John Amaechi OBE is a former professional basketball player who is the first British player to have a career in the NBA and the only British member in the US Basketball Hall of Fame. Now, John has led a renown career as an organisational psychologist and consultant, and is the Founder and CEO of APS Intelligence and the non-Executive Director of a Healthcare organisation worth £2.4 billion. As a chartered Scientist and a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, John’s knowledge of inclusive leadership and building high-performing teams has helped numerous companies to maximise productivity and create a culture of inclusivity using evidence-backed advice.
Upon graduating from Penn State University with a BSc in Psychology, John became a player in the NBA for 6 years playing for the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, and the Houston Rockets before founding Amaechi Performance Systems Ltd. Since beginning his career in consulting, founding APS Intelligence, John has gained an impressive reputation in helping turn struggling organisations around by transforming their workplace culture. In line with his passion, John is also a member of the American Psychological Association, the British Psychological Society and he became a Senior Fellow at the centre for Emotional Literacy and Personal Development at the University of Central Lancashire.
Wanting to ensure an inclusive workplace culture where all employees thrive to maximise efficiency and productivity, John has held numerous prestigious positions including Director of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) Diversity Board, Commissioner’s Ethics Committee for the Greater Manchester Police, Board Member on the Inclusion Advisory panel for Tesco, Board Member on the Inclusive Leadership Board for KPMG UK and a Diversity and Inclusion Board Member for Sanofi. Alongside his work commitments, John has used his platform to raise awareness for the LGBTQ community, becoming the first NBA player to come out as gay, and openly discusses his sexuality. He is also the Vice-President of the English Federation of Disability Sport to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for everyone who wants to play.
John has led a truly outstanding career, dedicating his life to helping others, John can eloquently turn complex research-based solutions into accessible strategies and insights for companies to implement. In recognition of his remarkable career, John was awarded Humanist of the Year 2015 by Harvard University and became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Having worked with numerous FTSE100 companies across different sectors, John has also been recognised as one of HR’s Most Influential Thinkers by HR Magazine. There is no doubt of John’s ability to expertly prepare companies on the future world of work and use his knowledge of organisational psychology to enhance a company’s leadership, inclusion and change management at a wide range of keynote speeches and workshops.
John Amaechi OBE is regularly booked to engage audiences at events, read their latest feedback below:
“Without a doubt, John is consistently an inspiring and impressive role model, and he is one of the most thoughtful and articulate people I know. With every interaction, he somehow manages to convey an authentic interest and care for each and every person in the room. I would be honored to work with John in any capacity, should I have the chance, and I look forward to listening and learning from his public events and Jedi efforts for years to come.”
“A highly committed individual who has made the Amaechi Centre a benchmark for others to aspire to.”
“John’s presentation on how promoting a diverse workplace goes beyond basic human decency and respect was excellent and salient. Having all team members feel that they can come to their job where they can be themselves affects workplace productivity in a most positive way. His mix of anecdotal stories and humor helped relieve the tension that talking about diversity tends to bring.”
“John is a courageous and principled advocate who is consistently bright and challenging and generally raises us all up. He is a formidable addition to the Diversity Board I set up at London 2012 and we are lucky to have him.”
“SportBusiness Group has employed John to twice speak at our conferences. Each time John has provided a fantastic keynote, which was lively, engaging, well considered and most importantly, genuine. The response from the delegates was on both occassions tremendous.
John obviously has a very succesful sporting career to discuss but his keynotes were no mere collection of sporting annecdotes, instead he uses this experience as a springboard for a far more in-depth and nuanced analysis of in our case, the potential of sport for social change.
SportBusiness Group Conferences and Events work with around a hundred different speakers a year. John Amaechi is one of the best we’ve ever been fortunate to work with and would unhesitatingly recommend him as a speaker.”
“John is an outstanding leader and compelling speaker. His passion for getting the best out of people by inspiring them to be the best they can be, coupled with an admirably straight talking approach, cuts through and delivers results in a way that few can. I’d work with him again without hesitation.
“I am very happy to recommend John Amaechi with my highest regards.
When I first met John, I sensed that he was at a crossroads in his life and his future career path, with a personal hunger to use his life lessons, his excellent education and knowledge in the behavioral sciences and his past athletic prowess to become a world-class mentor, consultant and leader. Remarkably, he has achieved all of this through his current role at Amaechi Performance Systems.
I was flattered he has sought my counsel from time to time, while mapping out a career on two continents that enables him to work effectively with corporate and nonprofit leaders in many capacities.
What I also admire greatly about John is his lifelong desire to “give back,” not simply as a very positive role model and public figure (and popular writer and speaker), but also to expand his commitment to youth at risk. He really gets it, and has inspired not just me but many thousands of people who are touched by his example.
In his own book, I was touched by recognizing the love and dedication his late mother gave him to ensure a successful start in life. These are the same values that spur him on in his career and personal life and that all of us can respect.”
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