Colin MacLachlan

Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events

Feedback from In-Person Events:

"Colin came to talk at our Afternoon Tea: A Slice of Inspiration event for Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People. On the day of the event, Colin turned up in plenty of time for a briefing and mic check and was happy to meet and chat with all our volunteers. It was amazing to hear Colin speak- he was such a natural and the audience immediately took to him. It was fantastic to hear him speak about his childhood, army and SAS experiences, and challenges, all with such incredible humility and humour. Another speaker could have made some of the topics seem harrowing however Colin spoke with such grace and honesty that his stories were fascinating to all listening. During the Q and A, he honestly answered some probing questions and I think everyone could have stayed for another 2 hours listening! After the event, Colin was also very generous with his time chatting and taking photos with guests. I cannot speak highly enough of the whole experience. We are so pleased to have been able to share our special day with Colin and would love to welcome him for a hospice tour if he is ever in the area!" - Claire, Events Fundraiser, Rainbows Hospice for Children & Young People

"Please can you extend our thanks to Colin? We have received some fantastic feedback on his talk. It was funny, engaging and interesting to hear his stories from his time in the SAS." - Olivia, People & Business Partner, Wescom Group

"Colin went down really well, everyone that I spoke to afterwards found him engaging, humourous and relevant. It fitted in really well with the themes of the day also, couldn't have worked out better!" - Zara, Group Construction Director, Redrow

"I just wanted to say Colin arrived with a bit of time to spare which was great. His presentation was really engaging, and he made his experiences very relatable. He was also kind enough to take photos with some of the guests. Everyone really enjoyed his presentation and two other companies even asked about getting him to speak at their event." - Joanna, Marketing Manager, Smartcomm

"Colin was fantastic. He met our brief exactly and all our delegates loved his presentation. It was precisely the way we wanted to close the conference. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Colin and Champions Speakers." - Jill, Marketing Consultant, Semex UK

"The event was very good and Colin was the perfect fit for what we were trying to achieve. Although the SAS and our business are worlds apart, we got loads of positive feedback on the synergy between Colin's experiences and the lessons of the SAS and our business challenges. Overall I think everyone left feeling energised, focused and determined and a big part of that was down to Colin's inspiration. Thank you for all your help and please pass on my thanks to Colin." - Ashley, Marketing, Relationships & Innovation Director, Cambria Automobiles

"As always, a pleasure to work with Champions and the team. Our event was a great success, the speakers you provided were a definite highlight of the two-day event. Colin was so interesting, and we could have listened to his stories for hours, such a humble man." - Ellie, Swansea University 

"The talk was fantastic thanks. The pitch was perfect and the messages were so relevant to the pupils' lives. I've already suggested to the headteacher we look to secure funding to book Colin for a whole year group talk next year." - Cath, Llantwit School

"Can you please pass on our thanks to Colin for his input at our conference yesterday. He absolutely kept us all enthralled with stories about his pathway through life and how he has overcome so many different and extreme (to say the least!) challenges. His ability to entertain us all whilst sharing key messages about leadership was truly amazing. It was just what we all needed at a time when heads are feeling a little jaded and tired because of current circumstances. The feedback has been so positive with one comment in particular making me smile ….. ‘well, it has certainly put any problems I may face tomorrow in school into perspective, bring it on!'" - Kathy, Education Improvement Adviser, Nottinghamshire County Council

"The event went great and great feedback so far on Colin. Thanks again for everything, I appreciate last min turn around but we got there in the end. I appreciate Colin's quick turn around too, we thanked him again this morning. It was great to hear his stories, some very surreal! Many thanks" - Laura, Reach

"Just a quick note to say thank you for your help organising a speaker for our staff event. Colin was amazing, he had the room hooked and we have had loads of positive feedback, please pass on our thanks. I just don't know how we will top him next year!" - Alison, PA & Office Manager, Keepmoat Homes

"Colin was great, he hit the spot in terms of content and related his experiences to our business. The guys loved him and all the women loved him even more! So a big hit." - Leigh, Complete Office Solutions

"Just wanted to let you know that Colin was absolutely brilliant and lovely. Such a humble gentleman, he had everyone enthralled and they did not want him to leave. I only wish I had asked him to stay longer. The presentation itself was perfect, a great blend of informative, funny and corporate/business messaging; and what a lovely lovely guy. Really appreciate you recommending him, we would definitely book him again he was a big hit. Thanks again." - Caroline, Property Services

"Thanks for all of your help arranging for Colin to speak to our team yesterday. Colin was excellent and I’ve had extremely positive feedback." - Matthew, RBS

"We booked Colin Maclachlan for an event we held for our operational senior leadership team. Booking Colin was super easy and straight forward, the team at Champions were very reactive and responded quickly to my questions which gave me peace of mind organising such a large event. Colin was beyond great. He adapted his presentation to the level of the attendees and tailored each story to the team in a way they could relate to in their day to day operational role. Colin was a powerful speaker and his venerability inspired the audience to ask well thought through questions. The whole experience was easy and I would recommend Champions and Colin for your future event." - Shelley, Nationwide Building Society

