Whilst studying economics and geography at University College London, Chris Roebuck also chaired the Students Union commercial enterprises committee. In 1976, the committee turned over more than £1 million and employed 32 staff. He later chaired the Union Council which oversaw the governance process, elections and negotiations with the University’s Senior Leadership team. After graduating, Chris initially served with the Royal Engineer sub unit of the British Army before being commissioned into the Territorial Army. After leaving the forces, Chris used his knowledge of leadership to help SMEs and larger organisations develop their leadership capability.
Fifteen years after graduating from UCL, Chris Roebuck received his MBA from Cass Business School in London, his dissertation on organisational communication was featured in The Times and on BBC TV and was published worldwide in the International Journal of Strategic Management.
Chris Roebuck was so successful with his MBA, he very quickly started working with organisations including the Arts Council of England and Wales, the Bank of England, the Bank of New York, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, legal firms and the UK Government.
He also worked with the executive team for the London Underground on their Public Private Partnership, which was the largest public finance initiative in the UK at the time. He then moved on to provide outsourced services to KPMG and build a business-driven leadership system for HSBC.
Between 2002 and 2006 he lived in Zurich working for UBS. At UBS, Chris and his team led the delivery of a new development and leadership strategy for the bank’s top 500 leaders. They subsequently coordinated the strategy via the business division for the other 70,000 employees.
Through his success here, he was appointed the Global Head of Talent and Leadership in 2004. In 2005 UBS won the title ‘Best Company for Leaders Europe’ and the ‘Best New Corporate University’ award, the ‘Corporate University Best Practice’ and ‘Excellence’ awards in 2006/2007, and was ranked one of the top 10 best companies in Europe in 2007. His success at HBS now means the initiative forms a key part in a Harvard Business School case study.
Since 2006, Chris Roebuck has helped develop leadership and values-based high performance working with or in organisations as diverse as the NHS and in sectors including international logistics, finance, legal, transport, facilities, media, pharmaceutical and not-for-profit.
I CARE LEADERSHIP WITH CHRIS ROEBUCK
Chris’ unique experience has enabled him to develop an innovative and highly effective approach for leaders and organisations to achieve success, the I CARE Leadership. Chris shows how simple, practical day-to-day actions can be taken to quickly deliver real improvements at all levels; individual, team and organisation. One company he worked with reported an increase in staff recommending the company as “a great place to work” from 40% to 82%, and an increase of revenue by 40%.
Chris Roebuck has published a number of highly successful books on communication and leadership.
His first book Effective Delegation came out in 1999 and was a simple guide on critical delegation skills, his follow-up Effective Communication (2000) was translated into 11 languages; Effective Leadership followed in 2001, Lead to Succeed came in 2014 and Strategic Leadership Development in 2017.
Chris has a great breadth of experience across function, sector, culture and geography. He has held senior roles in UBS, HSBC, KPMG and the London Underground; he has advised legal firms and construction, the UK NHS, UK Government and the Red Cross, Investment Banks in the UK and across the globe; the Middle East Telecoms, Chinese Space Programme and retail in the USA. He has inspired employees from project managers to Finance Directors, and covered countries from Beijing to the US, Dubai to Singapore, Zurich to Hong Kong.
CHRIS ROEBUCK IN THE MEDIA
Chris Roebuck has been quoted as a leadership expert globally in publications such as Harvard Business Review China, FT, Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, New York Times, Business Week, Time Magazine, Washington Post, Times of India, Management Today, Health Service Journal, Chicago Tribune amongst others.
Chris Roebuck can also be seen on TV and heard on the radio, having done over 350 TV and radio interviews on leadership and business on the BBC, Sky, Bloomberg, ITV, CNBC and CNN, BBC Breakfast, World Service and Australian Radio.
A Chat With Chris Roebuck
As part of our ‘Chat with…’ series at Great British Speakers, our director Jane Farnham sat down with Chris Roebuck to discuss his varied career, what he’s learned about success, and how to make leadership simple and efficient. Watch the full interview HERE.
