Mentor
Ben Legg
Overview
Ben Legg is a high-energy, insightful and pragmatic business leader, engineer, and author who operates at the intersection of AI, talent, and capital. As the former COO of Google Europe, he played a key role in shaping Google’s monetisation strategy across search, video and mobile platforms. Today, Ben is the CEO and Co-Founder of The Portfolio Collective, a global community reshaping the future of work for independent professionals. He also advises Wall Street investors and governments on AI strategy, realities and digital disruption.
Ben’s career has been defined by high-stakes leadership, turnarounds and hypergrowth. From serving as a British Army Officer during the Siege of Sarajevo to running the turnaround of Coca-Cola India to defining and leading hypergrowth at Google, he brings a unique “warrior-to-boardroom” perspective. As a former PE-backed CEO, Ben’s keynotes move beyond the hype to offer practical, data-driven blueprints for success.
Ben also wrote the award-winning book Marketing for CEOs – Death Or Glory In The Digital Age, on the future of marketing. He is now an acknowledged thought leader and keynote speaker on AI and the Future of Work.
Ben brings deep cross-sector expertise in:
• Designing the AI-First Organisation – From Generative AI to Agentic AI, a top question on most CEOs’ minds right now is ‘How do you design, build and lead an organisation in a world of agentic AI?’ What does the org chart look like when you have more bots than humans? How do you ensure great work outputs and continuous innovation? Ben offers a pragmatic blueprint for success.
• The Future of Marketing – Building on 20 years of cutting-edge experience in digital advertising, he helps companies overhaul their go-to-market to optimise the way they sell. This includes streamlining inefficient sales, call centres and mass marketing, and introducing more personalised marketing, chatbots, partnerships and influencers.
• New Technologies & Business Models – Many executives are overwhelmed by the pace of change in technologies and business models. Ben is well plugged into Silicon Valley and loves to ‘geek out’ on the new stuff, then has the ability to explain complex changes in plain English, along with providing pragmatic guidance to help companies capture new opportunities and mitigate risks.
He has lived in nine countries and worked across more than 60 markets, bringing a truly global perspective to leadership and strategy.
PDF Profile
Download PDFMajor Career Roles
The Portfolio Collective
CEO & Cofounder
COO Europe
Adknowledge
Group CEO
Other Career Highlights
GALLOS Technologies
Co-builder in Chief
MoneyPlus
Board member
Hypervolt
Board member
Digital People International
CEO
European Directories
COO
Coca-Cola India
VP Sales
McKinsey
Strategy Consultant
British Army (Royal Engineers)
Captain
Access to an unmatched roster of world-class Mentors
Our unrivalled global roster of board chairs and CEOs offers the seasoned wisdom of proven world-class leaders. Explore this rich array of talent and connect with us to begin a mentoring journey shaped around your leadership context.
