Cath Bishop

Cath Bishop has worked a decorated and diverse career, that has spanned everything from the Olympics to politics and motivational speaking. Best known for her tenure as an Olympic rower, who claimed Olympic Silver in the Coxless Pair at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Cath has since turned her skills as a sportswoman into actionable takeaways for businesses. Now hired as a leadership speaker for a variety of corporate events, Cath covers all manner of topics from creating high performance cultures and reaching your potential to performing under pressure and "long-win thinking".

A career that began as an elite sportswoman, Cath is famed for her talent as a rower who iconically won the 2003 World Rowing Championships Coxless Pair with teammate Katherine Grainger. Forging a great partnership with Katherine, the pair later went on to claim Silver in the Coxless Pair at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Cath has claimed countless other wins in rowing, including being the 1999 World Indoor Rowing Champion. She has also had the opportunity to represent Team GB at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, in the Women’s Eight and Coxless Pair. During her career as an Olympian, Cath also became involved with politics, forging a successful career at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. In 2004, Cath was appointed as the Political, Projects and Press Officer at the British Embassy, Sarajevo. Proving her worth as a Fast-Stream Diplomat, Cath was later appointed as the Political Adviser to the High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Other political roles followed, including being the Head of the Political Section at the British Consulate in Basra and Deputy Director of the Stabilisation Unit in London. 

Following over a decade of political work, Cath decided to focus solely on her work as a keynote speaker, consulting with leading companies on the performance of their organisation and empowering the creation of high performance teams. In addition to her work as a speaker, Cath has recently published her bestselling book The Long Win: The Search  – which was named as one of the Financial Times’ Top 10 Business Books of 2020. She was also recently interviewed by The British Psychological Society on "a shift in wanting to do sports differently", in which she encouraged sports psychologists to create cultural environments. Other prominent roles of Cath's have included being an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College Cambridge and the University of Wales Aberystwyth, along with a role as a Steward of the Henley Royal Regatta and teaching on the Executive Education programmes at Judge Business School, Cambridge University. As a member of the Centre for Management Learning at Surrey Business School, Cath expertly studies the commonalities between rowing, discipline and business, and how we can perform at our best when it truly counts. When she is not committing her time to keynote speaking, Cath can be found raising money for charity, having taken part in the BBC Sports Relief Clash of the Channels Celebrity Boat Race.

Drawing on her career as an Olympian and diplomat, Cath is now frequently hired as a keynote speaker for corporate events – focusing on performance, transforming cultures and effective leaders. Undertaking a series of international projects, Cath collaborates with teams aiming to elevate their teamwork, assisting new teams in creating a unified culture and helping organisations drive cultural change. With her experience as a diplomat forging skills of leadership, resilience and performing under challenging circumstances, Cath can expertly translate her experiences into actionable takeaways for corporate clients who are looking to revolutionise their workplace cultures and organisational practices - also currently the Co-Host of the Inside Out Culture Podcast delving into stories about culture across various fields, from business to sports, exploring how to create more positive work environments and cultures. A seasoned speaker, who has previously delivered the TEDx Talk “From the Olympics to Basra, Lessons in Building Resilience”, Cath is no stranger to captivating an audience with her thought-provoking perspectives. When looking for a speaker who can cover all aspects of high performance, leadership, negotiation and resilience, hire Cath Bishop today.

In honour of the determination and resilience involved in achieving her 2003 World Championship title, Cath Bishop was recently named as one of the Top 20 Trending Growth Mindset Speakers to Hire - a testament to her expertise in high performance and personal development.

In February 2024 Cath Bishop conducted a keynote speech discussing her top tips for developing a high performance mindset. Watch this Exclusive Keynote Speech from Cath Bishop here.