Speakers

Dame Kelly Holmes MBE is one of the UK’s most sought-after keynote speakers, drawing on more than two decades of experience inspiring leaders, teams and organisations across the globe. 

Her background as a British Army Physical Training Instructor shaped her understanding of discipline, resilience and leadership in high-pressure environments. That foundation culminated in a historic sporting achievement at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, where she became the first British woman to secure two gold medals at a single Olympics. 

Her commercial experience spans property development, hospitality, digital wellbeing, mentoring and live events. She has project-managed a commercial property build, renovated residential buildings, founded and operated a coffeehouse, ran a mentoring and education company for 10 years, and founded a health and wellbeing app, which was successfully sold in 2022. 

In 2024, Dame Kelly launched Athena Effect, an annual empowerment and leadership event for women, alongside its sister initiative, Levitate Her, designed to help organisations support women in expanding confidence, capability and ambition.