Devon Harris

Leaders are asking teams to perform under conditions they were not trained for. Markets shift faster than strategy cycles, pressure compounds, and the people expected to hold the line are the ones most worn down by it. The real tension is not strategy. It is whether the humans executing it can stay composed, keep pushing, and lead others to do the same when the plan breaks.

Devon Harris is a three-time Winter Olympian, former Jamaica Defence Force officer, and founding member of Jamaica’s original bobsled team who works with leadership and sales teams on resilience, composure, and sustained performance under pressure.

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Why organisations work with Devon Harris

  • He has lived the exact scenario most leadership talks only describe. Competing at three Olympics after a crash, rebuilds, and a decade of comebacks is not a story, it is a working model for how teams recover from public failure.
  • His credibility carries two rare sources at once: Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and three Olympic Games. Few speakers can frame resilience from both an officer’s training and an athlete’s start line.
  • His Keep On Pushing Foundation, founded 2006, gives the keynote a real institutional spine. Audiences hear from someone who built something durable outside the sport, not a retired athlete trading on a moment.
  • He is a practised corporate keynote with long-standing Fortune 500 clients across pharma, tech, logistics and industrials. Buyers get a speaker who knows how to land a message in a sales kickoff or a leadership offsite, not a sports story recycled on stage.
  • The Jamaican bobsled story is globally recognised shorthand for underdog execution. He uses it as a working case study in team formation under scrutiny, not as a nostalgia piece.

Biography highlights

  • Three-time Winter Olympian: Calgary 1988, Albertville 1992, Nagano 1998.
  • Founding member of the Jamaica national bobsled team; captain in 1992 and 1998.
  • Graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst; retired as a Captain in the Jamaica Defence Force.
  • Named WOA Olympian for Life at PyeongChang 2018 by the World Olympians Association.
  • Founder, Keep On Pushing Foundation, a US 501(c)(3) supporting education in disadvantaged communities.
  • Author of “Keep On Pushing: Hot Lessons from Cool Runnings” and the children’s book “Yes, I Can! The Story of the Jamaican Bobsled Team.”

Biography

The 1988 Jamaican bobsled team crashed on Olympic ice in Calgary with the world watching. Devon Harris was in that sled. Four years later he was back, as captain. Four after that, he was on the ice again. The story that became Cool Runnings is the entry point, but the working material is what happened between the Games.

Before the sled, there was Sandhurst. Harris graduated from the Royal Military Academy and took a Queen’s Commission in 1985, serving as an officer in the Jamaica Defence Force until he retired as a Captain. That dual formation, British military training layered on a childhood in Kingston’s Olympic Gardens, is where his view of composure under pressure comes from. It is also why his framing of team performance feels closer to an officer’s debrief than an athlete’s highlight reel.

In 2006 he founded the Keep On Pushing Foundation, which funds education for children in disadvantaged communities and started by backing a breakfast program at his own primary school in Kingston. The World Olympians Association named him an Olympian for Life at PyeongChang 2018 for his work beyond sport. He has written two books, including a motivational volume that draws on the Sandhurst-to-Olympics arc and a children’s book on the bobsled story.

He now works primarily with leadership and commercial teams at Fortune 500 organisations across pharma, technology, logistics, and industrial sectors. The argument he brings into those rooms is operational. Performance is not a mindset to adopt, it is a set of habits rehearsed under pressure, and the teams that keep pushing when the plan breaks are the ones that built those habits before the crash.

Key speaking topics

  • Resilience and performance under pressure
  • Team leadership in high-scrutiny environments
  • Composure and decision-making in volatility
  • Sustained execution after public failure
  • Goal-setting and long-cycle performance
  • Diversity and inclusion in team formation
  • Personal accountability in commercial teams

Ideal for

  • Senior leadership teams navigating extended periods of pressure, change, or public setback
  • Sales kickoffs and commercial teams at the start of demanding quarters or transformations
  • Board and executive offsites focused on team composure, resilience, and sustained performance
  • Large culture and engagement events where a credible keynote anchor is required

Audience outcomes

  • A working vocabulary for talking about resilience as rehearsed behaviour, not individual grit
  • Specific techniques Harris uses to reset composure after setbacks, drawn from Olympic and military practice
  • A frame for how high-performing teams form quickly under scrutiny and keep performing after failure
  • A renewed sense of personal accountability for the habits that compound into sustained performance

Talks

Keep On Pushing: Choosing Growth Over Comfort

How individuals and teams keep moving forward through sustained adversity rather than settling at the first comfortable result.

Key takeaways:

  • How to recognise the “comfort plateau” that stalls performance after early wins
  • Practical habits for choosing growth over ease at decision points
  • A method for rebuilding momentum after public or personal setbacks

A Bobsledder's Blueprint for Success

Harris’s Six B’s framework for goal-setting and sustained execution, built from his arc across three Olympic Games.

