Todd Sampson's eclectic life began on Cape Breton Island, off the northeast coast of Canada.
He grew up in modest circumstances. His father was a factory worker for Coca-Cola, and his mother was a checkout girl for KFC. While neither of them had any formal education, Todd entered university on a full scholarship, studying biology and economics and then went on to complete an MBA by age 24.
Todd is the national CEO of Leo Burnett Australia – one of the world’s leading communication companies – they were recently ranked as the 7th most creative company in the world. He is the co-creator of the Earth Hour initiative – the largest environmental movement in history – reaching over 1.4 billion people in over 5500 cities.
The Financial Review and News Limited ranked him as one of the most influential executives in Australia. He has won CEO of the Year twice and has featured on the cover of BRW magazine.
Todd is also the breakout star and co-host of the smash hit ABC show The Gruen Transfer.
This unique show is one of the most watched programs on Australian TV, winning multiple international awards, including the prestigious Rose d’Or Award for entertainment. He is also a regular host on the Channel 10 news show The Project and has featured on CNN and Sky News.
Todd recently handed his brain over to science to become host and ‘human lab rat’ in a groundbreaking science documentary series called Redesign My Brain. It was one of the most-watched Australian science documentaries of all time and won the AACTA Award (Australian Oscars) for Best TV Documentary of the Year. It’s now being shown around the world on the Discovery Channel.
Todd is undoubtedly one of Australia’s freshest and most interesting TV personalities with the ability to combine intelligent insight, with humility. One reviewer colourfully captured his unique ‘science-adventurer’ style:
“If Bear Grylls had a love child with Brian Cox, it would be Todd Sampson.”
He’s also climbed to the top of Mount Everest, unguided.
Talking Points
Brain Power
The premise of Todd's award-winning Discovery Science series Redesign My Brain was simple. For over 70 years, science has told us that our brains are fixed. You are born with the brain you have, which develops rapidly until the age of seven, and then it starts a steady decline from age 30 until you die and there was nothing you could do about it. But science has now proven that to be false. In fact, modern science has shown that our brain is plastic and that we all have the ability to improve it at any age and at any time. This presentation will show you how to boost your brain power.Brain Power
Todd will not only take you behind the scenes of this extraordinary scientific journey, he will also provide you with the practical tools, strategies and techniques to improve your brain. We are all capable of more than we realise, and modern science is showing us how.
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Todd Sampson | The difference a good teacher can make | Anh's Brush With Fame
Todd Sampson was never really an academic student. In fact, he failed most of his classes. That is, until his science teacher saw his potential, gave him an aptitude test and moved him into a higher graded class.He was fantastic! Everyone loved him and followed him out of the hall, buzzing with questions. He was so friendly, down to earth and engaging. He was not only inspirational, but funny and ap ... keep reading Golden Key
Todd was excellent, such a lovely guy. His message was very powerful and he really validates it by his own example in his personal and work life. It was really great of him to stick around after the event and speak to the queue of people who patiently waited for his attention. He is a very warm and compassionate person and his intelligence and sense of humour was evident throughout his presentation.
Todd was obliging & worked with the audio crew & support team ahead of delivering his speech. His performance was outstanding & engaging. We received great feedback from our attendees after the conference. Todd even hung around after his speech and spoke to delegates, taking photos etc.
Todd Sampson provided a highly energetic, well considered and insightful presentation that had the audience hanging off his every word. The use of video and sound added a really engaging element to the presentation, particularly after having the behind the scenes' comments from Todd prior to each of the videos. He was really generous with his question time and his honest and insightful answers were much appreciated by everyone in the room. Everyone left with a least one practical tip on how they could improve their brain power. Couldn't recommend him highly enough, and would gladly have him back in the future to hear about the behind the scenes findings from other documentary series such as Body Hack.
Todd Sampson provided a highly energetic, well considered and insightful presentation that had the audience hanging off his every word. The use of video and sound added a really engaging element to the presentation, particularly after having the behind the scenes' comments from Todd prior to each of the videos. He was really generous with his question time and his honest and insightful answers were much appreciated by everyone in the room. Everyone left with a least one practical tip on how they could improve their brain power. Couldn't recommend him highly enough, and would gladly have him back in the future to hear about the behind the scenes findings from other documentary series such as Body Hack.
Todd Sampson was our guest speaker at our Mid Year Sales meeting in Sydney. Everyone in the audience were captivated from the moment he started talking. An inspiring amazing speaker. Everyone left with a lot to think about. Thanks Todd.
We were very grateful to have such an incredible speaker . My Leadership Team commented that Todd was the best speaker they have ever seen
Todd was great to have at our event. The team loved how engaging he was and how he was able to get us to think in different ways. He was very kind and professional when he arrived and throughout.
