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Roma Agrawal MBE helps organisations build resilience through disruption and change. Drawing on her career as the structural engineer behind The Shard and bestselling author of five books, she equips audiences with a practical model for calm, risk-informed innovation.
Roma Agrawal MBE is a structural engineer, author, and broadcaster who helps organisations navigate disruption with the same discipline used to design buildings that bend without breaking.
She spent six years as an engineer on The Shard, Western Europe's tallest tower, before becoming a bestselling author of five books, including How Was That Built? and Nuts and Bolts, both shortlisted for Royal Society science book prizes. She has presented documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, and Discovery, hosts the podcast Building Stories, and has spoken to tens of thousands of people at universities, schools, and organisations worldwide, including TEDx.
Having moved alone from India to the UK at sixteen and changed course from physics to engineering, Roma draws on both her career and her own experience of change to show leaders how organisations either buckle under pressure or adapt and endure. Her Three-Pillar Model, inspired by the history of technological shifts from the printing press to artificial intelligence, gives businesses a practical framework for building resilience into both systems and people.
Audiences leave with a method for replacing anxiety with calm, risk-informed decision-making, and for guiding themselves and their teams through career and technological change without losing momentum.
Book Roma to help your organisation and its people build the resilience they need to face whatever comes next.
Topics, sessions and talks
Roma Agrawal shows leaders how to stop freezing in the face of technological disruption and start responding with the same discipline used to design buildings that bend without breaking. Drawing on how organisations have handled past shifts, from the printing press to early computing, she introduces her Three-Pillar Model for building calm, risk-informed innovation into both systems and people, so leaders can create a resilient foundation for whatever comes next.
Roma Agrawal draws on her own path from physics to structural engineering to authorship, including a move alone from India to the UK at sixteen and personal challenges with fertility and mental health, to dismantle the myth of the one right career path. She shows audiences how to focus on passions and transferable skills rather than fixed knowledge, leaving them with a practical plan for changing course when life demands it.
Roma Agrawal shares her insights as a structural engineer on The Shard, highlighting the unexpected challenges faced, such as a fox in the viewing gallery, and the complexities of soft ground and multiple stakeholders during the UK's largest concrete pour. She emphasises the role of human creativity in processing vast data, referencing historical examples like WWII code breakers. Attendees will gain fresh perspectives on innovation, risk management, and the nature of time, applicable across various industries, including finance.
Roma Agrawal explores the dual impact of engineering and technology on society, highlighting both positive and negative outcomes. She shares compelling stories, such as the paradox of the nail, which illustrates how an industry can both rely on exploitation and contribute to modern architecture. Additionally, she examines communication systems that perpetuate colonial power while fostering global connections. Attendees will gain insights into how historical lessons can inform a more equitable future in technology and AI development.
What does it take to build a skyscraper? Roma Agrawal breaks down the essential ingredients that allow these towering structures to defy gravity. From the invention of the lift to cutting-edge materials, she explores the innovations that have shaped our skylines. With interactive elements and fascinating historical insights, Roma's engaging style brings engineering to life, inspiring audiences to think differently about the structures around them.
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frequently asked questions
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To book Roma Agrawal, email roma.agrawal@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 Roma'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. 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.
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