High-performance speakers bring a unique blend of expertise, motivational strategies, and dynamic delivery to captivate your audience and memorably convey key messages. They can spark innovation, reinforce company goals, and provide actionable insights tailored to your industry. Sharing powerful stories and proven strategies empowers employees to embrace change, boost productivity, and foster a positive organisational culture. Investing in a skilled speaker transforms your event into a catalyst for growth and success.
Hiring a high-performance speaker through us at Great Business Speakers can elevate your event by delivering transformative insights and actionable strategies that drive excellence in individual and organisational performance. Our speakers are experts in unlocking potential, fostering resilience, and inspiring innovation, offering audiences practical tools to achieve sustained success. Whether in-person or virtual, a high-performance speaker energises the room and leaves a lasting impact, empowering attendees to exceed their limits and contribute to a culture of success.
Discover our High-Performance Speakers below, or contact the team at Great Business Speakers to enquire or book. +44 1753 439 289
Sir Clive Woodward is the World Cup winning Head Coach who led England’s rugby players to World Cup glory in Australia in 2003.
A former England International and British & Irish Lion himself, during Clive’s tenure as Head Coach England moved from 6th in the world to being the number one ranked team, winning every trophy an England team can win.
Sir Anthony McCoy OBE, commonly knowns as AP McCoy, is famed as the greatest jump jockey of all time and one of the world’s highest profile sporting personalities, winning almost every big race there is to win.
Recording 4,357 race wins during his career, Sir Anthony is remembered for his success in the 2010 Grand National, the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase & King George VI Chase. Sir Anthony dominated his sport for over two decades before retiring from riding in 2015.
All this while suffering 20 chipped teeth & facial injuries, Broken Cheekbones, Broken both shoulder blades, Broken Vertebrae, Broken Arm, Dislocated Thumb, Dislocated collarbone, Punctured Lungs (Twice), Broken Ribs (Twice), Broken Wrist, Broken Leg and Broken Ankle.
Following his retirement, Sir Anthony took to the radio as a pundit on BBC Radio 5 Live and as a co-presenter on Channel 4 but since 2017 has been part of the ITV racing team covering all big horse racing events.
Tech pioneer and endurance runner, Simon Wheatcroft, refuses to let blindness hold him back. Whether he is competing in ultra-marathons, climbing mountains or going about his day to day life, he combines the use of technology and his fundamental belief and trust in his own abilities and body to overcome what many would consider insurmountable barriers and achieve his goals.
Simon’s unique blend of ferocious drive, along with his background in technology and psychology, enables him to push the boundaries of possibility and challenge the audience to explore what they can achieve.
Simon Hazeldine is best-selling author, and a sales and negotiation expert.
A hard-hitting speaker who will give your people a wake-up call that they will never forget! Through his powerful speeches and seminars, Simon inspires and enables exceptional performance. His powerful, practical and proven strategies will drive and deliver improved bottom line results.
He is the bestselling author of five books that have been endorsed by a host of business leaders including multi-billionaire business legend Michael Dell. He has a Master’s Degree in Psychology and is a Fellow of the Institute of Sales & Marketing Management.
An Oxford-trained lawyer, Roz Savage spent the first eleven years of her career working as a management consultant, braving nothing more intrepid than rush hour on the London Underground before an environmental epiphany led to a radical personal transformation into a world-class adventurer.
During the seven years of her ocean rowing career, Roz Savage had more chance than most to explore the far horizons of courage. Spending up to five months alone at sea on a 23-foot rowboat, thousands of miles from land and humanity, at the mercy of winds, waves and currents, she evolved from a nervous novice adventurer into the world’s foremost female ocean rower, having rowed – solo – across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
While crossing those 15,000 miles of the ocean she had to redefine her comfort zone on a daily basis and reach deep into her inner sources of strength, self-discipline, and commitment to her goal.
Roz Savage discovered the vital importance of keeping a cool head in life-endangering situations, to optimise her capacity for smart decision-making, accurate risk assessment and creative problem-solving.
In 2024, she was elected a Liberal Democrat MP for the new South Cotswolds constituency.
Rosalyn Palmer is an award-winning transformational coach and therapist combining clinical hypnotherapy, Rapid Transformational Therapy and NLP-based coaching to create deep change.
