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Keynote SpeakerMatteo Cassese

Leadership, Storytelling, and the Human Edge in the Age of AI

Matteo Cassese is an international keynote speaker with over twenty years of experience across corporate, startup, and creative environments. He brings depth, clarity, and human insight to leadership conversations. He has spoken on major international stages including IFA, SXSW, GITEX, Campus Party and the Reeperbahn Festival. He’s also a regular... Read more

Biography

Matteo Cassese is an international keynote speaker with over twenty years of experience across corporate, startup, and creative environments. He brings depth, clarity, and human insight to leadership conversations.

He has spoken on major international stages including IFA, SXSW, GITEX, Campus Party and the Reeperbahn Festival. He’s also a regular presence at specialized conferences such as WordPress WordCamp, Freelance Unlocked and InfoShare.

His keynotes guide leaders through disruptive times in a deeply human and highly practical way. Matteo blends psychology, myth, philosophy and storytelling to help leaders sit with uncertainty, question what no longer serves them, and emerge with a clearer map.

Over the course of his career, Matteo has worked with global organisations including Netflix, LinkedIn, Sony, PwC, Heineken, ING, ABN AMRO, ERGO, arte, SoundCloud, and Dentons, as well as fast-growing startups such as Vinted, TravelPerk and Finom.

Matteo’s professional journey spans technology, film, and consulting. He began his career in tech, working in web agencies and telecommunications before moving into the film industry. During over a decade in Digital Marketing at Warner Bros. Pictures and launching Netflix in Italy he developed a deep understanding of storytelling as a force that shapes perception, belief, and behavior.

He later left corporate life to build a consulting practice serving global technology and media companies, before transitioning into coaching and keynote speaking.

As a queer leader himself, Matteo brings a lived understanding of what it means to operate outside inherited scripts. Rather than applying more frameworks or best practices, he helps leaders define what success truly means to them, so they can stop copying other people’s playbooks and make decisions that are aligned, confident, and sustainable. Based in Europe, he works with organizations worldwide.

"This talk changed how I think about value and money. It made me more confident in my interactions with potential clients." Founder, Orin
“Matteo was one of the best speakers at the conference. He was exceptionally prepared and responsive before the event, delivered an exciting and valuable presentation. We’re actually in the process of booking him for two more events.” Event Architect at 9am
“Matteo Cassese closed the show with his powerful stage presence, challenging us to rethink the future of work.“ Product Designer
“There were at least 500 people in the room. I’m sure your speech triggered a mindset shift in all of them.” Senior Management Consultant
“Arguably the deepest talk of the entire conference. You could feel the energy in the room shift.” Senior Engineer

Popular Talks by Matteo Cassese

  • From malAIse to renAIssance - New Leadership for the AI-Driven World

    AI is changing how value is created, how decisions are made, and how leaders are perceived. This keynote addresses the anxiety many leaders feel as machines outperform humans at measurable tasks.

    Audiences will learn:

    How to stop competing with AI and start focusing on...

  • The Confidence Paradox - The Zero Confidence Strategy

    Many organisations confuse confidence with certainty and promote leaders who look strong but lack trust. This talk challenges common assumptions about confidence and authority.

    Audiences will learn:

    The difference between genuine confidence and overconfidence

    Why vulnerability increases credibility rather than undermining it

    ...
  • The Power of Discomfort - The Questions You’re Avoiding Hold Your Next Breakthrough

    The most effective leaders are not those who avoid discomfort, but those who know how to stay with it.

    Audiences will learn:

    Why solving problems quickly often leads to the wrong solutions

    How discomfort can become a strategic advantage

    How...

  • Storytelling Is Not What You Think It Is - Storytelling as the Operating System of Human Connection

    Storytelling is not entertainment. It is how ideas move, decisions stick, and people act.

    Audiences will learn:

    How to capture attention in high-stakes environments

    Why every powerful story needs tension and contrast

    How leaders use narrative to influence and inspire...

  • Why Your Biggest Challenges Are Your Greatest Assets - We Are the Stories We Tell Ourselves

    An intimate keynote about reframing your past. Matteo shares personal stories and invites the audience into a different relationship with their own story.

    What the audience experiences:

    A new way to look at the chapters they usually hide or judge

    A clear...