Peak Performance

Scott Parazynski’s Background Dr. Scott Parazynski is an expert in leadership under adversity, and deriving the very best from multidisiplinary teams. He has spoken all over the world about the rigors, risks and rewards of exploration in extreme environments, deriving important lessons in teamwork, risk management and innovation under the most demanding circumstances, on or off the planet. Your audience will be left breathless but empowered with real-world tools to elevate their organization in an increasingly competitive world. Among his many presentations, he has: Delivered hundreds of keynotes to corporate leaders, industry and scientific conventions, and major non-profit organizations Presented Medical Grand Rounds at some of the world’s most prestigious medical schools, hospitals and conferences Appeared on all major US broadcast networks as well as many overseas TV networks, discussing various aspects of the space program, the importance of exploration, STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and technological innovation Filmed as team physician and summit climber during Discovery Channel’s 3rd season of “Everest: Beyond the Limit,” as well as the Science Channel’s “Secret Space Escapes.” Scott has lived and traveled all over the world, spending many of his grade school and high school years in places such as Dakar, Senegal; Beirut, Lebanon; Tehran, Iran; and Athens, Greece. A graduate of Stanford University and Stanford Medical School, he went on to train at Harvard and in Denver in preparation for a career in emergency medicine and trauma. Dr. Parazynski has numerous publications in the field of space physiology with particular expertise in human adaptation to stressful environments. In 1992 he was selected to join NASA’s Astronaut Corps and eventually flew 5 Space Shuttle Missions and conducted 7 spacewalks (“Extravehicular Activity,” or EVAs). In his 17 years as an Astronaut, he served in numerous senior leadership roles, including EVA Branch Chief and the Lead Astronaut for Space Shuttle Thermal Protection System Inspection & Repair (in the aftermath of the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy). Mission highlights include a global ozone mapping mission on STS-66; leading the first joint US-Russian spacewalk during STS-86 while docked to the Russian space station Mir; serving as Senator John Glenn’s crewmate and “personal physician” during STS-95; and conducting EVA assembly of the Canadian-built space station arm during STS-100. In October 2007, Scott led the EVA team on STS-120, a highly complex space station assembly flight, during which he performed 4 EVAs (becoming only the second astronaut to perform four EVAs on a single Space Shuttle mission). The fourth and final EVA is regarded by many as one of the most challenging and dangerous ever performed. During the EVA he was positioned by a 90-foot robotic boom farther than any orbiting astronaut had ever ventured from the safety of their airlock. During this EVA he had to repair a fully energized solar array wing. The tremendous coordinated effort in orbit and on the ground by Mission Control and other engineering experts has been likened to the Space Shuttle and Space Station era’s “Apollo 13 moment.” In addition to being a life-long SCUBA diver and accomplished mountaineer, Scott is also a commercial, instrument, multiengine and seaplane-rated pilot with over 2,500 flight hours. He began climbing in his teens, and has climbed in the Alaska Range, the Cascades, the Rockies, the Alps, the Andes and the Himalayas. On his second attempt to scale Mt. Everest, on May 20, 2009, he became the first astronaut to stand on top of the world. Further, as part of a NASA-sponsored expedition to the high Andes, he conducted a scientific dive in the summit caldera lake of 19,700-foot Licancabur volcano, the world’s highest lake. He recently served as Founding Director and Chief Medical Officer of UTMB’s Center for Polar Medical Operations where he oversaw the medical screening and on-ice care of the National Science Foundation’s US Antarctic Program, and was fortunate to travel widely across the most remote continent on earth. Dr. Parazynski is a serial entrepreneur, currently leading OnwardAir, a highly disruptive hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft company, as well as developing a variety of medical devices. He is a prolific inventor and product developer, and serves on the Boards of several technology companies. He is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards, including: the US Astronaut Hall of Fame, five NASA Spaceflight Medals, two NASA Distinguished Service Medals, two NASA Exceptional Service Medals, two Vladimir Komarov Diplomas from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, two Flight Achievement Awards from the American Astronomical Association, the Aviation Week Laureate Award, the Antarctica Service Medal, the Ellis Island Family Heritage Award, the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Polish Culture, the National Eagle Scout Association’s Outstanding Eagle Award, the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland and the Lowell Thomas Award from the Explorers Club. A Top 10 competitor in the 1988 US Olympic Luge Team trials and coach for the Philippines during the 1988 Calgary Olympic Winter Games, he was selected as an Honorary Captain of the 2010 US Olympic Luge Team for the Vancouver Games. Additionally, he is a member of the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame and was awarded the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa from the Military University of Technology in Warsaw, Poland. Scott is the author of his #1 best-selling memoir, The Sky Below: A True Story of Summits, Space and Speed, along with collaborative writer Susy Flory.

