Cath Bishop Keynote Speaker

Dr Cath Bishop is an Olympian, former diplomat, business coach, author of ‘The Long Win: The search for a better way to succeed’ and speaker on performance, culture, leadership and teams.

Cath competed in three Olympic Games, representing Great Britain as a rower in the coxless pair competition. She won World Championships gold in 2003 and Olympic silver in Athens 2004.

She worked for the British Foreign Office for 12 years as a diplomat, where she specialised in policy and negotiations on conflict issues. She was posted to Bosnia and Iraq. Roles included Political Adviser to the High Representative to Bosnia & Herzegovina, Head of the Political Section at the British Consulate in Basra and Deputy Director of the Stabilisation Unit in London.

Cath now works as a business consultant, leadership coach and teaches on Executive Education programmes at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School and is a Visiting Professor at Surrey Business School.

She published her first book, ‘The Long Win: the search for a better way to succeed’ in October 2020. The Financial Times described the book as ‘a deep and rewarding exploration of human motivation in sport, politics, business and our personal lives.’

She received a bachelor’s degree in modern languages from Cambridge University, a master’s in International Politics from Aberystwyth University and a Ph.D. in contemporary German literature from the University of Reading.

As a speaker, Cath draws on her vast life experience, from competing as an Olympian to working as a British diplomat overseas, to speak on topics relating to performance and leadership.

Speaking Topics:

• Insights into High Performance from the Olympic Games to Warzone Diplomacy
• ‘The Long Win’: Redefining Success in the Workplace
• Why now is the time to shift ‘winning’ cultures that are preventing innovation and collaboration
• Leadership lessons from the Olympics, international diplomacy and business coaching
• Why education should not be a competition or based around winning or losing
• New rules for motivation
• Resilience in Challenging Times
• Developing Sustainable High Performing Teams