In today’s fast-changing workplace, the right speaker can do more than just deliver a talk—they can spark transformation. As Adrien Tombari, founder of Montreal-based adn speakers explains, it’s about connection—to the audience, the theme and the purpose behind the gathering, whether you’re planning a sports-themed conference, team offsite or leadership summit.
By Angela Kryhul
What should be on every sport event organizer’s checklist when hiring a speaker?
Connection, inclusion and customization of the content. You can hire someone who’s very well known and that people are excited about. However, in other cases, people might not recognize the speaker’s name, but they know the brand. For example, we have Michael Rossi, the former CEO at Adidas Canada, and Yan Martin, ex-chief marketing officer at Reebok International. The brands are recognized and people would understand that someone who’s worked in a senior leadership role in those organizations has something interesting to say.
A top priority should be to have the right speaker for the right audience and ensuring the content can be customized to resonate with the goals of the audience and the host organization. I always try to understand an event’s macro goal and then narrow it down to the right speaker. It’s not about performing. It’s about resonating.
What are some of the hot topics right now?
We have a lot of demand for [Olympians] Bruny Surin and Karolina Wisniewska because of their involvement with the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympic Games.
Uncertainty is everywhere right now. People are stressed. So how [does an organization] motivate them to perform? Sport leaders and athletes are exceptional for speaking about change management and performing in a stressful environment.
Another hot topic is leadership. How do leaders and executive teams provide a clear view of where they’re going? How do you lead with empathy? How do you build high-performing teams? That’s something we’re often asked about.
How is diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) showing up in content these days?
It’s not about talking about DEI as a subject. It’s about bringing diverse voices onto stages and actually practicing inclusion. It’s having a transgender woman talking about leadership. It’s having a Black woman talking about HR trends and a person with a disability talking about performance. Inclusion is about having those diverse perspectives.
We also have Kaitlyn Weaver, a two-time Olympian who speaks about breaking LGBTQIA2S+ barriers. We’re hearing more LGBTQ voices in the sports industry, after being so taboo for many years. I think that we need to bring more of that.
Describe some Canadian-specific trends you’re noticing.
A big trend recently in Canada is booking Canadian speakers as part of the [buy Canadian] trend to support Canada’s economy and businesses. I can see an appetite right now for this with a lot of clients and I think it’s very important.
Customization is very important and we’re seeing it more and more. Organizers want more adaptability, interacting and connecting with the audience. There are so many tools that speakers can use during a keynote, like live polling.
How can organizers get the most value from their speaker budgets?
By rethinking the experience and planning asynchronous content. Let’s say you have a one-hour keynote. You can cut in six to 10 minutes of micro learning content. You can record the presentation and use some of it as podcast content that people can access later. We’re also seeing a trend to hiring speakers to present a keynote and then facilitating a workshop to dig deeper into a topic.
Published: June 2025
Photos: adn speakers