Why organisations work with Larry Jacobson A source experience that is independently documented and book-published. The six-year voyage, the 40 countries, the tsunami in Thailand, the pirate threat in the Gulf of Aden are not rhetorical devices, they are a verifiable record audiences can read after the keynote. Direct translation between an extreme personal undertaking and the corporate context he left to begin it. Jacobson ran a company before he sailed, and speaks to commercial audiences with the cadence of someone who has carried a P&L. A specific argument that fear is a workable variable, not a problem to be removed. Audiences leave with a clearer sense of how to act while still afraid, rather than waiting for the fear to subside. A track record with mainstream corporate and financial-services audiences, including Northwestern Mutual, Investment & Wealth Institute, and Retirement Coaches Association, alongside two TEDx platforms. Biography highlights Six-year circumnavigation by sailboat, 40,000+ nautical miles, 40 countries visited. Author of The Boy Behind the Gate, an Amazon best-seller and award-winning memoir of the voyage. Two-time TEDx speaker: TEDx Golden Gate (“Passion Trumps Fear”) and TEDx Youth (“Passion, Priorities, and Perseverance”). Additional books include What’s Your Encore? A Step-by-Step Guide to Retiring with Purpose and Fulfillment, Beyond the Meeting Room: A Practical Guide to Mastering Communication in a Remote World, and Navigating Entrepreneurship: 11 Proven Keys to Success, with companion video programmes (Sail Into Retirement, Navigating Entrepreneurship) hosted at Buoy Training. Certified World Class Speaking Coach, the credential awarded through the 12-week certification programme run by 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking Craig Valentine. Keynote and coaching clients include Northwestern Mutual, Investment & Wealth Institute, Retirement Coaches Association, InVision, The Henderson Group, Hill Physicians, CASE District VII. Biography Most leadership content is written for the crisis. The harder problem is the long stretch in between, when conditions stay difficult, fear becomes ambient, and the easy decision is to retreat or wait. Jacobson’s material is built for that stretch. He spent six years sailing around the world after running World Class Incentives, a corporate incentive and meeting planning business. The voyage covered 40,000 nautical miles and 40 countries, and included the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and a transit through the Gulf of Aden during a live piracy threat. The book that followed, The Boy Behind the Gate, became an Amazon best-seller and the spine of his speaking practice. The argument he builds from that experience is practical. Fear is a workable variable in any sustained undertaking, not an obstacle to be removed before starting. Audiences hear how to make decisions while afraid, how to sustain conviction over months rather than minutes, and how to finish a long commitment that no one else can see the end of. He has spoken twice on the TEDx platform and works regularly with corporate, financial-services, and association audiences, including Northwestern Mutual, Investment & Wealth Institute, and the Retirement Coaches Association. His retirement work extends beyond the keynote into What’s Your Encore?, a step-by-step retirement guide, and Sail Into Retirement, the structured video programme advisers use with clients. His other books include Beyond the Meeting Room on remote-world communication and Navigating Entrepreneurship. He is a Certified World Class Speaking Coach, a credential earned through the programme run by 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking Craig Valentine. Key speaking topics Resilience and decision-making under sustained pressure Fear management in leadership Perseverance through long commitments Personal reinvention and career transition Goal-setting and execution Retirement and second-career planning Communication and presentation skills for senior audiences Ideal for Sales kick-offs and annual corporate off-sites where the brief is morale and conviction, not analytical content Financial-services and wealth-management association audiences working on client retirement and life-stage conversations Leadership teams entering a long restructuring or turnaround, where the work will outlast the initial mandate Audience outcomes A direct, named framework for acting while afraid, rather than waiting for confidence to arrive first. A clearer view of what sustains conviction over months of difficult conditions, drawn from a six-year first-person example. Permission to take a personally difficult decision they have been deferring, supported by a specific story rather than abstract encouragement.

