Keynotes & Workshops
Decision quality when the old standards stop working
I was a professional big wave surfer and am the first European to surf Jaws. I have worked in leadership and organizational development since 2000, with more than 20 years of experience in international corporations and organizations. Today I am a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, and I turn my experience at the world’s biggest waves into questions that matter to leadership teams:
- How do we decide well when information is incomplete?
- When do proven standards stop working?
- How do teams stay able to act under pressure?
My model for decisions under pressure: Set the priority. Test the assumptions. Change the standard.
Keynotes
Decision quality when the old standards stop working
A true story from Jaws to Nazaré. Not “be brave”, but the question whether what made you successful still holds in the new environment.
AI-READY is not DECISION-READY
What big wave surfing teaches about data, risk and decision quality. Technology gets teams faster into situations their existing skills were not built for. Skills, roles, guardrails and accountability have to grow with the technology.
Keynote and workshop, Nazaré, 2024
Web Summit, Lisbon, 2023
Web Summit, Lisbon, 2023
Workshops
Half day (3 to 4 hours) or full day (6 to 7 hours), online or on site. Three modules that can be combined:
Workshop, Nazaré, 2024
Leading Myself
Self-leadership under pressure: focus, stress control, preparation routines.
Leading Others
Trust, communication and feedback: roles, intent, clean handovers.
Leading as a System
Team decision readiness, go/no-go gates, stop criteria, debrief, standards, training.
“Alex Wippel’s keynote was one of the strongest moments at our Austria Pavilion at Web Summit 2023. Drawing on his experience riding some of the world’s biggest waves, he delivered clear and powerful lessons on resilience, courage, and decision-making under uncertainty. Our audience was fully engaged throughout the session, and our team and delegation left inspired, energized, and ready to embrace new challenges.”
Eva Frei, Head Innovationservices, AUSSENWIRTSCHAFT AUSTRIA
“A true masterclass in preparation, trust, and commitment.”
René Nagl, Founder, FIVSEN, Keynote @ Rotary
“In his session ‘Führen, wenn die Welle bricht’ (Leading When the Wave Breaks), Alex Wippel showed impressively how teams keep decision quality at its highest even under extreme uncertainty, through the ‘Mission Command’ model and a conscious approach to fear.”
Nikolas Strobl, Managing Partner, OBERWASSER
“If anyone can make a room of several hundred people go completely silent within a short time, it is Alex Wippel with his presence and his story.”
Günther Schabüttl, Head Advantage Austria Lisbon
Selected appearances
- Web Summit, Lisbon, 2023
- Advantage Austria, Nazaré, 2024
- SAP Business Data Cloud Roadshow, 2026
- OBERWASSER: expert session for young leaders, 2026
- CONEO Cometogether, 2026
- Upcoming: FIDEN congress, Marrakesh (16 October 2026)
Enquiries
For keynotes and workshops, please get in touch via the contact page or directly by email at wippela@icloud.com.