Carl Gough ✨

Founder | Philanthropist | CEO | Enabling Executives to Create Impact through Technology Partnerships & Philanthropy

I’m the Founder & CEO of meetmagic.

We’re building a new category, the Purpose-Led Meeting Economy, because too many meetings waste time, erode trust, and create noise.

meetmagic exists to fix that.

We create carefully matched, senior conversations where trust, relevance, and clarity align so leaders experience time well spent without self-promotion, unnecessary follow-ups, or wasted meetings.

My story didn’t start in boardrooms.

I grew up on a council estate in Nottingham, UK.
Left school at 15. Left home at 16. Became a father at 19.
By most statistical measures, I shouldn’t be here.

With no qualifications or safety nets I learned by doing. I started in commission-only sales, knocking on doors selling cable TV before earning my way into enterprise technology sales.

After 20 years working with global vendors and senior buyers, one thing became obvious to me

The world rewards noise.
Leaders quietly crave meaning.

So in 2020, during lockdown, I built meetmagic.

Today, meetmagic enables executives to use time, not money, as a force for good. Every high-quality meeting generates measurable social impact while still delivering real commercial outcomes.

So far, the community has
• Donated nearly $2M to charity
• Directed over $1.1M to support 30,000 seriously ill children
• Grown to 3,500+ senior leaders across five countries

What matters most to me is how leaders use it.

Many participate simply because it feels like the right way to meet. Some reference meetmagic in job interviews as proof of values in action, not statements on a slide.

We’re fortunate to be supported by remarkable thinkers and leaders, including Rory Sutherland who serves as our Chief Evangelist.

I didn’t go to university.

I’m a graduate of the only school that mattered to me,  experience.

And we’re just getting started.

Founder

Dreams do come true 

Welcome to the team Sonia Scully 

#meetmagicRAMADAN 

Rory Sutherland Kapisha T. Andrew Matuszczak Greg Cassis Daminda Kumara Pui-Yu Lee Muhammad M. Hend Abdelrahman Maye G. Spencer J. Brendon Pongia Jamie Newman Poleak Sok

As the founder of meetmagic, I am proud to lead the world's first Australian-born "Market Network" that brings together executive decision makers and emerging technology companies to discuss business transformation goals and drive social impact. 

From a technical standpoint we have used AI and machine learning algorithms that enable highly accurate data matching across business executives and various B2B vendors based on several qualitative characteristics and variables, including interests, jobs and roles, behavioural characteristics, working style etc.

Founder & CEO, meetmagic | Building the Purpose-Led Meeting Economy

Just a little update for you 

𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 to announce the “𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲” ramadan campaign with Dubai Cares

These are “𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗔𝗘”

𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗻 https://lnkd.in/eT6Uw4BF
or make a one off donation here https://lnkd.in/gJYauhmm

#meetmagicRamadan

Adrian Hobbs Dean Rowan Spencer J.  Dr. Ali Al Jassim Zubair Ahmed Muhammad M.  Dalal Alsharhan Werno Gevers Karl Crowther Hadi Zakhem

Founder Of The Purpose-Led B2B Meeting Economy | An Exclusive Network For Senior Leaders | Where the World’s Best Minds Meet | اجتمع لتُحدث فرقًا

1 down, 999 more to go!

As many of you know, meetmagic has a partnership for a Ramadan Campaign with Dubai Cares 

For each meetmagic connection, 220 kids get access to a day of life changing education.

On 30th Jan, I'll be on Dubai Eye 103.8 talking about this with Tom Urquhart with the sole aim of convincing 1000 leaders to skip a fancy lunch and instead, have a coffee or iftar via meetmagic. 

Im pretty excited to kick start the campaign with Adrian Hobbs CTO from Core42 who met with one of meetmagic's vendor partners in Dubai yesterday for an open conversation.

Sales leaders are building meaningful relationships with C-suite decision-makers through trusted, purpose-led conversations that create real commercial momentum but more importantly, makes a difference

Thanks Adrian Hobbs, your leadership means a lot to me and the team



Rory Sutherland Dr. Ali Al Jassim Dean Rowan Spencer J. Kapisha T. Pui-Yu Lee Andrew Matuszczak Brendon Pongia Daminda Kumara Sonia Scully Poleak Sok Muhammad M. Maye G. Hend Abdelrahman Zeena Zalamea

4 weeks - a short update from Dubai

“meetmagic has the best meetings in the UAE”

What one meetmagic client has achieved is quietly exceptional. 

