It was not only the speech that was amazing, but the fact that within an hour of his presentation, James managed to inspire a lot of people to make a change in their lives, or at least, to consider making a change. I highly recommend James Hewitt as a speaker if you want to bring a change and innovation in your business.
James Hewitt
Human Performance Scientist Helping Leaders and Teams Thrive in the Age of Overload
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James Hewitt
Biography
Dr. James Hewitt equips leaders and teams to achieve sustainable high performance—using real science, not hacks—so they can thrive in today’s always-on world.
A former elite racing cyclist turned PhD human performance scientist, James brings a rare combination of first-hand experience and academic rigor to solving modern workplace challenges.
A Visiting Fellow at Loughborough University (ranked #1 globally for Sport Science), James’ work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, organizational psychology, and elite sport, enabling him to translate advanced research into practical strategies for high-performing workplaces.
James is the creator of Cognitive Gears™, a science-based framework used by Fortune 500 companies, elite sports teams, and high-growth organizations to build capacity, enhance resilience, and drive measurable business results without burnout. His forthcoming book, Regenerative Performance™, distils this framework into a practical guide for thriving in an always-on world.
Through his consultancy, The Knowledge Work Lab™, James designs real-world performance experiments inside organizations, from Formula 1 paddocks to global boardrooms. These projects go beyond traditional consulting, offering executives live data, brain-based insights, and tailored interventions that boost productivity and well-being simultaneously.
James’ approach is trusted across industries including finance, technology, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, insurance, hospitality, consulting, and sport, where complexity is high and stakes are even higher.
A sought-after keynote speaker, James has delivered compelling sessions in over 30 countries, including the World Economic Forum in Davos and the Global Leadership Summit. His high-energy keynotes combine original research, live demonstrations, and actionable insights, empowering audiences to perform at their best without sacrificing their well-being in our increasingly ‘always-on’ world.
James Hewitt
Featured Videos
Current: 2025 Speaking Reel
Time 05:59
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James Hewitt
Featured Keynote Programs
Peak Performance In The Age Of Distraction
How to Reclaim Focus, Beat Digital Fatigue, and Get the Right Work Done
The average employee switches tasks every 47 seconds. Teams are overwhelmed by meetings, messages, and interruptions, and it’s destroying their ability to focus, produce, and recover. In this high-impact keynote, Dr. James Hewitt reveals the neuroscience behind distraction and overload and how organizations can redesign attention to unlock high-quality, high-efficiency performance.
This isn’t about time management. It’s about cognitive architecture, energy rhythms, and building a team culture that protects deep work and accelerates recovery.
This keynote is perfect for leaders and teams:
• Battling constant digital distraction, email overload, and time scarcity.
• Experiencing burnout from blurred boundaries and always-on expectations.
• Looking for practical tools to do more meaningful work, with less stress.
Audience Outcomes:
• Understand how modern work patterns are rewiring the brain and how to take back control.
• Discover the “Cognitive Gears”™ framework to structure time, energy, and attention more strategically.
• Learn how to create performance rhythms that boost output and protect well-being.
Transcend The Leadership Paradox
High Performance Demands Can Break Leaders, But They Don’t Have To
Most leadership advice ignores a brutal paradox: the very demands of leadership often impair the capabilities needed to lead well—clarity, resilience, decision-making, and focus. In this keynote, Dr. James Hewitt reveals how today’s high-performing leaders can escape the trap of chronic overload, reclaim their cognitive edge, and lead with strategic clarity and sustainable energy.
Drawing from neuroscience, elite sport, and his own experiments with global organizations, James equips leaders with tools to lead smarter under pressure without burning out themselves or their teams.
This keynote is perfect for leaders and teams:
• Facing mounting complexity, faster decision cycles, and team exhaustion.
• Trying to be visionary but overwhelmed by day-to-day urgency.
• Advocating wellbeing but struggling to recover themselves.
Audience Outcomes:
• Learn how to stay mentally sharp, emotionally balanced, and strategically focused, even under relentless demands.
• Apply a performance rhythm framework to lead with more clarity, creativity, and energy.
• Discover how to lead high-performing teams without compromising personal or organizational wellbeing.
The Regenerative Workplace
Why Your Wellbeing Strategy Isn’t Working, And What to Do Instead
Despite billions invested in corporate wellbeing, engagement and burnout are moving in the wrong direction. Why? Because most initiatives treat wellbeing as an individual responsibility—when it’s actually a systems issue.
In this provocative and practical keynote, Dr. James Hewitt shows how forward-thinking leaders are redesigning their workplaces as regenerative environments: places that actively improve human capacity instead of depleting it. He shares lessons from Formula 1, finance, and fast-growth companies to help audiences transform wellbeing from a perk into a business-critical lever for growth.
