John Amaechi
Psychologist, best-selling author and former NBA Professional
John is a sought after speaker inspiring, informing and charming audiences with his candour and wealth of international experience in sport, business and life.
A psychologist and New York Times best-selling author. In the US and Europe, he works with aspiring and already high-achieving individuals as well as medium to large-sized organisations looking for an edge. He is often retained to help identify and implement ways to increase productivity by improving communication & leadership skills, organisational culture and climate - often where mainstream options have failed.
He has proven himself adept at achieving the seemingly impossible by scaling to the heights of the best basketball league in the world, the National Basketball Association, after starting the game aged 17. From first picking up a ball, he went to a ‘starting five’ position on the Cleveland Cavaliers in just six years. His personal drive, perseverance and planning are augmented by his post-retirement research and education in psychology. He is a true ‘triple threat’ when working with individuals and organisations that want to change.
Topics have included transforming organisations, inspiring change, interpersonal skills, leadership, team cohesion, the impact of depression, emotional literacy and diversity and inclusion on individual and team performance.
John has extensive expertise in connecting with diverse audiences, and through dialogue, honing a coherent change narrative for any individual or organisation. He is able to set and maintain tone, as well as use wit, warmth and insight to link the individual facets of any of the APS programmes. He can prepare and guide clients through the early, difficult stages of the change process, and equip people with the skills to perpetuate tangible change. He’s no magic bullet, but with John, change can be swift.
He is an accomplished communicator, with experience addressing a diverse cross-section of clients, including an impressive list of ‘blue chip’ corporations, international trusts and world-class educational institutions, throughout Europe and the United States.
An astute diagnostician, John can review materials and assess personnel and workplace culture and climate to provide immediate insight and pathways for progress.
John appears regularly as a pundit for CNN, MSNBC, CBC and the BBC. He has also appeared on shows like BBC Breakfast, The Daily Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, Oprah and many more.
John is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), the British Psychological Society (BPS), the BPS Division of Occupational Psychology and the BPS Psychological Testing Centre.
He is a Senior Fellow at the Applied Centre for Emotional Literacy, Learning and Research with the well-known academic Dr. Richard Majors.
His bestselling book "Man in the Middle" chronicles John Amaechi’s extraordinary journey from awkward,overweight English lad to jet-setting NBA star. Along the way, he endured endless obstacles to his hoop dreams—being abandoned by his father, being cut from his first college team, recovering from a life-threatening injury, playing for abusive coaches, and losing his mother - while also protecting a vital secret that could have ended his career: John Amaechi was gay. "Man in the Middle follows" him from the rough streets of Manchester to Penn State (where he first achieved basketball stardom and began to recognize his sexuality) to the cities (Orlando, Houston, Salt Lake City) and countries (Greece, France) in which he played. A moving story of adversity and diversity, Man in the Middle is a testament to the power of one man’s convictions and to the universal desire to make the world a better place.
