HOLLY RANSOM

At the age of five, Holly's grandmother, Dorothy, told her, "Honey, if you walk past it, you tell the world it's okay," and she has lived by that mantra ever since, devoting her life and career to inspiring audiences around the world to stand up and lead the change they want to see. 

Today, Holly is recognized globally for her unique ability to take complex ideas and problems, grind them down, and restructure them in a way that everyone can understand. She is the founder and CEO of consulting firm, Emergent; author of The Leading Edge; co-founder, chief curator, and catalyst at Energy Disruptors, winning ‘Best Conference’ in Canada for its work up catalysing collaboration across the energy industry.

As a renowned speaker and master interviewer, Holly has led discussions with influential figures such as Barack Obama, Malcolm Gladwell, Billie Jean-King, Condoleezza Rice, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus, and the world's first humanoid robot, Sophia. She even delivered a Peace Charter to the Dalai Lama. Due to this work, Holly was named one of Australia's 100 Most Influential Women by the Australian Financial Review and was awarded the US Embassy's Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Leadership Excellence in 2019. To top it off, Sir Richard Branson nominated her for Wired Magazine's 'Smart List' of Future Game Changers to watch. 

While being a Fulbright scholar and part of the Harvard Kennedy School Class of '21 fellow, Holly was a recipient of the prestigious Anne Wexler Public Policy Scholarship, allowing her to take action on social and economic inclusion by connecting people directly with the decisions that affect their lives. Holly’s book, The Leading Edge, is democratizing leadership learning by igniting individuals ability to accelerate change through asking better questions, thinking beyond biased answers, and establishing a groundswell for advancement. 

An accomplished company director in her own right, Holly has compressed a power-packed career into a decade, spanning corporate, non-profit, and public sectors. Working with big-name clients such as P&G, Microsoft, Virgin, Cisco, and KPMG to effect and inspire actual change. On occasion, Holly will grace Australian screens commentating for Reuters, CBS, and Australia’s ABC. Holly's fierce dedication to inclusivity and equity drives her work as Chair of Pride Cup Australia, a non-profit organization and movement devoted to eradicating LGBTQI+ discrimination within sporting clubs, while making them secure and welcoming for players and fans. 

But even before all this, Holly was identified early as a dynamic thought leader and asked to Chair the G20 Youth Summit in 2014, the United Nations Coalition of Young Women Entrepreneurs in 2016, and became the youngest director ever to be appointed to an Australian Football Club, Port Adelaide, one of the 18 teams in the professional Australian Football League. 

A two-time ironwoman, when Holly does manage to find some downtime, she loves to cook, dance, and sing... despite her complete lack of talent at all three.