Available to book
Andrew Parker
National Security
Crisis Management
Ethical Leadership
Andrew Parker helps organisations build accountable, values-led leadership and navigate crises with integrity. A national security speaker and leadership expert, he served seven years as Director General of MI5 before becoming Lord Chamberlain, the Sovereign's most senior official.
Intelligence Services
Executive
Business Leader
Coach
Mentor
Thought Leader
Andrew Parker spent three decades in British intelligence and public service, rising to lead two of the most sensitive institutions in the country, and now speaks on accountable leadership and navigating institutions through crisis and change.
Andrew served as Director General of MI5 for seven years, having previously led its Counter Terrorism operations. He then became Lord Chamberlain, the Sovereign's most senior official and non-executive head of the Royal Household, a role with a 600-year history.
His leadership shaped how two major British institutions responded to sustained public scrutiny. At MI5, he modernised working methods, strengthened domestic and international partnerships, and regularly briefed Prime Ministers, Home Secretaries, and the National Security Council. At the Royal Household, he oversaw the funerals of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II, the accession of King Charles III, and the Coronation, while introducing changes to governance, culture, and inclusion.
Audiences gain a candid, first-hand account of leading through national crises, building trust across large and traditional organisations, and balancing institutional continuity with the need for change. Andrew's approach centres on shared values, accountability, and resisting insularity when pressure mounts.
Book Andrew Parker for an authoritative, unusually candid perspective on leadership at the highest level of public service.
Topics, sessions and talks
Drawing on seven years as Director General of MI5 and his time as Lord Chamberlain, Andrew Parker examines what it takes to lead an organisation with integrity under constant scrutiny. He explores how clear values, shared goals, and a genuine commitment to inclusion build a culture where people do their best work, and how leaders can hold themselves accountable without losing the trust of the people they lead or the public they serve.
Andrew Parker looks at how trust is built, tested, and rebuilt inside high-pressure institutions operating under constant public scrutiny. From briefing Prime Ministers and the National Security Council as Director General of MI5, to steering the Royal Household through historic royal transitions, he shares what accountability looks like in practice: transparency within necessary limits, honesty under pressure, and leadership that consistently puts purpose and collaboration ahead of personal or institutional agendas.
What gives an organisation its sense of direction when everything around it is changing? Andrew Parker draws on leading MI5 and the 600-year-old office of Lord Chamberlain to explore how large, complex institutions define and protect their purpose and values. He looks at why clarity of values matters most under pressure, and how leaders translate purpose into everyday decisions rather than leaving it as a mission statement on a wall.
Andrew Parker has spent his career modernising institutions steeped in tradition, from MI5's response to rapid technological change to reshaping the Royal Household's culture, governance, and priorities for a new reign and a new era. He shares practical lessons on introducing change without losing what makes an organisation trusted, and on bringing long-standing institutions, and the people within them, through periods of significant and sometimes unwelcome transition.
Andrew Parker led MI5 for seven years before becoming Lord Chamberlain, and now sits as a non-executive director at Babcock International and on Telicent's advisory board. His combination of national security leadership and current boardroom experience speaks directly to organisations managing complex risk and governance.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
Email andrew.parker@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Andrew's availability and fees. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and a bit about your audience.
Andrew Parker structures his sessions around paired institutional case studies, drawing directly from his tenures at MI5 and the Royal Household to illustrate how the same leadership principles — accountability, values clarity, and trust — operate across organisations of different ages, mandates, and public profiles.
Andrew Parker speaks on accountable and inclusive leadership, trust and accountability in high-pressure institutions, and purpose and values in complex organisations. He served as Director General of MI5 for seven years and subsequently as Lord Chamberlain, the Sovereign's most senior official, overseeing the funerals of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II, the accession of King Charles III, and the Coronation.
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