These speakers bring valuable insights from their respective fields, where success demands strategic thinking, teamwork, resilience, and the ability to navigate high-pressure situations.
Drawing from real-life experiences, they provide compelling lessons on overcoming challenges, adapting to change, and performing under pressure, making their insights highly relevant to the business landscape. Their storytelling captivates audiences, turning abstract concepts like discipline, adaptability, and perseverance into actionable takeaways.
Whether athletes and adventurers share their endurance strategies or military speakers emphasize leadership and resilience, these perspectives offer fresh approaches to teamwork, trust, and communication in achieving shared goals. Their stories of triumph over adversity inspire employees to adopt a growth mindset and approach challenges with determination.
Sports speakers’ passion and energy are contagious, leaving a lasting impact on audiences. Their credibility, forged through extraordinary achievements, ensures their messages resonate deeply. Whether focusing on innovation, leadership, or perseverance, these speakers can align with your company’s values and energize your workforce, fostering greater engagement, productivity, and a shared sense of purpose.
Discover our expert Sports, Military and Adventurer below, or contact the team at Great Business Speakers to enquire or book. +44 1753 439 289
Gary Prout is an army veteran from Northern Ireland who completed a tour in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan. He now works as a consultant at Cleartrack, an agency working on human performance.
He received a Conspicuous Gallantry Cross in 2010 after he risked his life to save another soldier during a Taliban ambush on his second tour of Afghanistan.
Gary shares the inspiring and motivational rollercoaster of his military career, from the high of receiving the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (one award below the Victoria Cross) to lows of suffering both a career and life changing injury.
Remarkably through the low of his injury, Gary achieved another highlight of captaining the UK Armed Forces Archery team at the 2014 Invictus Games.
Frank Bruno MBE is one of the most recognised figures in British sport and popular culture. A former WBC World Heavyweight Champion and passionate mental health advocate, Frank’s life story has inspired millions both inside and outside the ring.
Over the course of his career, Frank competed in 45 professional bouts, achieving 40 wins—38 of which came by knockout. His explosive style and unshakeable determination earned him widespread admiration and frequent TV appearances, where his good-natured humour and likeable personality made him a household name.
In 2003, Frank bravely shared his diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, using his platform to bring mental health into the national conversation. He has since dedicated himself to raising awareness and supporting those experiencing similar challenges.
Frank Bruno is currently focused on mental health advocacy and his foundation, The Frank Bruno Foundation.
A legendary female British Olympian who really doesn’t need much of an introduction, Dame Kelly Holmes once set the British records in the 600m, 800m, and 1,000m – achievements that have only recently been surpassed.
She is an Olympic, World, Commonwealth, and European multi-medallist. After winning gold in the 800m and 1,500m at the 2004 Athens Olympics, she won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, European Athlete of the Year, World Athlete of the Year, and was honoured with a Damehood by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
During Pride Month in 2022, Kelly shared her “relief at coming out as gay.”
She is one of the most popular and sought-after speakers on the circuit, with speaking topics including athletics and mental health. Dame Kelly Holmes has motivated audiences across the world.
Chris Cook is an ex Double Olympian & Double Commonwealth swimming champion having completed globally at international level.
He is a former BBC North East Sports Personality of the Year.
Chris is an accomplished motivational business and educational speaker with his keynote talk ‘Two Lengths’.
Chris Brindley MBE is a prominent UK Business Leader, Chair AT MCRactive and Zellar Limited, and Non-Executive Director (NED) at companies including Four Recruitment, Her Spirit, Equilibrium Asset Management, and Goodson Thomas. He is also an Elite Sports Business Mentor for The Premier League, Leadership Coach for Metro Bank, and a Trustee of Switch the Play Foundation.
He is the former Chair and NED of the Rugby Lead World Cup 2021 Board, Chair of GreaterSport Manchester and Sporting House, a Non-Executive at Rugby Football League, Super League, Move With Peppa, Rapport, and Manchester Football Association, and former Executive of British Gas, Metro Bank, and NatWest.
A leading authority on sales management, employee engagement and satisfaction, and customer experience, Chris holds Non-Executive Director positions at multiple organisations, and has been awarded UK Non-Executive Director (NED) of the Year, Most Outstanding Employer, and Britain’s Best Boss.
He has studied for a range of topics including strategic retail management at Manchester Business School, performance management, and executive coaching at Hult Ashridge, customer experience at Duke University, managing strategic risk at The Wharton School, managing for value creation at INSEAD, and executive leadership from the prestigious Harvard Business School.
Having originally trained as a carpenter, nobody outside of the sport of cycling would have known who Chris Boardman was until 1992, when he took Great Britain’s opening Gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics astride the infamous Lotus bike. Incredibly it was Britain’s first cycling Gold medal in 72 years.
