International yachtsman, businessman, and philanthropist, John Bertrand skippered Australia 11 to victory over the US team Liberty to win the 1983 America’s Cup.
The victory was considered by the Confederation of Australian Sport as the ‘greatest team performance in 200 years of Australian sport’.
The victory broke 132 years of American domination, the longest-running streak in modern sporting history.
John competed in five America’s Cups and two Olympic Games over 25 years of international competition. He is a triple world sailing champion.
He has a Master of Science from MIT in Boston, graduated from Monash University with a Mec Eng (Hon) degree, and has an Honorary Doctorate from Victoria University. He is a Vice-Chancellor and Professorial Fellow of Monash University.
John is an entrepreneur. He has built companies in the marine, property development, and media industries, including co-founding and launching a digital media company on NASDAQ in the United States.
He was chairman and president of Swimming Australia from 2013 until October 2020
He led what could be considered the greatest turnaround in Australian Olympic history when as chairman in 2013, he took over a largely dysfunctional organisation following the London Olympics with one gold medal, to become the most successful Australian Olympic swim team ever.
The swim team's nine Olympic golds in Tokyo represented over 50% of the gold medals won by the entire Olympic team across all sports.
John is chairman of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, whose members are the Legends of Australian sport.
He is the Patron of the inaugural Australian Youth and Women America’s Cup challenge / Barcelona 2024.
A Legend of the America’s Cup Hall of Fame and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, John continues to mentor young aspiring Olympians and business start-up founders.
He still competes at the highest level and loves it.
Talking Points
The Principles of Leadership
The Principles of Leadership
The Essence of Leadership
The Essence of Leadership
Building High Performance Teams
Building High Performance Teams
The Key links of all world class organisation - Management + Technology + People
The Key links of all world class organisation - Management + Technology + People
Making the Right Decisions at the Right Time
Making the Right Decisions at the Right Time
Disruption
Disruption
Video
Untold: The Race of the Century | Official Trailer | Netflix
A chronicle of the thrilling 1983 America’s Cup, “The Race of the Century” is a classic underdog story. It tells the tale of the scrappy group of Australians who band together to dethrone the New York Yacht Club and break the longest-running win streak in history— 132 years!— in the most prestigious sailing competition in the world. Key members of the 1983 U.S. and Australian crews sit down for interviews sharing their experience of this ultimate race to victory.A true gentleman with a great story to tell, will tailor his experience to work within clients requirements thus presenting a strong message of team work, ability to change and take risks. ... keep reading Event Production Management
John related extremely well to a diverse audience, some of whom were initially sceptical. His impact was remarkable as he was able to demonstrate the value of thinking beyond our current parameters. His use of the 1983 America's Cup as a case study was excellent and shows what is possible with a highly focused and planned campaign.
John was most thorough in his approach to understanding the clients needs.
