Available to book
Lorraine Heggessey
Influence
Gender Equality
Workplace Culture
Transform media leadership with Lorraine Heggessey, speaker and broadcasting pioneer. Lorraine works with organisations to drive innovation and strategic growth, delivering expertise honed as BBC1's first female controller and media executive for global entertainment formats.
Business Leader
Women in Business
Lorraine Heggessey, the first female controller of BBC 1, played a pivotal role in leading the channel to surpass its main competitor ITV1, ultimately making it the most popular television channel in Britain. In 2026, she received the Special Recognition Award at the Broadcast Awards, honouring her pioneering career.
With a substantial budget of £1 billion, she successfully revitalized Saturday nights by introducing hit shows like Strictly Come Dancing and the new Dr Who. Additionally, she added successful dramas such as Spooks and Waking the Dead to the channel's lineup.
Following her tenure at BBC 1, Lorraine assumed the position of CEO at talkbackThames, where she managed to significantly enhance profits by an impressive 50% within just two years. She established a digital unit within the company and introduced globally recognized shows like Britain's Got Talent and Take Me Out.
In 2012, Lorraine founded Boom Pictures, which quickly grew into the 7th largest independent production company in Britain. Eventually, ITV acquired the company.
Lorraine's next venture took her to The Royal Foundation, where she served as CEO. While there, she innovated the foundation's venture philanthropy model and actively supported various initiatives, including Heads Together.
Lorraine is well-known for her bold decision-making and has been recognized for her contributions to the industry. She is a Fellow of the Royal Television Society, provides advisory services to Channel 4's Growth Fund, and chairs the Grierson Trust. Additionally, she frequently contributes to media discussions on prominent programs like the Today Programme and Newsnight.
Topics, sessions and talks
Most people are promoted into leadership positions because they excel at their job. They will have spent years getting good at what they do, going on the right courses and keeping up to date with what is happening in their field. They therefore assume they can just ‘do’ leadership. However, inspirational leaders have to work hard at developing new skills to thrive, especially in a world where command and control simply does not work anymore.
You can’t escape change in the modern business environment, whether you’re trying to get ahead of the competition, refresh your brand or manage the impact of fast-developing technology. Change is very exposing for leaders and organisations. It takes courage to drive it through. Get it right, and you will unleash positive energy to drive your organisation forward.
Having risen to the very top, Lorraine looks at how identifying your potential, letting people know what you bring to the table, and asking for what you want are fundamental to building a successful career. In this highly motivational and confidence-boosting keynote, Lorraine advocates that it’s time to accentuate the positive and recognise that it’s an asset for a company to have women in leadership roles.
In this keynote, Lorraine shares her experiences of working in large organisations and what to do (and not do) to ensure you attract, retain, and empower employees to achieve their full potential. Encouraging a freelance mentality, where staff seek out opportunities and feel free to develop ideas or initiate projects themselves, will create a vibrant, productive and highly motivated culture. It will also help organisations attract and retain the best talent who want to work somewhere they feel valued and empowered.
Lorraine offers your team insights from a trailblazing media leader. Benefit from her visionary strategies, bold decision-making, and proven track record of transforming channels and companies into market leaders. Elevate your business acumen with wisdom from a Fellow of the Royal Television Society and industry innovator.
Testimonials
often considered together
Erica Dhawan
Team Building
Critical Thinking
Company Culture
Morgan Matthews
Leadership Development
Company Culture
Behavioural Science
Alex Mahon
Effective Leadership
Change Management
Diversity and Inclusion
frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
Email lorraine.heggessey@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 Lorraine'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.
Lorraine Heggessey draws on her career trajectory — from BBC 1 controller to CEO and founder — to ground her sessions in first-hand case studies of leadership decisions, such as commissioning Strictly Come Dancing and launching Britain's Got Talent, using these as concrete reference points to illustrate principles around change management, confidence, and career progression.
Lorraine Heggessey speaks on leadership development, organisational change, and women's progression in business. She was the first female controller of BBC One, where she led the channel to overtake ITV1 as Britain's most watched, commissioning Strictly Come Dancing, the revived Doctor Who, Spooks, and Waking the Dead, and received the Special Recognition Award at the 2026 Broadcast Awards in recognition of her career.
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