Chris Baréz-Brown

For the past 15 years Chris has been unleashing the creative potential of worldwide organisations including Nike, Coca Cola, HSBC, J&J, Harrah’s, Sony and WPP. He is a master of metamorphosis, challenging and transforming businesses through speeches and programmes on innovation, insightfulness, breakthrough thinking and staff engagement.

Chris has an eclectic background which has only served to enrich his ability to deliver some of the most exciting people work on the planet. Starting his career as a soldier, Chris then proceeded to work with some of the world’s most successful brands. This led him to setting up ?What If!’s Capability Practice, helping the biggest and best companies become even better.

Much of Chris’s skill lies in generating the energy and instilling the confidence in delegates to go forward as creative champions. From this point onwards they are able to drive the agenda from within their organisations.

Chris believes that life is too short to be average. There is so much potential that goes untapped and business resource that is wasted. Without jargon, and with great passion, Chris explores the humanness of innovation.

He founded’ Upping Your Elvis’ in 2009 driven by the belief that everyone can shine more brightly. His personal passion is creative leadership and he is wholly committed to making this planet a shinier and more fulfilling place for everyone in it.

He is the author of “How to Have Kick-Ass Ideas”, a best-selling Harper Collins book. His second book, “Shine – How to Survive and Thrive at Work” published by Penguin, was recently lauded “Business Book of the Month”.

“There’s a sparkle at the heart of truly creative people, a sort of blend of charisma, energy, fun and magic. Chris not only sparkles brightly himself, but he can tell you exactly how to get some more of that sparkle for yourself. He’ll change your life, if you’re brave enough to let him…”

chris@uppingyourelvis.com +44 7973 736337

Apart from the very insightful content and great techniques I thought the delivery was the best I’ve ever seen – very human and hilarious (and I have high comedy standards )
Olivia Diamond, Commercial Progamme Manager, Diageo
Chris Baréz-Brown’s presentation style sparkled and inspired our team to think differently. His unique and powerful insights have the ability to transform any organization.
Derek Kent, Chief Marketing Officer, Canadian Olympic Committee
A lot of the motivation ideas and support to transform the commercial team has come from Upping Your Elvis.
Fru Hazlitt, Managing Director, Commercial and Online, ITV
Let Chris Barez-Brown be your idea guru!
Ken Blanchard, Co-author of the one minute manager
So much big talk about transformation… Chris actually delivers it. Time and again. Part art, part gift, part crazy man. He works his magic every time!
Maria Eitel – Founder and President of the Nike Foundation
Trained someone in Nike for 2.5 days, it cost 1.5k. Next week used learning to invent Nike 10k, became run London, became Run the World where 960,000 took part.
Chris’s book is a champagne-in-the-veins tonic for jaundiced people who desire to revive the technicolour from a monochrome life. I heartily recommend it.
Tim Smit, co-founder and CEO of The Eden Project
Did a capability project, took 2 years, added $1bn dollars to the sale price of the company
absolutely inspiring book, love it!
Elisabeth Spenger
Upping your Elvis have brought creativity into the heart of everything we do at ITV. They do it in an incredibly engaging fun style which is infectious.
Kelly Williams, Sales Director ITV
Chris Barez-Brown is a modern day prophet. He has a gift … an uncanny ability to inspire change agents in my organization. Everything he touches turns to gold and shines ever so brightly. He is our Elvis.
Keith Wilmot – The Coca-Cola Company
Coached a guy for 1.5 hours, had 250 people working for him. Within 2 weeks had 14,000 following my approach.
Chris leads the most amazing, inspiring, and self-changing events. They’ve had a profound impact in my life and on my work. He has the uncanny ability to help individuals and companies change – change for the better, more profitable, more joyful. Chris helped me discover my real talents and desires. Working with him has changed my life.
Jeff Semenchuk, Chief Innovation Officer at Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Some of the energisers are guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
100111001010111
The guys are exceptionally good at what they do. I was making a list of the most influential people or things in my career and this was in the top 3.
Chris Binns, Managing Partner MediaCom
Shine is a bright source of energy and ideas that will help you make the most of yourself.
Ken Robinson, author of The Element: How finding your passion changes everything
Having an app that brings some randomness into the day. Brilliant idea.
Mediababy
It’s not the instrument that makes the music, it’s the player. So much emphasis in the world of innovation and creativity is placed on process, tools and techniques. Chris fully understands it’s the people who make the magic not the structure. Chris is a master at bringing out the creative spark in people to turn dust into something that matters, so that in the words of John Lennon, “We all shine on.”
John Van Vleck, Global Director, Insights, Ideas and Creativity The Coca-Cola Company
Elvis has now become a term in our business. Either, ‘have you been Elvis’d’, ‘that is very Elvis’ or ‘I’m feeling quite Elvis today’. They have had a massive impact on all the individuals
Simon Daglish, Group Commercial Director ITV
Without doubt, Chris has been the most creative influence in my life. I come away from every meeting feeling like I’ve been through the spin cycle and far better for it!. Chris has the wonderful natural ability to make my creative juices flow every time we meet. I leave having had a good belly laugh and with my brain buzzing. We should bottle him!
Caroline Whaley, GM Creative Development, The Nike Foundation