Frank O’Dea

Frank O’Dea

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Ottawa, Ontario

Inspiring Entrepreneur, Humanitarian And Innovative Business Expert

Frank O'Dea is a highly successful entrepreneur who has gone on to start numerous charitable organizations. The Co-Founder of the iconic Canadian coffee retail chain The Second Cup overcame enormous challenges in his professional and personal life. These challenges included overcoming an abusive relationship. His motivational and emotionally touching speeches get to the heart of his audience's underlying motives and encourage aspiration. After the business successes with The Second Cup, Proshred Security and Samaritan Air Ambulance Services, Frank O'Dea also started not-for-profit organizations like Street Kids International and the Canadian Landmine Foundation.

FRANK O’DEA BIOGRAPHY

Frank O’Dea’s narrative of triumph against hardship in business and life inspires people worldwide. O’Dea rose from being a homeless panhandler to becoming a renowned international entrepreneur and humanitarian. He founded The Second Cup coffee shop chain and a worldwide document security business. He has founded several more innovative and successful enterprises and international non-profit organizations. His message connects with audiences who want to learn from his example and are yearning for hope for a better future.

Along with his commercial success, Frank co-founded Street Kids International, which helps homeless children in third-world nations, and the Canadian Landmine Foundation, which raises funding to demolish minefields worldwide. In collaboration with the United Nations and world heavyweights such as Colin Powell and Sir Paul McCartney, he coordinated the international fundraising event “Night of a Thousand Dinners,” held in 29 countries worldwide.

O’Dea has received numerous honours from two colleges, including the Order of Canada and honorary degrees. His most recent groundbreaking ventures include social enterprises such as a youth employment program across Canada and developing sustainable, cheap houses in Brazil utilizing Canadian technology. His grand narrative is chronicled in his book When All You Have Is Hope, which is now in its fourth printing and is available from Penguin Books.

Building on that success, he co-founded Proshred Security, a company that pioneered on-site document destruction. This company soon became an international organization with franchised operations in Canada, Europe, and the United States. Frank also founded Samaritan Air Ambulance Services.  

In the not-for-profit sector, O’Dea was also successful as the co-founder of Street Kids International, an organization developed to help homeless children in third-world countries, and the Landmine Foundation, an organization that raises funds for dismantling minefields around the world. Together with the United Nations and world figures such as Colin Powell and Sir Paul McCartney, he led an international fundraising event, “Night of A Thousand Dinners,” that was taken up in 29 countries around the world. 

Frank is currently the Chair of the Royal Roads University Foundation and serves on the board of directors of several private corporations and not-for-profits. Recognition for Frank O’Dea’s achievements includes the Ontario Volunteer Award, Lifetime Board Member Renascent Treatment Foundation, Paul Harris Awards, Doctor of Laws Royal Roads University, Doctor of Laws Carlton University, and Officer of the Order of Canada. 

He is also the author of two books: his memoir When All You Have is Hope and, in response to the demand from people who have reached out to him for help in dealing with their challenges, his newest book: Do The Next Right Thing, Surviving Life’s Crises. In addition to leading two social enterprises, Frank is Chair of “My Idea of Canada.” In celebration of Canada’s 150 Anniversary, “My Idea of Canada” is a multi-million dollar national initiative by the Governor General and the Order of Canada to get young people energized and involved in the future of Canada. 

Audiences identify with him and his unique message and are invariably moved, empowered, and hopeful. As one of Canada’s most sought-after speakers, Frank O’Dea is an investment that pays off hugely for any organization that books him. 

Videos

Podcasts

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The Thought Leader Revolution Podcast

SBC

EP223: Frank O'Dea - Why You Need Hope, Vision & Action In Your Life
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Pat Meehan

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Frank O’Dea Topic Presentations

the power of hope vision action 

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • With hope – all things become possible. With hope, one has the courage to change the present into a very different future. With hope, dreams are possible; with hope, one has the persistence to follow the dream and with hope, one can – and will – become much more than you ever dreamed possible. Frank demonstrates this power of hope by using his own story and experiences of hope, courage, change, and persistence. Humble yet powerful, Frank relates how he went from the bowery, panhandling for nickels and dimes not so many years ago, to the successes he has achieved today. This is truly a motivational story. Audiences from all walks of life identify with this very real story of achievement, and Frank’s warm style convinces his audiences that he is speaking directly to them. 

     

the spirit of the entrepreneur  

blue ocean strategy  

the new entrepreneurs 

Testimonials

You mentioned some phrases that I have been using since your speech. I give you the credit for it. I use the people can make a difference. I also like when you mentioned Leaving this place better than when you got here. You are an inspiration.

