Chris Grant

Chris has successfully led more than 2000 strategy meetings, learning events, conferences and programme boards. Highlights include chairing the Programme that introduced the UK’s Chip & PIN payment technology; being co-designer and lead facilitator of UK Sport's Elite Coach Development Programme, and moderating the first ever World Cities Forum. Chris has helped global industries to think about their social impact, and a national sports squad prepare for a victorious European Championship campaign. Amongst many others, he's coached Team GB sports coaches, TV Executives and (literally) rocket scientists. As host / facilitator of large events, he's shared stages with multiple professors; CEO's; political leaders and with Muhammad Ali. He currently chairs a multi-stakeholder programme to build a world-leading education and development system and a healthy, meritocratic career landscape for coaches and managers in English professional football (men's and women's), and sits on the Financial Services Culture Board

All of this has been built on a life-long fascination with group dynamics or, to put it more simply, with human beings. Chris has an MSc. in Organisation and People Development, but would say that his teachers (in person or through their writing) have also included a Buddhist nun; a psychoanalyst / soldier, and the star couple of existential philosophy. These characters - and many others - make appearances in his book (published by Quarto), "Better Decisions"

From 2014 - 2018, Chris took a break from consulting to become CEO of the amazing and important UK-wide Olympic and Paralympic legacy charity, Sported. Chris has delivered well-received keynotes and seminars for groups as diverse as the Pacific Coast Builders’ Conference in San Francisco (Leading Your Team Through Difficult Times); the NHS Medical Directors’ Conference in London; UK Sport’s World Class Performance Conference (Authentic Leadership for Sustainable Success); the Royal Yachting Associaion; Chartered Institute of Housing and Wimbledon.  Chris has a longstanding interest in, and commitment to, challenging sexism, racism and other forms of discrimination. He served as a member of the Commission on the Future of Women’s Sport, chaired by Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, and has spoken at International Womens Day gatherings and other events.  From 2016 - 2022, Chris served as an Independent Board Member of Sport England, where he was the driving force behind the Talent Inclusion Advisory Group, aiming for national teams across all sports to reflect the broader population in terms of socio-economic background; ethnicity and other factors. 

Chris has worked extensively within the High Performance sport system, not least as a lead tutor on UK Sport’s Elite Coach Programme, and recently facilitating post Tokyo strategy sessions around the UK with all the Paralympic and Olympic sports. He was Deputy Chair of the Board of International Inspiration, the groundbreaking London 2012 International Development Programme, which reached more than 20 million children around the world, and has also sat on the Board of the Youth Sport Trust and Comic Relief’s UK Grants Committee. 

>Chris has delivered well-received keynotes and seminars for groups as diverse as the Pacific Coast Builders’ Conference in San Francisco (Leading Your Team Through Difficult Times); the NHS Medical Directors’ Conference in London; UK Sport’s World Class Performance Conference (Authentic Leadership for Sustainable Success); the Royal Yachting Associaion; Chartered Institute of Housing and Welsh Sports Association.  Chris has a longstanding interest in, and commitment to, challenging sexism, racism and other forms of discrimination. He served as a member of the Commission on the Future of Women’s Sport, chaired by Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, and has spoken at International Womens Day gatherings and other events. 

In June 2020, Chris's book "Better Decisions"  was published by Quarto. Chris grew up in South London, and has endured the lifelong turmoil interspersed with shafts of glorious sunlight that go with being a Palace fan. He and his wife Lenneke have 4 grown-up children. 

Chris was awarded an OBE for Services to Sport in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.