TEDxManchester

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Alex Partridge

  ADHD Bestselling Author & Podcast Host

  Alex Partridge is a leading voice in the neurodiversity space, dedicated to unpacking the complexities of living and working with ADHD. Alex was previously best known as the founder of social media giants UNILAD and LADbible. Privately though Alex was contending with struggles with burnout, anxiety and addiction. At age 34, a late diagnosis of ADHD radically reshaped Alex’s worldview. It provided a profound insight into his mental health battles and explained the “boom-and-bust” cycles of his early career. Today, Alex has channeled this revelation into a powerful advocacy platform. He is now Host of ADHD Chatter, a chart-topping UK podcast reaching hundreds of thousands of listeners each month, where he explores the nuances of neurodivergence with experts and peers. Alex is also the bestselling author of Now It All Makes Sense, offering a raw look at how he’s navigated life post-diagnosis. His latest book book, Why Does Everybody Hate Me, was published in March 2026.

• Chris Bailey

  Productivity Expert

  Chris Bailey has been described by TED as ‘the most productive man you’d ever hope to meet’. His 2019 TEDxManchester Talk (How to Get Your Brain to Focus) with nearly 20m views is one of the all-time most popular TEDx Talks. Chris Bailey is the author of Intentional, Hyperfocus, The Productivity Project, and How to Calm Your Mind. He has written about productivity for more than a decade, and his work has been published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, GQ, and more. Chris also speaks to organizations around the world about how they can become more productive—while actually enjoying the process. Connect with Chris at chrisbailey.com.

• Jess Venner

  Pompeii Historian

  Dr. Jess Venner is an award-winning ancient historian, writer, and presenter, bringing history to life for millions worldwide. In particular, her groundbreaking work on Pompeii’s urban environment has been published in leading journals and presented globally. In January 2026, she began a prestigious Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at the University of Oxford, researching the early Roman Empire. Her debut non-fiction book, The Lost Voices of Pompeii, is set to be published by HarperCollins in 2026. Outside academia, Jess has seen widespread success in connecting with audiences through her digital platform Life in the Past Lane on TikTok and Instagram among other platforms. She has been recognised across media, shortlisted for the Canon Best Original Content Creator Award (ITV Creator Awards 2025) and the Future Presenter Award (New Voice Awards 2024). Above all, Jess is passionate about making history accessible, exciting, and fun for everyone.

• Jill Scott

  Broadcast Football Analyst

  Jill Scott MBE is a celebrated former professional footballer, and was part of the England squad that won the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022, the first time an England team has ever won the European Championship. Jill is the second most capped England player with 161 appearances and represented England in ten major tournaments. She started her professional career playing for Sunderland Women, then for Everton Ladies until 2013, when she transferred to Manchester City. During her footballing career she contributed to multiple title victories, including the Women’s Super League and several Women’s FA Cups and League Cups. After retirement from sports, Jill has become a successful broadcaster, pundit, and barista. In 2022 she won I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and broadcasts on football alongside Gary Neville, Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher. Jill co-owns Boxx2Boxx Coffee, a highly-rated café in Manchester, with her fiancée Shelly.

• Joanna Jensen

  Authentic Entrepreneur

  In a 35-year career spanning property, interior design, investment banking and personal care, Joanna has become renowned as one of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs. She is best known as the founder of the Child's Farm brand which was acquired by PZ Cussons in Manchester. As of 2025 Joanna has fully exited her former startup. Her experience joins the dots between economics and consumer appetite. Her accomplishments in business and intellectual curiosity enable her to assess opportunity through the lens of both commerciality and authenticity. In 2025, Kogan Page published Joanna's first book, Making Business Child's Play. She is a regular contributor to the Sunday Times and ITN and is the Chairperson for the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association. A mother of two teenage girls, Joanna is also an investor and passionate supporter of female-founded businesses.

• Julian Treasure

  A Communication & Listening Expert

  Julian Treasure is the world’s leading authority on conscious communication, with over 2 decades dedicated to transforming how individuals and organisations connect through skilled listening and powerful speaking. A former musician, Julian went on to pioneer the use of sound in business, helping global brands design soundscapes that drive engagement and performance. He has since trained and inspired leaders, teams, and organisations worldwide to overcome destructive communication habits and develop the skills of authentic human connection. A recognised TED thought leader, Julian’s five TED Talks have been viewed more than 160 million times. His talk How to Speak So That People Want to Listen is the sixth most viewed TED Talk of all time. He is the author of three acclaimed books: Sound Business (2014), How to Be Heard (2017), and Sound Affects (2025), and his insights are regularly featured in international media and top podcasts such as Diary of a CEO.

• Kevin Quantum

  Scientist Magician

  Kevin was trained by the best magicians in the business – Penn & Teller. He has been a magician for twenty years creating award winning productions at Fringe Festivals around the world, including this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. A Guinness World Record breaker, he has consulted on numerous films and theatre shows and also presents to the corporate world on topics including creativity and distraction. His unique magic creations, saw him reach the final stages of Britain’s Got Talent, have had tens of millions of views on YouTube & Facebook and have been broadcast on television shows in almost every country in the world. When home in Edinburgh, he is Artistic Director of the UK’s only magic festival; Edinburgh International Magic Festival (founded 2010), and has presented, produced, written, pushed, pulled, laughed, cried, and ultimately brought joy and delight to tens of thousands of people with magic productions created, often with Kevin’s oversight, in Scotland and around the world.

• Michael Wooldridge

  Professor of Artificial Intelligence

  Michael Wooldridge is the Ashall Professor of the Foundations of Artificial Intelligence at Oxford University. He is best known for his pioneering work on multi-agent systems building multiple artificial intelligences that can cooperate, negotiate, and decipher convoluted problems similar to human collaboration. In 2023, he delivered the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, titled ‘The Truth About AI’, and is a champion for making science accessible, having written the Ladybird Expert Guide to AI and the award-winning The Road to Conscious Machines. For Michael’s thirty years of research, technical breakthroughs and dedication to teaching others, he was recently awarded the prestigious Michael Faraday Prize by the Royal Society in late 2025, becoming the first computer scientist in history to receive it.

• Sahara Bhanot

  Biochemist & Startup Co-Founder

  Dr Sahara Bhanot is a biotechnologist, entrepreneur, and Co-Founder & CEO of LanthaGen Bio, a startup focused on developing sustainable, synthetic biology-based rare earth metal extraction systems. She holds a BSc in Chemistry and an MPhil in Biotechnology from the University of Manchester. She recently earned her PhD also at Manchester. Her doctoral research, sponsored by the Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, involved engineering E. coli microbes to produce plant-derived therapeutics, specifically the anti-inflammatory flavonoid compounds found in the Cannabis sativa plant. Alongside CTO Dan Healy & CSO Ellie Goulding, Sahara has led the startup to a number of early major wins including a recent €1.31 million funding round through SPRIND, the prestigious Germany federal agency modeled after DARPA in the US to incubate breakthrough innovations often considered too risky for traditional venture capital.

• Tj Power

  Neuroscientist

  Tj Power is best known for his pioneering work in demystifying brain chemistry and translating neuroscience into practical strategies. He is a leading neuroscientist, founder of DOSE Lab, the Sunday Times bestselling author of The DOSE Effect and an authority on unlocking human potential in the digital age. His research investigates how dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins (aka DOSE) influence mental and physical health, particularly in the context of modern consumer technology and social media. Tj started his career at the University of Exeter, where he developed an undergraduate module focused on the neuroscience of mindfulness and then went on to create his breakthrough DOSE® framework. His brain chemistry insights and strategies have resonated with a global community of over 1m people on social media