Niluka Kavanagh MA (Oxon) | Keynote Speaker

Founder The Modern CEO & IMAGINETHAT Club

Redefining the future of work, with humans at the heart.Niluka Kavanagh, MA (Oxon) is an Executive Advisor, international speaker, and Founder of The Modern CEO and ImagineThat.Niluka is Microsoft Top 10 Speaker (2025), listed as an official speaker for IWD (International Women's Day) and a member of the UN Innovation Network.An ex-Big 4 consultant, Niluka has built her career at the intersection of strategy, leadership, communication, and culture, advising executives and founders on how to lead effectively in an increasingly complex world of work.Through The Modern CEO, Niluka works with senior leaders and leadership teams on the human side of the future of work - from modern leadership behaviours and psychological safety, to communication, engagement, and building high-performing, multigenerational teams.Her work helps organisations move beyond outdated leadership models and towards cultures that enable clarity, trust, and sustainable performance in the modern workplace. Alongside this, Niluka is the founder of ImagineThat, a global community supporting new entrepreneurs.A graduate of the University of Oxford, Niluka was selected as an Alumni Ambassador for Somerville College and featured in the University of Oxford’s Entrepreneurial Spotlight.She began her career at KPMG LLP, where she progressed through market development, innovation, and customer strategy roles, later serving as Head of Communications for KPMG SheCan and founding the firm’s Behavioural Science Unit before leaving at managerial level.She has since co-founded a tech start-up featured in the Scottish Sun and other outlets and a public speaking business with clients including Siemens, Deloitte, and the University of Chicago.Niluka is also the host of Breaking Boundaries with Niluka on YouTube and her insights have been published by organisations including The World Financial Review and the University of Cambridge.

Niluka gave an excellent, thought-provoking and insightful presentation at the CBCC 2024 Conference, exploring the future of work and trends when it comes to how, where and why we work. As a speaker, she was highly engaging, holding the audience’s attention with her informative yet relatable style. I was impressed by the depth of her insights and knowledge, which were grounded in both her personal experiences and current industry trends. I’m confident the audience found her equally compelling, and I look forward to hearing her speak again.- Noah Levy, Consulting with NBC Peacock TV Show & USA Today Best-Selling Author | TEDx Speaker | Founder of Medium.com’s Largest Music Blog

"Niluka truly excels in both her analytical and creative thinking. She applies both simultaneously to solve client challenges with a refreshing ease and elegance that few possess. Always articulate and compelling, Niluka is a great storyteller, able to land her ideas persuasively, and as such is an excellent manager also of others. Importantly, she is also a super nice person with a great deal of integrity - if you have the chance to work with her, grab it with both hands."- Joanna Stringer, Partner & Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group

"It's rare in your professional life to come across an individual like Niluka. Niluka is brave, passionate, strategic and creative along with being an exceptional communicator. She is also very humble, down to earth and kind which are qualities I value and admire hugely. The results that Niluka achieves for her clients is matched in spades by the way she delivers them and her ability to build highly personalised relationships that she continues to nurture. Anyone who has the pleasure of working alongside Niluka is incredibly lucky."- Gillian Mclaughlin, Former Head of Marketing Strategy at Standard Chartered