Resilience keynotes for Yanbu’s port and refinery teams
Yanbu is a Red Sea port with a modern industrial city beside it. Paris brings The Grit Code to its plants, colleges and conference halls.
Incense port, industrial city
Yanbu has been a stop on the incense route for some 2,500 years. In 1975 the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu was given the job of building a modern industrial city beside the old port.
The city has three oil refineries, a commercial port and King Fahd Industrial Port. Coral reefs shelter its harbour, and a flower festival is held on the outskirts every year.
Paris has filmed his TV shows in AlUla, hosted the UN Tourism meeting in Riyadh and hosted shows at the Dakar Rally in Qiddiya. Paris has spent 17 years in the Gulf making TV shows that uncover the culture of the Middle East.
Who Paris speaks to in Yanbu
Refinery and petrochemical crews
Resilience for shift, turnaround and HSE teams.
Port and logistics staff
Keynotes on steady performance under pressure.
Yanbu Industrial College
Talks for trainees and young engineers.
Red Sea tourism
Sessions for diving and hospitality teams.
Rooms and stages
Hotels in the Royal Commission district and near the airport host most of Yanbu’s industry meetings and training days.
- Mövenpick Hotel Yanbu – in the Royal Commission district of Yanbu Al Sinaiyah
- Radisson Blu and Novotel – hotel meeting rooms near Yanbu’s airport
Pick the format
Options: keynote, 45 to 60 minutes · workshop, 90 minutes up to half a day · virtual session, 30 to 45 minutes · host or MC for your event. Compare formats →
Endurance you can measure
A marathon on every continent
7 marathons on 7 continents in 5 days, 21 hours and 51 minutes, from Antarctica to Miami via Cape Town, Perth, Dubai, Madrid and Fortaleza.
4,800 km of open ocean
The 2023 Pacific row, which raised more than £150,000 for marine conservation.
Read about the keynote, or see Paris’s page for Jeddah, further down the coast. The Grit Code keynote · Keynote speaker Jeddah
On stage or on screen
Available for in-person events in Yanbu, or virtually in your local time zone.
Organisers in the Middle East typically book speakers one to two months ahead, so an early enquiry gives the best chance of your preferred date.
Talks are given in English; organisers can add Arabic interpretation or bilingual slides.
See also keynote speaker in Saudi Arabia, or browse all keynote speaker locations.
Yanbu’s economy and who the talk is for
Yanbu has a population of about 298,675 (2010 figure, Wikidata), which makes it a substantial market for conferences, leadership events and company gatherings.
Yanbu is the head-office city for organisations such as Yanbu National Petrochemical Company (petrochemical product).
Manufacturing and engineering (Yanbu National Petrochemical Company). Manufacturing and engineering audiences value process. The Grit Code breaks grit into habits that can be practised on a production line or a project site, using the discipline of a 4,800 km ocean row as the example.
Students, graduates and faculty
Yanbu’s universities, including Yanbu University College, make it a strong market for student, graduate and alumni events. Paris speaks to young audiences about effort, setbacks and choosing hard goals, and to faculty about building resilient teams.
Typical formats include welcome weeks, graduation events, entrepreneurship programmes and alumni dinners. University keynote speaker →
How a Grit Code session works
- Each booking begins with a call about the audience and what success looks like after the event.
- The talk turns the 7-marathon challenge and the Pacific row into habits teams can use on Monday morning.
- A virtual version of 30–45 minutes is available for distributed teams.
The content is shaped around Yanbu organisations and their goals, so the room hears examples that match its own challenges. Paris presents as an adventurer and CEO of Blazing Sand Studios, not as a theorist.
Where the talk fits in Yanbu
Organisers in Yanbu usually book Paris for one of these occasions:
- Leadership offsites and strategy days, where senior teams need energy for a hard year ahead.
- Sales kick-offs and annual conferences, where the talk resets ambition and stamina.
- Awards nights and staff celebrations, where Paris can speak or host.
- Graduation, alumni and entrepreneurship events.
Credentials at a glance
- His TV shows have been distributed in 123 countries, and Guy in Dubai has 22 million views.
- Past speaking clients include Nokia, DHL, Kraft Heinz, IHG, Dubai Airports, Expo 2020, COP28 and the UN Tourism General Assembly.
- He ran 7 marathons on 7 continents in 5 days, 21 hours and 51 minutes.
- He is the CEO of Blazing Sand Studios, an AI video production company.
FAQ
Can I book Paris Norriss as a keynote speaker in Yanbu?
Yes. He is available for Yanbu conferences, offsites and leadership events, on site or online.
Does the talk suit refinery and port audiences?
Yes. A briefing call shapes it around shift work, safety and long maintenance programmes.
Can Paris speak to students at the industrial college?
Yes. Shorter, interactive sessions work well for trainees.
Which Yanbu industries is The Grit Code suited to?
The keynote is tailored to each sector. In Yanbu it suits manufacturing and engineering audiences in particular, along with leadership teams, sales kick-offs and all-hands meetings in any industry.
Does Paris speak at universities in Yanbu?
Yes. He speaks to students, graduates and staff, for example at institutions such as Yanbu University College, on grit as a learnable skill.
Is there a workshop option for teams in Yanbu?
Yes. The Grit Deconstruction workshop runs from 90 minutes to half a day and turns the keynote’s ideas into team habits and actions.
Can the keynote be delivered online for teams in Yanbu?
Yes. A 30–45 minute virtual version is available for remote or hybrid audiences, delivered in your local time zone.
Who has Paris spoken for?
Past clients include Nokia, DHL, Kraft Heinz, IHG, Dubai Airports, Expo 2020, COP28 and the UN Tourism General Assembly.
Planning an event in Yanbu?
Tell us about the room and the date. You can also book a call.