This keynote is perfect for leaders and teams:
• Struggling to balance business outcomes with human sustainability.
• Looking for measurable impact beyond mental health apps and mindfulness webinars.
• Ready to turn the workplace from a stressor into a source of energy, focus, and innovation.
Audience Outcomes:
• Learn a new model for organizational performance based on regenerative design principles.
• Discover the workplace systems that impair or enhance human focus, recovery, and creativity.
• Identify high-leverage opportunities to build capacity and drive better results through wellbeing.
The Future Of Human Performance In The Age Of AI
How to Use AI to Elevate Human Potential, Not Erase It
AI is no longer a future concern; it’s here, reshaping how we work. While many worry about being replaced, most people are simply overwhelmed by digital debt, repetitive tasks, and unclear expectations. In this keynote, Dr. James Hewitt offers a clear-eyed roadmap to build AI-employee alliances that enhance wellbeing, performance, and innovation.
This talk goes beyond AI hype or fear. Drawing from his work inside organizations integrating AI with human performance strategy, James shows how leaders can use tech to amplify the best of being human, not automate it away.
This keynote is perfect for leaders and teams:
• Navigating digital transformation and struggling to keep the human side of work intact.
• Exploring how AI can reduce workload and unlock creativity—not increase stress.
• Looking for frameworks to help employees adapt, contribute, and thrive in an AI-augmented future.
Audience Outcomes:
• Discover how to create a performance culture that integrates AI without dehumanizing work.
• Learn practical strategies to reduce digital overload and elevate high-value, human-centric contributions.
• Shift mindset from replacement to augmentation, preparing teams to stay resilient, relevant, and creative.
James Hewitt
Featured Books
Exponential
by James Hewitt
Better life, better performance: from Formula 1 to Fortune 500
Exponential is a deep-dive into the science of human high performance, bridging the gap from theory to practice.
Every new era has brought challenges and opportunities, requiring humans to adapt and grow, but in contrast to the linear transformations of the past, we are experiencing exponential change.
What skills will you require to thrive in the ‘fourth industrial revolution?’ Are you performing at your full potential? When was the last time you stepped back to consider how you live and work? What if you could maintain your current level of performance, but vastly increase your reserves of energy and time?
James Hewitt, Hintsa Performance Head of Science & Innovation, and Dr. Aki Hintsa, legendary Formula 1 doctor and mentor, reveal the stories and science that have played a pivotal role in 11 Formula 1 world championships as well as the transformative work of Hintsa Performance with executives in leading global companies.
Exponential includes deeply researched content, brought to life with stories and interviews including Two-Time Formula One World Champion, Mika Häkkinen, programmer, teacher and children’s writer, Linda Liukas, Face-Transplant Surgeon, Jyrki Törnwall, President, UBS Wealth Management, Jürg Zeltner, Cancer specialist and sports doctor, Ralph Braun, Olympian and multiple world-champion masters cyclist Geoff Cooke and Alexander Stubb, Former Prime Minister of Finland and Parliamentarian.
If we take time to look beneath the surface of what it means to be human, and focus our attention and energy where we can have the biggest impact, the results on our life and performance can be exponential.
Regenerative Performance - How to Thrive in an Always-On World Without Sacrificing Your Well-Being
by James Hewitt
In a world obsessed with maximizing efficiency and performance, where morning routines start at dawn and work never seems to end, it's no wonder we feel more depleted than ever. Drawing from two decades of research and consulting with organizations across thirty countries, Dr. James Hewitt reveals a startling paradox: as our knowledge of performance optimization has increased, our sense of well-being has decreased.
In this revolutionary book, Hewitt challenges both the relentless grind of hustle culture and the passive withdrawal of
“quiet quitting,” instead offering a groundbreaking third way: Regenerative Performance. Through compelling research and real-world examples, he demonstrates how sustainable success comes not from perpetual optimization, but from the rhythmic oscillation between effort and renewal.
Whether you’re struggling with sleep despite tracking metrics, feeling overwhelmed by endless meetings, or caught in cycles of burnout and recovery, this book provides actionable insights to transform how you work and live. Hewitt masterfully integrates cutting-edge neuroscience, performance psychology, and his personal journey—including his experiences as a full-time racing cyclist and a cancer survivor—to show how we can thrive in an always-on world without sacrificing our well-being.
Regenerative Performance isn’t just another self-help manual—it’s a science-backed framework for achieving exceptional results while maintaining the energy and resilience needed for long-term success. Forget optimization. Master regeneration.
James Hewitt
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