Why organisations work with Ann Daniels She holds a Guinness World Record that has not been repeated: first women’s team, with Caroline Hamilton, to ski to both the North and South Poles, a credential that sits behind every claim she makes about decision-making under pressure. She led ice operations for all three Catlin Arctic Survey expeditions with Pen Hadow, a rare example of an explorer whose field leadership has been trusted by peer-reviewed science programmes working with NASA and the European Space Agency. Her career arc, from NatWest assistant bank manager and mother of triplets to polar team leader, gives her credibility with audiences who are sceptical of exploration narratives delivered by lifelong adventurers. She speaks with operational specificity: route-finding on moving ice, calling a team member off the ice with frostbite, swimming open leads in survival suits. Senior audiences recognise these as decisions, not anecdotes. She is listed by The Daily Telegraph among the Top 20 Great British Adventurers of all time, which shortens the credibility conversation with boards and external audiences. Biography highlights Guinness World Record holder: first women’s team, with Caroline Hamilton, to ski to both the North and South Poles (1 June 2002). Head of ice operations and navigator for all three Catlin Arctic Survey expeditions (2009, 2010, 2011), led by Pen Hadow. Arctic scientific collaborations with NASA, the European Space Agency, NOAA and the University of Washington. Honorary DUniv, Staffordshire University (2007). Castaway on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs (January 2007). Named in The Daily Telegraph’s Top 20 Great British Adventurers of all time. Biography Route-finding on the Arctic Ocean is decision-making in its purest form. The ice moves under you, the weather closes without warning, and the team’s survival depends on whether the person in front is reading the ground correctly. Ann Daniels has done that job for more than two decades, including three consecutive Catlin Arctic Survey expeditions with Pen Hadow, where she was head of ice operations for scientists working with NASA and the European Space Agency. She came to it from an unlikely starting point. Daniels was an assistant bank manager at NatWest and a mother of triplets when she was selected, from more than two hundred applicants, for the 1997 McVities Penguin Polar Relay. She had no prior outdoor experience. Five years later, on 1 June 2002, she and Caroline Hamilton became the first women to reach both the North and South Poles as part of all-women teams, a Guinness record that has not been repeated. The Catlin work reframed her practice. Between 2009 and 2011 she led teams of scientists across hundreds of miles of drifting sea ice to manually measure its thickness, feeding data into the climate record. Later expeditions extended that into collaborations with the European Space Agency, NOAA and the University of Washington. She is the rare field leader whose decisions have been trusted inside a peer-reviewed research programme. What she offers senior audiences is the texture of that work. She can describe calling a team-mate off the ice with frostbite, swimming an open lead in a survival suit, and choosing a route across fracturing ice when the satellite image is already twelve hours old. The Daily Telegraph has named her among the Top 20 Great British Adventurers of all time; Staffordshire University awarded her an honorary DUniv in 2007. Key speaking topics Decision-making under uncertainty Team leadership in extreme environments Resilience and recovery after setback Women in leadership and exploration Climate change and the Arctic Career reinvention Ideal for Executive teams running strategic change programmes where the plan will keep adjusting Operational and transformation leaders responsible for decisions on partial information Leadership development cohorts and senior high-potential groups Conferences focused on resilience, climate, or women in leadership Audience outcomes A clearer language for making decisions when the data is incomplete and the cost of waiting is rising Specific, transferable lessons on holding a team together when conditions deteriorate A harder test for what resilience actually looks like in practice, drawn from named events on the ice Renewed confidence that significant career reinvention is possible without a conventional starting point

He is the author of ‘Accelerating Excellence’ that analyses the fundamental principles outlier individuals and organisations have leveraged to achieve and sustain superior performance. James has presented case studies on his work for the MBA programmes at the University of Oxford, Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). James is a motivational, energetic and inspiring speaker who will provide you with a tangible roadmap so you can immediately put the words to work. As an advisory King employs a robust principle based methodology for operationalizing the unrelenting pursuit of excellence guiding organisations on how to identify, develop and technically prepare outlier performers to deliver on demand and under pressure. What is unique about James King: Infectious passion and energy Highly actionable principles Worked in environments very few others have Has delivered tangible results in those organizations (not just a quick talk)

Why organisations work with Andrew Bannon The Self-Developer philosophy is structurally unavailable elsewhere in English: Bannon holds sole authorisation from its creator, Jens Corssen, making this engagement genuinely exclusive rather than merely differentiated from comparable self-leadership speakers. He addresses the specific failure point that most leadership development misses – the gap between insight and habitual behaviour – using a named, four-tool framework that leaders can apply immediately and return to independently. His delivery in both English and German makes him one of very few speakers able to bring rigorous self-leadership content consistently to DACH and internationally operating European organisations without dilution across language boundaries. His position on the CAS Senior Management Programme at the University of St. Gallen signals that the methodology meets the expectations of senior executive audiences – not a motivation seminar, but a substantive leadership development intervention. Engagements leave teams with a shared internal language – the four Self-Developer tools – which makes individual behavioural development operational at team and leadership cohort level. Biography highlights Sole globally authorised trainer to teach Jens Corssen’s Self-Developer philosophy; holds personal certification from Corssen active since 2013 Lecturer on the CAS Senior Management Programme, University of St. Gallen (Institute of Business Administration, IFB-HSG) MSc in Coaching