Anna Hemmings
Video
Anna Hemmings - Motivational and Keynote Speaker, Performance Coach & Olympic Gold Medallist.
Resilience Showreel
Anna Hemmings - Motivational and Keynote Speaker, Performance Coach & Olympic Gold Medallist.
Inspirational Speaker Showreel
Speaking Topics
Getting the competitive edge
High performing teams
Resilient leaders’ toolkit
Success in the face of adversity
Bio
Anna Hemmings is Britain’s most successful female marathon kayaker with a staggering eleven World and European Championship medals, 9 of them gold. She is now a leading inspirational speaker on resilience and high performance.
By the age of 24 Anna had been World Champion 3 times and competed at the Olympic Games. In 2010 she was awarded an MBE for her services to sport. She achieved this success against all the odds. She was told by the British head coach that she was not big enough or strong enough to be a great kayaker. She proved him wrong. At the peak of her career, Anna was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and was told by medical experts she might never race again. She battled her way to full recovery and went on to win a further 3 world titles and compete at her second Olympic Games in Beijing 2008.
High Performance Specialist
Since retiring from sport Anna has become recognised as a specialist in the field of resilience and the psychology of high performance. She is an accredited Performance Coach and founded Beyond the Barriers high performance training consultancy, designing and delivering resilience, leadership and high performing teams programmes. She works globally with leaders and teams helping them develop the skills, attitudes and behaviours to deliver exceptional performance.
Anna’s unique combination of experience in elite sport combined with 12 years leading a successful business and working alongside senior leaders, gives her a broad understanding of the challenges that leaders and teams face and how to overcome them to deliver outstanding results. Her most popular speeches are: ‘The Resilient Leader’s toolkit’, ‘Success in the Face of Adversity’, ‘Getting the Competitive Edge’ and ‘Building High Performing Teams’.
In her speeches, Anna reveals the thinking, methodology and techniques she used to become a world champion 6 times and how those strategies can be applied directly to the business world. With 18 years of experience on the speaker circuit, Anna’s speeches and masterclasses have been enjoyed and valued, in more than 25 different countries, across a variety of industries. These global brands have trusted Anna to inspire their people to achieve more: IBM, Unilever, Vodafone, Novartis, Roche Pharma, British Airways, Deloitte LLP, RBS and many more.
Key insights from Anna’s engaging and thought provoking speeches are brought to life through entertaining anecdotes from her journey in sport and business. She has a proven track record as an accomplished, inspiring and humble speaker. She makes sure that she has a clear understanding of the audience, the company and their industry; ensuring that each presentation is designed specifically for the client.
Anna’s sporting achievements were recognised at the Sunday Times Sports Woman of the Year Awards, where she won the 2005 Champions Award and then again in 2007 when she was voted BBC London Sports Personality of the Year.
Partner – Corporate Affairs and Communication, Roche India
“Roche Pharma India had the absolute pleasure of hosting Anna Hemmings at our annual strategy kick-off, in January 2022. Anna delivered her address with great passion and left the audience inspired. It was a pleasure dealing with Anna, she was so open to ideas and suggestions. Anna's subtle sense of humour resonated well with the audience. Her powerful personality, and her articulate way of speaking, made her keynote session extremely memorable. I would highly recommend Anna as a guest speaker for large scaled events, where the intent is to inspire and enthrall the audience. Anna's ability to understand the business context, and moderate her messaging accordingly, is a sheer delight for any client. Thank you for making such a great impact at our event!”
Communications Director, Hitachi ABB Power Grids
“One of the best motivational talks translating high performance in sports into the business world that I’ve heard!”
Global Training and Development Manager, Novartis
“Anna told us her story in such a charismatic, authentic, and inspiring way that I am still receiving positive feedback from around the organization and requests to watch it back. Everyone could walk away from this speech with something. Anna listened attentively when we spoke and included everything we had discussed to make her journey so beautifully in sync with ours. It was like she was speaking as a part of our organization.”
Get in touch
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