Speaker Banking

"I have come to know Chris as a person who uses his energy and focus to believe, create, and grow. His sharp and creative entrepreneurial thinking, combined with his witty personality, stand out. He persists where others stop and doesn’t shy away from obstacles or hurdles; he prefers to overcome them."

“Chris possesses a unique combination of skills: on one hand, he can think through technology down to the smallest detail. On the other hand, I have rarely met someone who can deliver such a compelling sales pitch. There are many good tech people and many good salespeople in this world. However, finding a combination of both in one person is rare. Except with Chris...”

I collaborated with René Smits for 6 years when he chaired and co-produced a seminar for legal experts from central banks (one of a range of a dozen annual seminars I helped to produce at Central Banking Publications). René's chairmanship was consistently rated as outstanding in feedback (average satisfaction scores of 9/10 or greater). When we did a multi-year analysis he was the overall second highest-rated speaker or chairmen over a five-year period out of more than 100 internationally-eminent chairmen and presenters. On a more statistically robust analysis I think he would have been the top rated.. He chairs meetings with energy and diplomacy (as well of course as deep expertise in the subject area) and went far beyond the call of duty to ensure delegates had a good experience. He is particularly skilled at bringing together disparate groups. I recommend him without hesitation as a meeting chairman.