Organisational psychologist Professor John Amaechi OBE is an advisor to FTSE 100 boards and sits on several boards as a member or trustee. He is a Member of the Mayor of London’s AI and Jobs Taskforce, Fellow of the CIPD and the Royal Society for Public Health; and Chartered Scientist for The Science Council.
He has previously sat as a Non-Executive Director for Greencore, and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, been a Member for Sanofi’s Diversity and Inclusion Board, KPMG’s Board for Inclusive Leadership, The Duke of Edinburgh Award, Tesco’s Inclusion Panel, and on London 2012’s Diversity Board.
He founded APS Intelligence in 2007, where he and his team help create effective leaders and authentic and ethical culture. This is what John believes leads to sustainable organisational growth and high performance, while ensuring the dignity and wellbeing of all staff members.
Prior to his business career, he worked as a professional basketball player, becoming the first Brit to reach the peak of the sport, playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, and Houston Rockets.
He is involved with the ABC Foundation in Manchester which encourages children to become involved in sports and their communities by building youth sport centres. The Amaechi Basketball Centre was built not far from John’s childhood home, and is now home to the English Basketball League’s Manchester Magic and Manchester Mystics.
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Professor John Amaechi | Media
Since retiring from basketball, John has become an in-demand media personality, commentating on basketball for British TV shows covering the NBA, and for the BBC during the Olympic Games. He has also appeared on the BBC series The Speaker (2009) and on BBC Radio Manchester and ESPN Radio.
He is a frequent contributor to The Psychologist Magazine, focussing on the intersection of psychological and optimal workplace thriving.
John is the author of several business books, including:
– Man in the Middle (2007)
– The Promises of Giants: How YOU Can Fill the Leadership Void (2021): Sunday Times bestseller and Porchlight Award for Best Leaderhsip and Strategy Book
– It’s Not Magic: The Ordinary Skills of Exceptional Leaders (2025)
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Professor John Amaechi | Speaking Topics
The Promises of Giants: Leadership is a Choice, Not a Title: Every person in the room is already shaping someone’s future, whether they intend to or not. This session challenges leaders to stop waiting for the conditions to be right and start making the choices that define the kind of leader they will be remembered as.
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It’s Not Magic: The Difference Between Forgettable and Indelible Leadership Isn’t Talent: The leaders who leave a lasting mark are not exceptional because of who they are. They are exceptional because of what they consistently do, and every behaviour that distinguishes them is learnable, practicable, and available to every leader in the room.
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Unlocking Elite Performance: The Specific Conditions Every High-Performing Team Shares: Underperforming teams are rarely short of talent. They are short of the specific conditions that allow talent to translate into results. Drawing on elite sport psychology and sixteen years of organisational practice, this session shows leaders exactly what those conditions are and how to build them.
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Leading Through Permanent Disruption: Why the Most Dangerous Thing a Leader Can Do Right Now is Lead the Way They Always Have: AI transformation, geopolitical instability, shifting workforce expectations, and relentless organisational change have fundamentally altered the conditions in which leaders operate. This session gives leaders the frameworks and practical tools to make sharp decisions, build resilient teams, and sustain high performance when the ground will not stop moving.
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The Future is Human: Why the Organisations Getting AI Right Are the Ones Investing Hardest in Their People: Technology amplifies the habits and unacknowledged norms of the organisations it lands in. This session gives leaders the practical actions to integrate AI on a human scale, avoid scaling flaws it would otherwise expose, and maintain performance while the work is being rewritten.
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To check fees and availability for Professor John Amaechi OBE, contact Great Business Speakers on 0044 (0)1753 439289