Key takeaways:

  • The Six B’s model applied to long-cycle personal and team goals
  • How to stay committed to a plan across multi-year horizons
  • Where most goal-setting breaks down and how to hold the line

Ride the Ice: Staying Calm in High-Pressure Situations

A talk on composure and decision-making when the stakes and visibility are highest.

Key takeaways:

  • How elite performers control attention under acute pressure
  • Rehearsed responses that replace reactive decisions in critical moments
  • How leaders model composure so teams can mirror it

The Captain's Toolbox: Developing Essential Leadership Traits

Leadership lessons from captaining Olympic teams and serving as a Jamaica Defence Force officer.

Key takeaways:

  • The traits that distinguish captains from managers in high-stakes teams
  • How military and athletic leadership principles translate into corporate contexts
  • Practical methods for building trust and accountability fast

Out of Many, One: An Olympic Athlete's View of Diversity in the Workplace

How the Jamaican bobsled team drew strength from an unlikely mix of backgrounds, and what that means for diverse corporate teams.

Key takeaways:

  • How shared purpose converts difference into performance
  • Team formation habits that accelerate trust across backgrounds
  • Why tokenism fails and what genuine inclusion looks like in execution

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Testimonials

The team was in the middle of rocky transition and frankly, the moral was down across all 7 of our Digital Sales teams. Devon brought a lot of positive energy with amazing stories that the whole team could relate with. We came out of the keynote speech with a ton of positive energy, and sense of pride that WE ARE THE TEAM to take Adobe to new highs. We ended the quarter hitting 119% during a historically slow Q3. I can say, the keynote speech contributed to 15+% in production and millions of dollars in pipeline production for the quarter and getting us above and beyond our goals.
Adobe
We were fortunate enough to have Devon join one our team meetings to both inspire and reflect on past success and running hard at the future. Devon brings perspective from an incredible personal journey to reaching heights of performance many aspire to but few can attain. He brings an energy that leaves us feeling anything is possible with resiliency and determination. We can’t wait to have Devon back to spend time with us again!
PayPal
Perfect, would be the word used to describe the message you delivered as our Keynote Speaker You delivered an inspired message to a very sophisticated group from some of the largest employee benefit organizations in the U.S. 5 Stars and high recommendations for anyone that may be considering you for a speaker event.
Swiss Re
When looking for a motivational speaker for our first virtual company meeting I have to say I was feeling slightly nervous about how a motivational speaker would work virtually – would we get the same presence, excitement and inspiration that we get from speakers when we meet in person? With Devon Harris I have to say the answer is YES! Devon is a fantastic speaker – his talk was motivating, engaging and humorous and most of all it was memorable. His story is truly inspirational and the life lessons pulled through from his experience have stayed with us beyond the presentation. In fact he is often quoted by employees in other meetings since we heard him speak in January! The feedback from those that heard his presentation was amazing and I would absolutely recommend him to speak at any company engagement.
Jazz Pharmaceutical
Mr Harris was very open to working with our team to get to know his audience and ensure that his speech would deliver can effective, tailored message. He was very engaged, asked good questions about our attendees and the meeting objectives, and most importantly was open to our input. The evening before, he spent time getting to know our attendees and during his speech incorporated several aspects of the evening’s event and “tone” into his presentation. It was very powerful, and we were impressed with his ability to assimilate the general vibe of the meeting into his talk. His speech was flawless. He was well prepared, perfectly executed his talk, engaged and inspired the audience and had us laughing.
Janssen Research & Development, Inc
Devon Harris captivated an audience of over 1000 people at our Users Conference in Nashville, TN. His humorous, energetic delivery, combined with an incredible story of perseverance and determination, left our attendees feeling motivated and inspired. It was a great way to close out our conference.
PDI
Devon Harris was the most well-prepared keynote speaker I have ever had the pleasure of working with for a user conference. He truly took the time to understand what our business and event were about, and he included many relevant details from our prep call into his highly engaging talk. His keynote was the perfect ending to our busy conference, and he kept everyone laughing. In addition, our customers rated his keynote as excellent across the board in our post- event survey. Thank you, Devon!
Crownpeak
The story of the Jamaican Bobsled Team is well known around the world, and provides a great platform, for common understanding around the importance of team. What made the presentation so special, though, was your personal energy and inspiring delivery. Your willingness to take time to understand our business context and the goals of the meeting, and to tailor the speech to meet our needs, was sincerely appreciated and really led to the excellent outcome. You left us energized and ready to “Keep on Pushin’” THANK YOU!
West Pharmaceutical Services
Devon was easily one of the best speakers for the program year 2017-2018. He shared not only about his experience making Olympic history, but also what it takes to keep pushing forward. The audience was both engaged and pleased with his message. He had a great balance being meaningful messaging and laughter. We highly recommend Devon for your next work event or group presentation.
Emerson