"We had Colin Maclachlan as a guest speaker at RAF Cosford. This was a very eagerly anticipated talk with over 125 personnel attending and it went down a storm. As well as being an engaging and humorous speaker, he had the audience hanging on his every word as he spoke very openly about his tough upbringing and early career in the Army before moving on to complete selection for the SAS. Not just focussing on the impressive military skills he possesses he also used his talk to show how resilience, mental health and determination is an integral part of a Special Forces Operative. He spoke for well over an hour and then fielded the many questions that the audience had. The response back from the attendees has been all very positive, with written praise including such words/terms as: ‘Inspirational’, ‘I was transfixed from the moment it started to the moment it finished – Brilliant!’ and ‘The best guest speaker we have had here in years." - Steve, Force Development Training Squadron

"Colin was great! Our delegates did not move while he was on stage, they were completely engaged right from the beginning. Colin had a great way of talking about very deep and tricky events from his past in a light-hearted a fun way. Our customers, vendors and staff have been raving about how fantastic Colin was. He was the star of the show and I would recommend Colin to anyone who wants to engage their audience, wow them, and keep the message related back to business in a very clever way. A big thank you to Colin for everything!" - Megan, Data Select

"Colin was an amazing speaker and his insights really flowed well with the conversation focus of the discussion. Thank you so much for all your help!" - Meriel, Hatch PR

"Many thanks for sorting Colin for this morning. He was fantastic and all the staff have been raving about him all day. Please pass on our thanks to him- he was brilliant!" - Sarah, NET Academies

"It went great, everyone seemed to really enjoy his talk and were engaged in it. I personally liked how he linked a lot of it to organisations so that it was also relatable to us. Personally couldn’t have asked for a better speaker, I would highly recommend Colin to others." - Jessica, Schlumberger

"Colin was great as per usual thanks! It was a slightly smaller event but it went down really well."- SideTrade

On behalf of the OPEN Health and Janssen team, I wanted to say a massive thank you for your presentation today! It was an incredibly engaging and interesting talk, tailored to our needs. I can echo James' comment around how much the team took away from it. - Becky, Account Manager, Learning and Development.

"The event went down extremely well, and Colin’s talk was a particular highlight, thanks again for all your help." - Callum, Cintra

"Colin’s session was great last week – engaging, relevant to our goals / objectives for the day, and humorous at the same time. Lots of positive feedback from the attendees following the event, I think he was a highlight of the day! Please pass on our thanks again." - Poppy, Business Manager, Structured Finance , Santander

"Colin attended two of our events in May as a guest speaker. His speeches were motivational and relative to our business and so interesting to hear about his experiences in the Forces. Colin is so engaging, the whole room was silent throughout. We would definitely recommend Colin if you are looking for someone to inspire your team and talk about resilience and communication!" - Linsey, Head of Talent Acquisition & Business Support, Spicerhaart

"Thank you it went great with Colin, he is a fantastic speaker and the feedback was great. " - Kam, Takeda

"As you predicted, Colin was a great success last night. I picked up some ‘first-class’, ‘top speaker’ type comments as guests departed the venue but I’ve sent out a survey and any comments received back I’ll share if this would be helpful." - Sue, Events Manager, AICPA CIMA

"Just wanted to say thanks for recommending Colin – it went down a storm and I was gutted to miss it! Everyone is raving about him. The bar has been raised a bit much now I think!" - Louise, Communications Lead, Lowell Financial Ltd

"It’s fair to say he was a huge hit. We’ve had glowing feedback from all 70 attendees who really appreciated his raw, yet unassuming nature. He told his stories in a hugely relatable, often humorous way which had the audience really engaged.

We opened up to questions after his session and could have easily gone on another hour. I wouldn’t hesitate in asking him to speak at one of our events again.” - Bethanny, Lowell Financial Ltd

Feedback from Virtual Events:

"Just WOW! Me and my team are just speechless, and I am very sure that our viewers were so inspired by your session! Thank you so much for doing this for us, the content and everything was just spot on. We especially loved the humour and impressions! What a life you have lived so far" - St James Place Wealth Management

"I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that the session this morning was amazing! Colin was incredible, definitely the BEST speaker event I have been to in years... in fact, I think I could even say... ever! We had some fantastic feedback from across the business and 40 people have already watched the recording... I just wanted to say a huge thank you to you! The session would not have been possible without your speedy replies and engagement so thank you! I am hoping that I might have some speaker events in the coming months so it might not be long until you hear from me again" - Claudia, RPC

"Yes, great! Really good feedback from the team." - Paul, Regional Vice President EMEA & APAC, Salesforce

"We were blown away by the sessions with Colin today – it was truly brilliant." - Rebecca, BMW

"Please pass on to Colin on behalf of myself and Tarmac a massive thank-you for his presentation today, the stories (with great humour injected - the orange boiler suit in particular!!), tips and advice was nothing short of brilliant. " - Clive, Tarmac

"It was amazing meeting Colin and I felt really privileged to host the chat with him on Thursday here at Kingfisher. I was so nervous, but Colin made it so easy. Please could you pass on a massive THANK YOU to him for making my job easy, and for allowing us to have a brilliant, energetic and positive conversation around what can be a difficult topic." - Anna, Kingfisher