Myriam Ben Farhat

KEYNOTE SPEAKER • EXECUTIVE COACH • CULTURE ARCHITECT

Courageous Reinvention

I help leaders and organizations navigate change by developing what technology cannot decide for us: how we see, connect, choose, and act.

The Philosophy

Why Courageous Reinvention?

We often believe reinvention begins after failure.

It doesn't.

It begins the moment your next chapter asks more of you—not less.

In a world reshaped by AI, uncertainty, and constant change, reinvention is no longer optional.

It is leadership.

Change is inevitable. Reinvention is intentional.

Recipient of the

2026 EU Business School
Innovation Award

On Stage At

Chess.comTahaluf — an Informa companyEU Business SchoolGlobal HR SummitWomenTech NetworkHanns Seidel StiftungLEAP RiyadhAI Summit Barcelona

Speaking at conferences, universities, and leadership gatherings across Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.

Keynote Talks

Courageous Reinvention Keynotes

Every keynote explores a different dimension of Courageous Reinvention, helping leaders, founders, organizations, and audiences navigate transformation with courage, clarity, and humanity.

01Flagship Keynote

Courageous Reinvention

Lead and live through change with clarity and courage.

Best for

Leadership conferences · Executive teams · Founder forums · Organizations in transformation

Change can unsettle our plans, our identity, and the way we lead. Drawing on my own story of rebuilding my life and more than 2,000 hours coaching leaders, I explore how to meet change with clarity and courage, without waiting until we feel ready. This keynote helps audiences see reinvention as a series of choices they can begin making now.

Audience Takeaways

  • A new way to understand change and personal agency
  • Practical questions for navigating uncertainty
  • The courage to take a meaningful next step
Enquire →
02

The Real Disruption Isn't AI. It's Human Intelligence.

The six human capacities we need in an AI-shaped world.

Best for

Leadership conferences · Executive teams · Tech and fast-scaling companies

AI is changing what we can do. The more interesting question is who we become while using it. Through stories from chess, leadership at Chess.com, and my own life, I introduce the Human Intelligence Framework™: Perceive → Regulate → Think → Relate → Choose → Act. This keynote gives audiences a way to work with AI while strengthening their own judgment, connection, and courage.

Audience Takeaways

  • A memorable six-capacity framework for leading through change
  • A clearer understanding of where human judgment gives AI direction
  • Practical ways to build trust, make better choices, and act
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03

From Pawn to Queen

Identity, resilience, and the courage to make your next move.

Best for

Commencements · Women's leadership events · Audiences facing a new chapter

In chess, a pawn becomes a queen by moving forward. Through my personal story of starting again and the choices that changed my life, this keynote explores identity, resilience, self-worth, and the courage to keep moving when you cannot yet see the whole path. It is especially suited to commencements, women's leadership events, and audiences facing a new chapter.

Audience Takeaways

  • A memorable metaphor for growth and reinvention
  • A more compassionate understanding of resilience
  • The confidence to make the next move before everything is certain
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Selected past & upcoming engagements

  • AI Summit BarcelonaBarcelona · September 2026
  • LEAP Tech ConferenceRiyadh · 31 August–4 September 2026
  • Tunisia Global Forum · ATUGETunis · 22 July 2026
  • Global HR SummitIstanbul · 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.

Courageous Reinvention — Live

From Pawn to Queen: The Most Powerful Move You'll Ever Make

Commencement speech at EU Business School, Barcelona.

In this commencement keynote at EU Business School in Barcelona, I use the journey of a chess pawn to explore courage, self-worth, and the small moves that can change the direction of a life.

On stage

Myriam Ben Farhat addressing a packed auditorium at Global HR Summit Istanbul 2026
Keynote · Global HR Summit, Istanbul 2026
Myriam Ben Farhat keynoting at AI Summit Barcelona 2026 in front of a chess slide
Keynote · AI Summit Barcelona 2026
Myriam Ben Farhat at the podium presenting Chess.com growth at LEAP in Riyadh
Keynote · LEAP, Riyadh 2026
Myriam Ben Farhat delivering the Intelligence Hybride keynote at Tunisia Global Forum ATUGE
Keynote · Tunisia Global Forum ATUGE 2026
Myriam Ben Farhat keynote at Global HR Summit Istanbul 2026
Keynote · Global HR Summit, Istanbul 2026
Myriam Ben Farhat on the AI Summit Barcelona stage with a quote about resilience on screen
On resilience · AI Summit Barcelona 2026
Myriam Ben Farhat addressing a full auditorium at Tunisia Global Forum ATUGE in Tunis
Full house · Tunisia Global Forum ATUGE 2026
Myriam Ben Farhat speaking at the podium at LEAP in Riyadh
Human intelligence · LEAP, Riyadh 2026
Myriam Ben Farhat speaking on a conference panel in Katowice
Panel · Chess in Education, Katowice
Myriam Ben Farhat presenting the Three Phases slide at AI Summit Barcelona 2026
Three phases · AI Summit Barcelona 2026
Myriam Ben Farhat speaking at Casa Árabe Madrid
Tunisian Talents in Spain · Casa Árabe, Madrid
Myriam Ben Farhat with co-panelists backstage
Fondation Hanns 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
Workshop · IDEKAPITAL CEO Forum, Norway 2022

Framework

The Human Intelligence Framework™

AI gives us possibilities. Human judgment gives us direction.

As technology becomes more capable and widely available, the question is no longer only what our tools can do. It is what we bring to them.

