Belinda Parmar

Belinda Parmar OBE is a leading expert in empathy-driven leadership, helping organisations use emotional intelligence and AI to create more human-centred, high-performing workplaces.

Belinda Parmar OBE is a leading voice on the power of empathy in business, technology and leadership. As Chief Executive of The Empathy Business, she helps organisations embed empathy into their culture, communications and customer interactions—proving that human connection can be a powerful driver of both performance and purpose.

With more than two decades of experience in behavioural and cultural change, Belinda works across sectors including energy, finance, fashion, government, and technology. Her consultancy is known for delivering measurable results: in one project with energy giant AGL, her approach led to a 20.9% reduction in customer complaints and generated savings of $1.7 million—clear evidence that empathy isn't just good for people, but for business too.

Belinda’s work sits at the intersection of emotional intelligence, AI and leadership. She is currently leading a series of Empathy & AI pilot programmes with global organisations, exploring how technology can be used to support more human-centred workplaces—enabling employees to focus on people over process. Her approach is grounded in the belief that as AI reshapes how we work, empathy is the human edge we cannot afford to lose.

Her keynotes cover a wide range of topics, including how to lead with empathy in an AI world, how to have courageous conversations, and how small ‘empathy nudges’ can lead to lasting cultural change. Drawing on insights from hostage negotiators and real organisational case studies, she gives leaders clear, practical tools to bring more humanity into the way they work and lead.

Belinda brings lived experience and credibility to every talk. She is a Non-Executive Director at the UK Ministry of Defence, a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum, and was awarded an OBE for her services to women in technology. She is also a trained barrister—her career reflecting her core belief that true impact happens when logic meets emotion, and when innovation is designed to serve people, not replace them.

Belinda is a frequent media contributor and has recently featured in the Financial Times, both in print and on podcast, discussing empathy and the future of customer service. She has spoken at major events including the World Economic Forum and has delivered sessions for organisations such as Barclays, McCain Foods, the Education Trust, and Nottingham City Council.

With warmth, insight and clarity, Belinda helps audiences understand how empathy can become a practical tool for leadership, resilience and cultural transformation—offering a vision of the future where technology enhances, rather than replaces, what makes us human.