John Amaechi
Former NBA Player, Professor at the University of Exeter, and Author, The Promises of Giants
John Amaechi OBE is a world-renowned keynote speaker, organizational psychologist, bestselling author, and Professor of Leadership at the University of Exeter Business School. As the founder of APS Intelligence, John leads a global team that transforms leaders and cultures by combining cutting-edge behavioural science with psychological insight.
In a journey that exemplifies resilience and ambition, John was also the first Briton to play professional basketball in the NBA. At the age of 17, when he first picked up a basketball, Amaechi was not considered athletic enough to have any chance of success in domestic sports, much less overseas. Six years later, he became a starting center in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Over his eight-year career in basketball, he also played for the Orlando Magic and the Utah Jazz.
He is a fifteen-year veteran of the American Psychological Association and a member of the British Psychological Society (BPS), its division of occupational psychology, and the BPS Psychometric Testing Group. In 2007, he released his bestselling memoir Man in the Middle, chronicling his life and work. More recently, he wrote The Promises of Giants, a how-to guide for winning, rooted in the belief that the most unlikely of people, in the most improbable of circumstances, can become extraordinary.
Amaechi is also involved with the ABC Foundation in Manchester, which encourages children to take up sports in their local area.
