Viola De Girolami
Founder | Coach on Change | Former Executive at Warner Bros., McDonald’s, and Carphone Warehouse
Viola De Girolami is a keynote speaker, founder, and former Executive Director with over 15 years’ experience leading transformation inside global organisations such as Warner Bros. and McDonald’s.
At Warner Bros., she built and led the studio’s Digital and Data capability, reshaping how major cultural phenomena including Dunkirk, Joker, and Barbie reached audiences. Earlier at McDonald’s, she worked during a defining period of brand reinvention following the Super Size Me crisis, witnessing first-hand how a global organisation navigates change under pressure. She later supported digital and customer transformation at Carphone Warehouse during a period of industry disruption.
What makes Viola’s work distinctive is her unique blend of real-world transformation experience and behavioural science. Having lived change from the inside, she recognised recurring patterns in why transformation succeeds or fails. Strategy alone is rarely the issue – the real challenge lies beneath the surface, in leadership mindset, in the human fear of the unknown, and in the assumptions organisations struggle to question. She later deepened this perspective through training in Positive Psychology, integrating behavioural insight and human performance into her work.
Today, she is the founder of What Clients Really Want, advising leaders and organisations navigating strategic transition and performance challenges. In her talks, Viola blends powerful, recognisable transformation stories with psychological insight to challenge thinking, uncover hidden barriers, and translate complex change into clear, practical action.
Audiences leave with a deeper understanding of what truly drives change, a sharper lens on the human dynamics behind transformation, and practical tools to create meaningful, lasting impact.
Viola delivers keynotes internationally in English, Italian, and Spanish.
