Macquarie University Professor, bestselling author of six books, and the academic who grew up in a cult — whose work on purpose, engagement and meaning is reframing how organisations think about what drives people.
Professor Debbie Haski-Leventhal is a professor of business management at Macquarie University whose research focuses on purpose, impact and prosocial behaviour — the study of why people act for the benefit of others, and what organisations can do to align that instinct with meaningful outcomes. She is the author of six books, has published more than sixty academic articles, and has a widely viewed TED talk. Her personal story is as significant as her scholarship: she grew up in a cult, left at nineteen, and credits higher education and volunteering with transforming her life.
The distance between Debbie’s early life and her current standing as one of Australia’s most respected purpose researchers is not incidental to her message — it is the message. Her work on why engagement is broken, why meaning matters, and what it actually takes to raise a generation that cares is rooted in lived experience as much as academic rigour. She argues that purpose is not a luxury or a branding exercise — it is a fundamental human need that organisations ignore at the cost of their people and their performance.
For business leadership, education, HR and purpose-driven organisational conferences, Professor Haski-Leventhal is an exceptional choice. She speaks with the authority of a serious academic, the warmth of someone who has been profoundly transformed by the ideas she studies, and the practical focus of someone who has spent her career turning complex research into tools that organisations can actually use. Audiences consistently leave her sessions feeling both inspired to act and equipped to do so.
Professor Debbie Haski-Leventhal is a keynote speaker based in New South Wales who speaks on business strategy, education and leadership. Book through Executive Speakers Australia.
Escaping a cult helped me discover my purpose and meaning. Here is how you can create yours and turn purpose into a meaningful, measurable impact.
An evidence-based reframing of engagement that builds on human connection, shared purpose, and powerful meaning.
Why purpose and meaningfulness are a strategic necessity during uncertainty, disruption, and moral fatigue.
Many companies want to be responsible, but only a few do it well. How adopting the holistic approach to net positive impact can make you a force for good.
A powerful talk on purpose, responsibility, and the power of education. Using purpose-driven education to enable the next generation of change makers.
Keynotes can be combined with workshops and consultancy on (corporate) purpose, creating and measuring impact, leadership, employee engagement, and creating meaning through positive change.
Professor Haski-Leventhal is an outstanding scholar of purpose-led universities at a time when that cause was never more important. As a voice standing up for change for good from higher education for all in our world.Director, HEDx
Your presentations sparked inspiration, meaningful discussions, and new ideas that participants will carry home.Danish Presidency, European Union
She was phenomenal!ATEM, Brisbane
Tell us about your event and our consultants will return a curated shortlist within one business day.
