Athlete Speakers

For Jeff Adams, a wheelchair is a vehicle for success. This five-time Paralympian and six-time World Champion in wheelchair sports is living proof that focus, determination, and spirit are the keys to achieving “gold medal” dreams. Combining his unique und...

Dr. Kimberley Amirault-Ryan lives by her philosophy of embracing challenges and pushing boundaries to achieve your highest potential. She was the first female performance consultant for the New York Rangers, the New York Knicks, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and ...

Rasmus Ankersen has trained with the planet’s best athletes to translate their secrets of high performance into usable strategies for leaders and businesses. Known for his bestselling book The Goldmine Effect: Crack the Secrets of High Performance, he is...

At the age of 23, Cheryl Bernard started an insurance brokerage and propelled the agency to six million dollars in sales in just 11 years. At the age of 43, she helped Canada win a silver medal in curling at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. Passionate about i...

Alexandre Bilodeau wrote a page in Canadian history by becoming the first Olympian to win a gold medal on Canadian soil, and repeated his gold medal performance at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. A model of perseverance and a source of inspiration to m...

What better way to learn the principles of leading change, team dynamics, fearless leadership, and peak performance than as a player with the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers? Eric Boles draws on his experiences with the National Football League to address ...

Jennifer Botterill is one of Canada’s most successful athletes, achieving Olympic glory on numerous occasions. A member of the Canadian Women’s Hockey Team for 14 years, Botterill attended four Olympic games, winning three gold medals and one silver me...

When it comes to building teams, creating momentum, and employing winning strategies, Orlando Bowen is the real deal. For the past nine years, Orlando has used storytelling, fitness activities, and cognitive exercises to teach resilience, leadership, and teamw...

The former president of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames, president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the general manager for the United States Olympic national hockey team, Brian Burke is a dynamic figure in both the worlds of busine...

Cassie Campbell-Pascall laced up her first pair of skates when she was five years old. Today, she is a heroine of Canadian sport. A passionate and dynamic speaker, Campbell-Pascall draws on her accomplishments as the captain of the gold-medal winning Canadian...

Wendel Clark was one of the most beloved players to ever wear the Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. The former team captain, his rambunctious playing style, and exceptional talent on the ice endeared him to fans. Now an ambassador for the team and a spokesperson for...

Few people exemplify the qualities of personal excellence, teamwork, community leadership, and overcoming the odds better than CFL legend Michael “Pinball” Clemons. With boundless energy, Pinball’s talks centre on the potential for each of us to...

Alexandre Despatie is a Canadian diving sensation. A two-time Olympic medalist and the only diver to have been world champion in three World Championship categories, he is also the holder of 42 Canadian national titles. But his illustrious career was not only ...

Some spirits are simply unbreakable. In 2004, a harrowing freestyle skiing accident left Josh Dueck paralyzed from the waist down. While his spinal cord may have been damaged, his determination to continue in the sport he loved was not. Just five years after s...

Perdita Felicien is a two-time Olympian, 10-time National Champion, two-time World silver medalist, and the only Canadian woman to win a World Championship gold medal in track and field. During her career as a 100-metre hurdler she earned numerous honours, inc...

Dynamic and highly sought-after, leadership expert Tom Flick has delivered over 3,000 presentations to a “who’s-who” list of clients that includes Microsoft, Starbucks, Google, Boeing, American Express, Amazon, NASA, Mercedes-Benz and the Pen...

Great Traits, founded by Olympic insiders Mark Tewksbury and Debbie Muir, delivers engaging, unique, impactful programs that show people how to perform at their best, and influence the environment around them in a positive and meaningful way. It is often said ...

Rick Hansen, C.C., O.B.C., is a Canadian icon who has dedicated his life to awakening the world to the potential of people with disabilities. He is best known as the “Man In Motion” for undertaking an epic 26-month, 40,000 km journey around the world in hi...

Paul Henderson became a Canadian sports legend on September 28, 1972. With 34 seconds remaining in Canada’s game against the Soviet Union, Henderson scored the winning goal and lifted Canada to victory in the “Series of the Century.” Today, Henderson sha...

As the former Head Coach of the Canadian Women’s Soccer Team, John Herdman took a group once called a “struggling squad” to one that has captured the hearts and minds of Canadians. Under his leadership, the team won two back-to-back bronze medals at the ...

In the world of professional hockey, what plays out behind closed doors is just as important as what plays out on the ice itself. Former professional goaltender, Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster and NHL on Sportsnet analyst Kelly Hrudey takes audiences b...

“Being a champion is not just about winning,” says six-time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes. Believing that actions off the track define us as much as those on it, Hughes inspires people toward success in all areas of their lives. Her candid, personal talks ...

Dennis Hull will readily admit to not being anything other than Bobby Hull’s brother, as long as you add that he’s the younger brother. A fourteen-year veteran of the National Hockey League―known for his powerful shot and his six selections to th...

Many believe our limits are defined by physical traits, but Alex Hutchinson knows that limits only exist in our minds. An award-winning science journalist, Alex draws on his experiences as an elite long-distance runner for Canada’s national team and as a sci...

Earvin “Magic” Johnson has become the most powerful African-American businessman in the world. Having left the basketball court for the boardroom, Johnson has successfully parlayed his skills and tenacity on the court into the business world as Chairman an...