for Behavioural Change, Henley Business School / University of Reading BA in Economics, University of Surrey Corporate delivery for Siemens, Bosch, Hilti, Lufthansa, Roche, and Lilly Adapted and performed the English-language audiobook The Way of the Self-Developer (co-credited with Jens Corssen, ISBN 9783000435706) Delivers in English and German; Munich-based for over two decades Biography Leadership performance rarely breaks down because leaders lack knowledge. Under sustained pressure – restructuring, fast-paced change, complex stakeholder demands – it breaks down because default behaviour takes over. Reactive patterns replace intentional ones. Avoidance displaces accountability. The Self-Developer philosophy, developed by German psychologist Jens Corssen, was built to address exactly this: a structured four-tool framework for interrupting automatic behaviour and restoring conscious choice. Andrew Bannon is the only trainer globally authorised by Corssen to teach this methodology in English. Since 2013, he has delivered the Self-Developer philosophy to management teams and executive cohorts across Europe – at organisations including Siemens, Bosch, Hilti, Lufthansa, Roche, and Lilly – and as a module lecturer on the CAS Senior Management Programme at the University of St. Gallen. His academic grounding combines economics at the University of Surrey with an MSc in Coaching for Behavioural Change from Henley Business School. The four tools – Self-Awareness, Self-Responsibility, Self-Confidence, and Self-Conquest – give leaders a repeatable internal framework rather than a motivational prompt. Bannon’s specific contribution is making this framework operational for international audiences: he delivers in English and German, brings two decades of experience embedded in German-speaking corporate culture, and adapted the methodology for English-speaking audiences in the audiobook The Way of the Self-Developer, co-credited with Corssen. The methodology has been tested across both open executive education at the University of St. Gallen and deep corporate programmes with global organisations – evidence that it holds across seniority, sector, and language. For leadership cohorts navigating high-pressure periods of change, the Self-Developer tools give behavioural development real operational traction. Key speaking topics Self-leadership and behavioural change The Self-Developer philosophy and four-tool framework Personal accountability in leadership Mindset and inner dialogue under pressure Resilience and self-management Intercultural leadership in European and DACH contexts Growth mindset in organisations Ideal for Senior leaders and C-suite executives navigating organisational change or cultural transformation Leadership development programme participants at upper-management and executive level CHROs and L&D leads seeking behavioural change frameworks that operate across language and cultural contexts Executive education audiences in DACH-region and internationally operating European organisations Audience outcomes A shared language for self-leadership: the four Self-Developer tools (Self-Awareness, Self-Responsibility, Self-Confidence, Self-Conquest) Practical ability to distinguish between objective circumstance and subjective interpretation when under pressure Methods for interrupting reactive behavioural patterns and replacing them with conscious, intentional choice Clearer understanding of how avoidance and procrastination erode leadership confidence over time A repeatable inner framework that supports sustained performance during periods of change and uncertainty

Key speaking topics High-performance leadership systems Organisational performance standards Aggregation of marginal gains Elite team culture and accountability Performance management in complex environments Translating sport performance principles to organisations Ideal for Senior leaders responsible for performance and results Executive teams managing complex organisations Organisations focused on culture, standards, and execution Audiences interested in elite performance models beyond sport Audience outcomes Clear understanding of how high-performance systems are built and sustained Practical insight into leadership standards and accountability Perspective on managing incremental improvement at scale Lessons from elite sport applicable to organisational contexts Why organisations work with Sir Dave Brailsford Direct experience leading high-performance systems in elite, high-pressure environments Proven ability to translate sporting performance principles into organisational leadership contexts Credibility grounded in senior leadership roles, not theory or consultancy Clear, structured perspectives on standards, culture, and sustained performance Biography Sir Dave Brailsford is one of the most influential figures in modern high-performance sport, with a career defined by building and leading systems that deliver sustained results under pressure. His work spans Olympic sport, professional cycling, and wider elite performance environments, giving him rare credibility at the intersection of leadership, culture, and execution. As Performance Director at British Cycling, he oversaw the national high-performance programme through a period of exceptional success on the world stage. His focus on standards, accountability, and system-wide improvement reshaped how performance was managed across coaches, athletes, and support teams, creating a model that extended beyond individual talent. He later became the founding team principal of Team Sky, now known as INEOS Grenadiers, guiding the team from inception to the highest level of professional road cycling. Under his leadership, the team secured major victories, including the Tour de France, reinforcing his reputation for building winning organisations in complex, competitive environments. Central to Brailsford’s work is the concept widely known as the aggregation of marginal gains: the disciplined pursuit of many small improvements across every aspect of performance. While rooted in elite sport, this approach has been adopted by leaders across business, government, and the public sector seeking practical ways to raise standards and deliver consistent results. Beyond cycling, Brailsford has held senior leadership roles within INEOS, including Director of Sport, contributing to performance strategy across multiple elite sport operations. His experience working across different organisations and cultures gives him a broad, systems-level perspective on leadership and performance. He was appointed MBE and CBE before being knighted for services to cycling and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Alongside his professional career, he studied sports science and psychology and later completed an MBA, grounding his leadership approach in both performance practice and organisational thinking.

