Speaker Spotlight
He Hid a Private Battle Behind a Polished Exterior for Years. Going Public With It Built a Movement With 12 Million Media Impressions.
Glenn Marsden · Founder, Imperfectly Perfect Campaign · Four-Time Best-Selling Author · Sydney, Australia
From the outside, Glenn Marsden looked like he had it handled. A media entrepreneur with a polished public image, he was exactly the kind of person nobody thinks to check on.
Underneath, he was fighting a private battle with body dysmorphia, and he was hiding it the way most people hide what they are struggling with: by performing “fine.”
Then he lost a close friend to suicide. That loss changed what he was willing to keep quiet about. Glenn went public with the thing he had spent years hiding, and what started as one honest story became the Imperfectly Perfect Campaign, a worldwide movement that has generated more than 12 million media impressions.
“I’m Fine” Is the Most Unreliable Thing Said at Work
Every organization runs on a quiet agreement. Ask someone how they are, they say fine, and everyone moves on. Glenn’s argument is that this exchange is the most common thing said in any workplace, and the most unreliable.
He knows because he was the one saying it. His work starts from the gap between what people show and what they are carrying, and it lands because he is not describing someone else. He tells the real story, not a rehearsed one, and audiences recognize themselves in it.
That is what separates his sessions from the usual wellbeing talk. Rather than a list of self-care tips, rooms get permission to stop pretending, and a concrete reason to check on the people sitting next to them.
From One Honest Story to a Global Movement
The Imperfectly Perfect Campaign has been backed by prominent public figures including Hollywood actors, Olympic athletes and Fortune 500 leaders, and its message has reached audiences across television, radio, print and digital platforms. In Australia, Glenn is a prominent media figure who has shared his work on national television, radio and print, with coverage reaching the United States and beyond.
He has kept building on it. Glenn is a four-time best-selling author, hosts the Imperfectly Perfect Podcast, runs international events and immersive retreats from Australia to Los Angeles, and advises leaders and organizations on influence and visibility.
For planners, that track record matters. It is proof that his message is not just moving in the moment. It is a real campaign with real reach, built from the hardest possible starting point.
Lyman Good, Director, Good Theory
What Planners Can Expect
Glenn works from three keynotes. Imperfection: The Greatest Gift We Try to Hide is his signature talk for conferences, leadership summits and wellbeing events. Fine Is Not a Feeling is built for corporate wellbeing days, staff conferences and culture programs, a story-led talk with a practical close that teaches teams to recognize when someone’s “fine” doesn’t match what’s underneath, and what to do next before concern turns into crisis. Leading Without the Mask is for executive offsites and leadership programs, showing leaders how to show vulnerability without losing authority, and why teams follow honesty faster than polish.
His keynote has been delivered at corporate conferences, leadership summits and wellbeing events across Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Dubai, Thailand and Japan. One summit CEO called him absolutely phenomenal, crediting his ability to connect with an audience on a deep level.
Glenn is based in Sydney, Australia, and travels regularly for engagements internationally. Full keynote descriptions, video and testimonials are on his speaker profile.
More on mental health and honest conversations at work: Brad de Comarmond on marketing wellness like Nike, Anne Gillaspie on saying the thing you have been avoiding, Jessica Weiss on getting ahead of burnout and Robert Mack on the science of happiness.
Book Glenn Marsden
Available for keynotes on mental health, identity, authenticity and honest leadership, for conferences, leadership summits, wellbeing days and executive offsites worldwide.