Owen O’Kane

Keynote Speaker

Owen O'Kane's Biography

Owen is one of the country’s leading and most trusted mental health experts. A former NHS mental health clinical lead and Sunday Times Best Selling Author.

Owen has an incredible gift when it comes to making complex psychological and mental health information accessible and understandable, speaking regularly at festivals and conferences. Additionally, Owen runs corporate workshops for senior management teams across a range of industries and businesses.
He is also an experienced media contributor, clocking-up hundreds of hours across TV, Radio and Print.

Earlier in 2023, Jake Humphrey selected Owen to be his mental health expert on stage with him during the High Performance Podcast Tour.

Owen is the resident Sunday night phone-in expert on BBC Radio 5Live, helping people manage their Sunday Night ‘Fear’. And is about to begin filming a series with Fearne Cotton for her Happy Place YouTube Channel. 

KEYNOTES – SPEAKING POINTS

To date Owen has helped over 30 global corporates to build support systems to prevent work-place stress and burnout among their work force. His broad approach and extensive experience means he can talk to a variety of subjects and challenges, but he has a particular slant towards helping people understand why flexible thinking is the key to success rather than ‘positive thinking’

He describes his upbringing in Northern Ireland during ‘the troubles’ which he describes as a great training ground for understanding trauma and anxiety. He has a down to earth and humorous approach to his work; with no hesitation in sharing his own challenges and normalising human struggle.

Owen spent the first half of his career working with the dying as a palliative care specialist, which significantly influences how he works today.

His mission is to help people get the best from their lives and work, especially those who may not ordinarily seek help. He regularly supports and collaborates with charities including Hospice UK, The Princess Trust, and a host of others, to help their campaigns for better mental health. He is an active voice on LGBTQ+ rights and a former columnist for Attitude Magazine.

Testimonials

“The feedback we have gotten from the team is fantastic and I think it will have long reaching benefits. Owen's message has really resonated with everyone."

Helen Parker MD & EVP Universal Picture

Owen spoke to an audience of 1K + people at our business event in Birmingham. His content and engagement were fantastic. His session was by far the standout session of the day, and we wouldn’t hesitate to book him again.
Jess Littlewood- Communications Director, Theo Paphitis Retail Group 

Owen ran a series of interactive mental wellbeing sessions for Vodafone staff. The feedback from these sessions was incredible. I still regularly get colleagues talking about them today.
Alex Connors- Head of Corporate and Portfolio Strategy, Vodafone Business 

The audience’s responses to Owen’s UK wide theatre talks on the High- Performance live shows was incredible. He delivered relevant and insightful content in an engaging way which had the audience both laughing and deep in thought. We hope to work with Owen again on future projects.
Hannah Smith COO / Jake Humphrey High Performance

Owen is a regular speaker at Happy place festivals and events. He is a brilliant speaker and engages audiences wherever he goes. I can’t recommend him enough. He is a true professional but also has a fantastic down to earth, humorous approach. 
Fearne Cotton- Broadcaster/ Happy Place