Why organisations work with Mark Williams He brings the evidence base that most performance and leadership content lacks. His research on perceptual-cognitive skill, decision-making and expertise is among the most cited in the field worldwide. He has translated that science into practice at the highest level of sport, advising FIFA, UEFA, the IOC, The FA, and teams across the Premier League, NBA, NFL and MLB. The lessons travel directly into how executives think about talent and pressure. His book with Tim Wigmore, “The Best: How Elite Athletes Are Made”, gives leaders a shared language for what separates the very best from the merely good, built on interviews with athletes like Steph Curry, Pete Sampras and Marcus Rashford. He is Editor-in-Chief of three of the discipline’s leading journals, including the Journal of Sports Sciences. When he tells a board what the research says, it is not a summary of someone else’s work. He is unusually direct for an academic of his standing. The science is rigorous, the delivery is plain. Biography highlights Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC); formerly Professor and Chair, Department of Health, Kinesiology and Recreation, University of Utah. Co-author of “The Best: How Elite Athletes Are Made” (2020), with Telegraph and New York Times sports writer Tim Wigmore. Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sports Sciences, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, and Human Movement Science. Distinguished Scholar Awards from the International Society of Sport Psychology and the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity. Consultant to FIFA, UEFA, the IOC, The FA, and professional teams in the Premier League, NBA, NFL and MLB. Fellow of the British Psychological Society, the National Academy of Kinesiology, and the European College of Sport Science. Biography The reason one team performs under pressure and another collapses is rarely the talent on the pitch. It is what was built into the players, the coaching staff and the decisions long before kick-off. Mark Williams has spent more than three decades studying that question, and turning the answers into something coaches, federations and executives can use. His research focuses on the neural and psychological mechanisms behind expertise: how perception, decision-making and motor skill develop, and what separates a world-class performer from a very good one. The work has shaped programmes at FIFA, UEFA, the IOC and The FA, and inside teams across the Premier League, NBA, NFL and MLB. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sports Sciences, Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, and Human Movement Science. His book with Tim Wigmore, “The Best: How Elite Athletes Are Made”, brought that body of research to a wider audience through interviews with figures including Steph Curry, Pete Sampras, Kurt Warner and Marcus Rashford. The argument is built on evidence rather than anecdote: the conditions that produce sustained excellence can be described, designed and reproduced. For senior leaders, the value is the translation. The science of how people learn complex skills, hold their nerve in unfamiliar conditions and make better decisions under time pressure does not stop at the touchline. It is the same problem a board faces when it asks why a strategy works for one team and not for the next. Key speaking topics The science of expertise and skill acquisition Talent identification and development Decision-making under pressure Building high-performing teams The psychology of excellence Coaching, learning environments and instructional design Ideal for Executive teams and CHROs designing leadership and talent pipelines Learning and development leaders rebuilding how the organisation teaches complex skills Board and senior conferences focused on performance, culture and decision-making Sports federations, performance directors and coaching staff Audience outcomes A clearer view of what the evidence actually says about how expertise is built, and where most talent programmes go wrong. Specific cues for spotting the perceptual and decision-making skills that distinguish top performers from the rest. Practical principles for designing learning environments that produce skill, not just activity. A shared vocabulary for talking about pressure, decision-making and team performance that holds up under scrutiny.

Why organisations work with Victoria Pendleton A measurable performance record at the top of an objectively scored sport: two Olympic golds, an Olympic silver, and a record-equalling six individual sprint world titles between 2005 and 2012. An unusually candid account of what happens after high performance, including a public testimony on depression and suicidal thoughts that lifts the conversation beyond standard wellness language. Direct experience of the British Cycling marginal-gains environment, useful for leadership teams trying to understand what disciplined, repeatable performance design actually looks like inside an organisation. A second-career proof point in a different sport entirely, racing as an amateur jockey under trainer Paul Nicholls and finishing fifth in the 2016 Foxhunter Chase, which gives her credibility on reinvention rather than on retirement. Biography highlights Olympic sprint gold (Beijing 2008), Olympic keirin gold and sprint silver (London 2012). Nine UCI Track Cycling World Championship titles, including six individual sprint world titles between 2005 and 2012. Appointed MBE in 2009 and CBE in 2013, both for services to cycling. Author of “Between the Lines: My Autobiography”, HarperSport, 2012, co-written with Donald McRae. Trained as an amateur jockey under Paul Nicholls; fifth in the 2016 Foxhunter Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on Pacha Du Polder. 2018 Everest expedition for the British Red Cross with Ben Fogle and Kenton Cool, abandoned at Camp 2 due to hypoxia, later the subject of a published account of post-expedition depression. Biography Track sprint cycling is decided in fractions of a second by athletes whose preparation is measured to the gram, the heart rate, and the watt. Inside that environment, Pendleton won two Olympic gold medals, an Olympic silver, and nine world titles, including six individual sprint world titles in seven years. She is one of the most decorated track cyclists Britain has produced. The performance record is the qualification, not the talk. The talk is what she learned holding her nerve in an Olympic final, and what happened to her psychologically when the structure of elite sport was withdrawn. Her 2012 autobiography “Between the Lines”, co-written with Donald McRae, is unusually direct on the emotional cost of competing at that level. She returned to the public account several years later, describing severe depression and suicidal thoughts following her abandoned 2018 