Founder & CEO of Shape Talent, Chartered Occupational Psychologist, IoD Director of the Year EDI 2024
Sharon Peake’s Biography:
Sharon Peake is a keynote speaker, Founder & CEO of Shape Talent, and a Chartered Occupational Psychologist specialising in gender equality, leadership and inclusion. She is best known for creating the ‘Three Barriers Model’, an evidence-based framework that identifies the societal, organisational and personal barriers holding women back at work. Sharon’s leadership in this field has been widely recognised, including being named IoD Director of the Year for EDI 2024, reflecting the scale and credibility of her impact across global organisations.
Sharon’s career began in Australia, where she built her foundations in human resources before relocating to the UK and stepping into senior global leadership roles. Over more than two decades, she held influential positions including Group Director of Talent Management & Diversity at SABMiller and Group Director of Talent, Assessment & Diversity at Reed Elsevier. In these roles, Sharon led global talent strategy, succession planning and diversity initiatives across six continents, managing teams of over 100 professionals. Her work placed her at the centre of complex organisational change, giving her rare insight into how leadership cultures are shaped and how inequality becomes embedded within systems.
A pivotal career turning point in her thirties led Sharon to retrain as a psychologist, combining lived experience with academic depth. She completed a First-Class MSc in Occupational & Organisational Psychology, with her research on career transitions later published in the British Journal of Guidance and Counselling. Sharon went on to deliver some of the most high-profile people transformations in the corporate world. She transformed a FTSE10 organisation from 81 percent male leadership to exceeding global benchmarks for women at executive level, and led leadership integration during a $104bn merger, then the third-largest corporate takeover in history. These experiences directly informed the creation of Shape Talent in 2017 and its focus on delivering measurable, sustainable change.
Why Hire Sharon Peake?
Organisations hire Sharon because she brings clarity, authority and practical outcomes to conversations that are often complex and emotive. Her keynotes help leaders understand what genuinely drives gender equality and why progress stalls despite good intentions. Sharon translates rigorous research into clear actions leaders can take immediately, whether addressing leadership bias, redesigning talent systems or supporting women’s progression at scale. Audiences value her calm, confident delivery and her ability to connect strategy to lived organisational reality. For conferences, leadership events and board-level sessions, Sharon equips decision-makers with the insight and confidence to build fairer, higher-performing cultures that deliver lasting business impact.
Sharon Peake’s Career Highlights:
Here are some of the key milestones that define Sharon Peake’s inspirational career in American Football:
- 2025 – UN Women UK participant at CSW69
- 2024 – IoD Director of the Year – EDI
- 2024 – Named on the Management Today Women in Leadership Power List
- 2023 – Featured on the Global Diversity List (Senior Executives)
- 2017 – Founded Shape Talent
- 2016 – Led talent integration during the $104bn SABMiller–AB InBev merger
- 2013 – Awarded Chartered Occupational Psychologist (CPsychol) status
Videos
Sharon Peake’s Official Keynote Speaking Videos & Showreel:
Testimonials
“Sharon commands deep respect for her expertise on gender diversity & inclusion. She is passionate about supporting individuals as well as enabling organisations to achieve greater gender balance. Sharon is a great strategist, a pragmatic communicator, and an innovator. Her research based approach inspires and drives change, supporting meaningful and impactful solutions.” – Louisa, IFC PPC
“I attended Shape Talent’s Women’s Career Accelerator Programme in 2020 to work on developing my personal brand and career trajectory. The course was well organised with prep work in advance and the guided conversation by Sharon and Joss was excellent. We covered a range of topics including personal brand, values, managing conflict, power & politics and confidence. The group of women was varied in terms of backgrounds/experience, and everyone was highly supportive of each other throughout. I’d recommend Sharon to deliver any training for you or your organisation, particularly around diversity, inclusion and career advancement.” – Claire, client of Sharon
“Sharon led an excellent session at one of our SWISH networking events on The 3 Barriers to Women’s Career Progression. She is an engaging and articulate presenter with a very authentic, calm and considered style. Her content is well researched, thought provoking and pragmatic. She has a lovely personable approach. Would highly recommend!” – Jane, Board Director, Erevena
“I was very lucky to come across Sharon as I was unsure what to do next in my career. Through the coaching sessions Sharon helped me to untangle the ideas in my mind and gave me the courage to try something different. She is extremely patient and knowledgable. I would highly recommend Sharon as a career coach.” – Karen, Commercial Finance Director at Pleo
“Sharon is a leader, full of passion and energy with strong and solid international knowledge and experience in the HR area, specially in talent mgmt., career dev., engagement, succession and always results-oriented. Sharon built an strong Talent Management team worldwide in SABMiller that supported business priorities and goals.” – Maria, Human Resources Talent Management Director, SABMiller
Speaking Topics
Sharon Peake’s Official Keynote Topics:
- Career Development
- Change Management
- Diversity, Equality and Inclusion
- Gender Equality
- Inclusion
- The Three Barriers Model™
- Women in Leadership
How Much Does Sharon Peake Cost to Hire?
How Much Does it Cost to Hire Sharon Peake?
The cost of hiring Sharon Peake varies depending on your event format, location and requirements. For an accurate and tailored quote, please contact a London Keynote Speakers Agency booking agent for expert guidance.