Jeremy Connell-Waite

Jeremy Connell-Waite Jeremy Connell-Waite is an influencer

Global Communications Designer 👁️ 🐝 Ⓜ️ | Author of “The 109 Rules of Storytelling”

Bristol, England, United Kingdom
87K followers 500+ connections

About

I help IBM to TELL BETTER STORIES by coaching consultants, sales teams and senior executives to create more compelling pitches, presentations or keynotes for important stages and large deals.

I have recently created teams of AI-Assistants (on LLM's on IBM's watsonx platform) to mirror the personality types of different audiences, to help build better stories faster. I patented this methodology in Q4 2024, which we are now turning into a suite of digital products and offerings.

My mission is to help business leaders to communicate more effectively. Good humans + technology to help make the world work a bit better.

I host "The Truth in Ten" podcast - a show about mission critical storytelling featuring leaders who have used their words to change the world in some way.

Author of "The 109 Rules of Storytelling". A project which started as a post on Linkedin and quickly turned into a book with a month!

At IBM I lead the "Impact Storytelling Program" and created IBM's Communications Thinking™; a system I invented to help executives and future business leaders use Generative-AI to build stronger narratives (on the page, on screen, in boardrooms or on stage).

I mostly work as a speechwriter and communications coach behind the scenes, but I occasionally give conference keynotes and host lectures at universities and business schools; mostly around AI, social impact, climate change and how technology can make the world work a bit better.

When I'm not talking about IBM, writing speeches or drawing my "one pagers", I am usually riding my bike, playing my D-28 or drinking bourbon somewhere nice. I enjoy spending too much money on vinyl, rare business books and vintage typewriters.

Whenever I have the opportunity, I love spending time with future business leaders and young professionals, helping them to find their voice and share their story

In past lives I have owned my own agency, written four books and worked for brands such as Nike, MTV, Rovio, LVMH, Uber and Vodafone. I have worked on strategic accounts with Facebook’s largest ad agency and led marketing strategy teams at Adobe and Salesforce. I have also spent some time as a giraffe keeper!

• Top 10 Most Influential Global B2B Marketer - 2024 (Technology for Marketing)
• Voted the #1 Most Influential Person on Twitter for #BigData by Onalytica
• Top 25 Tech Profession on the Tyto Power 100
• Top 10 Most Influential Tech Professionals by B2B Magazine
• Top 30 Most Influential Digital Marketer in the world by Onalytica
• The 3rd most Influential Social Media Marketer in the UK The Drum

Articles by Jeremy

  • 33 Things I’ve Learned From Presidential Speech Writers

    Over the last few years I have been lucky enough to work with speech writers for Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, Tony…

    13 Comments
  • Technology, Twins & Transformation

    My notes, links, quotes and case studies from the 20-minute presentation I gave for iXperience Friday on Facebook Live…

    8 Comments
  • 10 Secrets of Virtual Storytelling

    A Guide To Help You Give Better Online Presentations COVID-19 has attacked many weaknesses in the world and it…

    20 Comments
  • 12 Things I Learned From Teaching Kids This Week

    I had one of the toughest audiences of my life to teach this week! 200 smart kids aged 9-13 who gathered together at…

    7 Comments
  • 51 Tips For Surviving in a BIG Company

    I've got a bit of experience working at large companies. IBM has around 430,000 employees.

    127 Comments
  • Your Career Is Just One Long Conversation With Your Audience

    I really like the idea that your career is just one long conversation with your audience. There's a lot of power in…

    7 Comments
  • 100 Days from Today

    For the last few years I have made a plan on the 1st January to do something in 100 days that I haven’t done before. In…

    12 Comments
  • The Japanese Art of Reading

    Not too long ago I was diagnosed with ADHD. Apparently, 8% of business execs have it and about 3.

    44 Comments
  • The 72 Rules of Commercial Storytelling

    Because 71 wasn't enough and 73 is too many. Many thanks to all my storytelling and speech-writing heroes who inspired…

    124 Comments
  • What is IBM (Really) Doing to Fight Climate Change?

    We can’t turn a corner these days without seeing or hearing something about climate change. But if you sit most people…

    17 Comments

Experience

  • Host of "The Truth In Ten" Podcast

    Freelance

    - Present 9 months

    "The Truth in Ten" podcast is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story.

