Dan Cobley – former MD at Google

Dan spent 8 years at Google, running European marketing and then the $5Bn UK and Ireland business. 

Since leaving Google he has become a successful entrepreneur and investor in innovative startup businesses. 

He is the managing partner for fintech at Europe’s leading Venture Builder, Blenheim Chalcot, and the co-founder of ClearScore and Salary Finance. ​

Dan is a regular keynote speaker at conferences; speaking on the disruptive power of fintech, technology, innovation, and Google’s unique approach to business.

He is also an accomplished moderator, interviewer and after-dinner speaker.

Dan has shared his thoughts on Physics and Marketing at the TED conference and with over 1.5 million people online. He was named as number 3 in Wired UK top 100 list 2012 and among the Maserati 100 Innovators of the Year in 2018 and Business Insider’s top 100 Innovators in 2019.

He appeared on BBC’s Tomorrow’s World as a technology commentator and helped Alan Sugar choose his 2014 Apprentice.

Dan’s Keynotes

Drawing from a career at the cutting edge of technology businesses, Dan helps audiences grasp the imperative for change and navigate future opportunities.With rich and entertaining examples from Google, his startup portfolio, and elsewhere, Dan brings a fresh perspective to any audience, helping energise them towards action with a blend of inspiration and practical, usable advice.

Training Workshops

Dan expertly leads engaging interactive sessions on innovation culture subjects such as learning from failure, pretotyping and OKRs (objectives and key results). Expect your teams to return fired up to think and act differently.

Moderated Discussions

Dan is a lively discussion partner for a fireside chat or moderated panel on anything related to innovation, disruption and technology-led change. His ‘second order impacts of technology change’ discussions have led to multiple repeat bookings. Dan can also support you as an accomplished interviewer or moderator.

Keynote Topics

The Digital Imperative

For organisations seeking to drive digital transformation, Dan will light a fire under the project. 

With rich data and memorable anecdotes he will help engage everyone in the room in the cause and give highly practical advice on how to build a culture that can succeed on the journey.

​Learning How to Fail

For companies that are seeking a more agile, innovative organisation, learning how to fail (quickly, cheaply and in a way that drives learning) is critical. 

With lessons from Google and startup land, Dan will make the case for a culture change and give you the tools to make it happen.

Disruption in Financial Services

Financial services are going through a period of dramatic change like never before, with the UK at the vanguard. Drawing on his experience with a number of leading UK fintechs, Dan will explore the drivers of change, the characteristics of winners, and the imperative for everyone in financial services that wants to survive.

Second Order Impacts of Technology

Ideally suited to a fireside chat format, Dan will answer questions on what has driven the massive technology-led disruption of the past decades and how we should have seen it coming.

Then he will look ahead at future disruption (AI, autonomous vehicles, etc.) and explore what primary shifts will be and the important second order impacts.

What people say

LOVED your talk just now at SICTIC (virtual event)! I haven’t heard a speaker yet that has incorporated ALL the concepts that I have followed in my corporate and start-up experiences around innovation!

Victoria Chu Pao, Swiss ICT Investor Club

The feedback is short and simple: Fantastic. The presentation was extremely well received by both customers and staff. Nothing to add