Oliver Irvine is a professional ocean yacht racing skipper, best known for leading Team Gosh to a record-breaking victory at the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in 2026. Having endured 40,000 miles at sea in some of the harshest conditions, Oliver draws on his experiences to share practical insights on leadership, team development, resilience, and culture. Ideal for corporate events and conferences, Oliver's keynotes enable organisations to create cultures built on trust, accountability and self-development.
Over the course of his career, Oliver has held multiple high-pressure leadership positions. Utilising his sailing expertise, he served as a Senior Training Instructor for United Kingdom Sailing Academy. He later became Chief Officer at Sea Shepherd Global, overseeing operations and collaborating with military and government agencies on conservation enforcement missions. In 2023, he joined Flying Fish Sailing as a Yachtmaster Instructor, developing and mentoring students for careers in the maritime industry.
He then became Race Skipper for Team Gosh in 2025, where he built a culture of accountability, growth, and teamwork within the international crew. Over eleven months, Oliver led the team through demanding environments, creating psychological safety while also maintaining high standards. His decisive leadership eventually culminated in the team's first-place triumph at the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2026.
Able to share powerful leadership lessons drawn from life-threatening experiences at sea, Oliver's keynotes explain how to build cultures that survive pressure, create teams that don't depend on one leader, and turn standards into exceptional performance. Most recently, in 2026, he delivered his signature keynote, ‘When the Pressure Is On: How Great Teams Perform at Sea’, at the Southampton International Boat Show. With a leadership philosophy built on communication, ownership, confidence, clear expectations, and capability, Oliver is a fantastic speaker to motivate, empower, and transform your organisation!
Oliver Irvine's official speaking topics is listed below:
- When the pressure is on: how great teams perform at sea
- Leadership
- Team Development
- Culture
- Resilience
- 2026 - Delivered his ‘When the Pressure Is On: How Great Teams Perform At Sea’ to the Southampton International Boat Show
- 2026 - Won the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race as Skipper for Team Gosh
- 2025 - Race Skipper for Team GOSH
- 2023 - Yachtmaster Instructor for Flying Fish Sailing
- 2022 - Chief Officer at Sea Shepherd Global
- 2021 - Senior Training Instructor for UKSA
How to hire Oliver Irvine
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Oliver Irvine for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do NOT accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