Devon, you are a true professional. Working with you was a genuine delight. From the first day that we booked you to the completion of the program, you were on board every step of the way ensuring that the program you delivered met our needs. On the day of SELF, you impressed the audience with your knowledge of leadership and teamwork as well as your knowledge of NJ TRANSIT. Not only did your message resonate with our audience, but your practical advice was useful immediately. The program received many accolades, including comments such as, “awesome speaker,” “excellent presentation, loved it,” and “outstanding.” We cannot thank you enough for an engaging presentation, one that our employees will remember for a long time to come.
NJ Transit
Your presentation was exciting, motivating, captivating and your delivery was flawless. It set the stage for the rest of the day; enabling an open environment to discuss, to plan and to strategize together as one team. It was also commendable that you researched our conference and customized your story to fit within our theme of “Take Back Control”.
Mary Ann Alberry
Manager, IBM Information on Demand global conference
Your presentation will not be easily forgotten! You can be sure that our admiration for what you have done helped us achieve the goals Syngenta had for our program. I believe that your testimony and the valuable insight that you shared will make many human beings PASSIONATE about ACHIEVING, not only for Syngenta but for many other companies as well.
Pablo Casabianca 
General Manager, Syngenta Andean & Caribbean
You are a talented speaker with tremendous wit and truly energized our community during the Grand Opening Ceremonies for the new building to be used by Boys and Girls Club of East Texas. You spoke candidly about your life experiences, motivating everyone to exceed their expectations and be all they can be. It was indeed a day to remember in Longview, Texas.
Ruben Martin
President and CEO, Martin Midstream Partners
We have had guest speakers in the past, but none have delivered a message of such significance as yours. It was simple and pure but at the same time profound and extremely moving. Your words motivated and inspired all of us to focus on our dreams and that giving up should never be an option. I personally have your five key principals (Dream, Motivation, Discipline, Faith and Perseverance) embedded in my mind and on my heart. They are applicable in any area of life. You are an example of someone who has taken your role in life seriously and uses it to help others along the way.
Tony Vernaci
Director, Globalization/Strategy Integrated Supply Chain Strategy Textron, Inc.
Thank you for the incredibly passionate and inspirational speech you delivered at our annual meeting. You had our attention from the start and we thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the insightful lessons you drew from your Olympic bobsled experiences. Your presentation was so well received by our managers that virtually all of them asked that you come back to speak to our lower level managers and staff. You were beyond question a big hit!
Heiner Murmann
President & CEO, Schenker Logistics
We had the pleasure of working with Devon Harris as a guest speaker for our annual meeting of the top-50 executives in our company. Devon’s keynote address provided the ultimate emotional and motivational send-off for our team members. He did his homework on our company and made sure that through his speech, he connected with our people. Devon’s story about overcoming adversity and achieving the nearly im- possible inspired all of us to dream big!
Tom Norton
Sr. Vice President of Human Resources, American Golf Corporation
Your presentation far exceeded our expectations. Your delivery style and clear message took hold of our audience and held their undivided attention. It was clear too, that you took the planning conference call very seriously and modified your message to touch all the salient points that I noted as being important for the conference.
Jerry Henderson
Partner, BKD
Devon was a home-run hit. His story was compelling and his message was motivating and inspiring. He was impressive, engaging and passionate. Everyone enjoyed and appreciated Devon’s program and I would highly recommend him for any audience.
Eric Schurr
VP Marketing, Rational Software Products IBM Software Group
Your presentation style, your thoughtful comments, and your inspirational story all were very meaningful and much appreciated by our membership. We especially were impressed by the obvious homework you did about our organization and the problems that we currently face as you mentioned them during your talk. We also thank you for your willingness to be accessible to our members after lunch as you signed autographs and talked with so many people who wanted to meet you.
J M Ernest MD
President, Association of Professors of Gynecology Nursing Society
Mr. Harris delivered an exceptional speech to our group of approximately 200 employees which was both motivational and inspirational in nature. While his recent background is that of an athlete on the world stage, his speech transcended athletics and spoke to the broader issues of hard work and perseverance that make all things possible. The challenges of his early life gave great credibility to his messages. The feedback from the attendees was highly positive. He was very well-liked by our employees both on and off the stage where he also took the time to socialize with the staff. We received a lot of feedback from staff members not only about how engaging Mr Harris was, but also about his powerful, inspiring message.
John Elms
President & CEO, SpectraLink Corporation

Devon Harris's Articles

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Books

Keep On Pushing: Hot Lessons From Cool Runnings
Keep On Pushing: Hot Lessons From Cool Runnings is a semi-autobiographical motivational book by original Jamaica bobsled team mem…
Yes, I Can!: The Story of the Jamaican Bobsled Team
The story of the original Jamaican Bobsled Team is one about having the courage to pursue your dreams, persevering in the face of…

Fees

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Home Country €12000 to €40000 £10,001 - £35,000 $15000 - $50000
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US East Coast €12000 to €40000 £10,001 - £35,000 $15000 - $50000
US West Coast €12000 to €40000 £10,001 - £35,000 $15000 - $50000
Virtual Under €12000 Under £10,000 Under $15000