The Human Intelligence Framework™ develops six capacities that help us navigate change, lead others, and turn possibility into meaningful action.

Courageous Reinvention is the philosophy. The Human Intelligence Framework™ is the practical method that brings it to life, one capacity at a time.

  1. 01

    Perceive

    See what is actually happening, in yourself, in others, and in the world around you. Notice signals, assumptions, and what you may be missing.

  2. 02

    Regulate

    Create enough steadiness to respond with intention, especially when pressure, fear, or uncertainty takes over.

  3. 03

    Think

    Question assumptions, connect ideas, and use both human insight and technology to explore better possibilities.

  4. 04

    Relate

    Build the trust and understanding that make collaboration possible. Listen, communicate honestly, and stay connected across differences.

  5. 05

    Choose

    Exercise judgment. Decide what matters, what aligns with your values, and which possibility is worth pursuing.

  6. 06

    Act

    Make the move. Turn awareness and intention into a decision, a conversation, an experiment, or a change in direction.

"Understanding the world takes intelligence. Changing it takes courage."

— Myriam Ben Farhat

Coaching

Courageous Reinvention Coaching

Every meaningful transformation begins within.

Whether you're leading an organization or redefining your own next chapter, lasting change doesn't come from becoming someone else.

It comes from having the courage to become more fully yourself.

I partner with founders, executives, senior leaders, and women navigating meaningful transitions with greater clarity, confidence, and intention.

ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) badge

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

Book a Coaching Call →

Executive Coaching

Founders · Executives · Senior Leaders · Leadership Teams

Executive Coaching

A bespoke coaching partnership for founders, executives, and senior leaders navigating meaningful change.

Together we develop the clarity, confidence, and leadership capacity needed to navigate complexity while staying deeply aligned with your values.

This is not advice.

It is a thinking partnership designed to help you lead your next chapter with intention.

Typical engagement: six sessions over approximately three months, with support between sessions.

Investment shared after application.

From Pawn to Queen

A Courageous Reinvention Journey

From Pawn to Queen

A Courageous Reinvention Journey

A transformational coaching journey for women who have outgrown the life they once built and are ready to consciously create what comes next.

Together we reconnect with your values, rediscover your voice, and build your next chapter with courage, clarity, and intention.

This isn't about becoming someone else.

It's about becoming more of who you truly are.

Typical engagement: six sessions over approximately three months.

Investment shared after application.

Workshops

Courageous Reinvention Experiences

Every workshop is built around one central question: How do people and organizations evolve without losing what matters most? Whether navigating AI, rapid growth, leadership transitions, or cultural transformation, the challenge is the same: helping humans adapt with courage, clarity, and intention.

01 · Perceive02 · Regulate03 · Think04 · Relate05 · Choose06 · Act

Human Intelligence at Scale

The full framework as a leadership experience.

A practical leadership experience built around Perceive, Regulate, Think, Relate, Choose, and Act. Teams work through real decisions, pressures, and relationships in their own context and leave with concrete moves they can put into practice.

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, it turns clarity into a deliberate choice and a concrete next step.

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.

About

The Story Behind Courageous Reinvention

At 40, I rebuilt my life from the ground up. New country. New language. New career. I thought I was starting over. Looking back, I was becoming more of who I truly was.

That journey became the foundation of everything I teach today, and gave birth to the philosophy I now call Courageous Reinvention.

Professional Experience

Today, I serve as VP of People Experience & Inclusion at Chess.com, one of the world's largest digital platforms, supporting a globally distributed team across 65 countries.

Previously, as Chief People Officer at Play Magnus Group, I built the People function through rapid international growth, 11 acquisitions, and the company's IPO on the Oslo Stock Exchange before its acquisition by Chess.com.

Alongside my corporate leadership role, I am an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with more than 2,000 coaching hours, partnering with founders, executives, leadership teams, and organizations navigating transformation.

Philosophy

I believe our greatest challenge is not simply keeping pace with technology. It is developing ourselves as quickly as we develop our tools. Courageous Reinvention is the philosophy behind my work; the Human Intelligence Framework™ puts it into practice through six capacities: Perceive, Regulate, Think, Relate, Choose, and Act. Together, they help us lead through uncertainty with clearer judgment, deeper connection, and the courage to move.

Closing

Whether I'm delivering a keynote, coaching an executive, or facilitating a leadership experience, my mission remains the same:

To help people and organizations evolve without losing who they are.

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.

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.

This keynote from Myriam Ben Farhat was one of my favorites of the summit.

Ronny Hermosa

Canva Trainer · AI Summit Barcelona · September 2026

Read the article →

The metaphor from chess opened up the audience brains, energy was well projected to the audience, message was clear and well delivered.

Andrei Panainte

AI Solutions Architect · AI Summit Barcelona · September 2026

The talk that's stayed with me longest was Myriam Ben Farhat's from Chess.com.

I keep coming back to the last one. Perceiving, thinking, even choosing – none of it moves us anywhere until someone finds the courage, takes the responsibility, and acts on it.

Christina Chervotkina

Attendee · AI Summit Barcelona · September 2026

Myriam Ben Farhat's session yesterday at the AI Summit left an impression on me. AI didn't make human chess players irrelevant. It made them better. The bar got higher, and humans rose to meet it.

And it was such impeccable storytelling

Amber Jackson

Founder & CEO, Penya · AI Summit Barcelona · September 2026

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 enquiries, choose a topic below.
I read every message personally.

Direct contact

myriam@myriambenfarhat.com

Based in

Barcelona, Spain · Working globally

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 →