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Martin McCourt Speaker

Martin McCourt

Former CEO, Dyson

Martin McCourt has worked for some of the biggest consumer brands for over 40 years. As CEO of Dyson for 15 years, he led the business from niche vacuum cleaner maker to a global brand with an extensive product line.

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Martin McCourt's videos

What Martin McCourt's clients say

Here is some of the feedback from audiences and clients who have worked with Martin.
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"A quick note to say thank you for speaking at our event this week. The customer feedback has been fantastic and your session was excellent, a fitting end to the day, allowing delegates to leave on a real high. Loved the balloon story and your faith in the young entering the workforce - I totally agree."

Neil Bellamy, 
Head of TMT & Services, 
NatWest & Royal Bank of Scotland

"NY colleague Dominic turner asked me to thank you for presenting at the NatWest Annual Tech Conference on Wednesday and he tells me that your talk was exceptionally interesting. Your message that ideas should come from the next generation of employees very much resonated with him."

Mike Anderson, 
Managing Director, 
Coutts & Co

"You were absolutely fantastic – a tour de force! Love everything that we do together and I’m not surprised that you have had the feedback. If it was Strictly it would have been a 10! Thank you for being such a pivotal part of the morning and looking forward to finding further opportunities to work together."

Michael Hayman, 
Seven Hills

"Thank you so much for your inspiring speech last night, the feedback from our guests has been so positive. I loved your comments about embracing young people and we are actually looking at a buddy system whereby CEOs and NEDs could have a young person to buddy then on new technology."

Kirsty McManus, 
Director, 
Institute of Directors Northern Ireland

"Feedback from last night and your speech in particular has been excellent."

Ian Sheppard, 
Managing Director NI, 
Bank of Ireland

"Your speech at the dinner was very well received and hit the mark perfectly. There have been many compliments about your “performance” and how well your topics/themes connected with the audience. You brought a well-balanced message covering technology, creativity and commerciality, all of which was balanced with just the right amount of humour. Your closing remarks were right on message, challenging us all to think about the younger generation and how we attract, nurture and retain them within our organisations."

Neil Gordon, 
Chief Executive, 
Subsea UK

"Martin, just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your talk last night. Very inspiring and thought provoking. Everyone talking about it today."

Ally Knox, 
Delegate, 

"Your contribution to our conference was superb. We were already having an excellent day and your presentation was exactly what I hoped it would be and more. It was a perfect round off to proceedings and I have had multiple comments on your presentation as informative, enjoyable and thought provoking. We are often accused of being an inward looking industry so being shaken into novel and important alternative views and suggested actions was just what the doctor ordered. And then given in such a unique and entertaining style was the icing on the cake. I am indebted to you for your contribution and hope that our paths cross again in the future."

Stephen A Lister BSc BVetMed, 
Partner, 
Crowshall Veterinary Service LLP

"Your session went down very well. - Fantastic, more business leaders please! - Best session of the conference - Interesting speaker"

Stephen Isherwood, 
Chief Executive, 
Institute of Student Employers

"I just wanted to say thank you! Yesterday’s opening was perfect and I am receiving endless compliments on your session both for the content and for your ability to connect with the group so easily (as I knew you would). Always an inspirational leader and communicator."

Melanie Hawkey, 
Franchise Finance Head, 
Novartis

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Martin’s speaking themes

Languages: 

  • English
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Martin McCourt's 2024 biography

About Martin McCourt

Martin McCourt has spent over 40 years working at the heart of British-based manufacturing, design and marketing for quality brands such as Dyson, Mars, Duracell, Toshiba and Pelikan.

Martin was the CEO of Dyson for 15 years, the ideas to market-leading consumer products maker. As CEO, he devised and implemented a strategy that transformed the company from a single product, single market producer into one where 80% of the business came from over 60 markets around the world.  In that time he increased UK skilled jobs, grew profits to over £300m and enabled James Dyson to keep on inventing.

In 2011 Dyson hit £1 bn revenue for the first time.  Martin was directly responsible for the establishment of Dyson subsidiaries in the USA, Japan, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. In total he took Dyson into over 60 markets, achieving market leadership in the majority including the USA.

Martin’s previous experience was in sales and marketing with successful global companies Mars, Duracell, Toshiba and Pelikan.

In 2010 Martin was named UK Business Leader of the Year.

Current Chair and Non-Executive Positions

COMPO

In August 2021 Martin was appointed as Chairman of COMPO which is is a leading European producer and distributer of gardening soil, fertiliser, lawn seed and products for plant protection with a focus on organic ingredients.