  • IBM

    IBM

    9 years 5 months

    • IBM Graphic

      Design Principal

      IBM

      - Present 1 year 11 months

      London, England, United Kingdom

      Design Principal is a distinction for designers who’ve made substantial impact and have led transformational change at IBM, by advancing design through creating scalable and reusable artifacts, curriculum, and intellectual property across their business unit, service line, portfolio and/or studio. Design Principals make significant contributions to the community of design at IBM and actively advocate for the design profession within the industry.

    • IBM Graphic

      Global Communications Designer

      IBM

      - Present 5 years 7 months

      London, England, United Kingdom

      Commercial storyteller, speechwriter and executive performance coach.

      I help to tell stories that matter.

      Serving IBM’s global community of over 160,000 partners and technology consultants, I use the art and neuroscience of Communications Thinking™ (a method I’ve spent 5 years creating) to build compelling narratives for our clients around hybrid-cloud, AI, web3 and quantum computing.

      Working on large transformation projects with purpose-driven brands who are committed to…

      Commercial storyteller, speechwriter and executive performance coach.

      I help to tell stories that matter.

      Serving IBM’s global community of over 160,000 partners and technology consultants, I use the art and neuroscience of Communications Thinking™ (a method I’ve spent 5 years creating) to build compelling narratives for our clients around hybrid-cloud, AI, web3 and quantum computing.

      Working on large transformation projects with purpose-driven brands who are committed to make the world work better, my team showcases how good humans and emerging technology can work together to positively impact people, the planet and their bottom line.

      Early in my career I just wanted to be like Sam Seaborn or Ted Sorensen. Someone who worked with leaders to craft words and ideas that could change the world. I never made it into politics. But being a “Communications Designer” seems like the next best thing.

    • IBM Graphic

      Sustainable Design & Climate Leader

      IBM

      - 5 months

      London, United Kingdom

      A project where I helped to establish and communicate IBM’s Sustainability & Climate offerings by creating it's first commercial practice focused entirely on climate and sustainability. This practice helps brands and organisations to grow in existing markets and meet the demands of new ones, while becoming more socially and environmentally responsible. This is achieved by leveraging a purpose-driven approach to designing processes, systems and experiences that improve the triple bottom line…

      A project where I helped to establish and communicate IBM’s Sustainability & Climate offerings by creating it's first commercial practice focused entirely on climate and sustainability. This practice helps brands and organisations to grow in existing markets and meet the demands of new ones, while becoming more socially and environmentally responsible. This is achieved by leveraging a purpose-driven approach to designing processes, systems and experiences that improve the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit). Working alongside our industrial, environmental, energy, climate risk, CSR and research teams, I helped our client teams articulate how they help to solve some of the world’s biggest problems by focusing on four key areas: Net zero carbon emissions, climate risk, sustainable supply chains and smart cities).

      I’m proud of the foundations we built which make sure that the work of this team is aligned and measured against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals framework, ensuring that environmental and social impact plays just as important a role as economic impact.

    • IBM Graphic

      Chief Customer Officer (IBM iX - UKI)

      IBM

      - 1 year

      London, United Kingdom

      Having fun and trying to change the world. I work across the C-suite of organisations in the energy, environment and utilities sector, helping them to make more money by delivering better customer experiences. By embracing emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, blockchain, cloud and quantum, I help our customers to improve their platforms and processes, so that they can improve the way that the world works.

    • IBM Graphic

      Chief Strategy Officer

      IBM

      - 1 year

      London, United Kingdom

      • Supporting enterprise CMOs across Europe through their digital transformation projects.
      • Helping to accelerate the growth of IBM's Watson Customer Engagement business in Europe.
      • Keynote speaker focusing on AI in marketing and an evangelist for responsible marketing.

    • IBM Graphic

      Global Leader of CMO Programs

      IBM

      - 7 months

      London, UK

      I am responsible for shaping the Chief Marketing Officer’s agenda within IBM, in order to help senior marketers meet the biggest challenges that they are facing. Working alongside our global marketing and communications teams, I help to build out IBM's messaging and content around AI and our Go-to-Market strategy. Throughout our world-wide CMO network, I then ensure that those messages are distributed globally (and consistently) to each market. I host our CMO Council programs around the world…

      I am responsible for shaping the Chief Marketing Officer’s agenda within IBM, in order to help senior marketers meet the biggest challenges that they are facing. Working alongside our global marketing and communications teams, I help to build out IBM's messaging and content around AI and our Go-to-Market strategy. Throughout our world-wide CMO network, I then ensure that those messages are distributed globally (and consistently) to each market. I host our CMO Council programs around the world and build the content and agendas for our executive marketing events.

