Dan Richards

Dan Richards is a speaker known for clear storytelling, grounded resilience, and practical lessons for leadership under pressure. A former soldier and disabled veteran, Dan rebuilt his life after a catastrophic 2009 motorbike accident that resulted in the loss of his right arm and shoulder. His talks carry the weight of experience and the energy of ambition, shaped by elite ceremonial standards, operational service, and years of pushing physical and professional limits. 

Dan grew up in a military family and joined the British Army at 17. In June 2003 he passed out and joined the King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, learning the demands of precision, scrutiny, and consistency at a young age. Determined to gain operational experience, Dan volunteered for Afghanistan in 2007, supporting recruitment operations for interpreters and working in high-pressure environments where decisions matter. That early mix of ceremonial excellence and operational tempo became the foundation of his keynote style, direct, human, and focused on what people can control. After the accident, Dan endured long rehabilitation, then stayed in uniform for several years before being medically discharged in 2012, a turning point that forced him to rebuild identity, confidence, and direction from scratch.

Dan’s career achievements show a rare blend of endurance, public advocacy, and delivery in complex environments. He represented the UK as a Team GB cyclist at the 2018 Invictus Games, proving elite performance can be self-built through discipline and smart planning. In 2022, Dan took on the Race Across America, a brutal 3,000-mile challenge, and served as Team Captain during a critical period, guiding riders and support crew through conflict and fatigue to reach the finish. Alongside sport, Dan has built serious professional credibility in transformation and governance as a Digital and IT Project Support Officer at the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, supporting major change programmes and translating technical work for senior stakeholders. He is also Founder and Lead Researcher at Certus Dynamics, applying structured thinking to engineering and operational problems, and he has worked across media as an actor and presenter, including BBC Casualty, bringing added polish to his stagecraft.

People hire Dan because he bridges the human side of change with the operational reality of delivering under constraints. His core topics include resilience, adaptability, crisis leadership, growth mindset, inclusion, mental health, and high-performance teamwork, all delivered through stories that land with corporate audiences. Dan makes these themes practical by showing how small choices stack up over time, for example, using a simple daily training plan, tracked like a project, to progress from amateur cyclist to international selection.