Available to book
Transform leadership diversity with Dame Heather Rabbatts, speaker and governance pioneer. Heather works with organisations to advance inclusion and institutional reform, delivering groundbreaking expertise as the first woman on the FA board and BBC's 100 Women honoree.
Dame Heather Rabbatts is a Jamaican-born British solicitor, businesswoman, and broadcaster. She gained prominence as the Chief Executive of the London Borough of Lambeth, the youngest council chief in the UK. Heather served as a Football Association director from 2011 to 2017, becoming the first woman and ethnic minority person in such a position. She was also the only woman on the board during her tenure.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Heather moved to England at three. She left school with five O-levels and attended evening classes to study for A-levels. She then studied at the London School of Economics and became a barrister in 1981. After working in local government, Heather became the Chief Executive of the London Borough of Lambeth in 1995, making significant improvements in housing, education, and council tax collection. She was also the founder and co-chair of iMPOWER, a public sector consultancy.
In addition to her work in local government, Heather held various directorships and oversight roles, including serving as a Governor at the London School of Economics, an Associate of The King's Fund, and a member of the board of directors at the British Council. She was also a Trustee of Malaria No More UK and later became the Chair of Trustees. In 2010, she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.
Heather was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2016. She was also listed as one of BBC's 100 Women in November 2016.
Book Dame Heather Rabbatts as a speaker to inspire your team with her groundbreaking achievements as the first woman and ethnic minority director at the Football Association. Her diverse experience in law, local government, and business leadership offers invaluable insights into overcoming barriers and driving systemic change. Elevate your event with her compelling resilience, innovation, and leadership story.
Testimonials
often considered together
Carme Artigas
Big Data
Innovation
Artificial Intelligence
Rob Lauber
Digital Transformation
Transformational Leadership
Business Strategy
Nancy LaMons
Diversity and Inclusion
Workplace Culture
Transformational Leadership
frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
To book Heather Rabbatts, email heather.rabbatts@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 Dame Heather's availability and speaking fee. 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 about your audience.
No concrete session description or speaking format information is available.
Dame Heather Rabbatts speaks on diversity and inclusion, effective leadership, and public sector reform. She served as the first woman and ethnic minority director of the Football Association, a position she held from 2011 to 2017, and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2016.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
Get the right person
Tell us what you’re working on and we’ll match you with the talent your audience won’t stop talking about.