In B2B marketing where senior access usually comes wrapped in conference sponsorships and six-month cycles they have secured real conversations with CIOs, CISOs, CFOs, and GMs in weeks with a 100% success rate and zero cancellations. 

That combination of speed, relevance and seniority at this price point is not normal. 

It’s a market inefficiency and they have benefited from it early. 

Thats why we cap membership to ensure quality

On top of that, they have created a social impact to be proud of 

Incredible,

well done Kapisha T. and team - incredible work

No negativity 

That’s it 

That’s #dubai 

#meetmagicRAMADAN

If we can convince just 1000 leaders to skip a fancy lunch and have just one #meetmagicRAMADAN meeting

220,000 kids on the verge of having no future, will get an education that might just change their lives.

Who doesn't want to do that?

Dubai Cares

Regiseter here https://lnkd.in/eT6Uw4BF

Dubai Cares

Mike Phillips

4 weeks and 8 days in Dubai and im 100% convinced I've found my perfect match. Like my ADHD brain, this place never switches off and I love it. !

I've met SVP's from 5 global vendors who all are looking for something new b because the events and roundtable space has been done to death. 

Dont get me wrong, events here are seriously world class and the vendors have to be present but they all say the same thing.

  1. Taking top performers out of the field to scan badges has to stop.
  2. Roundtables are populated by the same familiar faces, some of them paid to attend.. ! 

Every vendor knows B2B GTM needs re calibrating because 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 $𝟱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲 $𝟭 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗔𝗥𝗥 is definitely not acceptable and is now becoming a focus of the beancounters. 

So what is the answer? 

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 $𝟱 𝗚𝗧𝗠 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 $𝟭 

The great news about the UAE is it's completely open and willing to try new things and I cannot believe how fast it moves.

On Feb 16, Ramadan starts. For the whole of that month, in partnership with Dubai Cares we are encouraging 1000 executives to "𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲"

Already, and this blows me away,  leaders like Zubair Ahmed Adrian Hobbs Muhammad M. Maye G. are opting in to support the campaign which is a great sign that we will be at capacity before ramadan starts. 

𝗦𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸?

Execs and decision makers 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁 and nominate between 1 and 5 slots in their calendar for the month. https://lnkd.in/eT6Uw4BF

Vendors need get approved first and log on to meetmagic to request a connection https://lnkd.in/gHw_F5Wr

For every completed connection over Iftar or video 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝟮𝟮𝟬 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 to receive an education for the day via Dubai Cares. 

Thats the magic of meetmagic & 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁.

Leadership isn’t just about what we achieve 

it’s about what we give.

And this is just a perfect way to help improve the lives of every UAE citizen.

#meetmagicRamadan #MeetBetter

Went for lunch today in DIFC and got a reminder.

Regardless of what your dream is, if you don’t build it - you will be part of someone else’s 

Have a great start to the week

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Head of Digital Product | CX Strategy | Financial Crime | Program Delivery | I help organisations build digital customer journeys with 3x ROI

Being included among the Top 50 leaders in Australia contributing to purpose-led meetings by Meetmagic is something I don’t take lightly.

What Carl Gough ✨  and the meetmagic.org team are building is quietly powerful.

They are proving that business conversations don’t have to end in coffee chats and LinkedIn connections.

They can end in real impact.

So far, those conversations have unlocked $2M+ for charities, simply by connecting the right people, with the right intent.

That’s what purpose looks like when it’s operationalised.

One belief has guided my leadership journey throughout:

“True success is measured by the people you lift along the way.”

If more leaders designed meetings with purpose first, the outcomes would take care of themselves.

👏 to the Meetmagic team for reimagining what modern leadership can look like and I’m looking forward to their success as they launch in UAE.

If you want to read leadership journeys of some absolutely fantastic leaders, you can purchase a copy here: 

https://lnkd.in/gE2K8rCm

Matthew Byrne is one of the smartest minds in business education. 

It was an absolute honour to spend 3 days with him in Dubai - Ironically, the day Australia dropped the Social Media ban, KruGunn Kaewkhwangunn Chantamunee was on stage sharing her very cool co-learning model where parents who want to help their kids, get a chance to use social media as a tool for entrepreneurship, and it works.

