Andrew Osayemi Speaker | Enterprise & Creative & Careers & Assemblies and Celebrations Events & Media & Adventure & Happiness

Andrew Osayemi

From Council Estate to Wall Street to Netflix: Inspiring Students to Dream Bigger and Achieve More.

Andrew Osayemi is a TV producer, author, and former city trader whose inspiring story shows students that their backgrounds do not limit their futures. Raised on a council estate in Peckham, Andrew has built a career that spans finance, recruitment, and television production. His journey demonstrates resilience, ambition, and the power of reinvention — qualities he now shares with young people to motivate them to aim higher.

Andrew began his professional career in the fast-paced world of financial markets, working as a foreign exchange trader in London and New York, where he eventually headed up a trading book. After five years in banking, he made a bold career switch and co-founded MTA Productions, the company behind the award-winning TV comedy Meet the Adebanjos. Against the odds, Andrew raised investment, built a production team of over 40 people, and successfully sold the show to over 20 countries, including Netflix. His story of persistence and creativity provides students with a real-world example of what it takes to turn an idea into a global success.

Alongside his work in television, Andrew has spent over a decade helping students and graduates break into top careers. In senior recruitment roles at Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Rare Recruitment, he has coached, mentored, and guided over 1,000 students into roles in banking, consulting, and technology. He is also the author of two highly rated career guides, The Successful Student Job Hunter and The DIY Career Switch.

Andrew’s talks for students focus on three key themes:

One Life, Many Careers – how to change direction and thrive in multiple industries.

From Idea to Netflix – the behind-the-scenes story of making a TV show from scratch.

How to Ace Any Interview – insider tips from a recruiter who has hired for the world’s top companies.

As an experienced international speaker who has addressed audiences at the United Nations, Harvard Business School, and the UK Parliament, Andrew combines storytelling with practical strategies that students can apply straight away. His sessions are dynamic, relatable, and inspiring, leaving students with the belief that they too can achieve more than they ever imagined.

Testimonials from Teachers

"Andrew did a careers talk for more than 200 of our middle and upper school students at Alleyn’s School, based on his book with an exceptionally catchy title “How my disastrous teenage love life will help you get a dream job.” As you can imagine, this was a careers talk unlike any other - and one of our Year 13 pupils described it as the best careers talk she had ever attended! It’s a fine line to tread to refer to dating and also talk about career progression but Andrew does it with personality, flair, humour and authority about early careers… in an incredibly relatable way for young people. One note after the session was about the importance of really underlying the essential idea of “consent” which he agreed and decided would immediately be double and triple underlined - as part of this unique and memorable way to deliver an impactful careers talk that students will be unlikely to forget.

As a side note, some years ago when I worked at Skinners’ Academy (this was pre-pandemic and before this book was written) - Andrew had delivered an in person careers talk as part of National Careers Week where he shared his journey and hugely motivated 2 groups of 30+ pupils each.

I highly recommend Andrew as a unique powerful speaker, an early careers expert (who as a bonus, is passionate about diversity and inclusion) and someone who will also hear and implement feedback which elevates his already fantastic talks and workshops even more so."

– Gina Visram, Head of Careers, Alleyn's School

"Hi Andrew,

I just wanted to take a moment to say a HUGE THANK YOU for today. I watched from the balcony and was unfortunately tied up when you finished or else I would have popped down.

I could see you really had the students engaged, and they could really relate to you.

I am very grateful that you took the time to come and see us. It was all so relevant, especially since some of our students have ideas that they have not yet thought through, but that are certainly not impossible.

Thanks so much for coming in to help make a difference."

– Carole Spike-Robertson, CEIAG Coordinator, Riverside Campus

"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your involvement today. It really did fulfil so many of the objectives that we were hoping it would and it was an absolute pleasure to host you. I hope you enjoyed the experience, and hope to be able to meet you again at some point in the future."

– Mr D Gower, Assistant Head – Co-curricular, St Dunstan's College