CHRIS ROEBUCK KEYNOTE TOPICS
Whilst Chris Roebuck will adapt his talks for the client and the audience, he has a number of key topics he draws inspiration from:
General Leadership: Suitable for all leaders at all levels, and helps them unleash their potential, beat the competition, and inspire their employees.
Innovation: This is suitable for all leaders who wish to be more innovative. By being more innovative, you can create success and enable breakthrough ways of working and leading.
Change: This is suitable for anyone engaged in change. Chris teaches ways to come up with change and make it stick.
Financial: This is suitable for all professionals involved in financial decisions. Chris helps boost your bottom line by 10% without any outgoings and teaches financial directors how to be strategic leaders.
Customer Focus: This is suitable for all staff who face customers. Chris teaches you how to maximise customer service, how to inspire your employees to deliver the best customer service, and how customer service can be improved by having effective leaders.
Brand and Marketing: This is suitable for all professionals involved in marketing. Chris teaches you how every employee, regardless of job title, should be a brand ambassador and how your employees are your company’s greatest promotional asset.
M&A and Integration: This is suitable for anyone working on mergers, acquisitions or integration. Chris teaches how successful mergers and integrations are spearheaded by inspirational leaders.
Human Resources: This is suitable for anyone working in HR and teaches companies how HR can be a catalyst for success.
Risk Management/Legal: This is suitable for all professionals dealing with legal. Chris teaches you how to create a cultural shift in risk management rather than the process of carrying it out.
Chris’ latest keynote topic is Human Leadership For the AI World. Leaders are confronted with the growing adoption of AI without really understand its day-to-day impact on them, what it will do for them, and what it won’t. Chris clarifies the key areas of activity where AI will help, but also where it has little impact, and where they must optimise their Human Leadership to integrate with AI. He then helps audiences understand how to grow their authentic High Performance Human Leadership and create an action plan to Accelerate Their Success.
Chris Roebuck is happy to present at international conferences, business schools, professional summits, masterclasses and keynote speeches. He usually presents one-hour keynotes, 3 hour workshops and one-day and two-day masterclasses. Chris is very interested in how audiences of all sizes can achieve growth and success in their lives and careers by using a unique mix of his insights, real-world stories, hard data, neuroscience and their own inspirational moments.
Chris Roebuck believes that a few simple actions by leaders can transform working lives for staff, enhance their family life, help their organisations succeed and deliver economic growth. This transformation is simple, low cost and brings quantifiable benefits quickly. It is founded on Chris’ own experience and leadership success stories from around the world.
CHRIS ROEBUCK CLIENTS
Abbot (International Healthcare), Adecco, Allegis, Arabian Society of Human Resource Management, Arts Councils of England, Scotland & Wales, Avant Homes, Bank of England, Bank of New York, Barclays Bank, British Nuclear Fuels, Cancer Counselling Service, Capsticks LLP, Cass Business School – London, Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, Chartered Management Institute, Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, CHEP, China Aviation Industry Corporation, China Aeronautic & Scientific Corporation, China Life, City of Westminster, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Credit Suisse, CT Partners, Danish Age Association, Delphi Automotive, Deutsche Bank, DG Bank, Dubai World Trade Centre, Duncan Lawrie Limited, Ernst & Young, Eurostar, Food Standards Agency, GE Healthcare, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Hudson Talent Management, Kingswood Mallensons, Lloyds Banking Group, London Underground, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, Man Group, Masons LLP, Mouchel, UK National Health Service, Derby County PCT, UK Department of Health, Cambs & Peterborough Workforce Group, East Midlands SHA, Maybank – Malaysia, New York Institute of Management, NHS North West Leadership Academy, NHS Employers, NHS London, National School of Government, N. M. Rothschild, NorthgateArinso Human Resources, Omantel, Oman Society of Human Resource Management, Prince Mohammad University Saudi Arabia, Project Management Institute, Prudential, Punch Hospitality, Rabobank, RBS Global Banking & Markets, Royal Bank of Canada, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Shurooq – Sharjah Investment & Development Authority, Saudi American Bank, Skandia Insurance, Thales, UAE Prime Minister’s Office, UBS, UK Defence Academy and UK Government Prime Minister’s Office.
