Erin Kennedy OBE

Erin Kennedy OBE is one of Great Britain’s most decorated coxswains, with nearly a decade at the pinnacle of international rowing. First introduced to the sport at Oxford University—where she steered the Women’s Blue Boat to a record victory in the 2014 Boat Race—she later rose to prominence in the GB Paralympic 4+. Erin quickly amassed major titles, becoming a two-time Paralympic Champion, three-time World Champion, four-time European Champion, World Cup Winner, and World Record Holder. Remarkably, she achieved many of these accolades while confronting Stage 3 Triple Negative Breast Cancer, diagnosed at age 29.

Despite undergoing intensive treatment, including a double mastectomy and 15 rounds of chemotherapy, Erin continued to lead her crews to victory. She won a gold medal at the World Cup just four days after her diagnosis, triumphed at the European Championships while on chemotherapy, and made a triumphant return exactly one year later to claim further European and World Cup titles. In September 2024, Erin coxed the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four boat to victory at the Paris Paralympic Games, securing another gold for Team GB. In recognition of her extraordinary commitment to rowing and breast cancer awareness, Erin was first awarded an MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours List and advanced to OBE in the 2025 New Year Honours List.

Beyond her athletic achievements, Erin actively promotes early detection of breast cancer and amplifies patient voices, driving forward discussions on menopause support and the de-stigmatization of chemotherapy. Her journey, from elite sport to cancer advocacy, offers a powerful message about perseverance, leadership, and the importance of camaraderie. Erin’s talks resonate with audiences across sectors, inspiring them to navigate challenges with courage, adapt to changing conditions, and work in perfect unity toward a shared goal.

Alongside her talks and workshops, Erin is a performance mentor to a number of top business men and women. Erin is currently working closely with Allianz and Partners as part of their Buddy Scheme. In her spare time, Erin also mentors young coxswains keen to get further in their own careers.

Topics:

• Leadership: As a coxswain, Erin takes the natural role as leader within her crew. She has delivered a wealth of talks and workshops and establishing leadership style, passing on invaluable lessons from elite sport and is fantastic at bringing out the best in others. Whether it is leading from the front or the pack, Erin has fantastic advice and real life scenarios to help any individual thrive in leadership.
• Communication: In her role as the coxswain of the GB Rowing Team, communication is the most important skill in Erin’s arsenal. A skilled and reflective communicator, Erin is an eexpert at passing on her knowledge to others, sharing high level in sights in effective communication in one of the nation’s top sports teams.
• Teamwork: Erin’s passion is teamwork and getting the best out of those around her. Whether it is in the sporting or the business world, teamwork is essential to success and the first place to look when building a team is at the individuals. Erin has delivered teamwork sessions to some of the country’s top organisations, most notably the British Army.
• Resilience & Reframing: Even before her cancer diagnosis, Erin spoke about the importance of resilience in high performance sport and how we can practice it daily. She credits this alongside the learnt skill of reframing as the key to her ability to cope with cancer and maintain a positive attitude. Erin talks openly about the challenges has has had to overcome both personally and professionally and can provide a toolkit for the listener to help them in the future,
• Goal Setting: Erin has spoken extensively on the value of goal setting as well as energy and time management. Operating in a high performance sport requires constant reflection, analysis and progress and provides a a platform for success. Erin is able to share her invaluable wisdom and experience of when it comes to working hard to get to the top as well as figuring out how to stay there.