Paralympics
Lord Chris Holmes was already a pretty good swimmer and was already hoping to represent his country. But at age 14, he suddenly went blind overnight due to the disorder Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy. Not wanting this to hinder his swimming opportunities, he joined a club in Birmingham, participating in the same training as sighted swimmers.
He ended up swimming for the
GB team for 17 years and was the captain for five of them. He swam at the 1988 Seoul, 1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta, and 2000 Sydney games. He is now regarded as one of the UK’s greatest paralympic swimmers, with nine gold, five silver, and one bronze medal, as well as 10 European records, 12 GB records, and seven world records.
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Post-Swimming Career
After retiring from competitive swimming, Chris worked as a journalist before switching to commercial law, specialising in employment, commercial and pension advice.
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The London Olympics
In 2009, he was appointed the Director of Paralympic Integration for the London 2012 games. Growing on his years of first-hand experience, he produced the first Paralympic games to sell out every single session, the first to achieve an audience in the hundreds of millions, and the first to have all sponsors sign for the Olympics and the Paralympics.
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Charity and Ambassadorial Work
He has over two decades of experience in board roles for the Disability Rights Commission, UK Sport, UK Sports Institute, UK Sport Awards, Audit and Risk Committee, and Channel 4. He has also been a special advisor on diversity and inclusion to the civil service and is a Chancellor at BPP University.
He is passionate about helping others and is the patron or supporter of charities, including Guide Dogs, Help for Heroes, the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust.
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The House of Lords and STEM Technology
In 2013, Chris was named a life peer and took the title Baron Holmes of Richmond. He is an active member of the Lords, focussing on the impact of digital technology on society, employment, culture, education, media, sport, science, diversity and inclusion, disability, finance, emerging technology trends, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and technology regulation.
Throughout his political career, he has sat on select committees for Digital Skills, Social Mobility, Financial Exclusion, Artificial Intelligence, Intergenerational Fairness and Provision, Democracy and Digital Technologies, and Science and Technology.
He has also sat as the co-chair of the parliamentary groups on topics including AI, Blockchain, Assistive Technology, Fintech and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Chris works with the House of Lords project, The Peers in Schools Programme. He undertakes many school visits to talk about the work of the House of Lords and to get more younger people involved in their work.
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Keynote Speaker
Chris’ experience, enthusiasm, and fascinating anecdotes make him a popular speaker for any keynote, after-dinner, conference, panel, or interview event.
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Speaking Topics
- Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion
- AI, Chat GPT, and Technology
- Innovation
- The Future of Work
- Work Post-Covid
- Humanity and Technology
- The Metaverse
- Blockchain
- Cybersecurity
- Overcoming Adversity
- Leadership and Team Building
- The Winning Mentality
- Crisis Management
- Succeeding as a Brand
- Environment/Sustainability
- Communication
- Human Rights
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Keynote Talks
- Being the Leader of My Own Life
- Vulnerability as Standard
- Decisions as an Inclusive Process
- Thinking Differently, Delivering Decisively
- Working with the ‘Co-Bots’
- Making Hybrid Working Work for Everyone
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To check fees and availability for Lord Chris Holmes, contact Great Business Speakers on 0044 (0)1753 439289
