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Chris Hadfield

Astronaut | Business Leader | Tech Entrepreneur | Bestselling Author

Hadfield Headshot Mar 2024
Eye-Opening Life Advice
Chris Hadfield Thumb 3
Vanity Fair: Breaking Down Space Movies
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MasterClass: Chris Hadfield Teaches Space Exploration
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Out Of This World Career Advice
Chris
Chris Hadfield Thumb 3
Chris Hadfield Thumb 5
Chris Hadfield Thumb 4
Hadfield Headshot Mar 2024
Eye-Opening Life Advice
Chris Hadfield Thumb 3
Vanity Fair: Breaking Down Space Movies
Chris Hadfield Thumb 5
MasterClass: Chris Hadfield Teaches Space Exploration
Chris Hadfield Thumb 4
Out Of This World Career Advice

Colonel Chris Hadfield is an astronaut, business leader, hi-tech entrepreneur, five-time bestselling author, and global speaker on leadership, change, and managing life. Having commanded the International Space Station and directed companies, he has deep experience with best practices and tactics on guiding teams through extreme circumstances of complexity and change, while also recognizing the importance of sharing the marvels and wonders of science and spaceflight.

Formerly NASA’s Director of Operations in Russia, Hadfield spent more than three decades serving the military, NASA, and the Canadian Space Agency. Throughout his distinguished career, he been a fighter/test pilot, flown three space missions, built two space stations, performed two spacewalks, crewed the Shuttle and Soyuz, and commanded the International Space Station. His many awards include the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Cross (twice), and the Order of Canada.

Today, Hadfield serves as a director and advisor to multiple tech companies, including SpaceX and Virgin Galactic. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo, chair of the Open Lunar Foundation, and is assisting King Charles III with space business practices for the Sustainable Markets Initiative. Hadfield also co-founded the Space Stream at the Creative Destruction Lab tech incubator, which has created $1.6B of new business equity value in the past five years.

Hadfield’s keynote presentations have been called “an astonishing display of visual storytelling” by Harvard Business Review, and his TED talk, “What I Learned from Going Blind in Space”, has been viewed over 20 million times. He is frequently featured on national and global media outlets, has taught a MasterClass, and is the co-creator and host of the internationally acclaimed BBC series, Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes? as well as co-host of National Geographic’s One Strange Rock documentary series.

Hadfield is the author of five internationally bestselling books: two non-fiction, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth and You Are Here; a children’s book, The Darkest Dark, which has been adapted as an award-winning stage play for young audiences; and two fiction books, The Defector and The Apollo Murders, now under contract to become a television series. A musician, Hadfield has also released an album called Space Sessions: Songs from a Tin Can. It is the first album to be recorded in space and includes the video version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” that has been seen over 50 million times.

Speaking topics

Presentations listed below include in-person and virtual keynotes, as well as workshops, fireside chats, and other presentation formats.

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Client reviews

  • The presentation by Chris Hadfield at SickKids was extremely well received by everyone. We had really hoped that his talk would celebrate our trainees and inspire them to think big and get excited about their work and there is no doubt that he accomplished this in spades! His comments about dealing with failure and defining what success means to you really hit home for many people. It’s a week later and people are still talking about it. I would have to say that this was an amazing success and we are very grateful that Chris took the time to come to SickKids and really relate to our audience.

  • ‘Thank you’ seems too meager words for the impact that Colonel Hadfield’s address had on our staff on March 6th. Colonel Hadfield inspired each and every staff member.  The way he was able to draw in the audience and intricately weave his experiences into what we are living as an organization was impeccable. There was a palpable buzz around the office on Friday and even today. What a wonderful experience for all of us.

  • Chris — on behalf of Kubota Canada Ltd., its employees and its dealers across the country, we are honoured and thrilled that you were able to be part of Kubota’s 40th Anniversary celebration at our National Dealer Meeting last week in Atlanta.  Thanks for your multiple messages of inspiration.  Many people mentioned to me that your strategy of “planning to fail” gave them a new way to look at how they might build their business strategies. On a personal note, thanks for tailoring your presentation to our Kubota group and connecting on a familiar level, equipment.  As mentioned above, the message was received!

  • Chris’s participation at the reception and his keynote address was exceptional. The event organizers were so impressed with how Chris worked with them and engaged them in conversation. He received a standing ovation from the delegates. The feedback continues to be very positive. Thank Chris again for making this a memorable event.

  • The event went very well last Thursday and the true highlight of the evening was Chris’s speech. He did such a wonderful job of connecting his own personal experiences to C-DAAP and their goal of being able to support dressage athletes and help them realize their dreams.

  • Our annual Safety & Quality Summit includes a Gala Dinner at which he have been privileged to have many well-known and highly entertaining guests; this year, we were honoured to have Chris Hadfield as our special guest and I have to say he excelled all of our expectations, and more. An enthralling story, masterfully delivered with style and humour, and supported with breathtaking images. Chris’s commitment to provide a once in a lifetime opportunity for all of our guests was truly selfless and much appreciated by all who benefited from what was a fantastic evening.

  • The event was outstanding and your help with organizing Chris Hadfield’s speaking engagement was professional and very appreciated. It was the best event we have ever held. Chris and Evan helped to make the event stress-free, being so calm, kind, and friendly, open and attentive to us, our students and guests both before and after the event. They were a pleasure. It goes without saying that Chris’ presentation was beyond wonderful. Inspiring, humorous, insightful, surprising. What a shining example of leadership he is for all of us. We were thrilled to have him in London!

  • Col Hadfield was a smashing success on every level. He was approachable and engaging and went out of his way to accommodate people. The performance was outstanding and we are hearing nothing short of rave reviews. We are ecstatic.

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