Myriam Ben Farhat — Keynote Speaker, Executive Coach, Culture Architect
Myriam Ben Farhat

I help leaders scale without losing what makes them human.

Keynote Speaker · Executive Coach · Culture Architect

Executive Coach, Speaker, and Culture Architect helping leaders, founders, and high-growth organizations navigate leadership, growth, and transformation.

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EU Business School Innovation Award 2026Global HR Summit IstanbulLEAP Riyadh 2026Women in Tech Global Conference 202610+ International StagesChess.com

Selected stages & partners

Global HR SummitWomenTech NetworkEU Business SchoolHanns Seidel StiftungLEAP Riyadh

“We are scaling companies faster than we are scaling humans.
That's the real disruption.

Myriam Ben Farhat · Global HR Summit, Istanbul 2026

Keynote Talks

Human Leadership for the Age of AI

Built for organizations, leaders, and audiences navigating acceleration, uncertainty, reinvention, and the future of work.

01Flagship Keynote

The Real Disruption Isn't AI.

It's Human Leadership at Scale.

For leadership conferences · executive teams · companies scaling fast

We are scaling companies faster than we are developing the humans inside them. In a world where everyone has access to the same AI tools, the real competitive advantage becomes deeply human: judgment, trust, emotional intelligence, and the ability to lead through uncertainty. Built around the Human Intelligence Framework™, this keynote gives leaders concrete tools to lead people through change without losing what technology cannot replicate: their humanity.

Enquire →
02Keynote

From Pawn to Queen

Reinvention, Identity & Leading in the Age of AI

For women in leadership · transformation audiences · leadership events

A keynote about reinvention, courage, and becoming who you were always meant to be. Through the metaphor of chess and the raw truth of rebuilding life from zero at 40, this talk explores what it means to move through uncertainty, identity collapse, and transformation without losing yourself. Because resilience is not strength. It is movement. And the pawn that keeps moving becomes the queen.

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03Keynote

Not a Ladder. A Board.

A New Mental Model for Growth, Career & Leadership

For leadership programs · graduate audiences · MBA programs · future leaders

Careers no longer move in straight lines. And leadership no longer follows predictable paths. In a world of constant change, uncertainty, AI disruption, and reinvention, success is no longer about climbing a ladder. It's about learning how to move. Using chess as a lens for modern leadership and growth, this keynote explores adaptability, courage, strategic thinking, and how to navigate nonlinear careers with clarity instead of fear. Because the people who thrive today are not the ones who follow the path. They are the ones who learn how to play the board.

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04Keynote

Scaling Humans While Scaling Companies

Companies don't scale. People do.

For founders · startup leaders · accelerators · VC portfolio companies · executive teams

Drawing from experience inside hypergrowth organizations, acquisitions, and public-company transformation, this keynote explores the leadership, culture, and human challenges that emerge as organizations grow fast. Topics include founder evolution, leadership at scale, building culture intentionally, decision-making under pressure, and leading through transformation.

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Selected past & upcoming engagements

  • Global HR SummitIstanbul · 2026
  • LEAP Tech ConferenceRiyadh · 2026
  • EU Business School CommencementBarcelona · 2026
  • Women in Tech Global ConferenceOnline · 2026
  • Chess in Education ConferenceKatowice, Poland · 2026
  • Tunisian Talents in Spain · Casa ÁrabeMadrid · 2026
  • Fondation Hanns SeidelTunis · 2026
  • CIEE Business SchoolBarcelona · 2026
  • MBA League JuryBarcelona · 2026
  • Chai & Chat · MeditariMWC Barcelona · March 2025
  • EU Business SchoolBarcelona · 2025
  • IDEKAPITAL CEO ForumKleivstua, Norway · March 2022

Every keynote is tailored to your audience and context.

Book Myriam to Speak →

On stage

Myriam Ben Farhat addressing a packed auditorium at Global HR Summit Istanbul 2026
Keynote · Global HR Summit, Istanbul 2026
Myriam Ben Farhat keynote at Global HR Summit Istanbul 2026
Keynote · Global HR Summit, Istanbul 2026
Myriam Ben Farhat speaking at conference panel
Panel · Katowice
Myriam Ben Farhat keynote at Casa Árabe Madrid
Tunisian Talents in Spain · Casa Árabe, Madrid
Myriam Ben Farhat with co-panelists backstage
Fondation Haans Seidel · with co-panelists
Myriam Ben Farhat keynote at EU Business School Barcelona
Keynote · EU Business School, Barcelona
Myriam Ben Farhat facilitating the IDEKAPITAL CEO Forum workshop, Norway 2022
IDEKAPITAL CEO Forum · Norway, March 2022

Framework

The Human Intelligence Framework™

In a world where everyone has access to the same tools,the difference is the human holding them.

