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About the event
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Leadership Under Pressure: Lessons from the Olympic Stage
Olympians and elite-performance experts bring leadership principles to life through experiences forged under extraordinary pressure. Their stories make ideas such as preparation, resilience, adaptability, teamwork, discipline, and responding to setbacks more tangible and memorable. The strongest speakers go beyond motivation, helping audiences connect lessons from competition to the realities of leading people, navigating change, sustaining performance, and pursuing ambitious goals.
The three speakers presented offer Daikin distinct approaches. Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards brings an iconic and uplifting underdog story about pursuing a goal despite limited resources and overwhelming odds. Dr. Karen MacNeill combines experience as a Team Canada athlete and Olympic performance psychologist with practical tools for resilient, high-performing leadership. Johnny Quinn delivers an energetic corporate keynote that translates his journey from professional football setbacks to the Winter Olympics into an actionable framework for teamwork, readiness, and breakthrough performance.
British Winter Olympian | Iconic Underdog Story | Inspirational Speaker on Resilience, Determination and Defying the Odds
Michael “Eddie the Eagle” Edwards captured worldwide attention when he represented Great Britain in ski jumping at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. Without traditional funding, elite facilities, or a clear pathway into the sport, Eddie pursued his Olympic ambition through resourcefulness, personal sacrifice, and an unwavering refusal to give up.
He trained using borrowed equipment, worked as a plasterer to support himself, and overcame financial, physical, and logistical challenges to qualify as Britain’s sole applicant in Olympic ski jumping. Although he finished last in both events, Eddie became one of the Games’ most recognizable figures and was celebrated for embodying determination, courage, and the Olympic spirit.
Following his ski-jumping career, Eddie became the world’s ninth-ranked amateur speed skier, earned a law degree, appeared across British television, and inspired the 2016 feature film Eddie the Eagle, starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman. Today, he shares his story with audiences through warmth, humility, and humor.
Speaking Fee: £12,500 + VAT
Travel and Expenses: [Preferred] Business Class and Expenses including Hotel [for 2 people]
"Eddy was great and went down really well with everyone -- there were loads of laughs and everyone enjoyed his story" -- Janice Ear, BDGT
Speaker Highlights
Speaker Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do3TWrYQ3CQ
Speaker Website: https://eddie-the-eagle.co.uk/
Why Eddie?
Eddie offers Daikin a highly recognizable and emotionally accessible story about what it means to pursue an ambitious goal when the conventional path is unavailable. His experiences demonstrate resourcefulness, personal accountability, persistence, and the courage to continue when others question whether the goal is realistic.
His strength is the human story rather than a formal business methodology. Eddie would be particularly effective as an inspirational closing keynote, special guest, after-dinner speaker, or moderated conversation designed to leave the audience encouraged, entertained, and reminded that success is not always defined solely by the final ranking. Testimonials consistently describe him as funny, down-to-earth, engaging, and generous with attendees following his presentations.
Suggested Keynote Focus
The Eddie “The Eagle” Story: Defying the Odds and Never Giving Up
Eddie recounts the unlikely journey that took him from a local dry ski slope to the Olympic ski jump in Calgary. He shares the obstacles, rejection, financial limitations, unconventional decisions, and repeated setbacks he encountered while pursuing a dream few people believed was possible.
Through humor and personal storytelling, Eddie explores:
- Overcoming adversity when circumstances are far from ideal
- Finding unconventional routes around seemingly immovable barriers
- Maintaining commitment despite rejection and criticism
- Having the courage to attempt something without a guarantee of success
- Drawing strength from personal purpose rather than external approval
- Understanding that effort, growth, and perseverance can carry significance beyond the final result
Eddie’s established speaking themes include overcoming adversity, personal endurance, refusing to take no for an answer, and teamwork.
Highlights
- Represented Great Britain in ski jumping at the 1988 Winter Olympics
- Qualified without traditional funding or an established British ski-jumping program
- Became the British ski-jumping record holder at the time of the Calgary Games
- Celebrated internationally as one of sport’s most memorable underdog figures
- Later ranked ninth in the world in amateur speed skiing
- His life inspired the feature film Eddie the Eagle
- Brings humor, humility, warmth, and an immediately recognizable personal story
- Particularly suited to inspiration, resilience, perseverance, and overcoming adversity
Performance Psychologist | Former Team Canada Athlete | Six-Time Olympic Games Consultant | Expert in Resilient Leadership and Performing Under Pressure
Dr. Karen MacNeill, PhD, RPsych, CMPC®, bridges the worlds of elite sport, performance psychology, and Fortune 500 leadership. A Registered Psychologist and Certified Mental Performance Consultant, she represented Canada internationally as a field hockey athlete before building a career helping Olympians, executives, and leadership teams perform when the pressure is highest.
Karen has supported athletes and teams across six Olympic Games. She served in lead mental performance and mental health roles for Team Canada at PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022, and Paris 2024. These experiences have given her a front-row view into how world-class performers prepare mentally, respond to setbacks, manage uncertainty, recover from demanding periods, and access their capabilities when the outcome matters most.