Pure Electric

In December 2020 Martin was appointed as Chairman of Putre Electric. The business is focused on the design and development of high performance, zero emission, personal electric transportation.

Tharsus

In November 2020 Martin joined the Board of Tharsus as a Non Executive Director. Tharsus design and manufacture Strategic Machines that solve tough automation problems for Businesses, driving performance and productivity.

Weber

In January 2019 Martin joined the Board of Weber as a Non Executive Director and strategic adviser. Based in Chicago, Weber is the most recognized name in the world for barbecue grills and has the most comprehensive range of products and services in the industry.

FreeFlow Technologies

In October 2018 Martin was appointed as Chairman to FreeFlow Technologies, a dynamic UK start-up, developing a lightweight compact, high performance e-bike drive system that is backed by Williams Advanced Engineering and Foresight PE.

Past Chair and Non-Executive Positions

Lightfoot

Martin was the Chairman of Lightfoot from November 2018 until October 2021. Described as the ‘Fitbit for cars’, Lightfoot cuts fuel emissions and saves money for drivers every time they drive.

Learning Curve Group

Martin was the Chairman of The Learning Curve Group from  January 2016 until its successful exit in February 2020. Learning Curve is an organization that provides vocational

education and training programmes to a wide range of learners and employers.

Headbox

From  2014 until 2020 he was a Non-Executive Director and investor for Headbox, a web based platform which enables the sharing of inspiring places for people to have meetings.

Your Life

Martin was on the Board of Your Life.  A recently completed, three-year, campaign to ensure young adults in the UK have the maths and science skills needed to succeed in the current competitive global economy. 2015-2017

Glen Dimplex

He was formerly Chairman of Glen Dimplex, a leading international group that is the world’s largest manufacturer of electrical heating as well as holding significant global market positions in domestic appliances, cooling, ventilation and renewable energy solutions. 2016-2019

Dudson

Chairman of Dudson a long established ceramics company. 2017-2019

Venture Founders.

Chairman of Venture Founders. A UK-based equity investment platform designed to make Angel and Venture Capital style investing more accessible, affordable and transparent. 2016-2019

CAP

Chairman of CAP, a market leading provider of vehicle valuation data, new vehicle information and business solutions to the automotive industry. 2012-2014

CliniSys Group (CliniSys)

Chairman of CliniSys, the market leading supplier in Europe of clinical laboratory information management systems (LIMS), 2013-2016

D.O.R.C (Dutch Ophthalmic Research Centre)

Chairman of D.O.R.C a prominent provider of innovative instruments and equipment for ophthalmic surgery. 2013-2015

Equatex

Chairman of Equatex the foremost supplier of international employee and executive compensation plan services. 2014-2016

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Martin McCourt's 2024 talks & topics

Ideas

Have the right people, tap into their thinking and instincts, encourage and liberate their idea flow. What we do that achieves this and what we do that can stifle creativity

Modern day disruptors

How smart companies are stealing a march on their rivals by engaging with millennial consumers using platform communication and social media. The importance of keeping pace with changing consumer attitudes and values, thinking outside the box

Iterative Development

How Dyson aped the age old principles of engineering and product development, employing fundamental techniques such as cardboard modelling combined with cutting edge CGI

Vertical Growth

Enjoying the journey, deliberate disruption and the consequences. Being ready to meet adversity and to turn it into opportunity. Making your business look good, often at the expense of others. Helping competition score own goals

Big changes

Transferring all manufacturing, UK based, to Southeast Asia. The role that technology played in supporting an effective transfer. Doing the right thing even if it is the hardest thing (widespread criticism at Dyson decision).

Made in Britain? …or created in Britain?

The role that invention and entrepreneurship plays in fuelling economic growth

Testing

Combining human abuse testing with powerful engineering data systems

More bumps in the road

Entertaining incidents that resulted in competitors helping Dyson to market leadership in the USA in under two years from launch

Confronting failure

The Dyson washing machine was not a commercial success. Airblade, Air Multiplier and Vacuum cleaners were. Importance of how we react when it goes wrong…

Think big and stay small

How hard we need to work to retain our identity. Being David and the advantages over Goliath. How to make sure that scaling up does not bring about a loss of identity

Martin McCourt's 2024 speaking fees

Martin travels from:
  • United Kingdom

Specific fees fall within the ranges shown. These are presented as a guide only and are subject to change without notice.

To get an exact quote for your event, click the button below.

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Check Martin McCourt's availability for your event

Complete the form below to check Martin McCourt's availability. If you prefer, you can also send an email directly to our head office.

How would Martin McCourt deliver their presentation at your event?
Please provide details of your budget for Martin McCourt's speaking fee, including currency.