Keynotes, moderation, panel chairing, workshops and after dinner. I've hosted and spoken at more than 100 events across dozens of countries, from investment forums and industry conferences to UN Summit Dialogue Sessions. Twenty-five years in hospitality means I'm not reading the sector back to you from a slide deck, I'm working in it.
Most bookings are one of these, though the best events usually combine two or three. I'm as comfortable holding a two day conference together as I am delivering a single keynote, chairing a panel or hosting a study tour through a city and its operators.
A proven host for major multi-day conferences. Holding the thread across sessions, keeping energy up, landing the running order on time and making the whole thing feel like one event rather than a series of talks.
A prepared, research-led talk built around your theme and audience. Never off the shelf, always shaped to the room and the moment your delegates are actually in.
Twenty-five years of stories from kitchens, boardrooms and a quest to reach 100 countries. Warm, funny and worth listening to at the end of a long day, with a point that lands underneath it.
Well researched and individually tailored to the panel in front of me, drawing on hundreds of panels and years of industry knowledge. Framing the question properly, getting real answers rather than rehearsed ones, and drawing out the panellist who came with the best material but the quietest delivery.
Planning and hosting safaris into a city and its operators, bringing industry leaders to the table and moving thinking on. Access, context and the right people in the room, structured so the conversation continues long after the last site visit.
Closed door sessions for leadership teams, investors and operators. Structured, practical and designed so people leave with decisions made rather than notes taken.
Each of these is a starting point rather than a fixed script. Tell me the audience, the theme and what you want them talking about afterwards, and I'll build the talk around it.
Foresight, not insight. Moving beyond trends to the secular societal changes that fundamentally reshape the long term of our industry.
How to apply hospitality thinking, and a sense of purpose and intention, to large mixed use projects. Putting the customer and the occasion first, and creating something that feels like it was always meant to be there.
Looking at the guest journey and building on a proven framework that runs from the moment of inspiration through to the point they leave and share the experience with the world. Designing moments people remember for ever. Anticipation, not just operation.
The lessons that only travel gives you. What the best operators in the world do differently, what turns out to be universal, and what we keep getting wrong by assuming our own market is the default.
Drawing on anthropology, archaeology and history to share the moments that defined what we now think of as the modern restaurant, from hunting together in pre-history to coaching inns and the first menu in Paris.
Beyond the technical understanding, considering how robotics, AI and automation will shape our sector. From streamlining the back office to genuine personalisation, and an entire shift in global workforce dynamics with hospitality on centre court.
Based in the UK and travelling to more than 20 countries a year. International bookings are the norm rather than the exception.
A briefing call before every booking, and prep calls with panellists where I'm moderating. Nothing is delivered cold.
Bio, headshots and a speaker one-pager on request, plus promotion of the event across my own channels ahead of the date.
Tell me the date, the audience and what you want people talking about afterwards. I'll come back to you quickly on availability and the right format.
Or email direct: james.hacon@thinkhospitality.co.uk
Thanks — I'll come back to you shortly on availability and format.