The iconic image of the Lotus machine and pointy helmet made the name of Chris Boardman synonymous with cutting edge technology. It was a fascination with innovation and performance that has featured in nearly every aspect of his life since.
Eddie the Eagle Edwards is an English ski jumper and Olympian who in 1988 became the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping.
Eddie’s journey from working as a plasterer in Cheltenham to the slopes of Calgary in 1988 is a classic story of the underdog and an illustration of what can be achieved when following one’s dream.
With limited resources, second-hand equipment, and little formal support, he defied convention and captured the hearts of millions worldwide.
Eddie the Eagle finished last in both the 70m and 90m events at the Olympics but he became a legend for his fearless determination. His brave performance has been watched millions of times.
More than three decades later, Eddie is still in the public eye with films, books, and media appearances, with Eddie a popular motivational speaker.
Kriss Akabusi MBE is an engaging, inspiring and transformational speaker, ideal for keynotes, endnotes, and award ceremonies.
Kriss will focus on topics such as goal-setting, teamwork, living in the moment, how to manage transitions and how to deliver peak performance.
Through discussions with your team during pre-event briefings, Kriss will tailor his speech to deliver on your key messages.
From his early years as a club rugby player for seven years as the England Rugby 7s coach, Ben Ryan then took a job coaching the Fiji Rugby 7s team. He is also the Director of Elite Performance for Brentford FC.
He is now one of the most in-demand leadership speakers on the circuit. He provides tools and messages that are applicable to any organisations. He provides essential factors for establishing and sustaining the right environment to cultivate success, as well as the need to align vision and values with courageous conversations.
Organisations and audiences around the world want to hear from the man who is fast achieving legendary status as one of the greatest coaches of his generation.
Ben Alldis is one of the UK’s most popular Peloton instructors with nearly 300k followers on Instagram. Formerly a finance professional in the City of London, Ben pivoted his career and followed his dream of healthy living to become a superstar in his field.
Having drastically expanded his own envelope, he is able to relate directly to people who feel the need to get motivated and expand their own life outside of their comfort zone.
He is available both in-person and for virtual engagements and fireside chats.
Former Blue Peter presenter Ayo Akinwolere is a BBC journalist, presenter, speaker, and multiple BAFTA nominee and RTS Award winner.
He also has his own production company – Milk First Productions – which he founded in late 2020 and has since released the documentaries Yorkshire Cop: Police Racism and Me (2021), and Wolf on the High Street (2021).
Ayo spent five years presenting Blue Peter, from 2006-2011, and was always up for a challenge, no matter how dangerous. This included bungee jumping from a helicopter at 11,000 feet and completing the deepest open water swim at the time.
With such an established presence on our screens, Ayo has become a popular choice to host private and corporate events and conferences. With his extensive experience and endless enthusiasm, Ayo is a safe pair of hands for event organisers.
Katie Bulmer Cooke is a professional speaker and young entrepreneur with vast experience in delivering to the health and fitness industry and business arena. She has a unique ability to inspire SME’s, students and employees with her down-to-earth style and usable business takeaways.
If you want humour, truly useable content and a fresh and motivating experience, then you need to look no further.
Fitness entrepreneur Katie, began her journey in the world of business at the age of 16, setting up exercise classes in her hometown of Sunderland. Fast forward 14 years and Katie is now selling her fitness DVDs and online training programmes in the 11 countries across the world, as well as educating her fellow fitness professionals on how they can grow their businesses and developing new group fitness concepts for leisure trusts, councils and the private sector.
Austin Healey is one of the most recognisable and popular English rugby players in the modern era. He played full-back for Leicester Tigers, earning himself 237 caps, won 51 caps for England and toured with the Lions in 1997 and 2001. For his country, Austin covered all positions from scrum half, fly-half, fullback and wing, and was as famous for his attitude as well as his skill, gaining the nickname ‘The Leicester Lip’.
Since retiring from playing rugby, Austin Healey has become a familiar face on television and radio, particularly as a rugby analyst for sporting programmes. Since taking on the role as lead rugby analyst on BT Sport in 2013, he has covered the Aviva Premiership, European Cup and Premiership 7’s matches.
In addition to these rugby roles, he is highly regarded by brands and has collaborated with a number of corporate sponsors including Aviva, Sigma Sports, GOPO Joint Health, BMF, Ladbrokes, Citroen and DHL.
Austin is a favourite amongst rugby fans and business people alike; thanks to his versatility, charismatic wit and passionate nature, Austin is now an extremely sought after rugby speaker across events.
Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent is a record-breaking, award winning adventurer, writer and broadcaster specialising in telling environmental and humanitarian stories from remote parts of the world.
