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Keynotes, panels & workshops

Book the session they are still arguing about at lunch.

Thembi Bheka speaks on the Authority Economy, on turning stages into clients, and on what artificial intelligence is actually doing to knowledge work. Senior audiences, strategic substance, and a decision to take away rather than a feeling to enjoy.

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North AmericaEuropeAfrica Limited engagements per quarter
Thembi Bheka speaking on stage

On stage, delivering the keynote

50,000+

Women she trained, into work AI then took

The story behind the keynote. Built at scale across Africa, then ended by the technology everyone else is still forecasting.

1,000

Entrepreneurs who voted her Spokesperson of the Year

Launch Club. Most recently she spoke on AI implementation at the Mom 2.0 Summit in Austin, to a room of more than two thousand.

3

Continents she has spoken across

North America, Europe and Africa, to conferences, masterminds, associations and corporate programmes.

Endorsed by Jeff Walker Endorsed by May Busch Stanford Seed Transformation Program

Stages include

  • Mom 2.0 Summit
  • INBOUND
  • Smart Passive Income
  • PLF Live
  • LaunchCon
  • Tribe Live
  • Podfest Expo
  • Africa Nordic Summit
  • REIN
  • Launch Club

Featured in

  • Women of Influence
  • Inspired Money
  • The Everyday Millionaire
  • The Affiliate Guy
  • Permission to Kick Ass
  • FEW Japan
  • Open for Business Lab

For organisers

Not a motivational slot.

Most programmes already have the energising opener and the inspiring closer. What they are usually missing is the session that changes how the audience thinks about their own position, and gives them something specific enough to act on before the event is over.

That is the slot Thembi fills. Organisers report that hers generates more post-talk conversation than any other on the programme, because it hands people a decision rather than a mood. Sessions are strategic, substantive, and built to end with a clear next step.

She also declines engagements that fall outside what she knows well. If your audience is not right for the material, she will say so and, where she can, suggest someone better suited.

Recent and past stages include the Mom 2.0 Summit in Austin, the Africa Nordic Summit, INBOUND, Podfest Expo, Tribe Live, PLF Live and LaunchCon.

Signature talks

Four sessions, each with a working takeaway.

Every talk is tailored to the audience and to the outcome you need from the slot. Below is the core material. The framing, examples and depth get built around your programme.

01

Keynote. 30 to 60 minutes.

Become the Go-To Expert

The market has split into two economies. One competes on price and volume. The other is chosen on recognition, where comparison stops being the deciding factor. This session shows what separates the two, and why more visibility rarely moves anyone across the line.

Audience leaves with A clear framework for becoming the recognised go-to expert in their field, and the practical first step to begin building that position.
02

Keynote or workshop.

Stages Don't Pay, Strategy Does

Senior professionals speak constantly and convert inconsistently. The problem is almost never the talk. It is the absence of a system around it. This session takes apart what happens before, during and after a stage, and shows where the revenue is actually lost.

Audience leaves with An introduction to the Stage-to-Clients™ framework for converting speaking into scalable expert client work.
03

Keynote. Corporate and leadership programmes.

Who AI Actually Replaces

Artificial intelligence is not coming for professionals evenly. It divides them, between those competing on knowledge, which is now close to free, and those competing on judgement, relationships and recognised authority, which are not. Thembi draws that line from the inside: she ran a business on the wrong side of it and lost it.

Audience leaves with Clear guidance on where AI genuinely lands in knowledge work, and how to position on the side of it that appreciates rather than erodes.
04

Keynote. Also suits summits and leadership programmes.

Fifty Thousand Women

Thembi arrived in Canada from Zimbabwe with five dollars and went on to train more than 50,000 women across Africa into paid remote work. Then AI took that entire category of work and she had to close it. This is the story of what was built, how fast it ended, and what it says about which work survives.

Audience leaves with The difference between the work AI took and the work it left, told by someone who watched both happen at scale. Most speakers on AI are forecasting. This one is reporting.

Formats

How Thembi can be programmed

  • Keynote presentations, 30 to 60 minutes
  • Panel appearances and moderated discussions
  • Workshops and facilitated breakout sessions
  • Private masterminds and leadership retreats
  • Corporate events and internal leadership programmes
  • Podcast interviews and video series

Audiences

Where the material lands hardest

  • Industry conferences in professional services, consulting and advisory
  • High-level entrepreneurial and leadership events
  • Corporate programmes with senior decision-maker audiences
  • Associations and member organisations serving experts
  • Any programme that values strategic substance over motivation
Thembi is a star, unstoppable, with an incredible ability to command a room and convert an audience. Her story, her framework, and her presence are genuinely world-class.
Jeff WalkerAuthor, Product Launch Formula
Thembi delivered an inspiring and strategically precise talk at the Spokesperson of the Year competition and won. Her ability to take complex ideas and translate them into actionable insight is rare.
May BuschFormer COO, Morgan Stanley Europe
Thembi's talk was inspiring and actionable. She has a way of making complex ideas simple and motivating audiences to move.
Chris KrimistosChief Creative Officer & Founder

Speaker bio

For your programme copy.

Copy freely. The two-page kit below has the talks, formats, stages, testimonials and both bios in one file. High-resolution photography and AV requirements on request.

Download the speaker kit (PDF)

Short bio. Thembi Bheka is a business strategist working on authority-based client acquisition, strategic speaking, and the impact of AI on knowledge work. She built her own practice through positioning and stages after arriving in Canada with five dollars and no network, and now advises coaches, consultants and professional services firms on doing the same. She has spoken across North America, Europe and Africa.

Long bio. Thembi Bheka is a strategic advisor to established coaches, consultants and advisory practices, and the originator of the Authority Economy framework, a model describing how expert markets have split into a commoditised tier that competes on price and a premium tier chosen on recognition and trust. Her work sits at the intersection of positioning, strategic visibility and pipeline architecture: how a genuinely expert practitioner becomes the obvious choice rather than one of several credible options.

She arrived in Canada with five dollars in her pocket and built a practice with no network, no reputation and no runway, which is where the method came from. Her keynote at the Spokesperson of the Year competition won the title, and her work has been recognised by Jeff Walker, creator of Product Launch Formula, and May Busch, former COO of Morgan Stanley Europe. She speaks to conferences, masterminds, associations and corporate leadership programmes across three continents, and writes a weekly essay on authority and positioning.

Enquiries

Tell us about the room.

If you are organising an event where you want a session that challenges and repositions your audience rather than simply motivating it, we would like to hear from you. Thembi accepts a limited number of engagements each quarter, so earlier is better.

Enquiries go straight to Thembi and are answered personally. You can also write to support@thembibheka.com.