Everest expedition with Ben Fogle. That candour is why corporate audiences book her now. She is not delivering a generic resilience keynote. She is naming what happens to high performers when the supports come off and is willing to discuss it without softening. For leaders managing teams under sustained pressure, or thinking about what comes after a major delivery, that is rare material. She has also rebuilt outside cycling. After retirement she trained as an amateur jockey under Paul Nicholls and rode Pacha Du Polder to fifth place in the 2016 Foxhunter Chase at Cheltenham, having raced competitively for less than a year. Reinvention here is a documented sporting result, not a slogan. Key speaking topics Elite performance and marginal gains Composure under high-stakes pressure Recovery and identity after peak achievement Mental health and depression in high-performing populations Reinvention across careers Goal setting in objectively measured environments Team dynamics inside elite sport Ideal for Leadership conferences and executive offsites focused on performance under pressure Organisations with sales, trading, or delivery teams operating to short-cycle measured outcomes HR and wellbeing leads commissioning serious mental health content rather than wellness theatre Programmes for senior leaders navigating a major transition or post-success identity shift Audience outcomes A first-hand account of the preparation discipline behind two Olympic gold medals and what it costs A clearer view of how composure is engineered, not summoned, in the moments that decide a result A serious frame for thinking about post-peak recovery, including the version that goes badly An honest reference point for leaders who are sceptical of wellness language but recognise the underlying problem

Key speaking topics Leadership under pressure Building high-performance teams Overcoming barriers and bias Resilience and perseverance Risk, decision-making, and accountability Inclusion and opportunity in traditionally male-dominated environments Global challenges and endurance leadership Ideal for Senior leadership and executive audiences Organisations focused on diversity and inclusion Leadership and high-performance team conferences Corporate events exploring resilience and overcoming adversity Audience outcomes Insight into leading diverse teams in demanding environments Practical lessons from high-stakes decision-making and risk management Perspective on resilience and perseverance through adversity Understanding of how barriers can be challenged and overcome in competitive environments Why organisations work with Tracy Edwards Real-world leadership experience from leading a pioneering team in one of sailing’s most demanding global races. Credible insight into resilience, teamwork, and performance in extreme conditions. A recognised figure in international sailing whose achievements challenged barriers within a traditionally male-dominated sport. Experience connecting leadership lessons from offshore sailing to organisational and team performance. Biography Tracy Edwards MBE is internationally recognised for leading one of the most significant campaigns in offshore sailing: the all-female crew of Maiden in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. The team completed the race with outstanding results, winning two legs and finishing second in class. Her leadership during this campaign earned widespread recognition within the sport, including the Yachtsman of the Year award and appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire. Edwards’ achievements are widely regarded as a landmark moment in offshore sailing, demonstrating what determined leadership and a committed team can achieve in one of the world’s most demanding sporting environments. Her experience navigating high-stakes challenges at sea provides a powerful lens through which organisations can explore leadership, resilience, and performance under pressure. Following the Whitbread campaign, Edwards continued to lead major sailing initiatives, including involvement in a Trophée Jules Verne round-the-world speed record attempt aboard the Royal & SunAlliance maxi-catamaran. She later led the restoration and redeployment of Maiden through The Maiden Factor initiative, using the yacht as a global platform supporting girls’ education and opportunity. Alongside her sailing projects, Edwards supports a number of charitable initiatives. She serves as Patron of The AHOY Centre and is listed as an Ambassador for Gingerbread, the UK charity supporting single parents. Through these roles and her pioneering sailing career, she continues to demonstrate the impact of determined leadership, teamwork, and challenging barriers in traditionally male-dominated environments.

Why organisations work with Susie Wolff She is the only executive who has both experienced structural exclusion at the top of global motorsport as a competitor and then returned to redesign those structures, giving her an argument that runs deeper than advocacy. F1 Academy under her leadership secured the backing of all ten Formula 1 teams, partnerships with Charlotte Tilbury, American Express, TAG Heuer and The LEGO Group, and grew to become the second-most followed motorsport series after Formula 1 – these are not diversity metrics, they are commercial outcomes. Her work addresses a specific organisational failure that most DEI programmes miss: talent exclusion is not primarily a selection problem, it is a pipeline and development problem. She has built the operational case study. Her track record spans the full leadership arc – elite competitor, team principal, CEO, series director – giving her credibility in conversations about performance culture, high-pressure decision-making, and building organisations that win under scrutiny. Driven, her memoir, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller on UK publication by Hodder & Stoughton, and was released in the US by Henry Holt in April 2026 with a Booklist Starred Review and Lewis Hamilton endorsement, extending her reach beyond motorsport audiences into mainstream leadership conversations. Biography highlights Managing Director, F1 Academy (Formula 1’s all-female development series), appointed March 2023; reports directly to Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali First woman to participate in a Formula One race weekend since 1992 – four FP1 sessions with the Williams F1 team, 2014–2015 Seven seasons in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) with Mercedes-Benz, 2006-2012 Team Principal then CEO, Venturi Formula E team, 2018-2022; took the team from the back of the grid to Formula E Vice-World Champions and oversaw its sale to Maserati on departure Founder, Dare To Be Different initiative (2016); merged with FIA Girls on Track (2019) Author, Driven (Hodder & Stoughton / Henry Holt) – instant Sunday Times