Home - Ross Drakes

Hi, I am Ross Drakes

Making the world lighter by spreading

“Ross brings enthusiasm, clarity and current models of thinking to virtual events that keep you engaged and leave you feeling inspired.”

Lianne du Toit
Network Director (Africa) YPO

How can i help you?

I do a few interesting things but these are the fanciest ones:

My latest thoughts

A take on the things that are spinning through my brain. Keeping me curious.

About my

Speaking

I am interested in the way things work, what drives human change and how we can affect changes in culture. My work in building brands has lead me to explore communication in all its facets. I am passionate about helping companies put intention behind their purpose and how they can use it to connect to people that matter. I speak on the topics of purpose, branding, communication and how to influence culture. Sometimes I also diverge from that and just share the things that interest me. Curiosity after all is the cure to the human condition.

My work as a

Brand builder

For the last 18 years, I have been working in the creative industry. I truly believe that every brand has some magical properties and I really enjoy hunting them down with my team at Nicework. I love to explore how great design can solve problems, build brands, set businesses apart and make people care. My job is to help my clients identify and express one or two uniquely true things about their project or company.

let me

Facilitate

I believe the role fo the facilitator is to bring value out of the room. When it comes to your project I don’t have emotional baggage or unnecessary attachment. I am able to offer an outsider’s perspective. I can help you discover your company purpose, explore what makes your company special, articulate and form the things that are eluding you or to set up a company strategy. I can also be entertaining.

on creating

Podcasts

Conversations fill me up. I enjoy talking to interesting people doing great work. I have been producing the RadEO podcast for the Entrepreneurs Organization in South Africa for 4 years. I am also in my fifth season of One More Question, a podcast by the people of Nicework. Have a listen. If you think you should be on one reach out.

What my clients say

Ross Drakes with his majestic beard and even better presenting style is someone who makes you believe in the impossible and changing the world for the better.

Ross has a rare mix of quiet confidence, humour and a presentation style that captures everyone’s attention. What an incredible talk and reminder to set intentions and aspire to lead purpose driven organisations.

Ross’ inspirational talk about purpose connected deeply with me. The under dog can still trump the main dog through purpose!!

There are a lot of intelligent people out there, but few who can combine real-world experience, insight, powerful delivery, and wit all at once. We have been fortunate enough to engage with Ross on a few occasions, and each of them has been thought-provoking and worthwhile.

Ross' content not only brings light to a number of intriguing and potentially untapped topics, but he also has the unique ability to weave seemingly unrelated content into a thread of perfectly matched mind-explosions. It's a beautiful thing. Almost as beautiful as his majestic beard.