Nelly Ben Hayoun

Nelly Ben Hayoun

• Dubbed the Willy Wonka of Design and Science, award-winning director and Designer of Experiences.
• Nelly is ranked first on the Top 50 Best Female Speakers list and is a professional public speaker with over a decade of experience.
• An innovator acclaimed for making a ‘Significant Impact on the World.’
• She persuaded NASA to co-create the world’s first space orchestra with her, and the music was physically blasted into space.
• Educates business people and entrepreneurs trying to initiate change and constantly coming up against resistance.
• Mattel and Lego. These iconic toymakers created a Barbie doll and a Lego figurine modelled after her as a thank-you for her collaborations.

Dr Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian is a dynamic super creative who will (literally) add rocket fuel to your events and campaigns – Dr Nelly Ben Hayoun- Stépanian will deliver in spades.  She is known for electrifying audiences and leaving an impression that resonates long after she has left the room. Dubbed the Willy Wonka of Design and Science, award-winning director and Designer of Experiences, Dr Nelly Ben Hayoun is a critical explorer and a fearless and passionate provocateur combining experience, ideas, technology, radical pedagogy, music and art.

She has held an astonishing range of first-of-its-kind roles. As Designer of Experiences at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute), she founded the world’s first International Space Orchestra, a group made up of NASA space scientists and astronauts.

She is the founder of the pioneering University of the Underground, a free MA programme taught by an all-star lineup that aims to teach students how to “design experiences and events that best support social dreaming, social actions and power shifts within institutions, companies and governments”.

She has been Chief of Experiences at WeTransfer, Advisor to the United Nations Virtual Reality Labs and Vice-Chair at the International Astronautical Federation. Nelly’s musical collaborations include Damon Albarn, Bjork, Sigur Ros, Beck, Kid Cudi and most recently, with The Avalanches during lockdown.

Nelly Ben Hayoun – An Icon

In a consulting role, Nelly Ben Hayoun Studios supported creativity at Mattel and Lego. As a thank you for these collaborations, these iconic toymakers created a Barbie doll and a Lego figurine modelled after her.

Nelly has worked with NASA for over a decade. She is Vice Chair for the Cultural Utilization of Space, a member of the IAF Space Education and Outreach Committee, and a permanent committee member of the International Academy of Astronautics Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

A designer of extreme experiences, in late 2023, Dr Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, created a spectacular electric Porsche art car and worked with 3D software experts on designing an alternative universe to drive it.

Nelly Ben Hayoun – Dynamic Super Creative Keynote Speaker

Nelly is ranked first on the Top 50 Best Female Speakers list and is a professional public speaker with over a decade of experience.

One of a kind?

Nelly has two doppelgangers who travel the world giving talks, challenging notions of space and time while questioning the politics and economics of performance and public speaking.

Selected Speaking Topics:

• Invention and Innovation
• Space culture and space science
• Radical Education
• Radical Imagination
• Extreme Creativity
• Black Sky Thinking
• Technology
• Cultural studies
• Politics and Philosophy
• Large-scale production
• Decolonial practices