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Speaker & cancer survivor advocate

Conn Bertish

Build resilience and creative agility with Conn Bertish, adventurer and brain cancer survivor turned global keynote speaker. Conn has worked with organisations across 20 countries, including Google, Nestle, and Coca-Cola, to future-proof teams through purpose, mental resilience, and adaptability.

Trusted by Google, Nestlé, Coca-Cola

Conn Bertish, Speaker | Cancer Dojo Founder
Conn Bertish

Conn Bertish

Cape Town, South Africa

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Cape Town, South Africa

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Conn Bertish's biography

At a glance

  • Award-winning creative strategist turned resilience expert
  • Brain cancer survivor and former big wave surfer
  • Launched Cancer Dojo app, backed by oncologists and scientists
Conn Bertish is a South African adventurer, resilience trainer, and brain cancer survivor who uses lived experience and behavioural science to help people and organisations adapt under pressure. A former Chief Creative Officer and Red Bull big wave surfer, Conn survived a brain cancer diagnosis in his 30s. He gamified his own recovery, earning the support of leading oncologists and science professors, and launched the award-winning Cancer Dojo resilience app, now used by patients worldwide. He later became the first person with hemiplegia to paddle unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean. During the 93-day expedition, he endured severe storms, isolation, equipment failures, and physical limitations that tested both preparation and mental endurance. Drawing on survival psychology and neuroscience research, Conn shows audiences how to reframe adversity, build cognitive agility and develop resilience that holds up in real-world conditions. He has delivered keynotes and workshops to more than two million people across twenty countries, with clients including Google, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, and Standard Chartered Bank. Audiences leave with a concrete framework for managing stress and anxiety using creative reframing techniques, a practical understanding of how to shift fixed thinking toward an explorer mindset, and tools drawn from Conn's medically supported methodology that have already been validated across thousands of corporate and clinical settings. For teams navigating change, Conn delivers the kind of shift in perspective that sticks long after the room clears.

Conn's showreel and videos

Topics, sessions and talks

How Purpose Builds Innovation
Innovation And Purpose. Finding your purpose is a life’s work. Learn how to make it fun, extraordinary and part of living a more resilient, creative and happy life.
Purposeful Teams Are Ridiculously Hard To Kill
Harnessing Collaboration as a harder to kill strategy. How to empower teams with simple purposeful creative strategies that inspire sharing, interaction and co-creation.
How Leaders Can Make Teams Harder To Kill
Creative Leadership during Crisis. Leading with creativity, empathy and insight into your audience.
How Creativity Makes You Harder To Kill
Building creativity for mental health and productivity. How to generate your own creative strategy for life, work and health.
Happy People Are Harder To Kill
Simple creative strategies for overcoming Adversity and Challenges. How to harness and use creativity to build resilience, embrace change and live a more extraordinary life.

Why we recommend booking Conn

Conn brings hard-earned perspective and compelling storytelling to conversations around resilience, pressure, and uncertainty. He connects his inspiring experiences with workplace realities in a way that feels grounded, with every session supported by medical and scientific expertise.

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Trusted by Google, Nestlé, Coca-Cola

Testimonials

Conn spoke at our Google summit and introduced a fresh approach of using creativity to solve serious problems. Since then, we’ve invited him back twice as the feedback is always outstanding. We rank Conn as a top trainer who provokes leaders with a shift in mindset that is hugely beneficial for everyone!

Sil Curiati

Google

Conn Bertish is a master speaker who delivers powerful holistic ways to future-proof your business and your personal life - especially during times of uncertraintly and existential change. Book him.

Bruno Olierhoek

Nestlé

Conn’s talk hit just the right tone and message for everyone at the conference - we’ve had incredible feedback! Thank you Conn.

Sharon Keith

Coca-Cola

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