What Chartwell Speakers does

Chartwell Speakers is a privately held global speaker bureau founded in London in 2007 by co-founder Ellis Trevor. The company matches corporate clients, conference organizers, educational institutions, and public-sector bodies with keynote and motivational speakers, operating a curated roster of approximately 1,500 speakers across eight main categories and 49 sub-categories (Business & Leadership, Politics & Government, Technology & Innovation, Health & Wellbeing, Finance & Economy, Environment & Sustainability, Society & Culture, and Entertainment). Its core product is a searchable online speaker database with filtering by topic, location, gender, and speaker type, complemented by a shortlisting tool that allows clients to save candidates and request availability. The company differentiates its offer through two sub-brands: an 'Exclusive Speakers' tier of approximately 567 priority-access speakers and a 'New Speakers' program of approximately 120 emerging voices.

The business model is commission-based: Chartwell earns a percentage of speaker fees for events it places, with quote-based pricing that varies by speaker profile, event format (in-person, virtual, hybrid), session length, preparation required, travel logistics, exclusivity requirements, and content usage rights. The technology surface is a conventional website platform; no APIs, no AI features, and no software products are offered. All bookings flow through human agents — the company operates as a high-touch services firm rather than a marketplace or SaaS platform. Service scope spans end-to-end engagement management: curated speaker recommendations, fee negotiation, contract administration, speaker briefing and preparation, on-the-day coordination, and post-event follow-up.

Chartwell runs a direct enterprise sales motion through nine physical offices in London, Dallas, New York, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Palm Beach, with regional Managing Directors for Europe, Middle East, APAC, and the Americas. The company has 11-50 employees, holds IASB (International Association of Speaker Bureaus) accreditation, and lists NatWest and Meta as named enterprise clients. There are no disclosed funding rounds, no institutional backers, and no revenue figures available, indicating a privately funded, founder-led operating model.

Name

Chartwell Speakers

Legal name

Chartwell Speakers

Website

https://chartwellspeakers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Chartwell Speakers is a global speaker bureau founded in London in 2007, representing 1,500+ speakers across 8 categories and serving corporate, conference, educational, and public-sector clients via 9 international offices and a commission-based booking model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Speaker Bureau Services

akta.pro primary industry

Entertainment Booking & Speaker/Talent Management (HSACAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Speaker, Program & Abstract Management Services (THAHACAI), Public Lectures & Speaker Series (MPAGACAI)

Keywords

• Speaker bureau services
• Keynote speaker booking
• Event speaker agency
• Celebrity speaker representation
• Corporate speaker booking

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Speaker Booking Commissions: Chartwell earns commissions on speaker fees for events they book. Fees are influenced by speaker profile, demand, event format (in-person/virtual/hybrid), session length, preparation time, travel logistics, exclusivity requirements, and content usage permissions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Chartwell Speakers is a global speakers bureau that curates and books expert keynote, motivational, and subject-matter speakers for corporate events, conferences, and public-sector engagements. The company manages the full booking lifecycle, including speaker recommendations, fee negotiation, contracts, scheduling, speaker briefing, and on-the-day logistics, across in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats. It also represents a roster of approximately 1,500 speakers across eight main categories, with a preferential "Exclusive" tier of about 567 speakers.

Product overview

Chartwell Speakers operates as a traditional global speakers bureau offering a unified service centered on human expertise and personal relationships. The core offering consists of a searchable speaker database of approximately 1,500 keynote and motivational speakers, complemented by full-service booking agency support including speaker curation, fee negotiation, contract management, and event-day coordination. The portfolio spans eight main categories (Business & Leadership, Politics & Government, Technology & Innovation, Entertainment, Society & Culture, Health & Wellbeing, Finance & Economy, Environment & Sustainability) with 49 sub-categories covering niche topics from AI & Emerging Tech to Nobel Laureates. Two notable sub-brands serve distinct segments: the 'Exclusive Speakers' tier (approximately 567 speakers) providing priority access to premium talent, and 'New Speakers' (approximately 120 speakers) featuring emerging voices. The business model relies on human-managed consultancy rather than technology-driven products, with no digital/software product lines, APIs, or AI-enabled features identified.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Speaker Booking Services Full-service speaker booking agency providing curated speaker recommendations tailored to event themes and goals, fee negotiation, contract management, scheduling, speaker preparation and briefing, event-day support, and post-event follow-up for in-person, virtual, and hybrid event formats.
• Speaker Representation Services

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• International Association of Speaker Bureaus (IASB)coreOthersChartwell Speakers holds professional accreditation from the IASB, demonstrating commitment to industry standards and ethical practices in the speakers bureau industry.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Harry Walker Agency: Long-established US-based speakers bureau representing politicians, business leaders and celebrities for paid speaking engagements. Comparable to Chartwell on core service (speaker booking and full event coordination) and target enterprise / association buyers.
• Washington Speakers Bureau (WSB): Boutique speakers bureau focused on political, business and thought leadership figures. Comparable to Chartwell in roster positioning, fee negotiation model and corporate keynote use case.
• Leading Authorities: US-headquartered speakers bureau representing thought leaders, business figures and policy experts. Overlaps directly with Chartwell on speaker curation, enterprise sales motion and end-to-end event booking.
• The Lavin Agency: Speakers bureau representing authors, business leaders and commentators for corporate and association events. Highly comparable in roster model (exclusive representation), enterprise buyer segment and category-led curation.
• BigSpeak Speakers Bureau: Speakers bureau with searchable online database and agent-based booking for corporate keynotes. Comparable on revenue model (speaker fee commissions), product (database + agency service) and customer base.
• AEI Speakers Bureau: Talent / speakers agency placing business and motivational keynote speakers. Comparable on agency-representation economics, enterprise customer focus, and end-to-end booking workflow.
• Leigh Bureau: US speakers bureau founded in 1979 representing distinguished speakers across business, politics and the arts. Highly comparable on service scope, exclusive representation model and association / corporate event use cases.
• The H.K. Bain Speaker Agency: Speakers bureau with curated roster of business, leadership and motivation speakers. Comparable to Chartwell on agency commission model and corporate event curation.

Emerging players

• Stern Speakers & Advisors: Boutique speakers and advisor-matching firm. Comparable on selective roster positioning and exclusive representation, though smaller scale than Chartwell's 1,500+ speaker database.
• Speakerbooking.com: Online speaker marketplace with searchable directory and direct booking. Comparable on the matching and database layer of Chartwell's offering, though it competes on a more self-service, lower-touch model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/chartwell_ideas
• YouTubeyoutube.com/ATGChartwell
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chartwellspeakers
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChartwellSpeakers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chartwell Speakers