John Amaechi Joins Benchmark Talent
Benchmark Talent is delighted to announce that John Amaechi OBE has joined the Benchmark Talent roster, joining the likes of Rugby World Cup winner Will Greenwood and Great Britain’s most decorated Paralympian, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE.
Former NBA star Amaechi is now a qualified psychologist, educator and motivational speaker. He also works as an organisational consultant, high-performance executive coach and is a New York Times best-selling author working in both North America and Europe.
Writing an exclusive column for sportindustry.biz, Amaechi said that sport has changed his life, and has the power to do so for youngsters around the world.
‘Many years ago, I was an overweight 17-year-old living in Stockport. I loved nothing more than reading a book hidden in the corner of the library. I spent my days avoiding opportunities to sweat at all costs and eating pie whenever possible. Then one day, a man came up to me and asked me if I wanted to play basketball. Many people think it was the sport that somehow transported me, but rather it was the people I met.’
You can read the full column from John Amaechi here.
Speaking at the Sport Industry Awards 2012, Amaechi gave a moving introduction to Armand ‘Tip’ Thiboutot ahead of awarding Sir Philip Craven MBE with the Lifetime Achievement Award, which can be viewed here.
In 2011, the 6’10 star was recognised by the British government and the Queen with his appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and has appeared on such shows as BBC Breakfast, The Politics Show, FOX Business, Newsnight, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Sky News, Real Time with Bill Maher, Oprah and many more speaking on issues of organisational performance, workplace communication, culture, identity and inclusion.
He will also be speaking during Beyond Sport’s One Hour of Inspiration at the upcoming Beyond Sport Summit on 25th July, with limited places still available. To learn more go to www.beyondsport.org/the-summit.
