What does Dr. Keith Keating speak about?

Dr. Keith Keating speaks about the future of work, leadership, learning and development, workforce transformation, business value creation, and becoming future-ready in a rapidly changing world. His keynotes challenge organizations to rethink how they develop people, create impact, and adapt to disruption. He is especially known for delivering motivational and inspirational keynotes that challenge audiences to think bigger, adapt faster, and realize the impact they are capable of creating within their organizations and careers.

What companies has Keith worked with?

Keith has worked with global organizations across industries including professional services, healthcare, insurance, technology, and manufacturing. His experience includes collaborations with companies such as GE Healthcare, PepsiCo, Intuit, BDO, Yahoo, General Motors, McKinsey, Ivey Business School, and the University of Pennsylvania. He has also spoken at major conferences and leadership events around the world.

How do I book Keith for a keynote?

Keith can be booked for keynote presentations, executive events, leadership conferences, and custom learning experiences directly through his professional website. His sessions are available in both virtual and in-person formats and are tailored to the audience and business context. Organizations typically engage Keith for conferences, leadership summits, talent events, and future-of-work initiatives.

What books has Keith written?

Keith is the author of The Trusted Learning Advisor and Hidden Value: How to Reveal the Impact of Organizational Learning. His books focus on elevating the role of learning and development professionals, creating business value, building trust with stakeholders, and helping organizations unlock human potential through learning. Both books combine practical frameworks, research, storytelling, and actionable strategies.

What is Keith's background?

Keith's journey is unconventional and deeply human. He went from being a high school dropout to earning a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and becoming one of the leading voices in Learning & Development. With more than 25 years of global experience, he has lived and worked across multiple countries and now serves as Chief Learning & Development Officer at BDO Canada while also teaching in executive education programs.

Who is Keith's keynote ideal for?

Keith's keynotes are ideal for organizations navigating change, transformation, leadership development, AI disruption, workforce evolution, or cultural reinvention. His audiences often include executives, HR leaders, L&D professionals, business leaders, people managers, and future-focused teams. His message resonates especially well with organizations that want to strengthen adaptability, trust, learning cultures, and long-term business impact.

What makes Keith's approach different?

Keith blends business strategy, learning science, leadership insight, and deeply personal storytelling in a way that is both practical and emotionally resonant. Rather than focusing only on inspiration, he equips audiences with frameworks, language, and actions they can immediately apply. His work is grounded in the belief that learning changes lives and that organizations grow when people grow. He is a practitioner of the work he speaks about, integrating personal experience rather than theory.

What is The Trusted Learning Advisor framework?

The Trusted Learning Advisor framework is Keith's signature model for helping learning professionals evolve from transactional support roles into strategic business partners. The framework focuses on building trust, diagnosing business problems, aligning learning to organizational goals, and creating measurable value. It provides practical tools and mindsets that help L&D professionals strengthen credibility, influence decision-making, and drive meaningful impact.

Keynote Speaker | Workforce Futurist | Author

Evolve. Or Else.

The organizations that win are the ones that never stop learning.

I help leaders learn differently, adapt faster, and unlock the full potential of their people.

Bring Me to Your Event Watch My Keynote Reel

Trusted By Organizations That Demand Results

About

Keith

Learning Saved My Life. Now It's My Life's Work.

I didn't finish 10th grade. The school system never taught me how to learn, so I taught myself. And then I became unstoppable. Twenty-five years later, I've built learning cultures inside some of the world's most demanding organizations: McKinsey, HSBC, Hearst, General Motors and BDO Canada.

More About Keith

"If a high school dropout can become unstoppable by learning how to learn, imagine what your organization can become when you build that same capability into every person."
Dr. Keith Keating

25+

Years' Experience

100+

Keynotes

50+

Global Clients

How

Keith Can Help

"Everything I do is designed to help leaders prepare their people for what comes next, unlock human potential, and turn meaningful work into measurable value."