S.DelGreco

TD Insurance

Frank did a fantastic job… the franchisees were very engaged with his story, which is why they were so quiet. The feedback from them afterward was that Frank was much better than the speaker they had last year, who got rave reviews.  

C. White

Topper’s Pizza

I watched the audience regularly and Frank held everyone’s full attention from beginning to end. He masterfully wove FSGV throughout his speech and empowered everyone in the room to make a difference right there and then. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. It was perfect. The financial results show it. Preliminary numbers more than doubled what we raised last year (not including a donation that was given in advance), and tripled the number of people who came on board as monthly donors.  

Scott

United Way Vancouver

“The event was everything we could have wished. Frank shared with our business community, which is still recovering from the devastating flood, how he was able to turn his remarkable personal and business adversities into thriving successes. He delivered an emotional and practical speech that touched these business people and their spouses on many levels. In the evaluations, which were excellent, we learned that a number of people came because they knew someone who heard Frank speak.”   

Town of High River 

Your message was very inspirational and I know it resulted in a lot of personal reflection on what is possible for all of us. I hope you are ok with me quoting you from time to time.  

Hoffort

CEO
Farm Credit Canada

Articles & Media

Coming Soon!

Books

Do the Next Right Thing: Surviving Life's Crises
Do the Next Right Thing: Surviving Life's Crises

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How to book Frank O’Dea for an event?

Frank O’Dea keynote speaker is an expert presenter and has a wide range of experience speaking to a wide variety of audiences and organizations. Frank O’Dea delivers keynotes, workshops & training sessions. They may also host or emcee events. Hire Frank O’Dea from Ottawa, Ontario for your event to inspire the audience to take action and make change in their work and their lives. Your workplace will benefit from our keynote speaker and their keynote talks and speeches will shift the mindsets or behaviours for the audience members in Canada. 

Interested in booking Frank O’Dea for an event?

Are you looking to hire Frank O’Dea for your event? Frank O’Dea Ottawa, Ontario is a dynamic and engaging speaker that offers audiences researched content paired with expertise and a dynamic speaking ability. Frank O’Dea is also a Canadian corporate consultant and coach and facilitates workshops and training sessions for a corporate audience. Frank O’Dea is an expert keynote presenter and speaks on wide variety of topics. Hiring a great speaker for your event is important and working with a thought leader like Frank O’Dea from Speakers Canada's roster will engage audiences into the content of the presentation to bring awareness and a fresh perspective for their approach to their work and their lives. Book Frank O’Dea to educate, motivate and activate the audience through an interactive and entertaining presentation at corporate meetings and gatherings.

Known as a popular key note speaker in Canada, Frank O’Dea creates life changing experiences for the participants with practical insights and strategic advice they can implement right after the session. Working with a one our leading expert speaker like Frank O’Dea from Ottawa, Ontario offers organizations a fresh perspective to assist the people of the organization. No matter if it is a government, association, or business crowd, Frank O’Dea is a perfect speaker for your event. Through unique practical insights for trending topics and years experience speaking to different organizations, Frank O’Dea focuses on changing individuals to make better decisions at work and their lives. No matter if you are holding an in person or virtual event, having an influential speaker such as Frank O’Dea will engage, motivate, and activate the audience to make a change in their lives and inspire action for results to meet organizational goals. Your workforce will benefit from Frank O’Dea's presentations and speeches, with measurable results set to shift the people of the organization and core direction of the company. Book Frank O’Dea speaker for your annual general meeting, conference, summit, or convention in Canada.

How much does it cost to hire Frank O’Dea for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

Frank O’Dea is an expert professional key note speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada's talent have different ways to assess their fees, and Frank O’Dea speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget. 

Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact Frank O’Dea to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like Frank O’Dea for your event. As Frank O’Dea's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization's behalf to try to help you get in touch with Frank O’Dea and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.

Frank O’Dea Disclaimer

Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like Frank O’Dea for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent Frank O’Dea, however they are represented by Speakers Canada, and we work with them closely for their Canadian speaking opportunities and bookings. As Canada's top speaker bureau, we represent Canadian motivational keynote speakers and professional guest speakers that will be available on your upcoming events date and location that are withing the budget. Our talented bureau speaker booking agency can help find business speakers or celebrity speakers that aligns with each organization, audience, event theme and the topic themes you hope for the speaker to address in their presentation. 

When SBC receives a request to book Frank O’Dea we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization's event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact Frank O’Dea about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker's fees. If you are looking to hire Frank O’Dea, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.