Jacinda Ardern

Jacinda Ardern is an internationally respected political leader, author and advocate for empathetic leadership, best known for serving as the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand. Elected at just 37 years old, she became the country’s youngest head of government in more than 150 years and earned global recognition for leading with compassion, resilience and decisiveness during periods of unprecedented challenge. Today, Jacinda continues to influence global leadership through academic fellowships, international initiatives and public speaking, making her one of the world’s most sought after speakers on high performance, values driven leadership and navigating complexity in times of crisis.

Jacinda began her public service career after working as an Associate Director in the UK Cabinet Office under Prime Minister Tony Blair‘s administration, gaining valuable experience in government and policy. She was later elected President of the International Union of Socialist Youth before entering New Zealand politics in 2008 as the country’s youngest sitting Member of Parliament. During her early parliamentary career, she served on the Regulations Review Committee and the Justice and Electoral Select Committee while steadily building a reputation as an effective and principled leader. In 2014, her growing international influence was recognised when she was selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders. Three years later, she became New Zealand’s 40th Prime Minister, leading the nation with a leadership style centred on empathy, accountability and long term progress.

During her time in office, Jacinda led significant reforms and guided New Zealand through a number of defining moments. Following the Christchurch mosque attacks in 2019, she introduced legislation banning military style semi automatic weapons within days and co launched the Christchurch Call alongside France to combat terrorist and violent extremist content online. She also led the New Zealand Labour Party to a historic single party majority victory in 2020 and enacted the Public Service Act 2020 to strengthen the country’s public service. Since leaving office, Jacinda has continued to shape global leadership through appointments as Special Envoy for the Christchurch Call, a member of the Board of Trustees for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, dual fellowships at Harvard University, leadership of the Field Fellowship for the Centre for American Progress and a Distinguished Fellowship at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government. In 2026, her bestselling memoir, ‘A Different Kind of Power’, received a top honour at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Jacinda is hired as a speaker for her unique perspective on leadership, resilience and decision making at the highest level of government. Drawing on her experience leading a nation through periods of uncertainty and global attention, she offers valuable insights into building trust, fostering collaboration and maintaining high performance under pressure. Her engaging presentations explore the relationship between empathy and effective leadership, demonstrating how purpose, courage and authenticity can drive lasting success. Combining global experience with practical leadership lessons, Jacinda equips audiences with strategies for leading confidently through change while inspiring positive impact.