She is also an acclaimed author with a remarkable ability to inspire positive change and foster wellbeing.
Rosalyn Palmer has a wellbeing column in local newspaper The Newark Advertiser and was formerly the wellbeing expert on radio show Girls Around Town – a weekly radio programme billed as Radio Newark’s answer to Loose Women, providing news, gossip, opinions, and interviews; made by women, for women, as well as the host of the Monkey Business podcast, exploring the mindset secrets of top business leaders.
She is also the award-winning self-help author of Reset! A Blueprint for a Better Life (2018), and contributor to Ignite Your Life For Women (2019), Ignite Your Female Leadership (2019), and Ignite For Female Changemakers (2020).
Also known as The Corporate Philosopher, Roger Steare is a keynote speaker, published author, and expert on leadership, development, culture, ethics, and diversity, inclusion, and equality.
Over a career spanning 45 years, 26 of those within his own business, he has worked closely with CEOs, leadership teams, and colleagues to help navigate multi-billion-dollar ethical challenges and opportunities.
He has worked with regulators, governments, and professional bodies, including the CIPD, SWP, FCA, FRC, ICAEW, IIA, and IOSCO. He has also drawn on a range of peer-reviewed research in philosophy, psychology, religion, science, popular culture, professional integrity, and organisational culture to develop an approach that can transform individuals, teams, and organisations in just a few months.
Richard Gerver came to prominence when, as a headteacher, he turned around a failing school in the UK in under two years and is now one of the most influential experts on change and human leadership, helping those struggling with uncertainty and change caused by rapid and dramatic shifts in technological, economic, political, health and environmental developments.
Now a prominent expert in the industry, Richard has been named the UK Business Speaker of the Year at least three times, contributes courses to LinkedIn Learning, and has published several books on key themes to great acclaim.
His compelling insights into the nature of leadership, adaptability, and innovation have earned him standing ovations on the world’s most respected stages, including TED, the RSA, and BBC Radio. He works with organisations at the forefront of global innovation and excellence including Visa, Microsoft, Deloitte, Google, TUI and Morgan Stanley and has worked with some of the world’s most iconic retail organisations including Harrods in London.
From his years building up a failing school to working alongside Google and Microsoft, Richard has a rare ability to connect his experiences to each client. His speeches are informative, humorous and entertaining, with delegates inspired to expand their own thinking and increase their potential.
Ralf Schumacher is a former racing driver from Germany and younger brother of Michael Schumacher, the seven-times Formula One World Champion. Ralf and Michael Schumacher are the only siblings to each win Formula One races.
Ralf first drove in Formula One with Jordan Grand Prix for the 1997 season, winning his first Grand Prix in 2001. In a racing career that lasted 11 years, Ralf drove for Jordan, Williams and Toyota teams wining a total of six grand prix races.
After leaving Formula One, Ralf joined the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) in 2008 and later retired from motorsport at the end of 2012 to enter a managerial role within DTM, mentoring young drivers.
After his retirement from racing, Ralf went on to become a commentator for Sky Sports Germany, open a restaurant and make his own wine brand.
A celebrated authority in brand management and innovation, Rafe Offer has held senior positions with the some of the world’s largest companies.
As Global Marketing Director for Disney, he pioneered the now infamous “having fun never goes out of style” campaign and, during his tenure, Disney’s sales of adult merchandise grew from $50m to $800m.
Following a further highly successful spell as Global Marketing Director at Coca Cola, where he was responsible for a staggering $1.2 billion of global sales, he was appointed Director of Innovation at Diageo.
Tasked with creating their entrepreneurial business unit, his core responsibility lay in finding new revenue sources while strengthening the core drinks business and brands.
R. Michael Anderson’s unique combination of real-life experience of founding, scaling and exiting three software enterprises, matched with his masters degree in psychology, is the reason he’s trained leaders at some of the most successful companies in the world including Microsoft, PwC and Salesforce.
In addition, he’s authored a number of best-selling leadership books, contributes to entrepreneur.com and was once named Social Entrepreneur of the Year.
His popular book Leading the Next Normal: A Guide to Building an Engaged, Resilient and Agile Virtual Workforce (2021) teaches managers and executives how to successfully navigate the chaotic world we currently live in.
