Global Speech Academy

HEATHER HANSEN is an award-winning author and speaker in the field of global communication. As Founder of Singapore-based Global Speech Academy, and with over 20 years international experience, she helps multicultural and multilingual teams ensure that every voice is heard and belongs. She fights against microinequities related to language and accent in international teams, and helps companies build an UNMUTED communication culture that fosters inclusivity and innovation. 

As one of the world’s only practitioners focused on accent bias and linguistic exclusion, Heather runs agency-wide accent bias training for NASA and is an External Expert in Communication for NUS Business School. Heather has been named to the Thinkers50 Radar 2024 Class as an up-and-coming thinker expected to make an important impact on management thinking in the future. She is currently working on her PhD in Linguistics at NTU Singapore while also finishing her next book, a handbook for DEI professionals on how to mitigate accent bias (the first book on the subject - coming in Oct 2025). 

Heather’s award-winning book, “Unmuted: How to show up, speak up and inspire action” (2022) outlines her framework for successful global communication within multinational organizations. She’s also the author/contributing author to 4 earlier books.