01

Awareness

You cannot regulate what you cannot see.

Awareness is operational clarity on your most important leadership tool: yourself.

02

Emotional Regulation

Calm is precision under pressure.

In fast environments, your ability to regulate yourself is your edge.

03

Honesty at Scale

Not comfort. Truth.

The ability for people to speak honestly without fear. That's where performance starts.

04

Kindness as Strategy

At scale, you manage trust, not just work.

Kindness is not the soft one. It is the one holding all the others together.

"We are scaling companies faster than we are developing the humans inside them."

Coaching

For leaders ready for the next version of themselves.

This is not advice.
It's the space where real clarity is built.

I also partner with founders, accelerator programs, and leadership teams in high-growth companies navigating the challenges of scaling people, culture, and leadership.

Half day · In-person or virtual · 5–100 participants

ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) badge

ICF PCC · 2,000+ Coaching Hours · Former Chief People Officer · Global Leadership Experience

Book a Coaching Call →

Executive & Leadership Coaching

Founders · Executives · Leadership Teams · High-Growth Organizations

Single Session

One focused 60-minute conversation.

For clarity on a specific decision, challenge, or transition.

Investment shared after application.

Apply →

3-Month Engagement

Six 60-minute sessions over three months, with support between calls.

For leaders ready for sustained transformation.

Investment shared after application.

Apply →

Private engagements only.
Applications reviewed personally.

Your Next Chapter

Women navigating reinvention, identity shifts, and major life transitions

Your Next Chapter

A 3-month guided journey inward.

Six bi-weekly 60-minute sessions designed for women navigating reinvention, identity shifts, or major life transitions.

For women who feel successful on paper, but disconnected from themselves underneath.

Built around values, strengths, purpose, emotional clarity, and direction.

This is not executive performance coaching. This is identity work.

For the woman who is ready to stop performing someone else's version of her life — and start building her own.

Investment shared after application.

Apply →

Private engagements only. Applications reviewed personally.

Workshops

Leadership experiences designed around your needs.

Every engagement is built around your specific context, challenges, and goals, from keynote to full-day immersive experience. The examples below show what this looks like in practice.

AwarenessEmotional RegulationHonesty at ScaleKindness as Strategy

Human Intelligence at Scale

The full framework as a leadership experience.

The Human Intelligence Framework delivered as a half-day or full-day session for executive teams. Built around Awareness, Emotional Regulation, Honesty at Scale, and Kindness as Strategy. Not theory, a working session that shifts how leaders show up immediately.

Half day · In-person or virtual · 5–100 participants

Your Next Move

A leadership clarity workshop.

A half-day experience helping leaders and teams reconnect with values, strengths, and direction. Built around the 3-column exercise and the Human Intelligence Framework.

Half day · In-person or virtual · 15–100 participants

🌍

Global Experience

Built across 65+ countries and diverse teams.

🎯

Fully Customized

Designed around your specific context and challenges.

👥

For Real Leaders

Executive teams, HR leaders, and organizations scaling fast.

Enquire About a Workshop →

About Myriam

Not a ladder.
A board.

Myriam Ben Farhat.

VP of People Experience & Inclusion at Chess.com, one of the world's largest digital platforms, with 250 million users across 65 countries. She shapes leadership, culture, and human performance across a fully remote organization of 670 people spanning four continents, with no office and no headquarters.

From Hypergrowth to Coaching

Before becoming an executive coach, I spent years helping build and scale organizations from the inside.

As Chief People Officer at Play Magnus Group, I supported the company through rapid international growth, 11 acquisitions, and its IPO journey on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Today, alongside my role at Chess.com, I continue to work at the intersection of leadership, culture, and organizational growth, while coaching founders, executives, and leadership teams navigating their next stage.

Previously Chief People Officer at Play Magnus Group, she built the People function from scratch through rapid global expansion and the company's acquisition by Chess.com.