Given he’s 6′ 8″ tall, you can’t possibly miss Michael, and it also explains why, in a former life, he was a professional basketball player!
Phil Jones MBE is Managing Director of Brother UK, an Information, Communication and Technology business supplying products and services to hundreds of thousands of UK enterprises.
Starting as a fax salesperson at Brother UK in 1994, he worked his way up through the business to be appointed its leader in 2013. What makes him unique is that he is leading a large business and can share relevant insights for B2B audiences based on the very latest insights and experiences as a leader.
Appearing at over fifty business conferences, sharing his views around Leadership, Effective Thinking, The Winning Patterns of Successful people and Workplace Culture, he describes himself as a ‘practivational’ speaker, keen to provide practical insights and actionable outcomes for a keynote audience or as MC for a conference.
Awarded an MBE in the June 2016 Birthday Honours List for Services to Business, he is a fellow of the IoD and a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, among a list of other business accolades.
Phil Holdcroft is a former combat pilot whose 20-year career saw him dodge bullets on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan and extend to executive senior leadership of Defence, shaping Britain’s future on the global stage.
With an inspiring story like no other, Phil Holdcroft triumphed over adversity in every chapter of his remarkable life. He has made it his mission to share his powerful and transformative lessons, equipping others with the knowledge, skills, and mindset to achieve extraordinary results.
Phil is committed to pushing the limits of what is possible; he has tested his mind and body through record-breaking feats, as an elite endurance athlete and extreme adventurer, including rowing unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean.
The most daunting challenges have been thrown at him by life itself. Phil talks openly about ‘unravelling’ when his youngest daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia. An event he describes as “more harrowing than the terrors of battle or the fiercest of ocean storms”.
Perry McCarthy is quite simply unique. He is an ex-Formula One driver, a bestselling author, and he was the original secret racing driver from BBC’s Top Gear – The Stig.
He is now a popular keynote speaker, and has carried out over 1,500 appearances, combining his famous sense of humour with his experiences in motor sport.
His attitude and his story has been inspirational; the 1996 F1 World Champion Damon Hill once said of Perry, “I have constant admiration for how he turns a no hope situation in to some sort of triumph”.
International motivational speaker Penny Mallory is an expert in psychological performance and works within, and alongside, world-class teams to overcome obstacles and improve their performances.
Her experience ranges from world championship rally drivers to young offenders, and focusses on improving their mental performance, orchestrating change and building outstanding individuals and teams.
She works with organisations, teams (including Formula 1) and individuals on mental performance and also hosts development programmes and workshops. Penny was also the first woman in the world to compete in a world rally car – the Formula 1 of rallying.
Penny is an inspirational motivational speaker thanks to her life and career experiences and her ability to make the impossible seem possible.
Paul Adamson is a visionary business leader, entrepreneur, and keynote speaker who transformed his love for the seas into a remarkable business journey.
Following his career as a professional sailor, Paul began his remarkable transformation by becoming a pivotal figure in the revival of Oyster Yachts, an iconic British luxury yacht manufacturer. Faced with administration, he led the business into a period of exceptional growth, securing £185 million of new sales, despite the challenges of a global pandemic. This growth put Oyster Yachts back on the map and secured the business for the long term.
Paul’s expertise extends beyond the marine industry. He has supported a number of global businesses develop transformative change and performance programs, with clients including Valeo Foods Group, The Shed Distillery and Henri Lloyd.
In 2022, Paul Adamson’s life journey took an unexpected detour with the diagnosis of Follicular Lymphoma, an incurable blood cancer. The diagnosis, while a test of his fortitude, did not hold him back in any way. Demonstrating resilience, leadership skills and optimism, Paul bravely faced the challenge and is now in remission.
“Paolo Taticchi is one of the best strategists in Europe” – Jan Muhlfeit Ret. Chairman, Microsoft Europe
Paolo Taticchi is a Professor in Strategy and Sustainability, and School Deputy Director (MBA, Global Engagement, Executive Education) at UCL School of Management.
Paolo’s research on corporate sustainability and performance measurement is internationally recognised. To date he has written five business books, such as Disruption and Sustainable Transformation Strategy.