      Working with our sales and enablement teams, I help to inspire and empower IBMers, to share our unique point of view around our differentiated product offerings, in order to help their clients do better work. Within this role I will also be creating and hosting a live-streamed CMO Show, and launching Lunch’n’Learn sessions across IBM campuses which feature leading industry superstars.

      Alongside my remit as the leader of CMO programs, I am an evangelist for IBM Watson, where I speak at conferences and events about the future of AI, privacy, MarTech, IoT and how intelligent assistants are transforming enterprises faster than anyone ever expected. I also work with our research teams and external analysts to create C-suite reports. These reports help to measure and benchmark the impact of disruptive technology and the changing nature of customer behavior across the marketing industry.

      I was lucky enough to join IBM in 2016 when I witnessed how IBM Watson was helping to save the life of my twins, so I am very proud to have the privilege of showing how that same technology can also be used to help the world's best CMOs be even better.

    • IBM Graphic

      Evangelist, EMEA

      IBM

      - 1 year 11 months

      London, United Kingdom

      Evangelist for Watson Marketing. I work with the marketing software, cloud and emerging technologies teams, and alongside some very smart folk at IBM Customer Engagement, IBM iX (the UK's #1 digital agency) and Watson (the world's most advanced enterprise ready AI). I travel around the world talking about IBM Watson, cognitive computing, the future of AI in marketing and debating the intersection of humanity and technology. Exciting stuff...

  • The Climate Reality Project Graphic

    Climate Reality Leader

    The Climate Reality Project

    - Present 6 years 3 months

    London, United Kingdom

    Graduating in August 2019 after completing my training with Al Gore in Minneapolis-St. Paul, I am now a "Climate Reality Leader". This means I am media trained to speak about the climate crisis and the solutions that we have to solve it. Things look pretty dark if you just read the headlines but there are a lot of very positive things happening.

    The training has equipped me to present the science and the stories behind the climate crisis and how it impacts communities, countries and…

    Graduating in August 2019 after completing my training with Al Gore in Minneapolis-St. Paul, I am now a "Climate Reality Leader". This means I am media trained to speak about the climate crisis and the solutions that we have to solve it. Things look pretty dark if you just read the headlines but there are a lot of very positive things happening.

    The training has equipped me to present the science and the stories behind the climate crisis and how it impacts communities, countries and companies. Please feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to know more or would like me to present to your group or organisation.

  • John F. Kennedy Memorial Library Graphic

    Curator of "Change & Challenge"

    John F. Kennedy Memorial Library

    - 1 year 1 month

    London, England, United Kingdom

    A program I coached and curated about JFK's "Moon Speech" at Rice University on 12th September 1962 - the greatest technology speech ever given. As well as publishing a 250-page course curriculum about the speech and leaders can talk like JFK, I created a journal, a leadership programme and a series of assets to help high school students studying STEM subjects to communicate more effectively.

  • STOP THE TRAFFIK Global Graphic

    Board Trustee

    STOP THE TRAFFIK Global

    - 2 years 5 months

    London, United Kingdom

    STOP THE TRAFFIK is a pioneer in human trafficking prevention. Working to unite people around the world by inspiring, informing, equipping and mobilising communities to; know what human trafficking is, know how to identify it and know how to respond appropriately if they saw it.

    Utilising the power of people and technology, STOP THE TRAFFIK are working to prevent human trafficking globally through our innovative Intelligence-led approach.

    Through radical information sharing and…

    STOP THE TRAFFIK is a pioneer in human trafficking prevention. Working to unite people around the world by inspiring, informing, equipping and mobilising communities to; know what human trafficking is, know how to identify it and know how to respond appropriately if they saw it.

    Utilising the power of people and technology, STOP THE TRAFFIK are working to prevent human trafficking globally through our innovative Intelligence-led approach.