She is also an international keynote speaker and Executive Coach (ICF PCC), working with senior leaders and organizations navigating AI acceleration, cultural transformation, and the future of work.

"I rebuilt my life from zero at 40, new country, new language, new career, new self. That is where my leadership was actually born."

A former lawyer and entrepreneur, Myriam knows what it means to start over. That experience did not make her a better speaker. It made her a more honest one.

Her work centers on Human Intelligence, the awareness, emotional regulation, honesty, and strategic kindness that allow leaders to scale without losing their humanity.

Because in the age of AI, the leaders who will matter most are not the ones who know the most.
They are the ones people trust the most.

I've spent my career helping organizations scale. Today, I help leaders, founders, and teams do the same — without losing themselves, their people, or the culture that made growth possible in the first place.

Credentials

ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC)

2,000+ coaching hours

EU Business School Innovation Award 2026

Languages

French · English · Arabic · Spanish

Based in

Barcelona · Working globally

Work With Me →
Portrait of Myriam Ben Farhat

Featured

Building culture at scale across 65 countries.

Podcast · Episode 25: Negotiating with Heart — Reshaping Leadership and HR in Tech.

A Story of Reinvention & Authentic Leadership · Jessika Klingspor's Conscious Podcast.

"Chess is for everyone, no exceptions." · Chess.com X Level1.

In the press

Emotionally Intelligent Negotiation · Tony Anagor

Resilience and Radical Optimism: Myriam Ben Farhat's Journey in Tech and Leadership

A feature on reinventing a career, leading layoffs with empathy, and redefining negotiation as collaboration.

Read the article (PDF) →

Damas y Reyes · Federico Marín Bellón

Ajedrez para los que ni siquiera tienen un techo

On bringing chess to people experiencing homelessness in Barcelona with Fundación Arrels, and Chess.com's belief in the human power of the game.

Read the article →

Reels

Short ideas from my YouTube channel @myriambenfarhat.official

My daily habits philosophy.

Mindset is a decision.

The power of baby steps.

Testimonials

In their words.

A true highlight of the summit. Myriam offered an incredibly inspiring perspective on how to lead in an AI-augmented world, guiding us through the delicate balance of embracing technology while remaining profoundly human, and reminding us that our most distinctive human edge, the one thing AI cannot replicate, is our power of judgment.

Elif Okyar

Global Director, People & Culture · Global HR Summit, Istanbul 2026

A stimulating and empathetic speech that prompted some powerful questions, including: in a world where most people you compete with have access to similar tools, what do you uniquely bring that no tool can replicate? Tools are no longer your edge.

Andrew Spence

Future of Work Speaker & Advisor · Global HR Summit, Istanbul 2026

Myriam coached me and many on our team at Chessable through 2020 and 2021, and the impact has stayed with me. She has a rare ability to guide people into honest, deep introspection, challenging us to confront the parts of ourselves we so easily ignore once the day-to-day takes over. As both my leadership coach and a personal coach to the wider team, she helped us grow in ways we wouldn't have reached on our own. I'm genuinely grateful for the time we spent working together.

David Kramaley

Founder & CEO, Chessable

She left a lasting impression on the entire group. What stood out immediately was her honesty and the way she connects strategy to the human side of business. Students didn't just enjoy the session, they applied it. If you're looking for a speaker who brings together strategic thinking with real-world leadership experience and delivers it in a way that genuinely connects with people, I would highly recommend Myriam.

Maria Kelly

Professor of Strategic Management · Barcelona

Myriam brought a unique perspective, combining deep knowledge of leadership with a genuine commitment to diversity and inclusion. Her insights were thought-provoking, and she had a remarkable ability to connect with the audience. Her engaging speaking style and dedication to these important topics left a lasting impact on our attendees.

Maryna Tkachenko

HANNOVER MESSE · Onshape by PTC

Contact

Let's talk.

For speaking, coaching, or workshop inquiries.
I read every message personally.

Direct contact

myriam@myriambenfarhat.com

linkedin.com/in/myriambenfarhat

Based in

Barcelona, Spain · CET timezone

Working in French · English · Arabic · Spanish

“The leaders who will define the next decade are not the ones who know the most.
They are the ones people trust the most.

AI will never compete with that.
But your leadership will.

Myriam Ben Farhat

Work With Me →