Chris Holmes MBE LLD MA

Chris Holmes is the man who led the London 2012 Paralympic Games team to stage, in the words of the IPC President, “The greatest Paralympic Games ever.”  He took the games to a global scale, the first games to achieve worldwide television audiences in the hundreds of millions, the first games to have all the Olympic sponsors also signed to the Paralympics and the first games to sell out all the stadia for every session.

Chris Holmes MBE LLD MA

Chris Holmes is the man who led the London 2012 Paralympic Games team to stage, in the words of the IPC President, “The greatest Paralympic Games ever.”  He took the games to a global scale, the first games to achieve worldwide television audiences in the hundreds of millions, the first games to have all the Olympic sponsors also signed to the Paralympics and the first games to sell out all the stadia for every session.

Chris is also Britain's most successful Paralympic swimmer ever winning nine gold medals, six at a single games.

Despite losing his sight overnight aged 14, Chris gained straight A's at A level and got to Cambridge University from a comprehensive school.  While still at University Chris won six gold medals at the Barcelona Games in 1992, a feat never equalled by any Briton.  He went on to compete in Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000 winning a further three gold medals.

Prior to being Director of Paralympic Integration at London 2012 Chris was a commercial lawyer at a leading City practice.  He is a Non- executive Director at UK Sport, responsible for the funding for the Great Britain Olympic and Paralympic teams who won 29 and 34 gold medals respectively at this summer’s games’.

Chris is a former Non- executive Director of the Disability Rights Commission where he served on the board, audit and legal committees for five and a half years.

Chris was also an ambassador to the successful London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games bid where he was closely involved in securing the top sporting prize for this country.

Chris is a patron of Help for Heroes, the Youth Sport Trust and the British Paralympic Association.

Over his sporting career Chris won nine Paralympic gold medals, a string of World and European titles, broke 35 World Records and was awarded the M.B.E. for services to British sport, aged 20.

Chris has extensive experience of public speaking, communications and engaging with commercial, community, public sector and governmental organisations in the UK and around the world. 

Chris is able to communicate passionately the sporting and business messages from his own life but transcend this and create connections and relevance to whoever his audience may be.
 

Comment: "The feedback we have received so far has been excellent. Chris was described as inspirational, humorous and ‘a very nice chap’! Two people said to me today that he is the best speaker we have ever had!"
Alton College

Comment: "Excellent, Chris has a very relaxed and engaging style- our guests warmed to him immediately. He is very perceptive about the audience present and adapted his talk to suit them - a very unique man in that respect. He was humorous and thought provoking and did exactly what we asked him to do."
Barclaycard

Comment: "Chris is a warm, genuine, funny and inspiring speaker. It's quite something to hold a restless audience's attention at the end of a very long day.Chris' warmth, wit, and perfectly tailored message held their full attention."

Blue Arrow
Comment: "Chris was superb, he tailored his message to our business goals which was exactly what we wanted."

British Airways
Comment: "Chris' presentation was excellent, he really understood what we were trying to achieve and certainly set the day off on a very positive note."
British Olympic Association
Comment: "Chris was an excellent chair of our 2007 conference. He managed the speakers and audience effectively and really added an extra dimension to our day."

British Swimming
Comment: "Chris was excellent, amusing and really brought energy to our event."

BT
Comment: "Chris' presentation was excellent, he held the audience throughout and it was great that he stayed on to chat to people informally after his talk."

Cabinet Office
Comment: "Chris contribution to our staff conference was excellent. He is thought provoking, intuitive and great to work with."

Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Comment: "Chris was superb. His speech was perfect for our conference, even the fire alarm and building evacuation in the middle of his talk didn't distract him, in fact he even turned this into a positive, truly inspirational."

Department of Health
Comment: "Chris' presentation was absolutely right for our event. He clearly understood the objectives of our organisation and was able to effectively communicate them in his presentation."

Department for Transport
Comment: "Chris was fabulous. He really understood what we were doing and linked it to his own experiences. He was a real hit and a winner for us."

East of England Development Agency
Comment: "Chris was terrific, his speech was very well received and it was great that he stayed on after the formal part of the day to answer questions from our guests."

Essex County Council
Comment: "Chris was fantastic what a lovely guy and he went down a storm. Could not have asked anything more!"

European Social Fund
Comment: "It was great to have Chris speaking at our conference in Barcelona. His speech was extremely well received and very much made the day. He is quite unique in being able to tie his sporting experience with the needs and goals of the business world."

GE Europe payment card conference
Comment: "Chris was excellent and I would definitely consider using him again. He was very easy to chat to, kind, funny but professional. He has the audience laughing on many occasions."

Government Office for the South East
Comment: "Chris was very thought provoking. He is knowledgeable, approachable and has the ability to enthuse and inspire and instil confidence in the audience."

Hilt
Comment: "Chris really understood the needs of our organisation and was able to integrate them into his presentation. It was great to have him at our conference."

Home Office exclusion unit
Comment: "Chris was a great hit last night, he gave a truly excellent speech."

Horseracing Sponsors Association
Comment: "Chris ran a fantastic workshop for us. He really inspired our team and was able to understand our business objectives and effectively tie them into his message. Several people commented to me afterwards that they found the morning incredibly relevant and useful to what they are trying to achieve."

LloydsTSB
Comment: "Chris delivered an important message about equality, but made it all the more powerful by his use of humour that brought the audience with him."

London borough of Newham
Comment: "Chris was, as always, fabulous – he really understood what we were trying to achieve and the key points our delegates needed to know. He linked it fantastically well to his own experiences. He was a real hit and his humour had everyone in stitches."

London 2012 Nations and Regions conference
Comment: "Chris always delivers and is a joy to have at any event!"

London 2012
Comment: "Chris' talk was truly inspirational."

London Underground
Comment: "Chris was superb. His speech hit exactly the right note and inspired our delegates."

Sport England
Comment: "Chris did a great job for us, really got our key messages across."

Sports Aid
Comment: "Chris went down very well with our audience. Our guests found him approachable. He was thought provoking."

Suffolk 2012 business planning conference
Comment: "Chris' speech was just right for our staff conference. His message complemented the business messages I was presenting and made the day so much more powerful"

The Berkley Scott group
Comment: "Chris is a great guy, his presentation really added to our conference."

Visa Government Solutions
Comment: "Chris' presentation was excellent, we couldn't have asked for anything more. His content couldn't have been more perfect. He drew together the key threads of our conference in a way that felt very personal and relevant to the audience."

Youth Sport Trust
Comment: "Chris related fantastically well to our youth audience. His messages were clear and effective."