    Through radical information sharing and collaboration, STOP THE TRAFFIK aim to build a global picture of human trafficking hotspots and trends, to empower individuals, organisations and agencies to make more informed and better choices, to signpost them to safe places to get help and support and to encourage appropriate response and reporting.

    By shining a light on this hidden crime, we can change the environment and increase the risk to the trafficker and the safety of the vulnerable.

  • United Nations Graphic

    Author of "Tell Stories That Matter"

    United Nations

    - 1 year 1 month

    Writing 'Tell Stories That Matter'. A series of papers for sustainability leaders who want to change the world with their words. Looking behind the scenes at some of the world's best communicators, 'Tell Stories That Matter' will help bring to life the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals by analysing some of the best communicators in their field, to inspire other leaders to tell better stories.

  • Podcast Host

    Ten Words

    - 3 years 3 months

    London, United Kingdom

    For almost 2 years I recorded a podcast each week for storytellers about someone who has inspired me with their big ideas, small words and short sentences. Originally the podcast was to promote my book of the same name (to raise money for a NHS charity) but it has since taken on a life of its own, as a podcast to help inspire other communicators.

    Episodes varied from 30-60 minutes and focused on one person who changed the world with a ten word statement.

    I may pick up the podcast…

    For almost 2 years I recorded a podcast each week for storytellers about someone who has inspired me with their big ideas, small words and short sentences. Originally the podcast was to promote my book of the same name (to raise money for a NHS charity) but it has since taken on a life of its own, as a podcast to help inspire other communicators.

    Episodes varied from 30-60 minutes and focused on one person who changed the world with a ten word statement.

    I may pick up the podcast again when time allows. So far, the 36 episodes have featured Obama, Jerry Seinfeld, Taylor Swift, Eugene Peterson, Maya Angelou, Dita Von Teese, Martin Garrix, Ellen, Vivienne Westwood, Quentin Tarantino and Garry Kasparov. You can find the show on Apple podcasts or online at http://tenwords.libsyn.com.

  • Salesforce Graphic

    Head of Digital Strategy, Marketing Cloud EMEA

    Salesforce

    - 2 years 2 months

    London, Indianapolis, San Francisco

    Head of Digital Strategy, EMEA ~ Salesforce Marketing Cloud

    I am responsible for digital strategy as part of the marketing team (across our email, mobile and social business) for Marketing Cloud ~ the industry leading suite of marketing tools built by Salesforce.

    My day to day role includes digital marketing strategy (internally and for our enterprise clients) ~ building brand awareness, evangelism, planning customer journeys, community growth, partner relations, thought…

    Head of Digital Strategy, EMEA ~ Salesforce Marketing Cloud

    I am responsible for digital strategy as part of the marketing team (across our email, mobile and social business) for Marketing Cloud ~ the industry leading suite of marketing tools built by Salesforce.

    My day to day role includes digital marketing strategy (internally and for our enterprise clients) ~ building brand awareness, evangelism, planning customer journeys, community growth, partner relations, thought leadership, social business, campaign / media planning, data-driven research and adding value to client groups that drives sales. I am also responsible for the content delivered at our industry events and seminars.

  • Adobe Graphic

    Head of Social Strategy EMEA

    Adobe

    - 1 year 7 months

    London, San Francisco

    As the Head of Social Strategy for Adobe Marketing EMEA, I worked with large enterprise clients and strategic accounts to build digital marketing strategies, focused around social business and Omni-channel marketing strategies. Working with the full suite of products from the Adobe Marketing Cloud, I helped brands to understand Adobe's vision, while explaining complex topics such as social ROI (return on investment), NPS (net promoter score), ROPO (research online / purchase offline)…

    As the Head of Social Strategy for Adobe Marketing EMEA, I worked with large enterprise clients and strategic accounts to build digital marketing strategies, focused around social business and Omni-channel marketing strategies. Working with the full suite of products from the Adobe Marketing Cloud, I helped brands to understand Adobe's vision, while explaining complex topics such as social ROI (return on investment), NPS (net promoter score), ROPO (research online / purchase offline), attribution, social TV, multi-channel media planning and consumer behaviour.

    As a social evangelist within the EMEA organisation, I speak at conferences, write research papers and wax lyrical about the future of social business.

