Speaker
Our past reveals what our future hides.
Forward thinking, grounded in the past
What drives people to keep going where others stop? This question has fascinated Corjan Mol for years. He searches for answers in history. As a researcher, author and television presenter, he unravels historical mysteries and the stories of explorers and pioneers. Not as dusty history, but as a blueprint for today.
People in the past achieved things we can barely imagine, with means we would call primitive. But primitive does not exist. There was only a different time, different context, different knowledge. Yet human ingenuity knew no bounds. It led to achievements that still puzzle us, still amaze us. Corjan digs into those stories and extracts what matters now.
He applies these insights to his own work. As co-owner of a consultancy startup, he helped build the firm into an organisation with over 1,100 employees and revenues exceeding 100 million euros. At the same time, he kept digging into historical mysteries. Literally and figuratively. It earned him a permanent role on The Curse of Oak Island, the longest-running treasure hunting series in the world, with tens of millions of viewers across 79 countries. And a bestselling book with Watkins-Penguin Random House.
Entrepreneur & Researcher
From January 2026, Corjan presents Streets of the Past. A new series that brings historical streets back to life using artificial intelligence. He searches for the stories, events and people that shaped the Netherlands. Television at the intersection of technology and heritage, exactly where his interests meet. This combination of hands-on entrepreneurship, deep historical research and innovation makes his perspective rare. He knows the boardroom and the archive. The data and the story.
By mastering both the old and the new reality, he reveals perspectives that are typically invisible.
On stage, Corjan takes his audience on a journey. He introduces them to pioneers who still influence our daily lives: prehistoric astronomers, medieval multinationals, revolutionary thinkers. How is a modern robot different from Marie-Antoinette's automaton, which played her favorite song in 1784? Corjan shows how curiosity, perseverance and the drive for independence made the world larger for centuries. These qualities still make the difference. Between standing still and moving forward. Between winning and losing.
Ingredients for growth
His talks are not history lessons. They are a mirror. A treasure chest full of ideas. Corjan reveals how patterns from the past resurface in today's challenges: dealing with uncertainty, deciding with incomplete information, improvising, convincing people to embrace change. He speaks for companies struggling with transformation. For organisations seeking to drive innovation. For anyone who believes you move forward by pausing to look back when you are in a hurry.
Speaking Topics
Corjan delivers keynotes and speaks at conferences, leadership events, and cultural programs. Each talk pairs memorable stories with real-world insight, creating lasting shifts in perspective.
TERRA INCOGNITA
Beyond the edges of the map, where certainty ends and imagination begins.
From Columbus to AI, historical lessons in leadership when no one knows the way.
ORDO IMPERIUM
Inside the boardroom of the Knights Templar and the Vatican.
On the rise of the first multinational organizations, the origins of our financial system and communicating secrets.
OPERA PERFECTA
From Versailles to Philadelphia. Power to the People.
How the world's most powerful autocrat helped found the world's biggest democracy.
Would you like to hear a great story?
Every event is different. Let's discuss how history can inspire your audience.
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