With four academic degrees, including a Ph.D. in applied and performance psychology, Karen translates insights from elite competition into relevant practices for organizational leaders. She has delivered hundreds of presentations for CEO forums, corporate events, executive retreats, and industry conferences, helping leaders build mental fitness, strengthen resilience, and create the conditions for sustainable high performance.
- Speaking Fee: $15,000
- Travel and Expenses: $2000 flat travel fee to cover RT Airfare, RT Ground, Meals and Incidentals [while traveling], plus Hotel provided by Organizer [up to 2 nights]
“Having Dr. Karen MacNeill as a guest speaker for WXN gave our community an opportunity to learn about resiliency, responding to stress, and how to build the tools we need to excel when facing the most challenging times. Her focus on mental, physical, and emotional well-being is the kind of support we all need – and wow did she deliver! Dr. MacNeill’s presentation was easy to follow, and her insight on performance, mental fitness, and self-discovery was such a valuable tool for all who attended.”
- Sherri Stevens, Owner and CEO, Women’s Executive Network
“Dr. Karen’s presentation has really opened my eyes to the many considerations of what it takes to be “high performance leader.” That being said, she really humanizes the concepts and inspires confidence in me that being “high performance” is achievable. Her presentation was very engaging and very entertaining!!!”
- Michael Baldwin, Senior VP, Corporate Development, Trican Well Service Ltd.
Speaker Highlights
Speaker Video/Reel - https://youtu.be/ydZPRil6u0U
Speaker Website - https://macneillperformance.com/
Why Karen?
Karen offers the strongest executive-leadership and performance-psychology content of the three options. She does not rely solely on an inspirational sports story; she provides an evidence-informed approach to helping leaders understand what happens to their decision-making, energy, confidence, and effectiveness when demands increase.
Her Olympic experiences give the presentation immediate credibility, while her work with executives allows her to translate those experiences into practical organizational lessons. Karen would be an especially strong fit for an audience facing constant change, elevated expectations, complex decisions, competing priorities, or the challenge of maintaining performance without exhausting their people.
Her style combines Olympic storytelling, humor, audience engagement, and practical tools that can be applied well beyond the event. Corporate testimonials describe her presentations as engaging, entertaining, relevant, practical, and immediately applicable to business and leadership situations.
Suggested Keynote
Unlock Full Potential: How to Bring Your Best When It Matters Most
Leaders and top performers already possess skills, experience, and capabilities. Under intense demands, however, pressure can prevent them from accessing those strengths at the moment they are needed most.
Drawing from more than two decades supporting Olympic athletes and senior leaders, Karen takes audiences inside her Olympic “learning lab” to examine what separates consistently strong performers from those whose performance becomes compromised under pressure. She introduces her C.A.R.E. practice, designed to help people strengthen mental readiness and create greater freedom to perform.
Audience Takeaways
- Clarify who they are and how they operate when performing at their best
- Recognize the fears, worries, and internal distractions that limit performance
- Develop tools for withstanding pressure and remaining effective
- Identify the personal factors that contribute to peak performance
- Prevent the mind from undermining an important leadership moment
- Create a repeatable approach for performing consistently in demanding and changing environments
Additional Suggested Keynote
The Resilient Leader: How to Excel and Be Well in Turbulent Times
Today’s leaders are expected to deliver results, respond to continuous change, retain and motivate their people, and protect their own well-being—often simultaneously. When another unexpected challenge appears, even strong leaders and teams can begin to fray around the edges.
Karen helps audiences understand resilience not simply as enduring more pressure, but as developing the awareness, recovery practices, and mental fitness required to continue operating effectively. The presentation equips leaders to recognize how they respond under stress and to build more sustainable approaches to performance.
Audience Takeaways
- Define the attributes of a resilient leader
- Understand how individual reactions to pressure affect leadership effectiveness
- Apply practical tools to strengthen resilience during demanding periods
- Improve recovery through tangible energy-management practices
- Protect well-being while continuing to drive organizational results
- Perform at a high level more consistently without relying on unsustainable effort
Highlights
- Former Team Canada international field hockey athlete
- Performance Psychologist and Certified Mental Performance Consultant
- Supported athletes and teams across six Olympic Games
- Lead Mental Performance and Mental Health Consultant for multiple Team Canada Olympic delegations
- More than 20 years of experience supporting elite performers and organizational leaders
- Earned four degrees, including a Ph.D. in applied and performance psychology
- Works with executives, leadership teams, Olympians, and Fortune 500 organizations
- Recipient of Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Award
- Recognized as one of Avenue Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40
- Combines Olympic stories with practical leadership, resilience, and performance tools
U.S. Olympian | Former Professional Football Player | Author | High-Energy Leadership Speaker on Teamwork, Readiness and Breakthrough Performance
Johnny Quinn is a U.S. Olympian, former professional football player, author, and leadership speaker who helps organizations Push What’s Possible™. His career has been defined not by a smooth progression toward success, but by his ability to remain ready when one opportunity ended and an entirely different one appeared.
