For Event Planners
Innovation & AI keynote speaker for corporate conferences, HR summits, leadership retreats, and technology events.
Alex Goryachev is the innovation and AI keynote speaker for conferences, HR summits, and corporate events where the audience has already heard the hype and needs someone who has actually built it. He ran Cisco's $1.1B Global Innovation Centers across 14 countries, built the innovation consulting practice at Dell, and has delivered 300+ keynotes for Google, AWS, Disney, Pfizer, IBM, SHRM, and others across 40 countries. A go-to speaker for HR and people leaders on the future of work and AI transformation. 99% audience recommendation score. Zero hype slides.
"One of the world's top innovation experts."
— Forbes
Every engagement starts with a discovery call. Topics are customized to your industry, audience, and moment.
CMS · Signature Keynote 01
Title, description, audience, duration, and tags pulled from the keynote collection.
CMS · Signature Keynote 02
Title, description, audience, duration, and tags pulled from the keynote collection.
CMS · Workshop 01
Half-day to full-day format · up to 30 participants · executive teams and leadership offsites · can be combined with a keynote.
CMS · Workshop 02
Title, description, duration, and format from CMS workshop entry.
CMS · Additional Keynote
Title, description, audience, duration pulled from the keynote collection.
From a 45-minute all-hands to a full-day executive workshop. In-person, virtual, or hybrid. The format changes; the substance doesn't.
The only thing growing faster than AI is the number of so-called AI experts.
Need a cheat sheet for sorting the real ones from the rest? We made one →
Alex doesn't speak about AI in the abstract. He speaks about what AI means for your specific room: HR, leadership, faculty, engineers, or a board.
AI Innovation
What agentic AI actually means for your organization right now. Not the vendor narrative. Not the Gartner chart. What to decide, what to stop debating, and where the real leverage is. Drawn from running a $1.1B emerging technology portfolio and current advisory work with organizations deploying AI at scale.
Boards · Executives · Technology & Strategy teams
AI & Innovation
How to build the internal culture and capability to actually innovate with AI. Not run a hackathon and call it a strategy. Based on frameworks Alex built and deployed at Cisco across 14 countries.
Innovation & transformation teams · Leadership
AI & HR
What AI actually does to jobs, teams, and how people work. Honest answers, not reassurance. Alex has advised on workforce transformation since before most organizations had an AI strategy.
HR & People leaders · All-hands · Leadership
AI & Education
AI is rewriting what education means, who delivers it, and what students need. Drawn from real deployment: AI Workgroup Member for the CSU system, 23 campuses, one of the largest AI rollouts in public higher education.
Higher ed · Faculty · Education leadership
AI & Policy
What responsible AI deployment actually requires: not principles documents, but accountable decisions. Informed by co-authoring ISO 56002 and advising government agencies and institutions on AI policy.
Government · Compliance · Policy & risk teams
AI Transformation
Moving from AI pilots to AI-at-scale. The organizational, cultural, and strategic shifts that separate organizations that successfully transform from those that run endless proof-of-concept loops.
Executives · Transformation & ops teams
AI & People
How to prepare your workforce: not just train them on tools. Practical frameworks for building AI fluency, reducing fear, and turning employees into the drivers of AI adoption rather than the resistors.
HR · L&D · People operations
AI & Leadership
What changes about leadership when AI is in the room. And what doesn't. How to make better decisions, maintain team trust, and stay credible when the technology is moving faster than the org chart can absorb.
Senior leaders · Executive teams · Managers
No other speaker on the AI circuit has operated a $1.1B emerging technology portfolio across 14 countries, generated $400M in revenue from innovation, written the Wall Street Journal bestseller on the subject, served as AI Workgroup Member, California State University system (23 campuses, 460,000 students, a $17M ChatGPT Edu deployment), held the role of Innovator-in-Residence at Tulane University, and then stood in front of 300+ rooms of engineers, executives, elected politicians, HR leaders, and skeptics, and earned a 99% recommendation score doing it. That combination doesn't exist anywhere else. It's not a positioning claim. It's a verifiable record.
Alex ran Cisco's Global Innovation Centers across 14 countries, managing a $1.1B portfolio of emerging technology initiatives, generating $400M in revenue. He designed innovation programs for the Olympic Games. He built Smart City strategies across seven countries. When he talks about building AI-ready organizations, it's not a framework from a consulting deck. It's what he actually did.
Talkadot post-event data across 582+ audience responses: 99% Would Recommend · 97% Relevance to My Work · 100% Content Quality. These aren't survey averages pulled from an email list. They're scores collected in the room, right after he walks off stage.
Every booking starts with a discovery call where Alex learns your industry, your audience's pressure points, and what you're trying to accomplish. The keynote that shows up on your stage isn't pulled from a catalog. It's built around your room.
Alex has keynoted for elected officials and government agencies, Fortune 10 boards, university faculty, HR all-hands, technical engineering teams, and mixed rooms with all of the above. 40 countries. 6 continents. The content adjusts. The authority doesn't.
Alex has no consulting firm to upsell, no software platform to promote, no coaching program to close. Your audience gets independent perspective, which is exactly why they trust what they hear and act on it afterward. Zero conflicts. On stage or off.
WSJ bestselling author (Fearless Innovation, Wiley). 200+ published works. Forbes contributor. Innovator-in-Residence, Tulane. AI Workgroup Member, California State University system. Co-author of ISO 56002. IEEE Senior Member. These aren't bio padding: they're what your stakeholders will find when they Google him.
Send these before the meeting. Answer the questions before they're asked.
Drop them into your proposal, send to your A/V team, or forward to stakeholders. No request needed.
How much does it cost to hire Alex?
Keynote speaker fees vary based on event type, audience size, travel requirements, and format. Alex speaks at corporate conferences, HR summits, leadership retreats, and virtual events worldwide. Submit your event details below for a same-day fee range. No obligation. No pressure. Virtual engagements have a separate fee structure.
Is Alex available for HR conferences?
Yes. HR conferences and people summits are among Alex's most frequent engagements. His Future of Work keynote is specifically built for HR leaders, CHROs, and people teams navigating AI and workforce transformation. His content meets HR audiences where they actually are: honest answers about AI's impact on jobs, roles, and culture. Not reassurance slides.
What topics does Alex speak on?
Core topics: Agentic AI & Enterprise Strategy · Future of Work & HR Transformation · Innovation Culture & Leadership · AI Governance & Policy · Leading in the Age of AI · AI in Higher Education. Every keynote is customized to your specific audience and conference objective via a discovery call.
Does Alex do virtual keynotes?
Yes. Alex delivers virtual keynotes with a studio-quality setup and has delivered them for global organizations across 40 countries and multiple time zones. The energy translates. Virtual engagements use a different fee structure. Mention your format when you reach out.
How far in advance should I book?
For major conferences, booking 6–12 months in advance is recommended to lock in your preferred date. Alex does occasionally accommodate shorter-lead bookings depending on availability. Submit your date below and you'll have an answer within 24 hours.
Can Alex pair a keynote with a workshop?
Yes, and it's the highest-impact format. A keynote sets the frame for your full audience; a half-day workshop the next morning lets your leadership team go deeper with a real deliverable. Many clients book both for their annual conference. Mention it when you submit your inquiry.
Alex speaks at corporate conferences, HR summits, leadership retreats, and technology events worldwide. Send event details and get a response within one business day.