Johnny is a highly accomplished public speaker and has presented many conference keynotes, hosted awards dinners, dabbled in stand-up comedy, spoken in over 1,000 schools and appeared on television and radio over 400 times.

He also offers public speaking training to individuals and groups ranging from nervous beginners to highly experienced senior executives.

To book Johnny to speak at your event or to ask about speaker training, please contact by email.


Here is just a selection of some of his speaking engagements:

  • Christ’s School (Richmond): public speaking workshop leader, 19/10/22
  • Instructure: The Future of Continuing Education, 12/10/22, speaker and panellist
  • Christ’s School (Richmond): ‘Do what you love, love what you do’, speaker 6/9/22
  • King Alfred School (Hampstead): ‘Making a life, not just a living’, speaker,13/7/22
  • New Rickstones Academy: speaker, 6/7/22
  • Ampleforth College: ‘Unchain your brain’ and ‘Making a life, not just a living’, speaker and workshop, 28/6/22
  • Wonkhe: ‘New Rules: Unpacking the post-Augar political and funding settlement for universities, online, 8/3/22, speaker and panellist
  • James Allen’s Girls’ School: ‘Make a life, not just a living’, keynote, 2/3/22
  • Members’ Webinar: ‘The future of the student voice in a post-NSS world?’, AdvanceHE, online, 30/6/21, speaker and panellist
  • Universities UK Conference on Employability, online, 16-17/6/21, speaker/panellist
  • The Dean’s Forum Workshop, 14/6/21, keynote: ‘Qualifications, credentials and the future of Engineering Higher Education’
  • Wonkfest, 10/6/21, speaker/panellist: ‘Wonk Corner: Sensemaking review’
  • Wonkfest, 9/6/21, speaker/panellist: ‘Post-compulsory blues – widening opportunity and supporting student choice”
  • The Wonkhe Show, podcast, 28/5/21, guest
  • ASET Leadership Exchange, online, 19/5/21, panellist
  • ‘Post-Qualifications Admissions in Higher Education: the Government review’, Independent HE/online, 27/4/2021, speaker
  • Student Records Officers’ Conference (SROC), University of Huddersfield/online, 25/3/2021, closing keynote: ‘Why bother?’
  • Fair Access and Admissions, Universities UK Conference, online, 24/2/21, speaker and panellist
  • Employability training, TEDI-London, online, 6/7/21, speaker: ‘Selling yourself’
  • Employability training, TEDI-London, online, 3/7/21, speaker: ‘Do what you love, love what you do’
  • Higher Education Festival, University of Buckingham, 26/6/2019, debate: ‘Are eighteen-year olds adults?’
  • ‘Flying not Falling’, University of South Wales, Cardiff, 21/2/2019, comedy performance: an evening of stand-up comedy and careers advice 
  • Public Speaking workshop, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, 10/12/2018, providing speaker training for professionals
  • ‘Fairer Funding: the case for a graduate levy’, Higher Education Policy Institute, London, 19/11/2018, high level roundtable presenting a policy paper
  • ‘Engaging Engagement’, Action on Access/Universities UK: Access to Higher Education and Student Success Summit 2018, London, 18/11/2018, workshop
  • ‘The impact of Brexit on student and academic mobility to the UK’, SEFI Annual Conference, Copenhagen, 20/9/18, research presentation 
  • Public speaking workshop, Higher Horizons+, Crewe, 2/8/2018, providing speaker training for professionals
  • Meet the author session, The Governor’s School, North Carolina (via Skype), 9/7/2018, presentation and Q&A
  • ‘Options at 18’, Oakgrove School, Milton Keynes, 9/7/2018, school presentation
  • ‘Outreach that reaches out’, Access to HE Conference (Action on Access/Universities UK), London, 21/11/2018, conference presentation: how to engage the hardest-to-reach students
  • Public Speaking workshop, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, 4/7/2018, (providing speaker training for students)
  • ‘Options at 18’, Wolfreton School, Hull, 14/6/2018, school presentation
  • ‘Students as consumers – contracts, complaints and dispute’, Westminster Higher Education Forum Keynote Seminar, London, 12/6/2018, presentation and panel
  • Annual Gala Dinner & Awards, Universities Human Resources, Bristol, 24/5/2018, dinner host and awards compere
  • ‘Choosing a uni’, Colfe’s School, London, 10/5/2018, school presentation
  • Careers in Ideas Launch, IP Inclusive, London, 10/4/2018, presentation
  • ‘Unchain your brain: study skills’, UCL Offers Holders, London, 28/3/2018, workshop
  • ‘Is it time to call time on league tables?’, Festival of Higher Education, University of Buckingham, 29/6/2017, debate
  • ‘Finding the fun in funding’, National Educational Opportunities Network, 11/4/2016, conference presentation: how to talk about student funding in engaging ways
  • ‘The joy of employability: Embedding Employability in our Curriculum’, University of Greenwich, London, 2015, conference keynote
  • ‘Enhancing the Student Experience Conference’, Neil Stewart Associates, London, 15/11/2011, conference keynote
  • ‘Crisis in the University’, Cumberland Lodge, London, 21/2/2011, conference presentation