Sydney-based, speaking globally

Keynote speaker for professional services

Talks and workshops for lawyers, accountants and consultants on what AI changes about client work and client trust, from Dom Thurbon, a former EY Partner.

Check Dom's availability See the presentations

A small sample of the professional services organisations Dom has worked with

“A level of passion and professional rigour that is second to none. He took a complex topic and made it accessible, interactive, and highly engaging for our C-suite audience… If you want a speaker who can challenge perspectives while keeping the room hooked, Dom is the perfect choice.”

Director of Marketing, APAC & India, Iron Mountain

Dom's view on professional services

To say the world of professional services is changing is a dramatic understatement! Take technologies like agentic and generative AI as a single example: it is putting fundamental pressure on legacy business models, whilst simultaneously creating both incredible opportunity (such as increased productivity, more competitive pricing and entirely new offers) and genuinely dire risk (just ask a firm that has found AI hallucinations creeping into client deliverables!).

Those are just some of the implications of just one new technology – and we haven't even yet mentioned attracting and engaging an increasingly fickle new generation of talent, massively increased marketplace competition from both traditional rivals and new entrants, rising customer expectations, profound pressure on margin and price, and rapidly evolving regulatory and compliance landscapes.

Sometimes I feel like we in professional services are like the proverbial frogs in boiling water – the world has changed so dramatically around us, but because we're living in the middle of it every day, it risks feeling "normal". But as Nick Bostrom so beautifully said, "there is nothing 'normal' about this status quo". If we don't think deeply about the nature of the changes we're currently experiencing and what they mean for how we serve our clients, grow our businesses, and create value – we may well suffer the fate of that frog in boiling water!

Dom

Dom Thurbon brings a unique fusion of practical first-hand experience 'in the trenches' of professional services with global perspectives and insights as an author, speaker and successful entrepreneur. At just 23, he started his first consulting business which he grew to over 100 staff delivering for clients in over 15 countries. He also spent five years as a Partner at EY (in the climate and social impact team) and was founder of an AI-enabled tech company, EI, (sold to Qoria in 2022). His latest book, To Be Honest…, looks at trust, truth and the rise of the misinformation age, and what these things mean for professional services businesses trying to do business in a climate of falling trust levels, deep marketplace scepticism and rapid change.

“Dom delivers the perfect blend of practicality and provocation. He knows how to energise an audience so they leave not only inspired but also behaving in new ways.”

Mathew Nelson, Chief Sustainability Officer, EY

Whether it's inspiring a room of lawyers, accountants, practice leaders or consultants about the future of competitive advantage in an AI-enabled world, or working with business owners and Partners on strategy, innovation and change, Dom's work in professional services has seen him advise some of the largest and most innovative companies in the world. He'd love nothing more than to bring some of that energy, insight and provocation to your next event!

Presentations for professional services firms

Dom builds every presentation for your event from research into your industry and a briefing with your team. Each one can run as a keynote, a workshop or both.

Winning trust in a trustless world: the future of professional services in the misinformation age

We are no longer living in the information age, but rather the misinformation age. Everywhere you look, a combination of new media, social technology, AI and rapidly shifting political and social environments are combining to mean the line between "fact" and "fiction" has never been more blurred. We truly are drowning in a sea of misinformation – across all domains.

The misinformation age has arrived suddenly in professional services, too. From high-profile instances of "AI slop" being served to clients (often with catastrophic reputational, relational and financial outcomes), to juniors not having the skills to productively and safely apply powerful AI tools, to a new generation of clients arriving for advice having already "done some thinking" with ChatGPT, to deep trust and scepticism issues amongst clients and stakeholders – if we don't understand what the misinformation age is changing, why it's happening, what it means for us and what we do about it… we are a headline waiting to happen.

Dom Thurbon literally wrote the book on trust and truth in 21st century business. His latest book, To Be Honest…, looks at the rise of the misinformation age, what's causing it, and how we go about using simple tools to rebuild trust.

So, in this inspiring, practical and provocative presentation he will:

look at the causes and drivers of misinformation – what it means specifically in the professional services context, why it's problematic, and where it comes from
unpack what this means practically for consultants across professional disciplines – from top-tier firms to mid-market challengers to boutique and innovative new entrants – how we manage risk, increase productivity and drive growth
examine what this means from a team perspective, and how connecting to truth and transparency drives innovation, change and trust
explore a toolkit for "making truth happen" inside our businesses and with our clients

More on this theme: Making Truth and Trust Happen

Architecting the future of professional services

Whether it's technological disruption, generational and workforce change, economic volatility, shifting regulatory environments or attracting the next generation of staff – leaders at all levels in professional services are leading and living through profound change.

But whilst at times it feels like these things are happening to us, the truth is: the future is not a place we are going, it's a place we are creating. In this dynamic, practical and uplifting presentation we will:

unpack the four forces of change reshaping the face of professional services at all levels, with a specific focus on AI and emerging technology
examine the basic human responses to change that everyone in your business (including YOU!) will experience as we navigate this rapidly changing world
look at a simple toolkit for shaping our response, moving from "change is happening to me" to "I have the power to shape the future", including practically applicable strategies that can be deployed in the business to improve how we show up in times of change

More on this theme: Thriving, Driving and Surviving Change

Check Dom's availability

What clients say

“Dom was absolutely amazing. He was truly a standout and the feedback has been next level.”

Sarah Steele, The GapHQ – Advisory in Motion

“Dom was head and shoulders the best of the speakers we've had open for us. Absolutely nailed the brief… and even our very hard-to-impress CEO was totally on board by the end of it!”

James Meade, Head of Partnerships, Evidentia Group

“Dom's keynote was engaging, insightful, and delivered with clarity and confidence, keeping the audience fully involved throughout. A highly effective speaker who made a lasting impression.”

Lana Miles, CPD Delivery Specialist, Chartered Accountants ANZ

“Dom's presentations for our senior client audience were right on brief and inspired people about the potential to unleash innovation. He speaks the language of business and his dynamic style effects real change.”

James Gorry, Business Unit Executive, IBM

Your Event Deserves a Keynote They'll Never Forget.

Get in touch and check Dom's availability for your next conference, summit, or corporate event.

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