Nigel Marsh is a leading voice on leadership, transformation, and work-life balance. He is the bestselling author of four books, including Fat, Forty and Fired and Smart, Stupid & Sixty, and co-founder of Earth Hour, one of the most successful global brand initiatives. Nigel also hosts the acclaimed podcast The Five of My Life and founded The Sydney Skinny, a world-first event promoting wellbeing and connection.
Alongside his creative achievements, Nigel has a 25-year career in branding and marketing, working with some of the world’s most recognised organisations including McDonald’s, Canon, Pepsi, Virgin, and P&G. As Regional Group CEO of Y&R Brands ANZ, he led over 1,000 staff across 36 offices and iconic agencies such as George Patterson and The Campaign Palace. During his tenure as CEO of Leo Burnett, the agency won the coveted Agency of the Year award twice.
Nigel’s TED Talk on work-life balance has been viewed over six million times, making it the most watched outside the United States. Today, he speaks globally on leadership, organisational culture, and personal effectiveness, delivering practical insights with humour and impact. He also consults to leading CEOs and serves as Special Advisor to the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.
Talking Points
Leadership
What makes an excellent leader? After decades of observing leaders across industries and cultures, this keynote reveals the common characteristics that drive success. Learn what works, what doesn’t, and how to lead effectively—both personally and as part of a team.
Leadership
Managing change
Change isn’t always welcome, but it’s inevitable. This keynote provides practical strategies for managing unexpected disruption, maintaining momentum when conditions are challenging, and ensuring change initiatives succeed. Leaders will learn how to turn resistance into resilience and keep teams focused on outcomes.
Managing change
Fundamentals to business success
Every company likes to believe it’s unique—and in many ways, it is. But the truth is, the core principles of success remain the same across industries. This keynote explores the universal fundamentals that any organisation can leverage to achieve sustainable growth and performance.
Fundamentals to business success
Creativity
In today’s business landscape, creativity is one of the few remaining unfair advantages. This keynote explores what creativity really means, why it’s commercially critical, and how organisations can harness it for growth. Learn practical strategies to foster creativity within your team and turn ideas into impact.
Creativity
Video
Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work
Work-life balance, says Nigel Marsh, is too important to be left in the hands of your employer. At TEDxSydney, Marsh lays out an ideal day balanced between family time, personal time and productivity -- and offers some stirring encouragement to make it happen. Nigel Marsh is best known for his creative pursuits. He is the author of three books - Fat, Forty and Fired (Random House, 2007), Overworked and Underlaid (Allen & Unwin, 2009) and Fit, Fifty and Fired-Up (Allen and Unwin, 2012) - he is also the co-founder of Earth Hour, creator and host of critically acclaimed Podcast The Five Of My Life, and is the founder of the Sydney Skinny. His first book is currently being developed into a major TV series in America.Nigel was an obvious highlight because of his talent at delivering engaging and funny content. His energy and practicality are infectious. ... keep reading Sanitarium
Nigel's presentation was nothing short of fantastic - a real treat for our attendees. Everyone got something out of the session. This was clearly reflected in the feedback he was unanimously rated our top presenter for the conference.
Irreverent, engaging, honest. Fabulous. One of the very best speaker sessions we have ever had.
Nigel was simply fantastic - and a wonderfully refreshing change to the usual presentations.
The perfect end to our conference - the audience was buzzing. Great message delivered with an engaging and inspiring style. Thoroughly thought provoking, relevant and humourous.
Empowering and inspiring - the audience loved it! Great fun underpinned by a serious and relevant message.
