2019 Australian of the Year and Thai cave rescue diver — on calm under pressure and teams that perform.
Dr Richard Harris is an Adelaide anaesthetist whose role in the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand made global headlines — and made him a deeply credible voice on what it actually takes to perform under genuinely high stakes. He and fellow diver Craig Challen were jointly named Australians of the Year in 2019 for their part in the recovery of the trapped Thai youth soccer team.
What Richard talks about today goes well beyond the rescue itself. He draws on decades of anaesthetic practice, retrieval medicine and technical diving experience to unpack how individuals and teams actually function in conditions where mistakes carry real consequences — and what that looks like when transferred into the operating rhythm of a corporate organisation.
His keynotes are calm, measured and free of bravado. They suit leadership conferences, safety-critical industries, healthcare and operational events where the audience needs more than a war story — they need a clear-eyed view of preparation, decision-making and how trust gets built in advance of the moments it's required.
Dr Richard Harris SC OAM is a keynote speaker based in South Australia who speaks on inspiration, leadership and motivation. Book through Executive Speakers Australia.
What an unassuming and amazing Australian! Richard's natural speaking style guided the audience through such an important and stressful situation and had everyone 100% attentive, waiting to hear what was coming next. Despite knowing of his story, to hear directly the decisions and thoughts he and the others went through was incredible.National Mortgage Brokers
Dr Richard Harris was absolutely outstanding!! Such a humble man with a captivating story. His generosity to share so much of his experience and be so raw was a privilege to listen to. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and the audience were eager to ask endless questions of him. Thank you.MCI Australia
Dr Richard Harris was a sheer delight to work with. He went over and above to customise his presentation to our audience which certainly did not go unnoticed. The feedback for his session was amazing with phrases such as “humble hero” and “true Australian legend” and being used freely. There was not a dry eye in the house.eBusiness Media
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