Kriss Akabusi is a British athletics legend, with gold medals on both an individual and team basis. Kriss is best known for his Gold Medal in the 400m hurdles during the 1990 European Championships with a time of 47.92 seconds, beating David Hemerey's 22 year old British record. A wonderful olympic speaker, Akabusi is one of the favourite personalities on the after dinner speaker circuit. Kriss began his career in international athletics in 1983 as part of the 4x400m relay squad. Akabusi is best known for beating the Americans and clinching a British Gold medal in the 4x400m relay at the Tokyo World Championships in 1991.
In 1992, as a three-time Olympic medalist as well as European, Commonwealth and World Champion, Kriss was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in recognition for service to Athletics. After retirement from Athletics, Kriss entered the world of television, presenting The Big Breakfast. This was shortly followed by a full time position as co-presenter of BBC's Record Breakers. Kriss continues to present various childrens programmes and appears regularly on chat and game shows, bringing fun and entertainment every time.
CEO of The Akabusi Company, a corporate training and communications company, Kriss’ infamous and infectious personality allows him to deliver wonderful talks as an after dinner speaker and motivational speaker. His approachable attitude in front of an audience allows Kriss to interact on a person-to-person basis, making him a firm favourite on the after dinner speaker circuit. Equally at home hosting a conference or event, Kriss ensures your audience stays entertained throughout the event as well as ensuring that everything runs to plan and on time.
In July 2020, our Director (virtually) sat down with Kriss and discussed all things the Olympics, athletics and motivation. Take a look at the full exclusive interview with Kriss Akabusi today.
How to hire Kriss Akabusi
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Kriss Akabusi 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.
Kriss' official speaking topics are listed below.
- Setting a vision
- Goal-setting for teams and individuals
- Taking ownership of and committing to goal
- Identifying and overcoming hurdles
- Using creativity and innovation to achieve outstanding results
- Being flexible and managing change
- Understanding the importance of teamwork
FEEDBACK FROM VIRTUAL EVENTS & WEBINARS:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kriss attended many virtual events, booked as the exciting guest speaker. Read the feedback he has received below.
"Well where do I start, Kriss was absolutely fantastic at the conference! I have had nothing but excellent feedback about his session, I think we planned it well with having him end the day as he left everyone on a total high and ready for what's to come this year. Everything he touched on was also so well connected back to our HR audience and I know everyone found his session extremely captivating and motivating. The only downside was that I wish we were all in the same room as I can only imagine the atmosphere in that room during his talk, it would of been amazing." - Laura, DC Thomson
FEEDBACK FROM IN-PERSON EVENTS:
Kriss is regularly booked to engage audiences at in-person events, read his latest feedback below.
"Kriss went down a storm, was very personable and down-to-earth whilst funny and inspiring in equal measures. It was really fantastic to watch him in action and made the day extra special. In my direct dealings, I found him so personable and a pleasure to deal with. I will have no hesitation recommending him to colleagues and peers." - Danny Curtis, Airbus
“Please pass on our thanks again to Kriss; a pleasure and delight to meet, work with and a real treat to see him in action. He went down a storm with our delegates and people are still talking about his session today and we’ve received emails from our customers saying how much they enjoyed his closing session. On a personal note, meeting a childhood hero and reminiscing with his stories during his GB Athletics days brought back very fond memories for me too. All in all a very successful event for us, thank you!” - Elisa, Kronos Systems Limited
"He was great. He was lovely to work with - and the client is absolutely delighted with the video we've made from what we shot with him. Pass on our thanks again to Kriss. He made our job very easy!" - Indigo Blue Media
“Kriss was absolutely fantastic! He was incredibly engaging and enthusiastic and brought so much energy into the room. He was an absolute pleasure to deal with and very professional from start to finish, wanting to find out as much about the company as possible in order to tailor his talk to the industry and make sure it resonates with the audience. I would definitely recommend him to others – he helped make our event such a success, thank you Champions and thank you Kriss!” - Robyn Loubser, Efficio Ltd
"Kriss was a great success – we had great feedback from his session. It was great that he stayed around with us and people had a chance to speak to most on a one to one basis." - Alison Hutchison, Sherwin Williams
"Please pass on our thanks to Kriss – he has been OUTSTANDING. Everyone was absolutely mesmerized by his talk, his charm and humour and walked away inspired and full of motivation – exactly what we wanted. We loved working with him!" - Karin, Beiersdorf