John Bertrand AO
International yachtsman, businessman, philanthropist, John Bertrand skippered Australia 11 to victory over the US team Liberty to win the 1983 America’s Cup.
The victory was considered by the Confederation of Australian Sport as the ‘greatest team performance in 200 years of Australian sport’.

Speaker Categories
- Adventure and Extreme Speakers
- After Dinner Speakers
- Business Speakers
- CEO's and Business Leaders
- Entrepreneurial Speakers
- Goal Setting Speakers
- Inspirational Speakers
- Leadership Speakers
- Media Personalities
- Motivational Speakers
- Olympic Speakers / Olympians
- Overcoming Adversity / Resilience Speakers
- Sports Speakers
- Team Building and Teamwork Speakers
Testimonials for John Bertrand AO
John had the room breathless, very suitable for the audience. The video he used brought out patriotism we haven't felt for a long time. Incredibly inspirational.
Goldman Sachs JBWere
John was one of the better speakers we've had so far. He showed a genuine interest in our company and it's workings prior to the conference so he was able to tailor his presentation around relevant issues for us. He held our audience captivated, which is no easy task.
Swann Insurance
John provided valuable insight into the complexities of leading a high performance team for an extended period with a specific goal in mind. He provided his views on leadership in relation to that task and how issues including team morale were maintained over that period. He related that to a law enforcement environment reflective of the current challenges faced in respect to Australia's national security issues. Apart from being mesmerized by your views and values, the lasting impression I have of our meeting is your capacity to "listen". It is a leadership trait I try to emphasise throughout our Program - "first seek to understand - and then, to be understood.
Australian Federal Police
Feedback received was very positive. John was down to earth and realistic in his views. He shared information and thoughts that the audience could relate to.
Australian Institute of Management
A true gentleman with a great story to tell, will tailor his experience to work within clients requirements thus presenting a strong message of team work, ability to change and take risks.
Event Production Management
Fee Range: $20001+
John Bertrand AO's Biography
International yachtsman, businessman, philanthropist, John Bertrand skippered Australia 11 to victory over the US team Liberty to win the 1983 America’s Cup.
The victory was considered by the Confederation of Australian Sport as the ‘greatest team performance in 200 years of Australian sport’.
The victory broke 132 years of American domination, the longest running streak in modern sporting history.
John competed in five America’s Cups and two Olympic Games over 25 years of international competition. He is a triple world sailing champion.
He has a Master of Science from MIT in Boston, graduated from Monash University with a Mechanical Engineering Honours degree, and has an Honorary Doctorate from Victoria University. He is a Vice Chancellor Professorial Fellow at Monash University.
John is an entrepreneur. He built companies in the marine industry, property development and media industries, including co-founding and launching a digital media company on NASDAQ in the United States.
He was chairman and president of Swimming Australia from 2013 until October 2020 with the simple vision of becoming world’s best in everything they undertook. Athletes, Coach’s, Administration.
He led what could be considered the greatest turn around in Australian Olympic history when as chairman in 2013, he took over a largely dysfunctional organisation coming out of the London Olympics with one gold medal, to becoming the most successful Australian Olympic swim team of all time.
The swim teams 9 Olympic golds won in Tokyo represented over 50% of all gold medals won by the entire Olympic team across all sports.
John is chairman of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
He continues to mentor young aspiring Olympians and business entrepreneurs.
Speaking Topics Include
Building High Performance Teams
The Essence of Leadership
The Key links of all world class organisation - Management + Technology + People
The Principles of Leadership