Published on Feb 26, 2025
Ed Jordan is a dynamic keynote speaker and seasoned executive and leadership coach, with over 10 years' experience empowering leaders and organisations to reach their full potential.
After 25 years as a TV and radio presenter, multi-platinum recording artist and film composer in South Africa, he joined the corporate sector in 2014 and gained significant experience in financial services, specifically in innovation, wealth and high net worth private banking. He’s worked in 16 countries across the African continent as well as London, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
Ed is now based in the UK and specialises in transformational leadership, executive development, and corporate communication coaching. He is is passionate about inspiring change and fostering growth by delivering engaging keynotes and customised coaching solutions that drive performance and success.
My Dad always says that it's great to be creative in business. Did you use your skills from your extensive career in radio, TV, music and film in your job at the Standard Bank Group?
Your Dad is a wise man, and yes, I was employed by the Standard Bank Group specifically for my skill set. I started working for the igh Net Worth Private Banking division, initially as a facilitator and host of strategic events and then was brought in full time as Global Head: Wealth Experience in 2014. My role was to ensure a consistent client and staff experience across the globe and I loved every single second of my time in a huge bank with 55,000 employees. They used my radio skill set as an interviewer and host of internal podcasts and my musical background came to the fore when I took on the role of Group Innovation Evangelist. I used my knowledge and experience of creating and producing popular music in a series of talks that taught collaboration and innovation. I have scored three full length feature films and this experience proved invaluable when it came to working across segments in a corporate banking system. Writing music for film is not as straightforward as one would imagine, as once the composer has presented the music to the director and editor, another team of players enter the mix. Producers, investors, writers, actors, stars, and partners of stars, who all have their own ideas on which piece of music should go where and what it should sound like. As a composer I had to learn quickly, how to manage up, down and sideways, at the same time, and this stood me in good stead when working in a corporate banking system.
It seems to me that successful companies understand the magic that happens when science and art collide. When business and creativity dovetail. I had a baptism of fire when I started working in film as a composer, but this experience shaped the way I am now able to manage stakeholders across a corporate system. This is something I teach in my talks.
When Covid hit us in 2020, I found myself in a unique position where I was being asked on a daily basis to help executives with their online set up and communication skills. I used my 25 years’ experience in front of the camera, hosting shows like Deal or No Deal and Popstars in South Africa, to assist leaders and managers with their online presence and messaging in a virtual world. The other thing that happened to me during the Covid years was that I was continually asked by The Standard Bank Group to deliver online motivational sessions to inspire and motivate staff during this period of significant change. This is where the seeds were planted for the work I do now as a motivational speaker and coach.
I loved my years at the Standard Bank Group and was fortunate to have inspirational mentors and managers, CEOs and leaders, who helped shape and mould me into the speaker and executive coach I am today.
How did you get into keynote speaking and leadership coaching? Is it something you had always wanted to do?
As a TV presenter, radio host and musician in South Africa, I found myself being asked to MC and facilitate large corporate events over a 25 year period. What became apparent to me was that many CEOs and their executive teams, although they were very bright and successful in their jobs, were not comfortable on stage, or necessarily good communicators. They all knew their subject matter well, but had difficulty in landing a meaningful and impactful message. I had an epiphany in 2012 when I was facilitating a conference with 3000 people in the audience, where the CEO and his team spoke, for way too long, and were completely disconnected from the audience. It was a difficult day to get through for everyone, until one of the original founders gave the closing address. He was incredible, spoke without notes, authentically from the heart and landed what everyone else had been trying to say in 10 minutes of clear storytelling and communication. I thought, “That’s it! That’s how it should be done!” And I knew from that moment that I had a skill set I could offer businesses to help their leaders become better communicators.
I have been incredibly lucky throughout my life to have met incredible leaders including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. These men had a profound effect on me as a speaker, communicator and connector, so yes, keynote speaking is something that I have always wanted to do. It is my calling.
When I joined the Standard Bank Group, the CEO I was reporting to suggested that I make use of an executive coach. I found the sessions incredibly helpful when it came to operating in a corporate world, and also for my personal self-development as a leader. My coach suggested that I meet Nancy Kline when she came on a tour of South Africa. Nancy, and her “Thinking Environment” method was what sparked my decision to train formally as a business coach. I spent two years at the Gordon Institute of Business Science which is where I received my formal qualification as a professional business coach.
What advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a leader, but is too scared to put themselves out there?
Get yourself a mentor. Then, get yourself a coach.
There is a theory that great leaders are born that way, but I don’t think this is the case at all. I believe that most of the leaders we admire today, were made by their circumstance and the mentors they had along the way, who believed in them. I honestly believe that most people have what it takes to become a leader, they often just need someone to believe in them, and unlock the dormant leader inside.
Every great sportsman has a coach. They acknowledge that they cannot do it alone. Get yourself a mentor and a coach.
What can our delegates expect from your talk at our new series, 'The Leading Note'?
They can expect a high energy, inspirational and motivational hour, with new leadership ideas and approaches as well as practical take outs. I have been obsessed with the idea of teaching confidence as a skill for 20 years and will draw from my diverse background and experience to share stories, ideas and messages that are easy to understand and to put into practice. Our delegates will leave my talk elevated, energised and inspired to ‘Walk in Winning’!
What is something you wished you had learnt sooner in your life?
I wish that I had learnt the simple fact that that mind is connected to the body, and to take care of my body, so that I could look after my mind. This is something I aim to do every single day now, but wish I has started long ago. Also, it would have been brilliant if our teachers taught us all about compound interest on the first day of school!
And finally...what is your favourite quote to live by?
“He who has a why, can undergo almost any how.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
Join us on the 25 March 2025 for Ed's FREE 'Walk in Winning' keynote talk. To find out more, click here.
Published on Feb 26, 2025 by Ella Thomas