Katty Kay

For a world reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Washington-based BBC News anchor & speaker Katty Kay brings a sorely-needed fresh perspective on the state of American politics, the economy, and global affairs. Katty’s insights reflect a global mindset that is a natural offshoot of having grown up in the Middle East and her work as a journalist in Europe, Africa, and Asia before coming to Washington in 1996. The award-winning journalist is currently co-anchor of Beyond 100 Days, a one-hour news program that covers Washington politics and its impact globally. The show airs to an enormous audience worldwide. Katty is also a regular guest and substitute co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe program. When she’s not busy making sense of the news from Washington and around the globe, Katty writes on the art and science of women and self-assurance -helping them turn thoughts into action to master a more confident mindset. She is co-author of three New York Times bestsellers (The Confidence Code; The Confidence Code for Girls; and Womenomics) and The Confidence Code for Girls Journal: A Guide to Embracing Your Amazingly Imperfect, Totally Powerful Self. +

Katty Kay is the lead anchor for BBC’s World News America where she covers the full gamut of American and global affairs―reporting on US elections, the White House, Congress, Wall Street, global economies, and world trouble spots. Kay also frequently acts as a co-host on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and as a guest commentator on NBC’s Meet the Press. As a speaker, panel moderator, or interviewer, Kay’s global perspective helps audiences cut through complex issues and see them in valuable context.

Kay’s career with the BBC began in 1990 in Zimbabwe, when she started filing radio reports for BBC World Service radio. From there, she also covered the end of apartheid in South Africa. Kay then went on to work as a BBC correspondent in London and Tokyo, reporting on stories including the Kobe earthquake and the Japanese economic recession. She joined The Times’ Washington bureau before returning to the BBC in 2002.

In The New York Times bestseller, Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success, Kay and her co-author, Claire Shipman, explore how women can manage to create a professional life that meets their needs, resulting in more profitable companies with happier employees. Their new book, The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance―What Women Should Know, makes the case that confidence has roots in genetic hard-wiring but also comes by choice: less people-pleasing and perfectionism and more action, risk-taking, and fast failure. --

KEYNOTES / VIRTUAL:
(All of the following can be delivered virtually or live)

BEYOND DECISION 2020 – WASHINGTON FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE +

U.S. politics has been upended by the coronavirus. The pandemic will dominate the election race; the outcome of which will affect America’s chances of getting out a massive economic shock and determine U.S. leadership around the world. The challenge is clear, but the outcome is anything but. President Trump will hold on to the White House if Americans believe he did a good job. Did he lead through the darkest moments of medical disaster and did he help the economy rebound afterwards? Joe Biden will win if he persuades voters Mr. Trump mishandled the outbreak in the early months of 2020 and that he is best suited to get America out of recession. In some ways the pandemic brought Americans together but it didn’t diminish the country’s political divides. We’ve never seen an election like this and stakes, for America and the world, could not be higher. As a British journalist in Washington, DC, Katty Kay looks at all this from a different angle and she offers a fresh perspective on American politics that only an outsider can provide. --

COVID-19 CHANGED THE WORLD – WHAT NEXT? +

The Coronavirus of 2020 changed the world and America’s role in it. Everything from business, to politics, to the way we work and socialize has been disrupted. The economy crashed and some industries will never recover. Others thrived in a world where delivery and connectivity became essential. The virus accelerated automation and made that future now. We all became remote workers overnight. Politics was upended too. Leaders and political systems were under a spotlight - some made good decisions, others floundered. Authoritarian politicians used the crisis to seize control. President Trump said it gave him total authority. But the virus made the U.S. look vulnerable and it accelerated the stand-off between the world’s two big superpowers. The relationship between China and America just got a whole lot more complicated. Katty Kay covered the coronavirus every day right from the beginning, interviewing business leaders, doctors and politicians from around the world. She reported on America’s response and the global reaction. She gives the big picture, how the virus changed the world and America’s role in it. --

THE CONFIDENCE CODE +

Confidence! With it, we can take on the world; without it, we don’t ask for raises, request that important meeting or take risks. In the success equation, research shows that confidence is even more critical than competence. But what is confidence? Where does it come from? Are we born with it or do we acquire it? And why do women have less of it than their talents deserve? This speech can be tailored to women or girls/parents and is based on Katty’s two bestselling books on the subject. Katty Kay inspires audiences with the latest scientific research and anecdotes from her own career and the many women and girls she interviewed. “Neurologists have isolated a ‘confidence gene,’” says Katty “and when I was tested, I learned I am not genetically predisposed to being confident.” Her experience is like that of so many women, even senior women, whose lack of confidence is what really holds them back. But confidence is also art – impacted by how we choose to live with our genes. The good news then is that being confident is a choice. Katty’s talk inspires audiences to take action – to go outside their comfort zones, to try new hard things, to take risks, to be prepared to fail and to discover the secret to success. --

WOMENOMICS +

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, IMF Chief Christine Lagarde called the advancement of women the greatest economic opportunity of our time. She was recognizing what Katty Kay calls Womenomics, the extraordinary value of women in the workforce. Global studies show that companies who employ more senior women make more money. But too many women in their mid-thirties hit the brick wall of kids vs. career and decide to leave the workforce. We can’t afford to keep losing them. Katty marshals evidence from employers large and small to show how it’s possible to help women meet the demands of family and career and keep these valuable contributors in the workforce. What starts as talent retention initiative becomes a profit bonus any company would be happy to have. Katty’s talk inspires women and provides a practical guide to employers. --

MODERATOR, DISCUSSION LEADER & INTERVIEWER +

Katty Kay has interviewed scores of political dignitaries and business leaders for her news broadcasts and at top live events. The skills, grace and humor she brings to the live stage as a panel moderator, discussion leader and interviewer help create memorable experience for the audience. --

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Keywords: American Politics, Current Events and News, Global Affairs, Diversity, Media Figures, Author, International Affairs, Election Outlook, Washington Update, HR Focus, Inspiration, Women and Workplace, Womenomics, Impostor Syndrome, Personal Development, Leadership, Motivation, Peak Performance, and Moderator & Interviewer.