
Rachel Botsman
Author and trust fellow, Oxford University
Rachel Botsman: Biography highlights
Rachel Botsman is a leading expert and author on trust in the modern world. As the first Trust Fellow at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, she aims to challenge and change the way people think about trust and related topics such as power, influence, truth and beliefs.
Full biography
She is the author of two critically acclaimed books, What’s Mine is Yours and Who Can You Trust? Rachel has been recognized as one of the world’s 30 most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50, one of the Top 10 most influential voices in the UK on LinkedIn and honoured as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She is a regular contributor to numerous publications including the New York Times, Guardian and Wired and hosts the podcast series Trust Issues.
As the go-to voice on trust, Rachel has a strong, insightful and engaging media presence across publications and channels such as The Economist, The Guardian, Financial Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Wired, the BBC and CNN.
She lives in Oxford with her husband and two children and is passionate about empowering the next generation to make informed decisions about trust in a rapidly changing world.
Awards, Accolades, Achievements & Honours
- Young Global Leader – World Economic Forum
- Breakthrough Idea Award – Thinkers50
- Top 50 Management Thinkers in the World – Thinkers50
- Top 100 Most Creative People in Business – Fast Company
- Top 20 Speakers in the World – Monocle
- ‘Progressive Voice’ Women of the Year Award 2018 – InStyle
- LinkedIn Influencer
A dynamic and witty storyteller, she is a master at connecting with audiences — opening their minds and stirring them into action. Rachel has been selected as one of the top 20 speakers in the world by Monocle. She has spoken to thousands of people at companies, governments and public events as diverse as Xero, Google, Accenture, Goldman Sachs, Salesforce, The Drucker Forum, Clinton Global Initiative, World Economic Forum and many others.
Rachel has spoken three times at the prestigious TED conference and is consistently ranked in the top 1% of all speakers at events she attends. Clients have called Rachel “transformational” and “captivating”; her presentations create a buzz that resonates long after the final word.
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Watch Rachel in action




Clinton Global Initiative
Rachel was a brilliant speaker at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting. She captured imaginations when speaking about how collaborative technologies are reshaping our relationships and reinventing the world around us in life-changing ways'.
'Rachel is one of a very rare bread of presenters with the ability to simultaneously awe a room into silence, super charge them and call forth a powerful drive towards innovative thinking. She has grace and strength in her delivery and intelligence and candor in her content and the gift to inspire all generations in her positioning...'
DLD
'Trust is what makes us human. It is one of our most powerful resources, in personal interactions as well as in business, politics and society. At a time of fundamental change, Rachel Botsman helps us navigate the unknown. She's a stellar guide, showing us the importance of making better decisions about where to place our trust in dealing with algorithms and machines - and the people who control them.'
CIPD
'She kept our 2000 delegates on the edge of her seats for over an hour not only with the quality of her content but also with her humour and engaging speaking style'.
Cognizant
'We engaged Rachel Botsman to be our keynote speaker at our C-level global thought-leadership roadshow. The ratings from our audience for Rachel were the amongst the very highest we have ever received. Rachel's presentation was both motivating and energizing, seasoned with critically important cases studies from companies that are transforming industries and lives.'
Microsoft
'Her talk at Microsoft Research both provoked and inspired setting off an active conversation that continues to this day and worldwide within the company.'
Adobe
'Not one single day has gone by since the event without external and internal commendations on your engagement with our audience. Your message really connected and impacted the entire audience. It was also evident via our social engagement metrics.'
Rachel's speaking topics
What do I say?': How leaders earn trust in a crisis
In times of high uncertainty, a distinctive style of leadership and communication is needed to earn trust. But how do you find the right words and behaviors when nobody knows what will happen next? Author and Oxford University Trust Fellow Rachel Botsman will provide insights and best practices that will help you rethink what 'communicating for trust' looks like. You'll walk away from this session reflecting on your own leadership style and with more confidence to help lead others through uncertainty and change - even when you don't have all the answers.
The Currency of Trust
The actions organisations take during a crisis can make or break long-term relationships with employees and customers. People turn to things they know, brands that connect with their needs and show true compassion and care. Understanding how trust really works and the role it plays in relationships and decision-making is critical right now. From over a decade of research and working with Fortune 500 companies, Rachel will inspire you to rethink what trust is, blowing-up misconceptions along the way. Through engaging storytelling and clear insights she'll help you reflect on what needs to change in your organisation to create more trustworthy teams and cultures.
Macro trends on how technology is changing business and society
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New business models in a digital age
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Trust: new dynamics of trust and loyalty
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Broad themes of transformation (including cities)
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Customer transformation: how and why consumer behaviours are changing
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Power of collaboration and crowds
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Entrepreneurial culture: lessons we can learn from the rising entrepreneurs and Broad themes of transformation
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Disruption: why sectors are getting transformed and how to respond (getting above the technology to understand the business model transformation)
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Disruption: why sectors are getting transformed and how to respond
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Sustainability: New ways to think about waste, resources and sustainable behaviours
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Check Rachel Botsman's availability
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