Prior to 2018, Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent worked as a freelance television producer, having worked on BBC’s World’s Most Dangerous Roads, ITV’s Tom Hardy’s Poaching Wars, Joanna Lumley’s India, and Joanna Lumley’s Silk Road Adventure.
Antonia has journeyed to remote parts of the world and shared her travels, including trips to Vietnam, Laos, north-eastern India, Thailand and Russia.
She is a regular contributor to publications including The Telegraph, and The Guardian, and has produced documentaries for Radio 4 on subjects as diverse as snow leopards, the Black Mountains, the Vietnam War, community conservation in Nagaland and traveller communities in the UK.
Referee Karl Dickson is a globally acclaimed figure in the sports industry, known for his roles as a professional Rugby Union referee and a former England and Harlequins player.
The pinnacle of his career came in 2023 when he officiated the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup between Wales and Argentina, before serving as the assistant referee in the final between New Zealand and South Africa.
Karl Dickson is a well-known figure on the speaking circuit, for both keynote and after-dinner speaking on Confidence, Communication, Resilience, and High-Performance.
Anthony Sinclair is the founder and owner of Sign Source, an online tool that reinvents how to learn sign language, and brings deaf awareness in a user-friendly and convenient way.
With a personal journey filled with challenges and triumphs, Anthony brings a unique perspective to his presentations, inspiring audiences to embrace diversity and create a more inclusive society.
Anthony was named the winner of the 2022 Belfast Telegraph Digital/Social Media Award. He often holds an Olympic medal, winning gold in the mixed doubles tennis at the 2007 Deaflympics in Taipei.
Andy McNab DCM MM joined the army in 1976, served in B squadron 22 SAS for nine years and commanded the legendary Bravo Two Zero patrol in the Gulf War.
After a fierce firefight, three of the eight men were killed; four were captured; one escaped. McNab was held prisoner for six weeks and relentlessly tortured.
He was the British Army’s most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS in February 1993. He is the author of Bravo Two Zero, the bestselling war memoir of all time, and ten bestselling novels.
Andy Halliday is a former international hockey player and manager of England and Great Britain men’s hockey teams, as well as a former Specialist Firearms Officer at the Met Police. Andy now applies his skills as a coach, facilitator and keynote speaker.
Andy joined the Metropolitan Police when he was 18 years old. Here he developed his policing skills in a pressurised environment of 1980s London. After an initial period on the beat in Tottenham, he became a riot training instructor for seven years before transferring to the tactical Firearms Unit.
Spending more than three decades in pursuit of best practice in high performance environments, Andy understands what it takes to thrive and succeed, as well as the challenges faced by individuals and organisations from teenagers all the way up to executives in large businesses. Andy has been interviewed on many podcasts, talking about topics including growth mindset, stress reframing, learning from mistakes and his experience managing GB men’s hockey team and 30 years policing in London.
Jonny Wilkinson is a former legend of English rugby who is famous for the drop goal in the final minute of extra time that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He is widely celebrated as one of the best Rugby Union players of all time.
In 2002, Jonny was awarded an MBE for services to Rugby Union. Two years later, he was promoted to an OB,E and then in 2015, he became a CBE.
Since retiring, Jonny has established himself as a sustainability advocate, health and wellbeing ambassador, a coach, business founder and philanthropist. He is also a sought-after public speaker.
As a player, Jonny played club rugby for 12 seasons, while amassing 91 caps at the international level for England. Following his retirement in 2014, Jonny became a popular sports pundit for ITV and Sky Sports, while also launching his own health drink brand No 1 Living.
Darren Hardy is a British Army veteran who reinvented himself as an award-winning athlete, speaker and entrepreneur.
After 15-years in the British Army and with a life-changing tour of Iraq, Darren had an abrupt end to his career when he was discharged on medical grounds. His time in the army left a big mark on him, leaving with a shoulder replacement and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ), an experience that led Darren to feel suicidal.
In 2018, he was ready to end his life but it was his two young daughters that gave him the motivation to change his mind and rebuild his life. With the support of Help4Heroes Darren chose to embark on a personal journey to strengthen his mental and physical resilience.
He went on to become a double gold medallist and Warrior Games record breaker and took on a number of extreme endurance challenges to push himself physically and mentally, attempting ten Ironman triathlons over ten consecutive days, in ten different places.
Jermaine Beckford is a former footballer who played for Bolton, Everton, Leicester City, and Preston, as well as for Jamaica on an international level.
Since retiring from playing, Jermaine has become a regular media analyst and pundit, appearing on Sky Sports, Sky Sports News, and the Premier League channel.
More recently Jermaine and his wife Laura founded Supernova Living, a plant-based health business.
