NSB Logo Bobby Umar Bobby Umar

Bobby Umar

Speaker

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Personal Brand Builder & Digital Influencer

A passionate advocate for building your personal brand, Bobby is one of Inc. Magazine‘s Top 100 leadership speakers, a five-time TEDx speaker and a social media influencer, including as a LinkedIn Top Voice in 2024. Authentic, funny and dynamic, Bobby Umar will move you to action and inspire you to strive for greatness. He brings contagious exuberance and keen insight to your event to make it successful and memorable. Bobby reveals innovative strategies to nurture a positive company culture or brand through personal connection, and to create true impact in the digital age. 

Keynote Speeches

Virtual Keynotes & Webinars
Contact us for more information about this speaker & their virtual presentations. Click here for some of the most popular formats for virtual events.
New for 2025: Vulnerable Storytelling for the Authentic Leader

Vulnerable storytelling is a powerful tool for authentic leadership. In this session, we’ll explore how leaders can use personal stories—particularly those that involve challenges, failures, and personal growth—to connect with others on a deeper level. By embracing vulnerability, leaders create a safe space for employees, clients, and audiences to engage more fully with their messages. This type of storytelling humanizes leadership, making leaders more relatable, trustworthy, and empathetic. We’ll discuss why vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness, and how it can lead to more effective communication and stronger connections. The session will include examples of leaders who have mastered the art of vulnerable storytelling, and actionable strategies for attendees to begin integrating vulnerability into their own leadership narratives.

Key Takeaways:

  • Building Trust Through Vulnerability – Understand how sharing authentic struggles can foster trust and create deeper, more meaningful relationships.
  • The Impact of Vulnerability on Leadership – Learn how vulnerable storytelling enhances credibility and influence, leading to stronger connections with teams and clients.
  • Practical Techniques for Sharing Personal Stories – Gain strategies for identifying and sharing meaningful personal experiences that align with professional goals and values.
  • Breaking Through the Fear of Being Authentic – Learn how to overcome the internal barriers that prevent leaders from being vulnerable and authentic in their storytelling.
  • Creating Safe Spaces for Open Communication – Understand the role of vulnerability in creating inclusive environments where everyone feels valued and heard.
Learning to Leverage (and Love!) LinkedIn to Land Leads

LinkedIn is often seen as a platform for professional networking, but it’s also an incredibly powerful tool for authentic relationship-building, thought leadership and business growth. In this session, we’ll teach the audience how to get started as a beginner or ramp up as an active user. You’ll learn how to authentically engage with others, build a trusted professional network, and turn those connections into business opportunities. By optimizing LinkedIn profiles, sharing meaningful content, and engaging with others’ posts, we can build a personal brand that attracts clients, collaborators, and industry leaders. We’ll explore how to navigate LinkedIn’s features—such as LinkedIn Newsletters, Events, Sales Navigator, and direct messaging—while staying true to your voice and values. This talk will provide attendees with actionable strategies to foster genuine relationships and grow their businesses through LinkedIn in an organic and impactful way.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Building a Personal Brand that Resonates – Learn how to craft a LinkedIn profile and content strategy that showcases your expertise while staying authentic.
  2. Engaging with Purpose, Not Just Activity – Discover how to engage meaningfully with others on LinkedIn to build lasting relationships that benefit both parties.
  3. Turning Connections into Business Opportunities – Understand how to strategically leverage your LinkedIn network to open doors for new collaborations, clients, and partnerships.
  4. Maximizing LinkedIn’s Features for Connection-Building – Learn how to use LinkedIn’s tools, like direct messaging and LinkedIn Groups, to engage with your audience and grow your network.
  5. Maintaining Authenticity in the Digital Space – Gain insights on how to stay true to your values and voice, while still using LinkedIn to create opportunities for business growth and influence.

Platform Plus Presentations

Unique formats and ways to connect with audiences.
Host/MC
Bobby brings an engaging presence and endless exuberance to his role as host/MC. A top five leadership influencer on social media via Kred, with over 500,000 followers, Bobby’s social media influence can help your event gain traction both online and in person. At your event, he will quickly encapsulate concise takeaways and learnings for the audience to remember. As a Second City trained improvisor, his quick wit and adaptability will ensure your event is entertaining and smooth. Bobby has over 25 years experience emceeing and hosting leveraging his charm, humour and dynamic energy to enhance every event that he hosts.
Social Influencer | Twitter
With over 500,000 followers, Bobby is a social media influencer on thought leadership, personal branding and networking. Bobby has also been named one of the top five business coaches to follow on Twitter and a top 75 LinkedIn influencer in the world.

Audience reviews:

  • Bobby did a phenomenal job as keynote speaker. He was really engaging and the topic completely resonated with the conference delegates. The interactive exercises were very useful and a great way to get the room to connect with one another. He was a wonderful start to the whole conference day. Bobby has amazing energy and really connected with the audience which can be really challenging but he did it so effortlessly.

    - Ontario Home Economics Association
  • I was incredibly impressed with his ability to capture the fresh audience and connect with them immediately. Having known Bobby for a few years now, one of his outstanding Leadership qualities is his ability to connect with others. He is authentic and genuine in developing both meaningful relationships and leadership in everyone.

    - Founder, GameOn Leadership
  • Bobby’s insights into our business and the way we operate were bang on. Can't wait to have him back!

    - Marketing Director, PepsiCo
  • Bobby's energy and encouragement are a catalyst for student action.

    - Shad McMaster participant
  • A fantastic speaker, Bobby is very effective in his communication style, respectful, enthusiastic and a great listener.

    - Category Manager, Starbucks
 

Speaker Biography

Bobby Umar is recognized by Inc Magazine as one of the Top 100 Leadership Speakers in North America. He is also a 5x TEDx speaker, and a social media influencer with over half a million followers. An authority on authentic networking, personal branding and digital connection, Bobby is an author of two books, including a #1 Best Seller, as well as a Huffington Post contributor.

Bobby Umar is an inspirational speaker, coach, and one of the most prolific advocates of heart-based leadership in North America. Inc Magazine named him one of the Top 100 Leadership Speakers, alongside such noteworthy giants as Richard Branson, Brené Brown and John Maxwell. Bobby is a 5x TEDx speaker, and one of the top social media influencers in the world, with over half a million followers. He has been named the “2nd Best Business Coach to Follow” on Twitter and the “4th Best Leadership Influencer” according to Kred. Bobby is an author of three international books, including a #1 Best Seller. He is also a frequent Huffington Post contributor and he is the host of a weekly tweetchat called “The Power of Connection” that has reached over 65 million impressions weekly. To date, his social media influence has garnered over 1 billion impressions. Bobby has also been named to “Speaker to Watch” and “Top 7 Networking Guru to Follow” lists.

In 2024, Bobby was recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice, awarded to top LinkedIn professionals for their noteworthy content contributions and expertise on the platform.

A social media advocate, who champions authentic connection and leadership, Bobby has appeared on dozens of podcasts, TV and radio shows. With a background in brand marketing (Kraft and Unilever), engineering (Bombardier) and the performing arts (Second City), Bobby has led Raeallan for over a decade and is now a recognized thought leader in networking, social media and personal branding. He founded the DYPB – Discover Your Personal Brand movement, which hosted the largest event in North America dedicated solely to personal branding, featuring 60 experts and over 300 delegates. 250,000+ people from across the world have experienced Bobby’s high-energy keynotes, interactive team-building activities, and engaging workshops.