Description
Bill Griggs leadership speaker sessions come from one of Australia’s most respected trauma specialists. He is a world authority on emergency medicine, crisis leadership and human performance under pressure. The University of Adelaide appointed him Emeritus Professor in May 2024. His distinguished career spans decades of service on the frontlines of global disasters, from bombings and plane crashes to tsunamis and war zones. Renowned for his calm under pressure, he brings a lifetime of real-world lessons to the stage.
Across his career, Dr Griggs led medical teams through some of the world’s most complex events. As both a Royal Australian Air Force Specialist Reservist and a civilian trauma leader, he played pivotal roles in the responses to the 2002 and 2005 Bali Bombings, the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, the 2007 Garuda Airlines crash and the 2009 Samoan Tsunami. He also served as Director of the Trauma Service at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and State Controller for SA Health. In addition, he invented the “Griggs Technique,” a surgical method that has saved thousands of lives worldwide. His honours include a Member of the Order of Australia and an Ambulance Service Medal.
Bill Griggs Leadership Speaker: Keynote Topics
Book Bill Griggs leadership speaker for keynotes on leadership in high-pressure environments. He also covers team management and crisis communication. Other topics include change and risk management, and resilience and decision-making under pressure. Finally, Lessons from the Frontline explores human performance in critical situations. Holding an MBA, Bill applies these lessons of risk management to business contexts, helping leaders build resilience and make better decisions when stakes are high.
Beyond medicine, Bill founded Roads2Survival, a community road safety program dedicated to reducing trauma before it happens. He has also served in international deployments including the Gulf War, Bougainville and East Timor. His other honours include South Australian of the Year, Australian of the Year SA Recipient, the Keys to the City of Adelaide, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Adelaide.
See Bill Griggs’ full profile, keynote topics and testimonials on the Corporate Speakers Australia speaker page, or browse other leadership keynote speakers.
In 1989 Professor Griggs invented a surgical instrument and a procedure, now called the “Griggs technique”, to perform percutaneous tracheotomy and make an artificial airway for the critically ill and injured. This technique is used worldwide and was used to help Pope John Paul II in February 2005.
Completed many hundreds of aeromedical retrievals and was Clinical Director of Retrieval Coordination for MedStar – South Australia’s state wide retrieval service.
Professor Griggs is the founder of the Roads2Survival™ community road safety program.
He is a member of the RAAF Specialist Reserve and his list of service is truly amazing.
Recently retired from the following posts
- Director, Trauma Service, Royal Adelaide Hospital
- Clinical Director, MedStar Emergency Medical Retrieval
- State Controller (Health and Medical), SA Health
- Director, Air Force Health Reserves, SA/WA
- Deployed to the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005
- 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami
- 2007 crash of Garuda 737 GA200 in Yogyakarta,
- 2009 Ashmore Reef SIEV36 explosion/fire,
- Lead the SA AusMat medical team the 2009 Samoan tsunami disaster, the Gulf War 1991, Bougainville 1994 and 1998, and East Timor 1999 and 2007
He also has an MBA and speaks on Risk Management Practices as they relate to business.
Major Awards:
2003 – Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
2006 – South Australian Recipient for the “Australian of the Year” Award.
2006 – “Keys to the City”, City of Adelaide.
2009 – Ambulance Service Medal (ASM).
2009 – “South Australian of the Year”.
2010 – Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Adelaide.
Keynote Topics:
- Leadership
- Team Management
- Change Management
- Crisis Management
Recognition & Innovation
Bill was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2006 for service to medicine, and holds the Ambulance Service Medal (ASM). In 1989 he invented the “Griggs technique,” a percutaneous tracheotomy procedure now used worldwide in trauma medicine, including on Pope John Paul II in 2005. A founding member of the Australasian Trauma Society, Bill served as its president from 2001 to 2003, and was named South Australian of the Year in 2006. He speaks candidly on the personal cost of a career spent responding to disaster, including his own experience of post-traumatic stress disorder, bringing rare authenticity to his keynotes on crisis leadership and resilience.
