Speaking · Oxford, England
Andrea Shaw at Skills Live Oxford 2026
Keynote Speaker · University of Oxford · London Organisation of Skills Development (LOSD)
Date
Saturday, 2 May 2026
Venue
University of Oxford
Delegates
45+ countries, 50+ speakers
Format
7-minute rapid-fire keynote
On Saturday, 2 May 2026, Andrea Shaw, empowerment coach, keynote speaker, and founder of The Circle of Trust, took the stage at Skills Live Show x Oxford University. The event was hosted by the London Organisation of Skills Development (LOSD) at the historic University of Oxford, and Andrea used her seven minutes to deliver a talk called “Pursuit of Passionate Purpose.”
Her argument was simple, but not an easy one to live by: purpose doesn’t arrive as a single lightning-bolt moment. It speaks quietly, through feelings we’re taught to override, and it gets built one chapter at a time rather than discovered all at once.
About Skills Live Oxford 2026
Skills Live Oxford is an annual gathering organized by LOSD, held across Oxford’s Saïd Business School and Examination Schools. The 2026 edition welcomed delegates from more than 45 countries for conversations on innovation, AI, entrepreneurship, and resilience, with over 50 speakers from education, health, technology, business, and entrepreneurship backgrounds.
Andrea shared the speaker roster with a global lineup of thought leaders, founders, and changemakers.
What "Pursuit of Passionate Purpose" Is Actually About
Andrea opened by asking the room a direct question: what if the life you’re meant to live is already speaking to you — not loudly, but as a quiet, consistent pull forward? Most people never find their purpose, she argued, because they’ve been taught to look for it in the wrong places: titles, other people’s approval, whatever “success” is supposed to look like.
She backed that up with her own career, walking through it not as a series of restarts but as one long trail of clues:
Nursing, and the first whisper that there was more
Andrea's first career was as a Registered Nurse. She loved the intensity and the responsibility of it, but a quiet feeling kept telling her there was more to find.
Going back to school at 22
She returned to McGill University to study education and kinesiology, then became a teacher and coach. It felt right for a while, until the same whisper came back.
A much bigger stage: the Olympic and Paralympic movement
An unexpected opportunity pulled her into a decade helping bring the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games to Canada. Her team raised $760 million in corporate sponsorship, and she was put in charge of the Olympic Torch Relay.
The moment that changed her
On Christmas Day, in London, Ontario, the torch relay team made an unplanned stop at a local children's hospital and carried the flame from bed to bed.
In one room, a young girl named Rebecca, who nurses said hadn't smiled in years, lit up at the sight of the flame. Andrea has said that moment is what taught her that purpose expands when it serves others – and became the bridge that carried her into entrepreneurship.
Building a company, then selling it
Andrea spent 15 years building a business before making what she calls the hardest decision of her life: selling it. She frames that choice as stepping into what came next, not as losing something.
The Core Idea
Andrea’s closing point was that your passions aren’t random and purpose isn’t a destination you arrive at once. It’s something you refine again and again by paying attention to what actually excites you. Every chapter she described, nursing, teaching, the Olympic movement, entrepreneurship, and now speaking and coaching, was preparation for the next one, not an unrelated detour
She left the audience with a question of their own: will you settle for what’s expected of you, or step into what’s actually possible?
Why It Matters
Speaking at the University of Oxford put Andrea alongside a global group of founders, athletes, and industry leaders. Oxford isn’t a stage that hands out easy validation.
Its audience has sat through hundreds of keynotes, so a personal, purpose-driven story has to hold up to real scrutiny to land in just seven minutes.
The Rebecca story in particular is the kind of specific, concrete moment audiences tend to remember and repeat long after the event ends.
Inside the Room: What Made Skills Live Oxford Different
Skills Live Oxford wasn’t a typical conference. The day opened with carnival dancers and networking over coffee, moved into rapid-fire seven-minute talks from a global slate of speakers, and closed with the LOSD Excellence Awards inside one of Oxford’s historic 18th-century venues.
Andrea’s talk sat inside that rapid-fire format alongside speakers like Alina Cristina Buteica, Crystal Sittser, and Dr. Nishtha Sareen — a format that leaves no room for filler.
The Company She Kept
The Skills Live Oxford 2026 speaker roster pulled from more than 45 countries and included Paralympic gold medallist Richard Whitehead MBE, former international cricketer Monty Panesar, and a cross-section of founders, educators, and health and business leaders.
Who Should Book This Talk
- A keynote built on a real, specific personal story instead of generic motivational content
- A speaker with genuine executive and international leadership credibility (a decade at the senior executive level of a national Olympic sponsorship program), not just a coaching background
- A message that works in a tight time slot (7 to 20 minutes) without losing its emotional weight
- A talk about purpose and career transitions that resonates with founders, career changers, and high performing professionals asking what's next
Ready to Bring Andrea to Your Stage?
Organizations across sectors are booking Andrea for conferences, corporate events, and workshops worldwide, building on the momentum of stages like Oxford.
frequently ask questions
What is the name of Andrea Shaw's talk at Skills Live Oxford 2026?
Andrea’s talk was titled “Pursuit of Passionate Purpose.”
When did Andrea Shaw speak at Oxford?
Andrea Shaw spoke at the Skills Live Show x Oxford University on Saturday, 2 May 2026, hosted by the London Organisation of Skills Development (LOSD) at the University of Oxford.
What did Andrea Shaw speak about at Skills Live Oxford?
Andrea spoke about discovering purpose by listening to internal feedback rather than external expectations, using her own career path — nursing, teaching, the Olympic and Paralympic movement, and entrepreneurship — as the throughline. She included a story about the Olympic Torch Relay’s visit to a children’s hospital on Christmas Day.
What is the story about Rebecca in Andrea Shaw's Oxford talk?
During the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, Andrea’s team made an unplanned stop at a children’s hospital in London, Ontario, on Christmas Day. A young girl named Rebecca, who nurses said hadn’t smiled in years, lit up at the sight of the Olympic flame — a moment Andrea has described as teaching her that purpose expands when it serves others.
Who organizes the Skills Live Show at Oxford?
The Skills Live Show is organized by the London Organisation of Skills Development (LOSD), a global platform that hosts conferences, award ceremonies, and networking events for entrepreneurs and professionals.
Is Andrea Shaw available to speak at similar events?
Yes. Andrea speaks internationally on purpose, leadership, resilience, and career transitions, and is available for keynotes, panels, and workshops. Contact The Circle of Trust to inquire.
Where exactly was Skills Live Oxford 2026 held?
The event took place across the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School and the historic Examination Schools in Oxford, England.
How long was Andrea Shaw's talk at Oxford?
Andrea’s talk was part of the event’s rapid-fire keynote format, with each speaker given roughly seven minutes on stage.