Naomi Riches MBE is a Paralympic gold medallist, six-time World Champion, Guinness World Record holder and one of Britain’s most inspiring adaptive athletes. A former member of Paralympics GB, Naomi represented her country at two Paralympic Games, winning bronze in Beijing 2008 and gold in London 2012. Over a decade-long international career, she became one of the most decorated rowers in the sport’s history, known for her drive, determination and leadership both on and off the water. Today, she is an inspirational speaker, facilitator and resilience coach, empowering individuals and organisations to perform under pressure and thrive through change.
Naomi’s journey to elite sport began after she joined Marlow Rowing Club in 2004, where her talent was quickly recognised. That same year, she was selected for the GB Adaptive Rowing Team and went on to win her first World Championship title. Over the next nine years, she dominated the international circuit, claiming six World Championship golds, one silver and a Paralympic bronze before achieving her ultimate goal — winning gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games in front of a home crowd. Her success helped to raise the profile of adaptive rowing and inspired a new generation of athletes.
After retiring from elite sport in 2013, Naomi channelled her experience and resilience into new challenges. In 2016, she set a Guinness World Record as the first woman to row the length of the navigable Thames in under 48 hours, demonstrating once again her mental strength and unwavering determination. In 2020, she founded her own business as an inspirational speaker, facilitator and resilience coach, helping people and teams harness the mindset and discipline needed to overcome obstacles and reach their potential.
In 2023, Naomi was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Buckinghamshire, supporting The Countess Howe, His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, in representing the Crown. Through her speaking and coaching work, she continues to share powerful lessons from sport and life, inspiring audiences to turn adversity into opportunity. Her story is one of perseverance, focus and purpose — a testament to what can be achieved when belief and effort work together.
Naomi Riches is regularly booked to engage audiences at events, read their latest feedback below:
“Since 2019, 2M have worked with Naomi on numerous occasions with a variety of leadership teams across 2M Holding LTD and with our Future Leaders, now Accelerate programmes. She really does add value to the teams she works with, is insightful, but is that rare combination of someone who has achieved great things and yet remains down to earth. This makes her the best of motivational speakers and facilitators. Not only is she inspiring and engaging, but she is also a warm and personable individual who everyone connected with. Everyone needs a dose of Naomi!”
“I met Naomi back in 2014 when I started working with the guys at Thomas International, in this time Naomi has not only developed into someone who understands the Thomas tools and how to integrate them into peoples’ everyday lives, she has also become an accomplished keynote speaker sharing her moving story to help others reach for their goals. I would have no problems in recommending Naomi as a World class speaker for your conference.”
“Naomi spoke at the P2P Annual Gathering recently and was fantastic. Her speech was presented in a highly professionally manner with a fascinating story. She was engaging, funny and there were a few thrills n spills too. But delivering a good speech is only half of it, after her 30 minutes, she had a Q & A session and then she talked with attendees over lunch. She continued to wow the crowd through her charm and interesting stories, but also her interest in our attendees shone through, she really is a ‘people person’. The feedback for our Gathering has been terrific and Naomi was a big part of that success. It was our first since returning after the pandemic, so we had to make it a great event.”
“Naomi, I wanted to say a HUGE thank you for your presentation. It was incredible how gripped you had every single one of us throughout (despite doing it all via Zoom too!). I know a few of our volunteers were particularly moved and inspired by your personal journey, so I want to pass on a particularly huge thank you for the profound impact you have had.”
“I was lucky to have Naomi as my assessor for the professional assessment and coaching process. She is a quite remarkable person and it was fascinating for me to see how Naomi’s experience and achievements provided such a great background for coaching. She is truly motivational, with a strong, logical style mixed with a great sense of humour. I learned a great deal from Naomi, and she undoubtedly helped me improve my leadership effectiveness as well as my own self-awareness. I would have no hesitation in recommending her in any role in which she had the opportunity to influence people, as she does that in the most outstanding way.”
“Naomi’s session was the highlight of our Away Day. She told her inspirational story and seamlessly linked it to our own work and understanding of our own motivations. Naomi’s style is very personable and engaging. She uses humour and her authenticity to draw the audience in and left us all with plenty to think about in our own work contexts. We all felt deeply privileged to have spent this time with Naomi and to have learned from her experiences on and off the water.”
The Inspirational Leadership Speakers Agency is one of the UK’s leading bureaus for inspiring global leaders. We supply speakers for corporate and public events across the world and cater to both in-person occasions and online webinars. Our roster includes athletes, psychologists, celebrities and more, each with top industry insight into leadership.
E: agent@inspirational-leadership-speakers.com
P: 0203 0070 320