Cath Bishop

Olympic rower and conflict diplomat Cath Bishop is a versatile speaker with key lessons for companies floundering in the rocky waters of business. Sharing practical strategies to raise performance, transform cultures and develop effective leadership and teams.

Delivering outstanding performance under extreme circumstances is Cath’s lifeblood – both from her gruelling Olympic training regime, which led her to a silver medal and World Championship gold, and through her struggle for survival as she sheltered from shelling on her diplomatic mission to Basra.

Cath returned from two Olympic Games without a medal and decided that, after rigorous physical and psychological training, she had to unlock the secret to her non-success. In her search for new tactics, she ultimately adopted the well-documented ‘marginal gains’ attitude that saw her sail smoothly onto the podium.

No stranger to tough situations, the decade Cath spent as a British diplomat in Bosnia and Iraq has equipped her with the highest level of strategy-building, resilience, and a determination to do her job in the face of danger and adversity.

Cath is a member of the Executive Committee of the Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club, a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta and a spokeswoman for the Women’s Sports Trust.  She sits on the Advisory Board of the Surrey University Business School, and is an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge and the University of Wales Aberystwyth.  Cath has been a rowing commentator for Eurosport, the BBC Boat Races and Henley Royal Regatta, is a regular newspaper reviewer on Radio 4’s Broadcasting House, and panellist at the BBC3 Free Thinking Festival.

Her first book The Long Win: The Search for a Better Way to Succeed was published in October 2020. The book explores our cultural obsession with winning and how it affects the way we approach work, sport, education and beyond, the FT named it a Top 10 business book 2020.

She is currently working on a book, 'The Long Win' that challenges the often narrow lens we have on what winning means, and sets out a new way of thinking and reframing success across business, sport and education.

Underpinned by the latest research from business schools, leadership theory and organisational psychology, Cath brings insights as a speaker, facilitator, consultant and writer into how organisations can develop a clarity of purpose, a constant learning mindset and genuine collaboration to achieve success.  Cath’s expertise lies in building effective leaders, developing resilience and high performing teams, and Cath has a passionate interest in helping women to reach their leadership potential.

Cath continues to be active in supporting the next generation of sporting talent, including through support of the Youth Sport Trust, the True Athlete Project and as Chair of Love Rowing (British Rowing's Charitable Foundation). Cath has commentated for Henley Royal Regatta and the BBC Boat Races and been invited to review the newspapers on Radio 4’s Broadcasting House. She is also an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge and the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta.

Both rowing and international diplomacy are effective analogies for interdependency and collaboration in business. In a unique amalgamation of her diverse experiences, Cath deftly relates genuine insights into setbacks and how to respond to them.

Cath speaks at events, conferences, on leadership programmes and within organisations in the UK and internationally on topics relating to performance and leadership.