Nick Leeson

Nick Leeson a.k.a. the “rogue trader” that broke Barings Bank is one of the UK’s most sought-after speakers on the global speaking circuit. Curiosity, intrigue and sympathy have been the various reactions to this mans’ incredible life story. The collapse of Barings and Nick Leeson’s role in it is one of the most spectacular debacles in modern financial history.
How could one trader bring down the banking empire that had funded the Napoleonic Wars? Nick Leeson, the young gambler who found him self sucked into a terrifying spiral of loss, was a working class boy who lived high in an upper class world until his unchecked gambling caused the downfall of Barings, the Banker to the English Peerage and caused chaos in the Singaporean money market.
Markets have always been cruel but rarely have they been so cruel, so swiftly and on such a grand a scale. Nick talks frankly about what happened, the lack of accounting safeguards, his capture and confinement for 9 months in a Frankfurt prison and being sentenced to 6 years by the Singapore court for forgery and cheating.
Nick speaks regularly at conferences and corporate dinners and has travelled extensively within Europe and to New Zealand, Russia, USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia, United Arab Emirates and South Africa in the process. The event usually comprises of a speech lasting between 35-45 minutes followed by an in-depth and candid Q&A session that can be tailored to your requirements.
Nick Leeson also addresses university campuses and has spoken at the Oxford Union, Trinity College Dublin and the University College Cork.
This type of event represents a unique opportunity for people to meet and question the main participant in arguably one of the most memorable and significant banking scandals that the world has witnessed. The story also has a number of human interest aspects that will astound any audience so is not restricted to the world of suits and power lunches that he used to frequent.