faced in the UK and around the world.
Sir Craig is a Partner and Co-Global Head of Strategy and Reputation at FGS Global, working with some of the biggest businesses in the world. He is also a trustee of the Make a Wish charity.
Roy Sheppard is a specialist conference moderator, an experienced speaker and the author of eight books. As a moderator, Roy works on high-profile conferences for some of the world's largest and most respected organisations. He has been asked back time and again to moderate 'private' conferences for the Olympic movement held in Lausanne, Beijing and Rio de Janeiro.
He has moderated conferences for the world's largest trade association - the ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) in Rome, Dubai, Cape Town, Istanbul, New York and their flagship event RECON in Las Vegas (attended by 53,000 delegates). He is the acknowledged European expert on building profitable business relationships through networking and referrals and has spoken at conferences all over the world. He has worked as a visiting lecturer at Cranfield University’s full-time MBA course and at Henley School of Management.
His early career began in television and radio, mainly with the BBC.
Working both regionally and nationally for the BBC, he presented music and interview-based programmes, including the Sony Award winning “In the News” on BBC Radio 4. Whilst Roy was also involved in production and script writing, his main area of expertise was in live television and he regularly worked alongside other notable presenters including Jeremy Paxman, Eamonn Holmes, Ann Robinson and the late Jill Dando. From 1985-91, he was an anchorman of the early evening news for the BBC in London where he consistently proved his ability to perform under pressure.
His books include “Meet Greet and Prosper”, “Rapid Result Referrals” and “Your Personal Survival Guide to the 21st Century.” In 2008 he co-wrote (with Mary T Cleary) and published “Venus: The Dark Side”.
The same book is called "That Bitch: Protect Yourself Against Women with malicious Intent" In October 2010 he published "How to be The One" which became the subject of a two page spread in YOU, the UK's top circulation women's magazine (part of The Mail on Sunday) and was a lead story on CNN.com's Lifestyle website. July 2013 saw the simultaneous publication of Dear Son: what I wish I'd known at your age and Dear Daughter: what I wish I'd known at your age. These are gift books from parents and grandparents to every 15 to 25 years old. Described by The Mature Times as "The best gift you can give a teenager".
Christophe Ginisty is an international public relations guru and a specialist of social media, reputation management and crisis communications in the digital age.
Founder & CEO of the Open Agency France established in March 2013, Christophe was previously working at Edelman — the largest PR firm in the world — at the leadership position of European Digital Evangelist & Deputy Managing Director for Europe Middle East and Africa (2011-2012).
Prior to Edelman, Christophe had founded and developed Rumeur Publique, one of the leading and most respected public relations agencies in France with worldclass clients like Apple, Amazon, Deloitte, Allianz,... Acclaimed Keynote speaker on the impact of the social media revolution on reputation management at numerous international conferences, Christophe has been elected President 2013 of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA).
He is also the creator of the ReputationWar international conference that was held in Paris for the first time on January 2013. This conference is an opportunity to discuss social behaviors and the ways social media is increasing organizations’ vulnerability. It is also the place to share international best practices on online crisis management. Among the most influential bloggers in France at www.ginisty.com, guest columnist on L’Express.fr, Christophe appears regularly on TV to share his expertise on the political communications.
He is a published author of “Allons enfants de l’Internet!” (2010), an essay about the digital revolution. In 2008, he founded Internet sans frontières (Internet without borders) an NGO devoted to promote the freedom of speech online.
Christophe is French, leaving near Paris. He is married and the happy father of 3 daughters.
