Stephen Shortt is a dynamic Career & Talent Strategist, Family Business Facilitator, Entrepreneur, Speaker, and Author, dedicated to helping people find their ideal careers and guiding companies – and family enterprises – to build high-performing, future-ready teams.

Stephen is on a mission to make the world a better place with happy people in fulfilling, rewarding careers.

With a unique blend of real-world experience, psychometric expertise, and global insight, Stephen empowers individuals to design fulfilling work lives and helps organisations – from startups to multi-generational family firms – unlock their people potential.

As a Career & Talent Strategist, Stephen’s work sits at the intersection of career guidance, talent strategy, and leadership development. As the CEO of CareerFit and Talent Select, he helps individuals identify their most aligned career paths and supports companies in selecting and developing the right people for the right roles using evidence-based assessments and personality insights.

As a Family Business Facilitator, Stephen draws on his own background growing up in two family businesses to help families strengthen communication, align values, and navigate the complexities of working together. His Successful Succession framework equips family business leaders with practical tools to manage leadership transitions, address sensitive intergenerational dynamics, and future-proof their legacy. His keynote, “Build a Killer Family Business, Without Killing Your Family,” has struck a chord with audiences around the world.

To further his mission of making the world a better place with happy people in fulfilling, rewarding careers, Stephen founded the HAPPY People Project and created the HAPPY Work Life MAP, a framework to help individuals and teams align work and life by design, not by default.

As a seasoned keynote speaker and engaging MC, Stephen has spoken in over 45 countries, delivering impactful talks like:
• Hiring the Right People
• What’s Your Leadership Style?
• What’s The Future of Work?
• Finding Your IDEAL Career

Each session is packed with practical insights, humour, and storytelling that leaves audiences informed, inspired, and ready to act.

Stephen’s upcoming books, Your Future Career (for students and young professionals) and Your Next Career (for career changers), reflect his belief that meaningful work is not a luxury – it’s a necessity for a thriving life.

He is also the creator of the Leadership Profile, a powerful tool for identifying leadership strengths and blind spots, helping individuals and teams understand how they lead, collaborate, and grow.

Outside of work, Stephen has a rare claim to fame – having featured in (the background of!) the Disney+/National Geographic documentary Own The Room, earning him the cheeky LinkedIn tagline: “Disney Princess!”

Whether he’s speaking on stage, advising companies, facilitating family business conversations, or helping individuals navigate life-defining career decisions, Stephen brings clarity, empathy, and strategic thinking to everything he does.