James Hardy.
James Hardy is the former Head of Europe for Alibaba.
A leading authority on retail globalisation, ecommerce, and online growth strategies, James specialises in helping brands future-proof their expansion across diverse trading platforms, from Amazon and Alibaba to boutique marketplaces and own-brand sites. His experience leading European operations for one of the world's largest technology companies gave him first-hand insights into how global leaders foster agility and resilience at scale, perspectives that now shape his approach to helping organisations thrive amid disruption.
With a background in law and M&A, James co-founded the UK's largest China-ecommerce exporter, an award-winning platform that helped European brands build market share in mainland China. He has advised multiple FTSE 250 companies on international ecommerce strategies and bridges two worlds: exploring what global conglomerates can learn from start-ups, and what smaller companies can learn from scaling giants like Alibaba. His insights have been featured in The Financial Times, The Huffington Post, The BBC, and China Daily News.
keynote speeches.
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Customer needs and wants are changing faster than ever and companies risk being behind the curve. The challenge is how to keep up. James has lead teams building highly innovative products in the two of fastest changing environments in recent history – China and Africa.
In this keynote, James shows that innovation comes from leaders and employees being hyper-curious about the customer and most importantly, it’s about a methodical process for differentiating between assumptions and insights.
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Our collective ability to predict an increasingly uncertain future is worse than we think. This means strategy, planning and control are becoming less relevant. We must move from predicting a single future, to preparing for multiple futures – the ability to adapt fast in the face of change is the killer app. Taking lessons he learned at Alibaba, James built a fast-growth high revenue startup without funding, and took the same lessons to build one of Africa’s largest finance products.
In this keynote, he shows that through actively embracing change, refining how we make decisions, and choosing to be empowered, employees and leaders can create more opportunity for themselves and their organisations.
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Technology and A.I are changing the world faster than our ability to keep up. The challenge is how to leverage the opportunities these new technologies create, in conjunction with existing capabilities. James has led teams and built dominant products in the two of fastest changing environments in recent history – China and Africa – where the real driver of performance is a vision of a future which does not yet exist. He shows how a powerful culture designed in a time of extreme change, enables Alibaba’s exceptional ability to dominate multiple diverse industries, and the lessons which everyone can learn.
videos.
Speaking Highlight
frequently asked questions.
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James Hardy’s work focuses on global ecommerce, digital growth, platform strategy, and how brands scale and future-proof their expansion in fast-moving, competitive markets. A core theme of his work explores what organisations of all sizes can learn from global technology leaders and high-growth start-ups about agility, resilience, and customer focus.
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He is typically engaged for keynote-style sessions within conferences, leadership programmes, and innovation-focused events.
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Beyond keynote presentations, he can take part in facilitated discussions and leadership conversations around innovation and change.
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His work is particularly relevant to organisations navigating international expansion, ecommerce growth, platform dependency, and the challenge of competing across multiple digital marketplaces while remaining agile and customer-led.
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He engages most commonly with senior leaders, commercial and digital teams, founders, and professional audiences within consumer, retail, and technology-enabled organisations.
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His approach is highly practical and experience-led, grounded in first-hand leadership of global ecommerce operations and informed by real examples from both large-scale technology organisations and high-growth challenger brands.
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He adapts his content to reflect organisational scale, digital maturity, and growth ambition, tailoring examples to whether audiences are operating as global brands, scaling challengers, or businesses building capability across multiple platforms.
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James' e-commerce and innovation insights resonate across global corporate environments.
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Pricing for James is influenced by factors such as event location, format, and time commitment. Speaking Office ensures fee consistency across all enquiries, whether via speaker bureaus or direct clients, so that pricing remains aligned and non-competitive across channels. Accurate and up-to-date pricing can be provided once event details are shared, ensuring alignment with both the client’s requirements and James’s long-term positioning.
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Speaking Office aims to respond promptly to all enquiries regarding James, typically within one business day. Response times may vary slightly depending on event complexity and time zone, but all enquiries are handled with care and attention.
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James is available for virtual and hybrid events, as well as in-person engagements, depending on availability and event requirements. Speaking Office can advise on the most appropriate format based on audience, objectives, and technical considerations.
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Advance booking is recommended for James, particularly for peak periods and international events. While shorter lead times can be accommodated, early enquiry allows for greater flexibility and planning.
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How do I book James for a speech?
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