Maria Papacosta

Maria Papacosta

• Expert in presence, personal branding, self-awareness, storytelling, and presentation skills
• Co-founder of MSC Marketing Bureau
• One of 2021’s Top Global Inspirational Leaders
• Finalist for the Global Woman in Leadership Award

A leading expert on presence and inspired leadership, Maria Papacosta is an acclaimed personal branding strategist. She is also the co-founder of MSC Marketing Bureau. Her branding strategies have helped numerous leading thinkers spread their message and make an impact.

Maria Papacosta has, during her career, coached many top European, American, African, and Emirates executives and CEOs. She helps enable them to increase their presence while bringing forth authentic leadership qualities that inspire both their teams and audiences.

A Certified Leadership Coach, NLP Associate Practitioner, and certified Practitioner of the Global Leadership Assessment, Maria Papacosta adds to her portfolio that of TEDx Speaker Coach and Curator. Her education includes an MSc in Strategic Marketing from Aston University, a BSc in Social Policy and Marketing from London Metropolitan University, and a Specialised degree in Inspired Leadership from Case Western Reserve University.

The recipient of many accolades, Maria Papacosta was named one of the Top 100 Global Inspirational Leaders by PeopleHum and was also a finalist for the Global Women in Leadership Award by She Inspires in 2021. The next year saw her recognised by The Brainz CREA Global Awards. The awardees come from a list of top entrepreneurs and leaders recognised for their innovativeness, resourcefulness, and accomplishments.

Maria Papacosta has also seen her personal branding workshop recognised as second in the world by Global Gurus. This happened in both 2021 and 2022. Thinkers360 ranked her in the Top 25 Thought Leaders on Personal Branding in 2023.

Maria Papacosta – Speaker

As a conference speaker, Maria Papacosta presents practical, high-energy talks that provide tangible results. She helps people design a better version of themselves and to excel in both their personal and work life. She lives in Greece and has native proficiency in English and Greek, a working proficiency in French and Italian, and an elementary proficiency in Spanish.

Speaking Topics

• From Waiting to Acting – Unleashing your Presence: As Max Weber said, we grow in the iron cage of others’ expectations. This may overlap but is not necessarily what we want. Acting based on what others expect from us is often a burden that prohibits us from dreaming and discovering our purpose.

Knowing who you are, appreciating your needs and desires, and identifying where you want to go are critical in building a strong presence and unleashing your potential. Good things don’t usually come to those who wait, but instead, they come to those who act. The ones who constantly work on self-improvement, learning and relearning, and cultivating a growth mindset are the ones who eventually grow stronger, more confident, and more accomplished.

During this keynote, you’ll embark on a journey to help you strengthen your core which is your presence in life, create a better version of yourself, and understand that opportunities come to those who actively seek them.

• Building your Personal Brand: No matter how good you are at whatever it is you’re doing, you need to stand out and be heard, otherwise your audience will most likely never get the chance to meet you.

Personal Branding starts with discovering your true self, your values and qualities, and being held accountable for all your actions. It is not a self-promotion campaign. It’s about putting forward these qualities that define you as an individual and enhancing your overall professional image.

Personal Branding is not about effectively using social media either. It’s about committing to yourself and the values you support and living by them every single day. The personal brand you design must come from the heart and must be supported 100% by everything you do. By defining and managing your personal brand, you need to become a role model and a trusted voice that others want to follow and be inspired by.

It is important to view your personal brand as a trademark that needs protection and continuous shaping and development. This trademark must be developed with the intention of how it can best serve others and not yourself. To build a strong personal brand, you need people to receive clear benefits from being associated with you.

Do you know what your personal brand is?

• Presence – The Power Within: There is a big difference and a big connection between having Presence and being Present.

Being present is a primal state of being, which unfortunately most people are disconnected from. Being present is about giving the 100% of yourself in any activity you’re doing. All of your senses function at their highest possible level and your mind is completely focused on what you’re doing, while you are fully aware of what is going on in your surrounding environment.

Having Presence means that you can impress and influence someone with your gravitas, communication skills, and appearance. To build your Presence, you need to go through a journey of greater self-awareness and rediscover your innate presence, both physically and mentally. How you say what you say greatly affects your presence and your ability to influence others. You need to be able to control your voice, your emotions and skillfully choose the words that your audience needs to hear to follow you. Very eloquently put by Mark Twain “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is a large matter – ’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.”

• Storytelling & Presentation Skills for Leaders: Storytelling and Presentation Skills for Leaders has been designed to help you enhance the skills you need to inspire your people and get your message across with the highest possible impact.

Storytelling and presentation skills are both mandatory if you want to stand out. Having a great narrative without the skills to deliver it or having a great stage presence without a strong narrative, will simply lead to a mediocre result. You need both elements if you want to achieve your objectives and communicate your message effectively.

Drawing on years of experience teaching senior executives, coaching TED speakers, and using storytelling techniques to help some of the leading thinkers of our time stand out and make an impact, this talk provides a proven methodology for clear communication that leaves a lasting, positive impression and inspires action. Whether you’re giving a presentation at work, speaking at an event, or simply looking to improve your communication skills, this talk is designed to equip you with the tools you need to make your message heard and achieve your goals.

• Leading from Within – The Power of Self-Awareness: In today’s fast-paced world, self-awareness has never been more critical for executives. Knowing yourself – your strengths, areas for development, values, and limiting beliefs – is the foundation for effective leadership and personal growth. But what does it truly mean to be self-aware, and how can you cultivate this essential skill? In this keynote, we’ll explore the power of self-awareness and how it can transform your leadership and your organization. Drawing on the latest research and real-world examples, you’ll learn practical strategies for developing self-awareness. Whether you’re a seasoned executive or a rising star, this talk will inspire you to unlock your full potential by becoming more self-aware and leading with greater impact.