Speaker fees:
Topics:
Kriss Akabusi is one of the UK’s most recognisable Olympic athletes, motivational speakers, and awards hosts.
Best known for helping Great Britain secure gold in the 4×400 metre relay at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, Kriss is a three time Olympic medallist as well as a World, European, and Commonwealth Champion. He received the MBE in 1992 for services to athletics.
Born in London to Nigerian parents, Kriss spent much of his childhood in the UK care system, an experience he often credits with helping him develop the resilience and determination that shaped his future success.
Before pursuing athletics professionally, Kriss served in the British Army. He joined the Royal Signals as a trainee data telegraphist before transferring to the Army Physical Training Corps in 1981. After completing three tours of duty with various infantry battalions, he left the army in 1990 as a Warrant Officer Class 2 with an exemplary record.
Following his athletics career, Kriss became a familiar television personality, presenting The Big Breakfast and BBC’s Record Breakers, while also appearing on shows including A Question of Sport and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
Today, Kriss is CEO of The Akabusi Company, an accredited personal coach, and Chairman of TACT, The Akabusi Charitable Trust.
Drawing on his experiences across sport, the military, television, and business, Kriss delivers inspiring keynote speeches filled with humour, authenticity, and practical insight, motivating audiences to overcome challenges, embrace change, and achieve high performance.
In every speech he delivers, Kriss Akabusi aims to ignite passion and leave audiences motivated to achieve their next goal. His sessions are tailored to your event and objectives, inspiring delegates both professionally and personally.
Kriss encourages people to take ownership of their goals, recognise and overcome challenges, think creatively to deliver outstanding results, stay adaptable in times of change, and appreciate the value of teamwork and how to make it work in practice.
This session focuses on the role of collaboration in creating stronger, more effective teams. Attendees will explore how to recognise and overcome common barriers to working together, along with practical strategies for building a culture of teamwork and open communication. By strengthening collaborative skills, participants can boost productivity, encourage innovation, and achieve greater success in both their professional and personal lives.
This session looks at the role of innovation in driving growth and long term success in both personal and professional settings. Attendees will learn how to develop an innovative mindset, embrace change, and think creatively to overcome challenges and reach their goals. The session also offers practical strategies for encouraging creativity and innovation within teams and organisations, helping to improve productivity, efficiency, and overall competitive edge.
Kriss brings confidence, clarity, and energy to every event he supports. Whether he is moderating a discussion, contributing to a panel, or hosting the day, he draws on years of experience and a natural ability to engage any audience. Kriss combines professionalism with warmth, helping your event run smoothly and creating an atmosphere where people feel connected and involved. You can rely on him to keep the momentum going and ensure everything flows without a hitch.
Kriss has spoken candidly about how he struggled in school due to his ADHD but found structure, love, and an outlet for his high energy through athletics and his time in the military.
Fantastic session with Kriss – very engaging and high energy. Kriss took the time beforehand to really understand our company and our values and so his messages on the day were very aligned. The delegates loved the surprise and many commented on the value Kriss added to the overall conference.
Kriss was absolutely fantastic at our event. He hit exactly the right note and as we watched the video of the World Championships of 1991. All 450 of our delegates were cheering him on around the last bend and down the home straight as he secured Gold for GB. His enthusiasm and passion throughout his presentation and in fact the whole evening was totally infectious and above all he is just a thoroughly lovely guy!!
