David was the opening keynote speaker at the Business Wisdom Summit in Ukraine on 24 September 2015.

He spoke on the subject of “How to Profit from Creativity in Business” to an audience of business owners, chief executives and senior managers of businesses in the creative industries and other sectors of the economy.

David spoke about the Creative Industries, Creative Business Models, the difference between ‘a-Creativity’ and ‘i-Creativity’, Exponential Organisations, digitisation, gamification and other issues.

He presented examples of creativity in business from his international work as a business adviser, trainer, speaker and writer.

Organised by WOMO, the event brought together speakers from Ukraine and worldwide.

During the visit to Ukraine, David launched the Ukrainian translation of his book ‘T-Shirts and Suits: A Guide to the Business of Creativity’.

He also delivered a Masterclass for creative entrepreneurs and made a presentation at the Creative Industries Forum as well as working with the British Council to help the EU-Eastern Partnership Culture and Creativity Programme. This project will help the development of the creative and cultural industries in Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Moldova.

David is a popular inspiring and entertaining keynote speaker at conferences and events world wide. He is one of the most respected creative industries keynote speakers on creative enterprise, the creative economy, and creativity in business.

He specialises in speaking at conferences and events for creative, digital and cultural enterprises including design, media and technology businesses.

David is listed as a TED Speaker and was the keynote speaker at TEDx Napoli on the subject of creativity and TEDxENCGJ, Morocco on Authentic Marketing. He speaks at conferences, corporate events, forums, summer schools, international gatherings and conventions.

“David Parrish is a very inspirational speaker. The way he illustrates his points is excellent. He makes you laugh and instantly you start to think about your own ideas and projects.”
– Eli Folkestadaas. British-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce. Oslo

David speaks at conferences, conventions and other events on a wide range of topics and themes relating to business strategy, marketing, communications, international business, strategic marketing, creativity and entrepreneurship.
For example:

• How to be a Creative Entrepreneur. Combining creative passion with smart business techniques to achieve greater success.
• Marketing Strategically. How to increase sales and profits by focusing on the right kinds of customers, deliberately avoiding some market segments, based on an analysis of competitive advantage.
• How to Make Money While You Sleep. Creating, protecting and licensing intellectual property to generate new income streams.
• New Business Models in the Creative Industries. New ways to raise finance, engage with customers and sell creative products and services.
• Leading and Managing Creative Teams. How to increase performance using six leadership styles to inspire and manage creative people.
• T-Shirts and Suits: Creativity and Business. How successful creative entrepreneurs integrate their creativity with smart business thinking.
• International Business. This including marketing across national and cultural boundaries, understanding business etiquette and conventions.
• Marketing and Communication. Designing effective communication at corporate, management, team and interpersonal levels.
• Authentic Marketing. The best marketing is not a ‘bag of tricks’ but a philosophy of creating win-wins with carefully selected customers.
• The Art and Science of Communication. How to use a powerful combination of art and science to communicate effectively.
• Innovation and Creativity for Startups. Creative business models to be used in the business office to complement creativity in the studio.

David can speak on a wider range of subjects as a conference speaker and more topics are listed on the TEDx Speaker page.

As a specialist creative industries keynote speaker, business consultant and author, he has worked in more than 30 countries around the world. He frequently speaks to audiences of creative and cultural entrepreneurs. His audiences also include professionals involved in supporting creative industry development, including economic development agencies, government ministries and departments, creative business advisors and creative business support organizations.

“David was an inspiring guest speaker at the launch of the Creative Entrepreneurs Network in Beijing. As an experienced creative entrepreneur, business adviser and author of T-Shirts and Suits he was an ideal speaker for our network of creative entrepreneurs.”
– Liang Junhong. British Council Beijing. China.

David’s keynote speeches feature ideas he has written about in his books and articles on business growth and strategic marketing, including pricing, finance, intellectual property, new business models in the creative industries, leadership, marketing techniques, competitive advantage, organisational structures, financial management, international business and other business topics. His talks draw on his own story, personal experience and case studies from hundreds of businesses he has helped around the world.

“Great talk. David has a special talent to illustrate complex issues in very easy way, which I find very inspiring.”
Katka Letzing. Startup Malaysia

See some examples of David Parrish speaking at conferences in Italy, England and Denmark on Vimeo and YouTube.

Some conferences and events at which David has been invited as a creative industries speaker are listed below. He is also often invited to give presentations, talks and workshops for a range of different organisations and events.  David also occasionally delivers university lectures as a guest lecturer.

• EVCOMference 2015 keynote speaker at national conference for the Event and Visual Communication Association. Keynote speech: “The Art and Science of Effective Communication and Engagement”
• TEDxENCGJ, El Jadida, Morocco. TEDx talk on marketing, focusing on authentic marketing and strategic marketing, within the TEDx event theme of ‘Power is Illusion’.
• Digital Ecosystem 2014 Conference organised by EIKEN in Bilbao, Spain. Keynote speech on New Business Opportunities in the Digital Age for AudioVisual and other digital, design and technology businesses.
• Startup Malaysia. Presentation on Innovation and Creativity for Startups. Talk to digital startup entrepreneurs in Kuala Lumpur.
• GrowthAccelerator. The UK’s premier business growth programme. Now part of the Business Growth Service.
  Presentation on Strategic Marketing for Business Success for high growth businesses.
• World Summit of Creative Industries 2014
  at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC), Moscow
  Speech: “How to be a Creative Entrepreneur”
• 2014 International Conference on Entrepreneurship, Philippines
  Speech on ‘Creativity and Business: T-Shirts and Suits’
• Creative Business Cup International Finals. Denmark 2013
  Presentation: ‘T-Shirts and Suits”, with examples from creative entrepreneurs around the world.
• Creative Industries Agency, Moscow, Russia
  Presentation on creativity and business at the Summer School for Russian creative entrepreneurs
• Korea Creative Economy Forum 2013
  Keynote speaker on Creativity and Business at Government-level national event in Seoul
• Samsung Conference. Lisbon, Portugal
  Keynote speaker on “Creativity and Business” at corporate event for Samsung Portugal.
• TEDxNapoli. Italy
  Keynote speaker on theme of ‘Crisis and Creativity’, with talk entitled ‘a-Creativity : i-Creativity’.
• Cultural Economy Conference. Ministry of Culture. Santiago, Chile
  Conference speech on Innovation and Entrepreneurship at conference hosted by Government of Chile
• SATU, Finland’s organisation for media production companies producers of TV and audiovisual content.
  Keynote speaker on New Business Models in the Creative Industries
• Culture and Creative Industry Forum. Taipei Trade Center. Taiwan
  Conference speech on ‘T-Shirts and Suits: Creativity and Business’ for design and other creative businesses
• Forum Bizkaia Creaktiva, Bilbao, Spain
  Presentation on Creativity and Enterprise
• ABEDESIGN (Brazilian Association of Design Companies), São Paulo, Brazil
  Speech on business models based on intellectual property