Olympic Champion Swimmer & CEO Who Grew a Company to $1.4B
Grant Hackett OAM is one of Australia's greatest ever swimmers — a multiple Olympic gold medallist and world champion who dominated the 1500m freestyle for nearly a decade. But the story Grant tells on stage today is about what came after the pool, and what he has learned about leadership, resilience and building high-performance organisations outside of sport.
As CEO of Generation Development Group (GDG), Grant led the company from $60 million to a market capitalisation of $1.4 billion — an extraordinary commercial achievement that demonstrates the transferability of elite sporting mindset to the business world. His leadership at GDG drew on the same principles that made him a champion swimmer: clarity of purpose, obsessive preparation, the ability to build high-performance teams and the mental resilience to lead through adversity.
Grant has also been remarkably open about his own mental health challenges — speaking publicly about the personal difficulties he faced during and after his sporting career with a vulnerability and courage that has made him one of the most respected voices on the subject in Australian sport. His presentations are honest, compelling and grounded in both extraordinary achievement and genuine human struggle — a combination that makes them uniquely resonant for audiences across sport, business and the broader community.
Grant Hackett OAM is a keynote speaker based in Victoria who speaks on business strategy, leadership and motivation. Book through Executive Speakers Australia.
Grant was very easy to work with in the lead up. He's a natural presenter who demands attention and his presentation was very relevant to our delegates. He even stayed back and took photos with our delegates for 30 mins!Loan Market Group (LMG)
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