Bio:

Suzanne Knight, MBA, MA, is an award-winning expert, keynote, and TEDx speaker, renowned for injecting humour, storytelling, and practical advice on topics including leading and navigating change, the future of work, and digital transformation.

With a distinguished career as a global consultant and corporate executive, Suzanne has guided over 60 companies in 14 countries to thrive, rather than just survive. As an instructor at York University’s Schulich ExecEd business school, she has been imparting knowledge on change management, leadership, and communicating for impact for over a decade.

In 2023, Suzanne co-founded Be Uninterrupted, a social impact organization that uses AI and human connection to help professional women avoid or navigate career interruptions.

Before embarking on her portfolio career, Suzanne held significant executive leadership roles: Vice President of Transformation Services for Walmart Canada, overseeing a portfolio affecting over 100,000 employees, Head of Organizational Effectiveness and Change at Philip Morris International (Canada), Deputy Head of Deloitte’s Transformational Change consulting practice, and leader of Modernizing Services for the Ontario government.

Suzanne holds an MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and an MBA in Finance and Strategy. Her contributions and impact have been widely recognized, with accolades such as being named on The Peak’s Emerging Leaders List (under age 40) and Digital Media Zone’s 2023 Women of the Year.

Speaking Topics: 

The Next Big Thing: Digital Transformation that Actually Moves the Needle

What does it really take to drive ROI from digital transformation? In this fast-paced and practical keynote, Suzanne Knight goes beyond the buzzwords to show how high-performing organizations are adapting workflows, reskilling teams, and using emerging technologies like generative AI, automation, and predictive analytics to create measurable impact. Drawing on global experience across industries, and her leadership of Digital and Efficiency Transformation at Walmart Canada, Suzanne shares real world strategies that demystify transformation and focus on what actually works. This isn’t about transformation theatre. It’s about aligning people, processes, and tools to reduce friction, accelerate decision-making, and build cultures that can thrive through change. Ideal for executive audiences who need to get real traction from their digital strategy.

Never Waste a Good Crisis: How to Lead with Intention in Uncertain Times

Pressure often reveals what’s broken, but it can also create the perfect conditions for change. In this keynote, Suzanne Knight explores how organizations can use moments of uncertainty, disruption, or crisis to create momentum, solve root-cause issues, and build stronger systems. Based on her experience advising leadership teams through massive transformation, Suzanne offers a grounded and practical approach to leading well in times of instability. She shares how to focus on what matters most, uncover the patterns holding teams back, and make bold but thoughtful decisions that create lasting value. This talk is ideal for executive teams navigating change, growth, or strategic resets who want to build resilience without burning out their people.

Relatable Authority in Action: Leadership that Connects and Drives Results

Relatable authority is the new leadership superpower. It’s the ability to lead with credibility, clarity, and connection, especially in environments where hierarchy alone no longer inspires action. In this keynote, Suzanne Knight helps leaders at every level tap into their own relatable authority to align teams, build trust, and get things done. Drawing on years of experience working with leadership teams globally, she shares what actually earns followership today. Not perfection or title, but presence, psychological safety, shared priorities, and outcome-driven communication. This session is ideal for people leaders, cross-functional teams, and organizations that want to strengthen influence, connection, and accountability across the board.

Create More Time: Unlocking Capacity, Focus, Flow at Work

Most teams aren’t failing because they aren’t good enough or working hard enough. In fact, they’re often working too hard, just not on the things that create the most value. With shifting priorities, constant urgency, and endless meetings, it’s easy to confuse activity with impact. In this practical and energizing keynote, Suzanne Knight shows leaders how to unlock capacity by rethinking how their teams work: from how they prioritize and meet, to how they make decisions and move work across the finish line. Drawing from Lean and Agile practices and her experience leading large-scale operational transformation, Suzanne shares clear, validated strategies to reduce duplication, simplify collaboration, and free up time for work that actually moves the needle. Ideal for organizations looking to boost performance, protect wellbeing, and help their people operate at a more strategic level.