Jennifer Jones is Canada’s most decorated and recognizable female curler. She won an Olympic gold medal as skip of the Canadian team at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, just 18 months after having ACL surgery, and 15 months after becoming a mother for the fi...

Sheldon Kennedy skated for three teams in his eight-year NHL career, but he is likely best known for his courageous decision to charge his Major Junior Hockey League coach with sexual assault for the abuse he suffered while a teenager under his care. Since the...

Four-time Olympian Silken Laumann is one of Canada’s most inspirational leaders, a bestselling author, and a highly recognizable and beloved athlete. As an elite athlete, writer, and life coach, Silken has made her work reaching her own potential and helping...

What is it like to always have a front row seat at the CFL? From interviewing the league’s top players and coaches, to sharing behind-the-scene moments with fans, Brodie Lawson holds the job that many only dream of. The host of the Canadian Football Leag...

Catriona Le May Doan was the fastest woman on ice, and the first Canadian to defend a gold medal at any Olympic games. Having held the world record in the 500 metre speed skating event for ten years, Catriona is a world champion athlete and an inspiration to e...

Former NHL All-Star and Olympian Trevor Linden is one of the most celebrated hockey players of all time. Widely respected in both the business and philanthropic worlds, Trevor’s speeches stress the importance of diplomatic leadership, and illustrate how ...

Watching Ron MacLean has been a Canadian tradition for over twenty-five years. Known for his quick wit and encyclopedic hockey knowledge, MacLean reaches millions of homes across the country on Hockey Night in Canada and Hometown Hockey. He has interviewed th...

As a child, Rosie MacLennan often tagged along to her older siblings’ trampoline lessons aching for her chance to shine. And shine she did. Now the current two-time Olympic champion and reigning Pan American Games champion in the individual trampoline eve...

No job in the world of sports is as intimidating, exhilarating, and as stress-ridden as that of an NHL hockey goaltender. Now imagine doing that job while suffering high anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and depression, and having your career nearly cut s...

Boasting more than 30 years in both amateur and professional figure skating, Elizabeth Manley was the first Canadian female to successfully land a triple-double combination jump in competition. She has participated in two Olympic Games (where she won the 1988 ...

Marnie McBean is one of Canada’s most decorated Olympians, and an expert in turning potential into performance. As a former Specialist in Olympic Athlete Preparation and Mentoring for the Canadian Olympic Committee, McBean prepared athletes emotionally and p...

Lanny McDonald–best known for his outstanding sixteen year hockey career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies, and the Calgary Flames–is not only an exceptional athlete, but is also a  community leader, philanthropist, and successful bus...

Jon Montgomery captured the hearts of Canadians–and the attention of everyone–during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. After years of hard work, training and perseverance, Montgomery won a gold medal in the skeleton, securing his place in history as...

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-sport athlete Heather Moyse is an ambassador, a role model, and above all, a champion. Representing Canada’s national teams in bobsleigh, rugby, and cycling, some have suggested that Heather is Canada’s best all-rou...

Organizations face big challenges: whether it is an accelerated rate of change, the threat of disruption, ambitious targets, or aggressive competition. For over twenty years, JP Pawliw-Fry’s curiosity and passion for helping people manage their emotions has ...

Obstacles do not get in the way of Chantal Petitclerc. The epitome of determination, perseverance, and discipline, Chantal is the most successful wheelchair racer of all time, boasting multiple medals from all three of the world’s top athletic competitions: ...

It’s always about the journey. That’s the message women’s hockey champion Cheryl Pounder seeks to instill in every audience she speaks to. Believing that learning from our successes, as well as our failures, is the key to staying on the path toward e...

Jim Ralph is best known for his comical impersonations of famous Canadian sportscasters, including Foster Hewitt, Danny Gallivan, Dick Irvin, Bob Cole, Brian Williams and―of course―Don Cherry. A former professional hockey player, today Jim covers the Toron...

At the 2010 Winter Olympics figure skater Joannie Rochette inspired a nation when she won the bronze medal, just days after tragically losing her mother. Following her performance, she was named Canada’s flag bearer for the closing ceremonies; chosen as a c...

Sébastien Sasseville empowers leaders to lead with purpose and inspires organizations to embrace change. An endurance athlete, his extraordinary accomplishments — which include summiting Mount Everest, completing the mythical Sahara race, and running across...

Danièle Sauvageau has done undercover narcotics work for the Montreal Urban Police, busted a squad car full of drug dealers, and even ordered a forced entry and rescue of a double agent whose life was in jeopardy. Hardly the resume you’d expect for the firs...

Canadian Women’s Soccer Team Captain Christine Sinclair is perhaps best known for the hat-trick she scored in the semi-final match against the USA during the 2012 London Olympic Games. The team finished with a bronze medal from their match against France, wi...

Darryl Sittler is one of the greatest players to ever wear the Toronto Maple Leaf uniform. An inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and voted by fans as the centreman on the All-Time Leafs Team, Sittler has an incredible wealth of stories to share from the co...

The night before the Olympic game, in the race to the gold medal, Sami Jo Small was told that she would not be on the ice. At first, she was devastated and angry, but eventually, she chose to rise above those  feelings and embraced her new role with enthusias...

Mark Tewksbury first came to prominence as an Olympic swimming gold medalist, but it’s his remarkable life post-Olympics that has truly defined him. In 1998, Tewksbury made headlines as one of the first openly gay Olympic champions in the world, and has sinc...