Ban Ki-moon was the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations, serving two consecutive terms from 2007 to 2016.
Former president of Ireland Mary Robinson and editor-at-large of Wired UK David Rowan will also join TFWA president Erik Juul-Mortensen on stage at the show.
TFWA president Erik Juul-Mortensen, said: “This year’s TFWA World Exhibition & Conference speakers are especially well placed to explain the forces that will shape our industry and landscape in the future.
“In the year of our 70th anniversary, it is more important than ever that we celebrate our history, but also equip ourselves for the challenges of the years and decades to come.”
The conference, running from 1-6 October 2017, will be opened by Juul-Mortensen with his annual State of the Industry address and will be moderated by Stephen Sackur, journalist and presenter of current affairs programme HARDTalk on BBC World.