Guy Ryan

Entrepreneur and Founder of Inspiring Stories, Festival for the Future and The Impact Awards – passionate about making a difference for our future.

Guy is an award-winning entrepreneur, leader and speaker. He was awarded Young New Zealander of the Year in 2015, is an Edmund Hillary Fellow, and has represented New Zealand at various international summits and leadership development opportunities.

From humble beginnings, Guy grew up in a small rural village on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island Granity. He played every sport possible, was far too competitive, and often too cheeky. He was the first in his family to study at University, completing a double degree in design and commerce, then a Masters at Otago University, and co-founded an internationally award-winning film production company.

In 2011 he founded Inspiring Stories – a Kiwi charity with a bold vision to back young people to change the world. Inspiring Stories is the organisation behind Festival for the Future; The Impact Awards, the Future Leaders programme, and the social enterprise speaker bureau Inspiring Speakers.

Over the past decade Guy and the team at Inspiring Stories have built an impressive track record of programmes and partnerships, with a 13,000-strong tribe of alumni and supporters. This includes providing more than $2,000,000 in scholarship support to increase access to life-changing opportunities for young people, and providing more than $100,000 in awards and prizes to support Aotearoa’s most inspiring young changemakers.

Alumni have gone on to win major awards and represent New Zealand on the world stage. They’re building the next generation of purpose-driven businesses, leading action on climate change, creating more inclusive communities and workplaces, dreaming big, and pushing boundaries boundaries to make a difference for our future.

After 10+ years as the Chief Executive for Inspiring Stories, Guy recently stepped back into a new full time role as ‘Founder’, and is excited to be supporting the new Chief Executive, Devon Murphy-Davids, as the organisation looks to the next decade and opportunities to expand it’s reach and impact.

Outside of work Guy is a father with two young boys, loves adventure, surfing and skateboarding.