Kids as young as 6 making money.

like Mathew points out, I call for a second track, to run alongside the ban. A controlled approach to prove what is possible.

Great work Gun https://fenispace.com/

Visionary award recipient Co-author of the book ‘Mutuality - the future of trust’ | AGSM Adjunct Faculty & Program Director of the General Manager Program

Social media is already part of childhood. The real question is whether we leave young people to figure it out alone — or we teach them to use it with purpose.
In the video, Carl Gough ✨ and I discuss KruGunn Kaewkhwangunn Chantamunee (Founder & CEO, Fen-i Thailand) who shared a refreshingly practical approach: teach children to use social media as a tool for entrepreneurship — building ideas, testing demand, learning storytelling, and creating value (not just chasing attention).
But the most important insight is the one many families feel in their bones:
Parents want to help — they just don’t know how.
So instead of framing this as “kids vs. phones”, KruGunn designs learning experiences where parents learn alongside their children. That co-learning model changes everything:
Parents gain confidence (and a shared language) for the digital world
Children build judgement, creativity, and enterprise skills
Families move from fear → capability → trust
And for Australia, this feels especially timely. With our new under-16 social media account restrictions now in effect, the conversation can’t stop at bans and barriers. We need a second track running in parallel:
✅ digital capability for parents
✅ ethical, supervised social media entrepreneurship for young people
✅ practical education that matches the world kids actually live in
If we want safer outcomes, we need stronger skills — together.
What would a “parents + kids learning social media well” program look like in Australia… and who should lead it?
#DigitalLiteracy #YouthEntrepreneurship #FutureReadySkills #Parenting #EdTech #Thailand #Australia #WomenInLeadership #EducationInnovation #Mutuality #Trust

We are asking 1000 leaders in the UAE to #LeadWithPurpose and become a part of the future story of Dubai.

When 𝗛𝗛 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗸𝗵 𝗠𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗱 𝗔𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗺 talks about contribution, he’s not talking about charity as an afterthought. 

He’s talking about leadership as a civic act.

In the UAE context, success carries an obligation to 𝗮𝗱𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 to the system. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗽𝘆, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆.

* Corporate leaders who only consume eventually lose relevance.
* Those who contribute become part of the regions future story.

Individual leaders are encouraged to give back through leadership, service, and impact.

𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮 meetmagic 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗻.

You will contribute 45 minutes which will raise enough funds to help Dubai Cares help 220 kids get educated for a day. 

One small interaction can unlock a future, 
One collective effort can empower a generation.

Im really excited about this 

Register here to take part during Ramadan https://lnkd.in/eT6Uw4BF

#meetmagicRamadan #dubaicares

If we can convince just 1000 leaders and decision makers to skip a fancy lunch

We can help 220,000 unprivileged children get access to an education and have a better future.

It will only cost you 45 mins

And 220 children get an education to build a better future for themselves

The most important currency we have now, is time 

I’ve seen first hand through founding meetmagic how executives thrive when they “Lead with Purpose” and expand economic, social and development opportunities for all.

I’m inviting the lucky 1000 to give time and put your name to an exclusive history making event https://lnkd.in/eT6Uw4BF

Dubai Cares is a long-term advocate of safeguarding children and young people’s right to eduction

#meetmagicRAMADAN

The meetmagic network with an absolute Rugby legend in it

#meetmagicRAMADAN #B2B #DubaiCares

A quick question to all decision makers for 2026 

Are you going to spend more time or better time?

Spent 5 years trying to work this out and I think finally, we are getting close. It only took me to move country!!.. I guess you cant read the label when you are stuck in the bottle

For all those leaders that are busy, this ones for you.

and we know this works, because we have 5 years of evidence..

Here a short assessment that helps sense-check three things that quietly shape your outcomes 

1. How your time is really being spent.
2. How you’re perceived by your peers.
3. The impact your calendar actually creates.

If it’s useful, I’d be happy to welcome all decision makers into our global leadership community, no charge, no catch. 

Heres a link to get started https://lnkd.in/g-3SiydM

Wishing you a strong start to the year

Open article: Time well spent by partners.meetmagic.org

The reason some meetings are terrible is the same reason free wine tastes worse

When something costs nothing, no one values it — including the people who turned up.

meetmagic simply adds perceived value back.

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