Kate Richardson-Walsh

Kate Richardson-Walsh is the most capped female hockey player in British history and served as captain of the GB and England women’s hockey teams for 13 years. Renowned for her inspirational leadership, Kate played a pivotal role in developing the team ethos and commitment that led the GB team to a thrilling gold medal victory at the Rio 2016 Olympics. This win also marked her as one half of the first same-sex married couple to win an Olympic medal on the same team.

Starting her international career as a defender in 1999, Kate maintained elite performance levels for 17 years, making over 370 appearances for her country. Her career highlights include a bronze medal at London 2012, a gold medal at Rio 2016, and captaining England to victory at the 2015 European Championships and securing three Commonwealth Games medals.

Kate’s leadership was crucial in transforming the GB team after a disappointing 11th place at the 2014 World Cup. She helped instigate a process of self-examination and rebuilding, fostering a collective culture of behaviour, purpose, and distributed leadership that prepared the team to handle pressure and adapt to changing circumstances.

Recognised for her contributions, Kate was shortlisted for the FIH World Player of the Year Award, named GB Hockey’s Athlete of the Year, and twice won the prestigious Hockey Writers’ Player of the Year. In 2017, she was awarded an OBE for services to hockey and was nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2016.

After retiring from international hockey, Kate played a season for the Dutch team Bloemendaal and now focuses on coaching, grassroots development, and applying her elite sport experiences to leadership and performance. She serves as an ambassador for UN Women, the Women’s Sport Trust, and Access Sport, and sits on the British and European Olympic Athletes’ Commissions.

Kate is an experienced motivational speaker, offering insights on leadership, team building, peak performance, ambition, change management, high performance under pressure, diversity and inclusion, grassroots sport, and female leadership. She delivers keynotes, Q&As, and after-dinner speeches, sharing her powerful story of leadership and team success.