  • TBG Digital Graphic

    Head of Social Strategy

    TBG Digital

    - 7 months

    Kentish Town, London

    TBG are the largest Facebook & Twitter advertiser in the world. They are also the worlds largest independent social media specialist dealing with brands such as Walmart, Dell, Vodafone, Zynga and Heineken.

    As Head of Social Strategy for TBG, I helped to create social media strategies, specialising in Facebook and Twitter. TBG creates innovative creative campaigns that deliver a clear and concise ROI.

  • Phones4u Graphic

    Head of Social Media

    Phones4u

    - 1 year 2 months

    Head of Social Media for the UK's leading mobile phone retailer, with over 470 stores nationwide.

  • Writing "Sex, Brands & Rock'n'Roll"

    Jeremy Waite

    - 1 year

    North Wales

    Writing book, "Sex, Brand's & Rock'n'Roll" - marketing and PR lessons told through the eyes of celebrities. (Marilyn Monroe, Lady Gaga, Liam Gallagher, Tiger Woods and Steve Jobs).

  • Marketing Director

    Patchwork Foods

    - 3 years 4 months

    A family owned gourmet food company providing food products to the likes of British Airways, Manchester United, Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges, John Lewis and Waitrose. they also have a retail operation serving 1500 independent deli's and farm shops across the UK. As their brand manager I oversee all marketing and communications, both above and below the line.

  • Founder & CEO

    Juicy Creative

    - 3 years 11 months

    Manchester, London, Bradford. Creative agency account manager for Reebok, Millets, PC World, MTV and Innocent Drinks.

  • Partner

    Swift Printing

    - 11 years

    Partner in Swift Printing covering the Unilever and Green Isle Food accounts ; responsible media and print buying for brands such Marmite, Knorr, Golden Wonder, Pot Noodle and Good Fellas Pizza.

Education

  • United Nations International Training and Education Center Graphic

    United Nations International Training and Education Center

    Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

    -

    Understanding and measuring the impact of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, to help corporations accelerate their own progress towards a more sustainable future.

  • Penn State University Graphic

    Penn state

    Climate Change: Science & Global Impact Environmental Science

    -

    Learning to communicate the complex science of climate change and it's global impact upon countries and corporations with Michael Mann - Director of the Earth System Science Center.

  • Harvard University Graphic

    Harvard University

    The Art of Speech Writing & Public Speaking Speech Communication and Rhetoric

    -

    Vocational course with James Engell (Professor of Comparative Literature) at the Harvard University Center for the Environment.

Skills

Projects

  • 109 Rules of Storytelling

    My attempt to curate distill decades of thoughts, advice, insights and inspiration around the art and sciewnce of storytelling - into one book. What started off as a Linkedin post - quickly turned into a book, complete with worksheets, prompts, guides and checklists. And there's even an AI-powered Story GPT which I built and trained on the "109 rules" to help other business leaders bring their stories to life.

    The 109 Rules of Storytelling is a field guide for purpose-driven…

    My attempt to curate distill decades of thoughts, advice, insights and inspiration around the art and sciewnce of storytelling - into one book. What started off as a Linkedin post - quickly turned into a book, complete with worksheets, prompts, guides and checklists. And there's even an AI-powered Story GPT which I built and trained on the "109 rules" to help other business leaders bring their stories to life.

    The 109 Rules of Storytelling is a field guide for purpose-driven communicators. Packed with bite-sized rules, timeless insights, AI prompts, and ready-to-use storytelling frameworks, this book is designed to help you craft stories that inspire action.

    📗 109 Rules
    📗 206 Pages
    📗 23,557 Words
    📗 221 Questions
    📗 61 Quotes
    📗 25 Frameworks
    📗 34 Exercises
    📗 12 Story Checklists
    📗 Access to StoryGPT - AI-Storytelling Coach

    + Free Downloads, Sources & Reading List

    Whether you’re leading in business, politics, entertainment, education, or social change, the mission critical tools and battle-tested techniques in this book will help you to tell stories that matter.

    ​❌ Note: AI was not involved in the writing of this book!!! 100% HUMAN. ♥️

  • BetterStories.org

    A FREE resource I created to help business leaders tell better stories; Full of short video tutorials, FREE courses from some top business schools and institutions, scientific research, cheat sheets, inspirational keynotes and more...

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