Innovation speakers help audiences explore artificial intelligence, organizational change, creativity, customer experience, and high-performance decision-making. This guide organizes these 11 women by area of expertise so event planners can compare perspectives and identify the voices most relevant to their audience.
The Mollie Plotkin Group is a WBENC-certified women-owned enterprise. We are proud to work closely with these accomplished women and connect their expertise with organizations planning meaningful events.
Top Female Innovation Speakers
These female innovation speakers bring direct experience from technology, entrepreneurship, organizational transformation, creative strategy, engineering, and Formula One racing.
Ayesha Khanna
- Founded ADDO AI to advise organizations on artificial intelligence strategy
- Built more than 20 years of experience in artificial intelligence, smart cities, and emerging technologies
- Established an international career as a technology advisor, author, and keynote speaker
Ayesha Khanna brings a global perspective to artificial intelligence and emerging technology. Her work helps leaders consider how new systems may influence organizations, cities, and society.
Cassie Kozyrkov
- Served as Google’s first Chief Decision Scientist
- Helped establish decision intelligence as a business discipline
- Trained more than 20,000 Google employees in artificial intelligence and decision-making
Cassie Kozyrkov examines the human judgment behind artificial intelligence adoption. Her decision-science perspective helps leaders evaluate data, technology, and organizational choices.
Michelle K. Lee
- Served as Vice President of the Machine Learning Solutions Lab at Amazon Web Services
- Held an executive role at Google during the company’s formative years
- Served as the presidentially appointed Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Michelle K. Lee connects artificial intelligence with business strategy, productivity, and intellectual property. Her career spans technology leadership, public service, and executive advising.
Charlene Li
- Founded Altimeter Group before its acquisition by Prophet
- Served as Chief Research Officer at PA Consulting
- Earned degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Business School
Charlene Li studies how leaders respond to disruption. Her research makes complex shifts in artificial intelligence, work, and customer behavior easier for executive audiences to understand.
Lisa Bodell
- Founded the innovation consultancy FutureThink
- Authored Why Simple Wins and Kill the Company
- Served on advisory boards for the World Economic Forum and the United States National Security Agency
Lisa Bodell focuses on the relationship between simplification and innovation. Her work gives organizations a structured way to reduce complexity and create room for meaningful work.
Polly LaBarre
- Co-founded the Management Lab to help organizations accelerate change
- Helped launch Fast Company as a member of its original team
- Delivered hundreds of keynote presentations around the world
Polly LaBarre explores new approaches to management, work, and organizational design. Her perspective helps leaders examine resilience, human potential, and meaningful change.
Abigail Posner
- Served as Director of Google Creative Works
- Founded Human Code to study creativity and human potential
- Earned the United Nations Media Impact Award for her creative work
Abigail Posner examines the human behaviors that drive creativity in an AI-shaped world. Her work connects cultural insight, curiosity, and technological innovation.
Diana Kander
- Authored the New York Times bestseller All In Startup
- Helped organizations develop products that generated billions of dollars in value
- Created an innovation framework taught at more than 100 universities
Diana Kander applies entrepreneurial experience to curiosity and business growth. Her work helps audiences identify blind spots, ask better questions, and recognize overlooked opportunities.
Sally Hogshead
- Became the most award-winning advertising copywriter in the United States at age 24
- Authored the New York Times bestsellers Fascinate and How the World Sees You
- Earned induction into the Speaker Hall of Fame
Sally Hogshead studies how people and brands attract attention through their differences. Her advertising and brand strategy experience supports events focused on positioning and customer engagement.
Bernie Collins
- Served as Head of Race Strategy for the Aston Martin Formula One team
- Held senior strategy and performance engineering roles during more than a decade in Formula One
- Joined McLaren through the Formula One team’s graduate engineering program
Bernie Collins brings a race strategist’s perspective to innovation and performance. Her Formula One career shows how technical teams coordinate decisions in rapidly changing conditions.
Ruth Buscombe
- Served as a race strategist and simulations engineer for Scuderia Ferrari
- Developed the strategy behind Sebastian Vettel’s victory at the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix
- Earned first-class honors in Aerospace and Aerothermal Engineering from the University of Cambridge
Ruth Buscombe connects engineering expertise with Formula One race strategy. Her career illustrates how data, simulation, and technical communication influence decisions under pressure.
Bring a female innovation speaker to your next corporate event, conference, or leadership program. Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group at booking@mollieplotkingroup.com or 215-995-0905 to discuss speaker availability and booking options.