bestseller; executive producer of Netflix docuseries F1: The Academy (2025) MBE (2017) for services to women in sport; Honorary Fellowship, University of Edinburgh (2013); CNBC Changemaker (2026) Biography Motorsport has long had a pipeline problem, not of talent, but of access. The structures that determined who made it to the top were built for a specific kind of competitor, and they were rarely questioned. Susie Wolff sat inside that system for over two decades: as a driver who pushed further into Formula One than any woman had in a generation, and then as the executive who went back to rebuild it. Her driving career ran from karting to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with Mercedes-Benz, then to Williams F1, where she became the first woman to participate in a Formula One race weekend since 1992 across four practice sessions in 2014 and 2015. When she retired from driving, she turned to the leadership side of the sport: first as Team Principal, then CEO, of the Venturi Formula E team. Over four seasons she took the team from the back of the grid to a Formula E Vice-World Championship finish, then oversaw its sale to Maserati before joining F1 Academy in March 2023. At F1 Academy, Wolff has built something that did not exist before: a commercially viable, Formula 1-integrated development series for female talent, which now carries the liveries of all ten F1 teams, holds partnerships with brands including Charlotte Tilbury, American Express, TAG Heuer and The LEGO Group, and has grown to become the second-most followed motorsport series after Formula 1. She executive produced the 2025 Netflix docuseries F1: The Academy alongside Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. Her memoir Driven was an instant Sunday Times bestseller on UK publication by Hodder & Stoughton, and was released in the US by Henry Holt in April 2026 to a Booklist Starred Review. What Wolff offers corporate audiences is not a motivational narrative with a motorsport backdrop. It is a specific and replicable argument: that inclusive talent pipelines are not built by changing who you select, but by redesigning the conditions in which talent is identified and developed. She has built that case inside one of the world’s most commercially demanding sports, and has the results to prove it. Key speaking topics Inclusive talent pipeline design Leadership and performance under competitive pressure Organisational culture change in structurally resistant industries Executive leadership in high-performance sport Building commercial frameworks for underrepresented talent Resilience and ambition in elite environments Diversity as a strategic performance lever Ideal for C-suite and senior leadership teams working on talent strategy, diversity, or cultural transformation CHROs and People directors designing inclusive talent development programmes Leadership and strategy teams in automotive, engineering, technology, and financial services Sports business, sponsorship, and commercial leadership audiences Audience outcomes A clear framework for distinguishing between diversity as selection (reactive) and diversity as pipeline design (structural) with a real-world organisational example Understanding of how to build commercial buy-in for inclusion initiatives, grounded in F1 Academy’s partnership and broadcast growth Insight into high-performance decision-making and the leadership qualities required to build organisations under public scrutiny A more specific vocabulary for talking about talent exclusion as a performance problem rather than a compliance issue First-hand perspective on what resilience, ambition, and goal-setting look like at the elite level, and how these translate into organisational contexts

Why organisations work with Sarah Storey The only person who can speak about sustaining elite performance across nine consecutive Paralympic Games, across two distinct sports, and against both disabled and able-bodied competition – making her case study in resilience and adaptation genuinely without parallel in British sport. Her career switch from swimming to cycling was not a choice but a forced pivot under serious illness. What she delivers to audiences is not an account of athletic triumph, but a dissection of the decisions that turn disruption into a new performance peak. As Active Travel Commissioner for Greater Manchester, a Non-Executive Director at the Department for Transport, and Visiting Professor of Sport at Manchester Metropolitan University, she operates inside institutions where outputs are scrutinised against governance standards – giving her a credibility in policy and leadership conversations that most athlete speakers cannot match. Two-time Sunday Times Disability Sportswoman of the Year (2020 and 2024), confirmed by a judging panel that includes some of the most respected names in British sport governance – recognition anchored in results, not profile. Client feedback consistently identifies her ability to adapt substantive content to the specific leadership context, rather than delivering a fixed biographical keynote – a distinction that matters for senior audiences expecting ideas, not inspiration alone. Biography highlights 19 Paralympic gold medals across nine Games (1992–2024) – the most by any British Paralympian in history, in either swimming or cycling 29-time World Champion across two sports; holder of 75 world records DBE (2013, for services to para-cycling); OBE (2009); MBE (1998) Active Travel Commissioner, Greater Manchester Combined Authority; former Non-Executive Director, Department for Transport Visiting Professor of Sport, Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport President, Lancashire County Cricket Club (elected 2024) Sunday Times Disability Sportswoman of the Year: 2020 and 2024 Six-time British national track cycling champion, competing against able-bodied athletes; first disabled cyclist to represent England at a Commonwealth Games (Delhi, 2010) Biography Sustained performance across 32 years and two elite sports is not a product of talent alone. It requires specific disciplines: adapting when conditions shift, rebuilding when illness interrupts a career, setting standards before they are urgently needed. Dame Sarah Storey DBE holds 19 Paralympic gold medals – a British record across any sport – because she built those habits, not because she avoided the hard moments. Storey’s transition from swimming to cycling was not planned. A serious ear infection in 2005, following a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, ended her pool career. She entered a new sport, competed at Beijing 2008, and has since added 14 cycling gold medals to the five she won in the pool. The lesson she draws from that transition is not about optimism. It is about the practical decisions that make reinvention under real pressure productive rather than merely survivable. Her credibility