Andy Lopata
Professional Relationships Strategist, Author, Podcast Host & Speaker
Andy Lopata is a specialist speaker on professional relationships, mentoring, networking and social media strategy.
Andy is a firm believer that professional relationships underpin our success in our business, our roles and our careers. The right relationships with the right people can lead to new business opportunities, investment, collaborative working, innovation and career progress. We just need to be comfortable approaching those relationships strategically, without making people feel ‘networked’ by us.
Andy has worked in the field of networking and professional relationships for 25 years, working with global giants such as Paypal, GSK, AstraZeneca, Wella, HSBC, Wembley Stadium, the BBC, the Prime Minister’s Office of the UAE and many more in that time. He has worked with leading universities including NYU, Duke University and Oxford University’s Said Business School.
A regular blogger for Psychology Today, Andy has been quoted in The Sunday Times, The Financial Times and The Guardian as well as many other national and regional newspapers and magazines worldwide.
He has written or co-authored six books on networking and professional relationships, with his sixth book, The Financial Times Guide to Mentoring being published in Spring 2024. He is also the host of The Connected Leadership Podcast and has interviewed globally recognised names in business, academia, sports and entertainment for the show.
Andy has been inducted into the PSAE Hall of Fame – the Professional Speaking Association Award of Excellence, which was held by only 21 other speakers at the time it was presented.
He is a Fellow and a former Vice-President of the Fellows’ Community of the Professional Speaking Association (PSA), a Fellow of the Learning and Performance Institute (LPI) and a Member of the Association of Business Mentors and the Meetings Industry Association.
SPEAKING TOPICS
Keynote talks INCLUDE –
- The Power of Professional Relationships
- Connected Leadership
- How NOT to Get Referrals
- Just Ask – Why Seeking Support is your Greatest Strength
- Vulnerable Leadership
- Meaningful Mentoring
- How to Use LinkedIn as a Referral Tool
NEW TALK
Vulnerable Leadership
Leadership people look to their leaders for strength and direction, particularly in times of uncertainty. But does that mean that leaders need to know all of the answers, all of the time? At a time when people are being encouraged to share their vulnerability, how can leaders do so while still commanding respect? If, indeed, it is desirable for them to do so.
Andy Lopata explores the apparent contradictions between vulnerability and strong leadership. Andy proposes that not only is vulnerability an asset for leaders but it is a sign of strength and works to the benefit of the leader as an individual and the people they lead. In the talk, Andy discusses how we expect our leaders to be strong, and be seen to be strong; to be resilient and to be seen to be resilient; to take the lead and be seen to take the lead. Culturally we are conditioned to see these qualities as the polar opposite of vulnerability but Andy argues that, in fact, each of these qualities is aided by leaders being more vulnerable and authentic. This can be delivered as a keynote talk, a facilitated discussion or a combination of the two.
** June 2020 – Andy’s new book Connected Leadership is now available. For more information please visit the Amazon Wesbite.
“I worked with Andy for Unity, the Women Initiative at PayPal. Andy delivered a networking training in London and Paris. He joined us for a 1.5-hour workshop to speak about the importance of investing and utilising your network internally and externally. The feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, and we will continue to run the training in other offices in EMEA.”
— Astrid Huijssoon, Senior Marketing Manager Cross Border Trade - PayPal CEMEA
“Andy presented an excellent tailored session on networking to BDO’s directors and principals. He came highly recommended and the feedback received by attendees completely supported that he was the right person to invite as an external speaker to our event. At each stage of the event from planning to delivery to follow up, Andy’s approach was extremely impressive. He spent time at the outset understanding us, the way we work and our key objectives, and this continued with discussions with us in the run-up to the event to shape the session to our needs. His delivery was really engaging and struck a great balance of encouraging group based discussion and provoking thoughts through his skilled insight. After the event, he has followed up with us in terms of key messages specific to our session. With Andy’s involvement, we were able to meet the aims of the session fully, and I would wholeheartedly recommend others to have him run a session based on the benefits of him doing so for us.”
— Andrew Kelly, Director of Human Capital Services, BDO LLP
“Andy has provided three fantastic talks for us as part of a "Networking" programme he tailored to our needs. He is really engaging and left the audience wanting more which is a rarity when you work in Finance! He is extremely professional and personable, and it felt like Andy really knew the topics and had researched the audience. Just thinking about what the next set of talks he can provide will be...!”
— Nicola Hradek, Co-Chair HSBC Balance Employee Network
“It is great to work with a speaker like Andy who really wants to understand the audience he speaks to and tailors his content to them. It's also great to have all the post-event content Andy prepared specifically for us and so quickly. It has been a pleasure to work with him.”
— Galina Lebedeva, Education & Events Senior Co-ordinator, Wella UK & Ireland
“Andy, thanks again for making our Balance HK event a huge success. The audience gave you their undivided attention, and you could hear a pin drop when you were speaking. I have never witnessed that before, with a room of 170+ people! ”
— Maggie Suttie, Chair Balance Network, HSBC Hong Kong
“Andy designed and facilitated a bespoke workshop for a group of Health Outcomes Consultants within the Pharmaceutical industry. I found Andy's approach very flexible, and it was clear that Andy was very keen to ensure his workshop offered tailored value to our team. I was impressed with the amount of research Andy did prior to the workshop to understand our world (working with the NHS). The delivery of the workshop was facilitation (no powerpoint slides!), and all members of the team were highly engaged. The workbooks Andy had designed to help people capture notes and to write down comments during breakout sessions worked very well. As a direct result of Andy’s workshop, we are now implementing a “networking strategy” that is aligned to supporting our key business goal. Andy’s advice/insights have made me re-think all my customer interactions, and even in the short term, I am getting results. The “after” support Andy has provided in terms of “reminder videos” and 1:1 phone conversations has been much appreciated. ”
— Adam Newman, Health Outcomes Consultant, GSK