After being cut three times during his professional football career, Johnny redirected his athletic abilities toward bobsled—despite having never previously seen a bobsled in person. He ultimately earned a place on the United States team and competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, becoming the third person in history to play professional football and compete in the Winter Olympics.
Johnny now translates those experiences through his P.U.S.H. framework, giving leaders and teams an actionable system for preparation, self-awareness, collaboration, accountability, and responding effectively to disruption. He is the author of PUSH: Breaking Through the Barriers and has worked with organizations including Toyota, BMW, Caterpillar, Cisco, Verizon, Southwest Airlines, Lockheed Martin, Fidelity Investments, and Trane.
- Speaking Fee: up to $20,000
- Travel and Expenses: $1,500 flat travel fee to cover Flights, Transportation and Meals. Organizer to provide Hotel Accommodations
"Johnny delivered an amazing presentation at our hybrid Annual Awards Gala which completely captivated both in-person and virtual audiences! We had rave reviews from attendees and a constant stream of positive comments in the virtual platform chat during Johnny’s presentation. Johnny not only has a unique story to tell, but he delivers it in a way to keep you completely engaged–hanging onto each word as his story and message unfolds. Johnny is a wonderful professional to work with and will deliver 100% on your expectations!" -Juli Richards, Executive Director, Murphy Chamber of Commerce
"Each year our 500+ membership gears up for the year with a banquet including dinner, business awards, entertainment, scholarship recognitions and a motivational keynote speech for the event finale. Johnny was absolutely fabulous and exceeded our expectations! The crowd was engaged during the entire message as Johnny genuinely delivered with passion and high energy! The JQ team was personable and easy to collaborate with during the planning of our event's logistics. The event audience included industries from staffing levels of 1 to 1,500 employees, and all guests were beyond impressed as Johnny was able to relate to everyone in the room. He was intentional with his time spent kindly autographing his book for attendees at the conclusion of our program. We highly recommend Johnny Quinn as a keynote speaker for any size or type of organization!" - Alissa Cady, Executive Director - Greater Hewitt COC
"Johnny spoke at our annual leadership meeting and was the perfect speaker to motivate and inspire our leaders. I highly recommend Johnny to anyone looking for a speaker and have no doubt he would customize his message to your audience just like he did for us." - Martha Schram, President, Aegis Therapies
Speaker Highlights
Speaker Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtHf4EskRXw&t=52s
Gravity Profile: https://www.gravityspeakers.com/speakers/johnny-quinn
Website: https://www.johnnyquinnusa.com/
Why Johnny?
Johnny is the strongest option for Daikin when the priority is a polished, high-energy corporate keynote that combines an Olympic story with clear leadership and team-performance applications.
His journey naturally addresses rejection, adaptability, career reinvention, teamwork, preparation, and remaining ready for opportunities that do not arrive in the form originally expected. His P.U.S.H. framework gives the audience a structure they can remember and apply, moving the presentation beyond motivation alone.
Johnny also has extensive experience speaking to corporate, industrial, manufacturing, technology, financial-services, and sales audiences. His presentations are designed to be customized, energetic, and immediately actionable, with specific lessons around accountability, collaboration, agility, and building momentum through uncertainty.
Suggested Keynote
PUSH WHAT’S POSSIBLE™: The Olympic Formula for Breakthrough Performance in Any Season
Every high-performing organization eventually encounters a season that tests its discipline, focus, confidence, and ability to work together. The difference between teams that stall and teams that create momentum is not simply talent. It is whether they have developed the mindset and daily disciplines required to remain ready.
Drawing from NFL locker rooms, Olympic competition, and the unexpected transition between the two, Johnny introduces the P.U.S.H. framework for turning strong teams into prepared, collaborative, and adaptable performers.
Audience Takeaways
- Collaborate under pressure using the people and resources currently available
- Build habits that prepare teams before the next opportunity or disruption arrives
- Replace resistance with a readiness-focused mindset
- Understand how individual accountability contributes to collective performance
- Turn setbacks into momentum rather than allowing them to define the team
- Recognize and act on opportunities that others may overlook
Additional Suggested Keynote
WINNING LEADERSHIP: How to Build Unstoppable Teams That Outperform the Competition
When plans change and pressure rises, leaders determine whether teams become fragmented or move forward together. Johnny examines how leaders can establish the standards, disciplines, and sense of ownership required for people to rise to the occasion.
Through stories from professional football and Olympic bobsled, he demonstrates that readiness begins within each person but becomes a competitive advantage when reinforced across the entire team.
Audience Takeaways
- Create cultures where people hold themselves accountable
- Lead through setbacks without losing forward momentum
- Turn individual effort into stronger team performance
- Establish disciplines that support consistent execution
- Help teams use challenges as opportunities to strengthen collaboration
- Prepare people to respond confidently when conditions do not go according to plan