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Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE
Director of Integration for London 2012, the most successful Paralympics in history, Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE is a truly inspirational and highly principled leader and speaker. Prior to this he won six gold medals in one Paralympics. Lord Holmes is also a fine and gifted speaker, and he was recently appointed to the House of Lords.
About Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE
Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE (Chris) is a record-breaking Paralympian, business leader, and technology strategist who has spent decades shaping conversations around AI, diversity and inclusion, and ESG. With a remarkable career that spans elite sport, corporate boardrooms, and legislative leadership, Chris is a dynamic and insightful speaker, helping audiences navigate the challenges and opportunities of the digital age.
A multiple Paralympic gold medallist, Chris dominated the world of competitive swimming for 17 years, securing nine gold medals and breaking 35 world records. As Captain of the GB Swim Team, Chris led with resilience and vision, qualities that would later define his role as Director of Paralympic Integration for London 2012. His strategic leadership helped deliver the first-ever fully integrated Olympic and Paralympic Games, setting new benchmarks for global engagement, sponsorship, and inclusion.
Beyond sport, Chris has built an influential career at the intersection of technology, governance, and social change. He has served on multiple high-profile boards, including Channel 4 and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, where he has championed inclusive leadership and commercial success through diversity. His work in ESG reframes the conversation—arguing that today’s challenges are not just environmental, social, and governance issues, but existential, seismic, and global imperatives requiring bold leadership and empowered teams.
A thought leader in digital transformation, Chris has long been at the forefront of discussions on blockchain, open banking, and AI regulation. His 2017 report on distributed ledger technology set the stage for regulatory innovation, and his leadership in Parliament helped pass the ground breaking Electronic Trade Documents Act. In 2023, he introduced the Artificial Intelligence (Regulation) Bill, recognised for balancing radical innovation with responsible oversight, earning him the prestigious Alan Turing Award in 2024.
Chris’s conference talks are engaging, insightful, and always tailored to his audience. Whether discussing how AI can be leveraged for human-led decision-making, the power of inclusive leadership, or how businesses can thrive in a fast-changing world, he challenges audiences to think differently. His sessions are interactive, often featuring real-world case studies and practical takeaways that inspire action.
With his signature warmth, humour, and deep expertise, Chris leaves audiences with fresh perspectives on leadership, technology, and the human potential to adapt, innovate, and succeed.
Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE tailors every presentation to meet each client’s particular objectives and maximise audience engagement but examples of popular speech topics are:
- ‘Our Data, Our Decisions, Our AI Futures’
- ‘How will AI Change the World? ‘AI and the Future of Humanity’
- ‘What Skills Are Needed in the Age of AI’
- ‘The Future of AI, Work and Human Potential’
- ‘Being Human in the Digital Age’
- ‘The AI Future has Arrived: Here’s What You Should Do About It’
- ‘Being the Leader of Your Own Life’
- ‘Inclusion for Innovation’
- ‘What Do the London 2012 Games and my AI Regulation Bill Have in Common?’
Testimonials
"Chris was engaging, charismatic, funny, and had our audience hooked with his amazing and powerful personal story. But his real skill as a speaker was to weave into his own narrative the important themes in our business, and to make his story engaging to the 30+ different cultures and nationalities in our audience. He was an exceptional, humbling and inspiring speaker that we would enthusiastically recommend."
"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,"
"Chris has a unique and incredibly impactful story to tell about fulfilling ambitions and not allowing anything to get in the way. His sporting, and subsequent business career enabled him to tailor his message to support our corporate messages perfectly, not least in relation to team work, leadership, performance and delivering against a vision. Chris did this in an engaging (and humorous) communication style leaving our delegates on a high relating Chris' story to their working & home lives."
"Inspiring, practical and hilarious in equal measure."
"An excellent session, Lord Holmes was very inspiring and an engaging speaker."
"Witty and on point. We were delighted that he could speak at our event."
"Chris was invited as our Keynote speaker to two forums we hosted in Sydney and Newcastle, Australia . Chris delivered two stellar addresses with his clear and concise key messages only matched by his great wit and charm. There are few great public speakers, Chris Holmes is one of them."
"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."
"Chris' presentation was excellent, he really understood what we were trying to achieve and certainly set the day off on a very positive note."
