John Miles

Overview

John Miles is CEO of the New Zealand Marketing Association and author of Sod It, Just Do It. He has 35+ years of marketing, brand and commercial leadership behind him, and he’s spoken everywhere from Sydney to Singapore, and New York to Mombasa.

Funny, direct and practical, John gives audiences ideas they can actually use on Monday morning. 100% of surveyed audiences recommend his Unignorable keynote, and 97% rated him an excellent, engaging speaker.

He calls his style infotainment: useful insights, practical advice, great stories and a healthy dose of laconic Kiwi humour. No corporate waffle.

About John

John has led businesses and brands across FMCG, brewing, sponsorship, education and export, including a stint as CEO of SP Jain School of Global Management in Sydney.

Since becoming CEO of the New Zealand Marketing Association in 2019, he has:

• delivered six straight operating surpluses

• grown recurring membership revenue by more than 50%

• lifted member advocacy from 36% to over 85%

• built partnerships with Google, Meta, TikTok, Spark, One NZ and ASB

• helped in the relaunch of the YouTube New Zealand Marketing Awards

• created the Advanced Marketing Leadership programme, Think Again and the Top Talent programme

Not bad for an organisation at the bottom of the world.

In 2026 he published Sod It, Just Do It: Stop Being a Gunna and Get Stuff Done, a 92-page, seven-step system for making better decisions and getting stuff done. It’s short on purpose.

Away from work, John represented New Zealand in badminton at the 1982 Commonwealth Games. He’s a prostate cancer survivor and co-founder of ProBros, which supports Movember and encourages blokes to get themselves checked.

Key Speaking Themes

The Future Professional: the skills that make you unignorable in 2030
As AI takes over the technical work, John explores the human skills that will matter most, including the one the big consulting reports keep missing: decision-making.

Decision-making and the Sod It, Just Do It framework: beating inertia and getting more stuff done
Based on his book, this is a practical seven-step framework for making better decisions, backing yourself and moving forward. It’s not a motivational speech. It’s a system for getting stuff done, with a few laughs along the way.

50 Years of Great NZ Advertising: the traits of truly exceptional campaigns
A nostalgic, entertaining look at the ads that made New Zealand laugh, cry and buy, and what today’s marketers can learn from them.

Case study: The Art of Making Things Happen. How change helped an association located at the bottom of the world become a global benchmark
The story of how John turned a small, Auckland-centric association into an internationally recognised organisation: what worked, what didn’t, and the lessons for anyone small, ambitious and determined to punch above their weight.

Ideal For

• Corporate conferences and leadership summits

• Marketing, brand and advertising events

• Association and not-for-profit conferences

• Leadership teams and offsites

• Education, professional development and early-career events