Charles van Commenée

The Former Head Coach & Technical Director of British Athletics, Former Performance Director of the Dutch Olympic Committee, Inductee of the British Coaching Hall of Fame & Author of "Handboek Topsport"

Handboek Topsport

Handboek Topsport

Charles van Commenée received a 4.5 star rating across 10 events in 2023

Operations Director
"Charles van Commenée, with a rich history of propelling athletes to Olympic glory and a career adorned with significant achievements, brings unparalleled motivation and insights into achieving peak performance. His expertise in fostering a high-performance culture and teamwork is invaluable for any audience seeking to transcend their limits."

How to hire Charles van Commenée

Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Charles van Commenée for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.

** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.

Charles van Commenée's official speaking topics are listed below: 

How to Build a High Performance Culture:

  • Traits of a High Performance Culture - Resilience, No Excuses, High Expectations & Optimism 
  • How to Build a High Performance Culture (4 Pillars)
  • Small Margins in a Competitive Market
  • Excellence Through Selection
  • How Demanding Should a Leader Be? 
  • The Winning Spirit Within a Team of Individuals

High Performance Coaching - The Inconvenient Truth: 

  • Identify the Performance Gap by Comprehensive Benchmarking
  • Set a Strategy to Close the Performance Gap
  • Set Process Goals
  • Formalise Agreements & Conditions
  • Detailed Evaluations

Teamwork for Non Team Players: 

  • Common Goals
  • Shared Team Values
  • Clarity of Roles
  • Embrace the Differences Within the Team

Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events

Feedback from In-Person Events:

"Charles delivered a one-hour presentation on Leadership and Coaching at our annual conference. His messages and core themes were perfectly aligned to what we expect from our leaders and his coaching philosophy was one that we can all learn from and apply. His no-compromise approach to accountability will ring true to any organisation that is serious about performance." - Santander Corporate Banking

“The leadership skills and techniques Charles imparted were quite fascinating and triggered much discussion later that evening which was just the outcome we wanted. It was a most engaging and memorable hour which suited our conference and was a perfect finale.” - DLA Piper

  • 2023 - Motivational Speaker on High Performance Culture, Coaching & Teamwork
  • 2018 - Head Coach of Dutch Athletics
  • 2014 - Performance Consultant for NOC*NSF
  • 2008 - Head Coach of British Athletics
  • 2004 - Performance Director & Chef de Mission of Netherlands Olympic Team, NOS*NSF
  • 2004 - Coached Kelly Sotherton to an Olympic bronze medal 
  • 2001 - Appointed Technical Director of British Athletics
  • 2000 - Named Amsterdam Coach of the Year
  • 1991 - National Coach of Combined Events & Throws for the Netherlands Athletics Union