Paolo Taticchi has significant consultancy experience in the fields of strategy, education, and sustainability. He has worked in this capacity for firms of various sizes, and in a range of different industries. Today, he advises (or serves in the advisory board of) influential organisations and is one of the scientific advisors of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition in Italy.
Nick Saunders is a motivational keynote speaker and training consultant with a 25 year track record of experience. He’s been lucky enough to have a career doing what he loves – helping many, many people enjoy what they do a little more by giving them the tools to make their working lives (and home lives) more productive and gratifying.
This includes helping improve relationships in all sorts of organisations, in all sorts of industries, in all sorts of countries – including the corporate/business sector, many charities and not-for profit organisations and in education (from numerous primary schools to Oxford University).
Nick Fry is the Former CEO and co-owner of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 and was responsible for building the teams that won the 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 F1 Drivers and Constructors Championships.
Nick Fry played a key role in one the most remarkable success stories in world motorsport when, together with Ross Brawn, he bought the Honda Formula One team for £1.00 in a management buyout.
Against all odds, they then won the 2009 drivers’ and constructors’ world championships under the Brawn GP banner with Jenson Button at the wheel.
Nathalie Nahai’s expertise in human behaviour, web design, and the arts provides a distinctive perspective for analysing the intricate contemporary challenges.
Her highly successful publication, Webs Of Influence: The Psychology of Online Persuasion, has become the authoritative guide for both corporate leaders and educational institutions. Her latest work, Business Unusual: Values, Uncertainty, and the Psychology of Brand Resilience, has been hailed as a fundamental text in the field of business.
Serving as a behavioural science advisor and the host of The Hive Podcast, Nathalie assists notable clients such as Google, Accenture, Unilever, and Harvard Business Review in conscientiously employing behavioral science principles to amplify their business strategies.
Double Formula One World Champion Mika Hakkinen scored back-to-back titles in 1998 and 1999 as lead driver for the all-conquering McLaren-Mercedes Benz team, achieving unprecedented success in a career almost ended by a serious accident crash at the Australian Grand Prix in 1995.
With 20 Formula One race victories and 51 top-three podium finishes to his credit, he ranks among the most successful drivers of all time and is widely regarded as one of the fastest drivers of the modern era.
He remains a much-admired member of the McLaren Formula 1 team, is an official ambassador of the Formula 1 World Championship and is a familiar face to fans in Europe through his broadcasting work on Viaplay.
Today Mika is a globally sought-after keynote speaker able to inspire audiences with real-world lessons gained from his Formula One career.
Michael McGrath made history in 2004 by becoming the first disabled person to lead expeditions to both the north and south poles – what makes this achievement all the more remarkable is that in 1984, aged just 18yrs, Michael was diagnosed with the muscle wasting disease muscular dystrophy (MD).
The journey gave rise to a new life plan, inspiring Michael to embark on a career as an internationally recognised motivational business speaker. He has built an enviable list of clients, providing carefully tailored speeches for organisations including HMRC, PwC, Shell, Hilton Hotels and the NHS.
Leadership, courage, and trust combined with resolute self-belief, confidence, teamwork and a singularly focused obsession towards achieving desired outcomes were critical success factors – Michael McGrath draws on these experiences, giving wider business and life lessons.
Michael was made an MBE in the King’s first Birthday Honours List in 2023.
Matthew Syed is one of the world’s most influential thinkers in the field of high performance and cultural change. He is an author and highly acclaimed speaker in the field of high performance.
He has written six best-selling books on the subject of mindset and high performance – Bounce, Black Box Thinking, Rebel Ideas, The Greatest, and his celebrated children’s books, You Are Awesome and The You Are Awesome Journal – and has worked with many leading organisations to build a mindset of continuous improvement.
He is also a multi-award-winning journalist for The Times and a regular contributor to television and radio.
Matt Sims is a presenter, host, speaker, coach, consultant, and transformation leader, with a proven track record of engaging and inspiring audiences. His immense passion for continuous improvement, and his diverse skill set make him the ideal choice to elevate your event.
With a career spanning over 20 years, Matt Sims has worked with some of the world’s largest organisations including Amazon and The Royal mail to educate and inspire their employees.