extends well beyond athletics. She is Active Travel Commissioner for Greater Manchester Combined Authority, a former Non-Executive Director at the Department for Transport, and Visiting Professor of Sport at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has won British national track cycling titles competing against non-disabled athletes – a distinction very few Paralympic athletes can claim – and was the first disabled cyclist to represent England at a Commonwealth Games. In presentations, she connects the disciplines of elite sport directly to conditions leaders actually face: imperfect preparation, shifting targets, and pressure that outlasts the initial motivation. A two-time Sunday Times Disability Sportswoman of the Year (2020 and 2024), she brings to a senior leadership audience something rare – an athlete whose record is a matter of public fact, and whose post-competition work gives her the context to make that record relevant to the people running institutions, not just competing in them. Key speaking topics Sustained high performance and long-cycle excellence Resilience and adaptive performance under pressure Reinvention and career pivoting under constraint Marginal gains and performance culture Disability, inclusion, and elite sport Goal-setting across extended performance cycles Leadership lessons from elite sporting careers Ideal for C-suite and senior leadership teams seeking a credible, evidence-based perspective on sustained performance culture HR leaders and talent directors building resilience frameworks and high-performance environments Corporate conferences where disability inclusion, diversity of experience, and elite achievement intersect Public sector and policy audiences where sport leadership, active travel, and governance are on the agenda Audience outcomes A concrete framework for distinguishing resilience as a proactive discipline from resilience as a reactive recovery skill Understanding of the specific decisions that allow reinvention under pressure – drawn from a career that required a complete sport change mid-career Practical insight into how marginal gains and long-cycle goal-setting compound into sustained competitive advantage A reframed relationship with imperfect conditions: how elite performance is built in environments that are rarely ideal, rather than waiting for them to improve Renewed clarity on personal and team standard-setting: how the disciplines behind 32 years of elite performance apply to organisations that need to sustain output across strategic cycles, not just sprints

Why organisations work with Sally Gunnell The only woman in history to have concurrently held Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth 400m hurdles titles plus the world record, which gives wellbeing and performance content a level of competitive proof very few speakers can match. Runs an ongoing corporate wellbeing programme rather than a single keynote, with a network of coaches, nutritionists and advisors that allows the message to be embedded inside a client’s existing health and engagement workstreams. Translates elite preparation into specific workplace habits around recovery, mental fitness, goal setting and pressure management, in language that lands with non-athlete employee audiences. Over a decade as a BBC Sport athletics presenter and four published books on fitness, wellbeing and self-fulfilment, which means she communicates to mixed corporate audiences with broadcast-trained clarity. A credible figure for senior sponsors of wellbeing and culture programmes who need an external voice their CEO will respect and their wider employee base will actually listen to. Biography highlights Olympic 400m hurdles gold medallist, Barcelona 1992. World record holder at 52.74 seconds, set winning the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart. Only woman to have concurrently held Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth 400m hurdles titles plus the world record. Appointed MBE in 1993, OBE in 1998, and Deputy Lieutenant of West Sussex in 2011. BBC Sport athletics presenter for over ten years; co-hosted ITV’s Body Heat 1994 to 1996. Author of four books on health, fitness and wellbeing, including Be Your Best and Ten Hurdles in Life. Biography The gap between elite performance language and what actually changes behaviour inside a workforce is wider than most wellbeing programmes admit. Sally Gunnell’s corporate practice is built around closing it. She runs an ongoing wellbeing programme with a network of coaches, nutritionists and advisors, designed to sit alongside a client’s existing leadership, engagement and health agenda rather than land as a one-off keynote. The competitive record behind that work is unusual. At Barcelona 1992 she won Olympic gold in the 400m hurdles, becoming the first British woman to win an Olympic track gold since Ann Packer in 1964. The following year in Stuttgart she set a world record of 52.74 seconds to take the World Championship, and remains the only woman to have concurrently held Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth titles in the event plus the world record. Her communication base was built outside athletics. She spent over a decade with BBC Sport as an athletics presenter, co-hosted ITV’s Body Heat in the mid-1990s, and has written four books on fitness, wellbeing and self-fulfilment, including Be Your Best and Ten Hurdles in Life. That combined broadcasting and authorship background is why her sessions translate cleanly to mixed corporate audiences rather than reading as sports anecdote. She was appointed MBE in 1993, OBE in 1998, and Deputy Lieutenant of West Sussex in 2011. For organisations whose wellbeing and high-performance work has plateaued, she gives the agenda a credible external voice and a programmatic structure to attach it to. Key speaking topics Workplace wellbeing programmes Mental fitness and resilience High-performance habits Goal setting and personal accountability Sustained performance under pressure Health and lifestyle in the workplace Teamwork and motivation Ideal for CHROs and heads of wellbeing scoping multi-year mental health and performance programmes. Internal communications and engagement leads anchoring a company-wide wellbeing or culture campaign. Sales, operations and frontline leadership teams working on resilience and sustained performance. Conference organisers building a wellbeing or high-performance track for a mixed corporate audience. Audience outcomes A clearer model of what elite preparation, recovery and pressure management look like translated into office and frontline work. Specific habits to take into goal setting, mental fitness routines and managing setbacks. A shared organisational vocabulary linking individual wellbeing to team and business performance. Renewed motivation grounded in a verifiable competitive record, not generic inspiration.