Derek Redmond

About

Derek Redmond

Talented athlete turned high-performance motivational coach, Derek Redmond has enjoyed a decorated career that has spanned the Olympics, European and World Championships through to professional basketball and performance management. Formerly the Group Performance Director of Thomas International, the world’s largest psychometric assessment company operating in over 70 countries, Derek is now following a prosperous career as a motivational keynote speaker – focussing on subjects of diversity, inclusion, building mental resilience, motivating a workforce and building high-performance teams. Having been included in Barack Obama’s inaugural State of Union speech for overcoming adversity and resilience, Derek Redmond will empower audiences to achieve optimal performance and strive to overcome challenges.

First breaking the British record for the 400m in 1985, Derek earned his place representing Team GB, claiming Gold at the 1986 European Championships in the 4x400m relay. Just a year later, Derek was selected to compete in the 1987 World Championships, finishing the event with a Silver World Championship medal. In 1991, Derek became a World Champion in the 4x400m, claiming Gold at the 1991 Tokyo World Championships. Plagued by injury, Derek was forced to withdraw from competing at the 1988 Olympic Games. Prepared to make his career-defining moment in the 1992 Olympic Games, Derek unfortunately suffered a torn hamstring, instead making his iconic struggle to the finish line with his father at his side for support. Ending his athletics career in 1994, Derek turned his attention to other sports, becoming a professional basketball player for the Birmingham Bullets and the England National Team – playing one-on-one with the likes of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan as the face of British basketball.

Aside from his success as a basketball player, Derek has focussed on performance management and high-performance coaching. He has worked as the Director of Development for UK Athletics, a role in which he focussed on the development of sprinting and hurdles, and as the Group Performance Director of Thomas International. He also acted as the CEO of Olympex, as a NED Board Member and as an Ambassador for Nike, along with being a UCLA Alumni after graduating from UCLA. To share his expert knowledge on high performance, Derek has authored the bestselling book Sport Is A Business and Business Is A Sport. Now hired as a high-performance speaker, Derek is revered for his ability to translate the lessons he learned as a sportsman into a context that is both relatable and powerful for businesses and leaders.

Now a revered motivational speaker, Derek is highly sought after to share his iconic Olympic injury story and his prowess in achieving high performance and mental resilience. A seasoned speaker, Derek has spoken to over 1 million people, determined to help his clients increase their levels of performance. Another major focus of Derek’s is diversity and inclusion, sharing his lived experiences – having been subject to horrific discrimination and hate crimes when in an inter-racial marriage with Sharron Davies, having had a bomb posted through his letterbox. When hired to speak, Derek has formerly addressed audiences in over 40 countries, focussing on topics of diversity & inclusion, building high-performance teams, motivating a workforce and building mental resilience. When looking for a speaker to share a remarkable story and motivate audiences to achieve high performance, look no further than Derek Redmond. Hire Derek Redmond via his official speaker agent Champions Speakers today!