My Story
I grew up with a visceral fear of public speaking. I have dreading to be interrogated in class, to the point that I was sick the day before an oral exam. When I was a PhD student, I have had to present my research to an international conference in Canada. At the entrance of the conference there was a banner stating: 5000 participants. It was my first time speaking at an academic conference, I thought I was going to speak in front of 5000 people! I fell sick and considered not showing up. Years later, to cure my fear of public speaking I participated in a workshop on stand-up comedy. I caught the comedy bug and I developed confidence and the belief that humour can be a powerful tool.
I would have never imagined that I’d become a professional public speaker invited to speak in large companies, ivy leagues universities and start-ups around the world, working at the convergence point of academia, business and entertainment.
Humour changed my life. I believe it has the power to change the world, one laugh at a time.
Corporate Trainer
To satisfy our clients’ demand for more in-depth training. Vanessa offers ½ Day and full Day trainings on key topics such as Diversity & inclusion – Innovation & creativity – Cultural awareness – Sales & negotiation – Public speaking – Performance & Growth – Crisis & leading remotely- Conflict management -Change management. Details for inquiries on our “Contact” page.
Keynote Speaker
Vanessa has given hundreds presentations to a global audience from more than 30 countries. Since 2019, she has impacted more than 8000 people. Her audiences include companies like Unliver, Linkedin, Inmarsat, Daphni VC, France Public Investment Bank as well as the UK department for International Trade, Cambridge University, HEC Paris, London Business School, Côte d’Azur University and Toulouse Business School. She has been featured on Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, La Tribune, European Business Review and ELLE Magazine.
Executive Coach
Vanessa has worked with C-level executives from large companies to start-ups. Her areas of expertise in executive coaching: successful career transition, change management strategy, superior communication skills. Details for inquiries on our “Contact” page.
Dr Vanessa Marcié, an expert on Humour and Leadership, is the founder and CEO of Leading With Humour, an innovative consulting firm that helps executives to harness the power of humour in their change management strategies.
She is an international speaker and pioneer of theories of change through humour. Vanessa bridges entertainment, business and academia. Vanessa gives more than 25 conferences a year in France and abroad. Since 2019, she has impacted more than 8,000 people.
She has worked with many large private / public sector organisations such as Unilever, Linkedin, Inmarsat, France Public Investment Bank (BPI) and the UK Department of International Trade.
She is a guest speaker at several top business schools and universities: Cambridge Judge Business School, HEC Paris, London Business School, Oxford University, Toulouse Business School and Edhec Business School.
Her main message: If you want to accelerate your business or career success, you need to understand the art and science of humour in leadership.
Her research work on Humour and Leadership has been published in The Financial Times, The European Business Review, La Tribune and Harvard Business Review France and Elle Magazine.
She is a Cambridge Wo + Men’s Leadership Center Associate and a Fellow of the Institute of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange (IKE Institute) which recognised her research work in innovation.
She is also a finalist of the 2019 PWN Global Gender Balanced Leadership Awards which recognize excellence in research for gender-balanced leadership.
In 2020, Vanessa has been appointed academic in residence of The Hopenclass, .
Vanessa Marcié is a two times TEDx Speaker (TEDxESADE 2021 and TEDx Cambridge University 2021)
She is a stand-up comedian who has created two comedy clubs, one in London and one in Cannes, scenes on which she regularly performs.
Vanessa is also a certified Laughter Yoga coach and trainer.
When, a few years ago, my fear of public speaking led me to try out a stand-up comedy workshop, I found that more than just improving my public speaking skills, comedy taught me how the powerful impact of a laugh can uplift relationships. Whether with a client, a friend, or a stranger, I noticed that a deeper and more meaningful connection was created every time I was able to make somebody laugh.
I became passionate about creating a unique and innovative methodology to empower individuals, teams and organisations and transform workplace culture and our relationships using the underestimated power of humour.