Chris Baréz-Brown

He is the founder of Upping Your Elvis, helping businesses become more human, energetic and creative through workshops, talks, and events. Based in the UK, in London and Dorset.

Chris is a master of transformation. His unique energetic approach challenges businesses to embed a dynamic creative culture within their company ethos.

Brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Unilever, Roche, and WPP come back time and again as his results produce tangible returns on investment. The impact of his work with Unilever was recently featured in the Harvard Business Review.

A talk delivered by Chris is, well, quite simply, like no other, you will have experienced before. Chris’s life mission is people (with a sideline in guitar playing!). This ethos, combined with a wealth of experience in innovation and leadership across the world, means Chris’ talks are memorable, interactive and human.

Through humor, charisma, and expertise, Chris brings out the potential in everybody and people leave not just inspired and energized, but thinking a little differently about the world: Equipped with tangible skills to deliver immediate change to their work and their lives.

TheGuardian recently summed up Chris’s style as ‘a long-haired twinkly eyed cross between Richard Branson and a wizard’, which paints the most accurate picture: A dynamic business change-maker with a magical hippy vibe.

After starting his career in the army, realizing he was a lover rather than a fighter, Chris took a u-turn into brand management before immersing himself into the world of innovation and leadership development.

Chris’s leadership consultancy, Upping Your Elvis, is inspired by musician and philanthropist Bono’s signature question ‘who’s Elvis around here?’ meaning ‘Who’s the maverick around here? Who makes things happen?’ Upping Your Elvis are driven by the belief that everyone has a bit of Elvis inside them, and by unleashing this innate human genius the planet will be a more engaged and fulfilling place for everybody.

Chris has spoken at TEDx, inspirational ideas festival The Do Lectures and the world’s largest leadership event Leadercast, where he also had the honor of interviewing Apples’ co-founder Steve Wozniak live on stage.

With four bestselling books under his belt: How to Have Kick-Ass Ideas, Shine: How to Survive and Thrive at Work, Free: Love your Work, Love your Life, and Wake Up! Escaping a Life on Autopilot, and as the sounder of social enterprise Talk It Out, Chris’s work has featured in media such as The Guardian, The Sunday Times, and Fast Company, and he writes monthly columns for GQ magazine, The Huffington Post, and British Airways’ Business Life magazine.

He lives in Dorset, England, with his family, a sea view, his beloved 35-year-old Land Rover and a selection of paddleboards and guitars.