Keynote Speaking Talks That Don't Leave You The Same

Future-Preparing Excellence

The future of work isn't coming. It's here. This keynote gives leaders the blueprint to stop reacting to disruption and start building organizations that outpace it.

Ideal For

C-suite leadership forums
CHRO and talent summits
Organizational transformation events
Association conferences

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Evolve. Or Else.

L&D has been the most strategic function in the room and the least recognized. This keynote is the roadmap for changing that permanently.

Ideal For

L&D conferences
CLO and talent leader forums
HR leadership events
Organizational transformation summits

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Hidden Value: Making the Impact Visible

Extraordinary work gets overlooked every day. Not because it lacks value. Because nobody made it visible. This keynote changes that.

Ideal For

CHRO and CLO forums
L&D conferences
Organizational learning summits
Workforce development associations

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Breaking the Box

Every organization runs on boxes. Labels that start as descriptions and become ceilings. This keynote breaks them.

Ideal For

Future of Work Conferences
HR & Talent Summits
Leadership Development Programs
Culture & Transformation Initiatives

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Trusted by Leaders Across Industries

Keith has a remarkable ability to challenge assumptions while making complex ideas feel approachable. His keynote encouraged our community to think differently about the future of learning and the value we bring to our organizations, and our audience walked away inspired, energized, and equipped to lead with greater purpose and impact.

Lauren Harbert

Executive Director, Life Sciences Trainers & Educators Network (LTEN)
Dr. Keating's keynote quickly became the most talked-about session of the event and ultimately, the single most raved-about Keynote ever at DevLearn. He created an unforgettable start that set the tone for everything that followed.

Lenore Higgins

Senior Event Director, CloserStill Media
With his credibility and tactical ways to make us more strategic, I can't tell you how excited I am and inspired by Dr. Keating's keynote.

Kristy Callahan

Head of Learning, GE HealthCare
Phenomenal. Dr. Keating had amazing experiences that he anchored to within case studies and left us with actionable insights I can't wait to implement.

Courtney Michener Miller

Head of Commercial Excellence, AstraZeneca
Keith's expertise and passion were truly inspiring, and this program has set a new standard for how we position L&D as a strategic partner within our firm.

Allyson E. Roote

Vice President, The Bonadio Group
Keith was exactly what we needed for our keynote to a room full of Fortune 500 L&D executives. His message and frameworks for creating value set the intention for the day and made a lasting impact.

Dave Romero

CEO, Unboxed Technologies
Dr. Keating's keynote delivered tremendous value to our team, with so many 'aha' moments and practical applications. Team members reached out afterward to express their gratitude for the investment in them and Keith's ability to make 90 minutes fly by.

Dr. KimArie Yowell

Chief Talent Officer, Rocket
Keith's keynote struck exactly the right balance between challenging our audience and giving them something practical to take away. It was just the right amount of causing people to pause, question their assumptions, and rethink what they thought they knew.

Heather Esposito

Chair, CalCPA

The Books

The Thinking Behind The Work

Kogan Page, 2023

The Trusted Learning Advisor

L&D's evolution starts here

If L&D wants to shape strategy, we have to stop operating like order takers.

I wrote The Trusted Learning Advisor to give learning and talent professionals the tools, skills, and mindset to build credibility, strengthen stakeholder relationships, and connect learning to what the business needs.

Become the strategic partner your organization already needs.

Explore the Book

JetLaunch, 2025

Hidden Value

Great work does not speak for itself. Its value must be made visible.

Too much valuable work goes unrecognized because people cannot connect what they do to the outcomes that matter.

I wrote Hidden Value to help leaders uncover the value their teams create, connect it to business priorities, and communicate their impact in ways others understand.

Stop defending your contribution. Start making it visible.

Explore the Book

The Framework

The Ideas That Drive The Work

Four proprietary frameworks built from 25 years of practice, doctoral research, and the hard lessons that only come from doing the work at the highest levels.

Value Creation Compass

From the award-winning book Hidden Value

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Value Obsession Framework

From Hidden Value

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