Naomi Riches

Former British Paralympic Rower Who Won Gold at London 2012, 6X World Champion & Guinness World Record Setter

  • Inspirational speaker, facilitator & resilience coach
  • First woman to row the length of the navigable Thames
  • Appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (2023)

When [post:title] is booked for events, they are known to discuss the following speaking topics:

Adversity
Female Inspiration
Marginal Gains
Mental Resilience
Motivational
Peak Performance
Organisational Behaviour
Teamwork & Team Building
Disability Awareness
Diversity & Inclusion
Emotional Intelligence
Online Motivation
Webinars
Paralympics

Naomi Riches MBE DL is a British rower, Paralympic gold and bronze medallist, six-time World Champion, Guinness World Record holder, and a highly sought-after inspirational speaker, facilitator, and resilience coach. She founded her own business in 2020 and now works with organisations and audiences across the UK and internationally to help them achieve peak performance. Naomi delivers impactful talks on a wide range of topics, including adversity, marginal gains, mental resilience, and disability awareness. She also offers valuable insights on teamwork, organisational behaviour, diversity and inclusion, and emotional intelligence. With a story that captivates and empowers, Naomi connects deeply with audiences seeking motivation, inclusion, and real-world inspiration.

Naomi’s path to becoming an elite athlete was shaped by personal struggle and perseverance. Diagnosed with a severe visual impairment as a child, she faced low expectations from others and endured bullying and academic challenges during her education. Despite this, she developed a strong determination not to be defined by her disability or limited by what others believed she could not do. It was in her college years that Naomi discovered rowing—a turning point that launched her into the world of elite sport. She joined the GB Adaptive Rowing Team in 2004 and, in the same year, secured her first World Rowing Championship, quickly followed by another in 2005.

Her athletic career continued to reach new heights, with a bronze medal win at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, and a crowning achievement with a gold medal at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Naomi retired from competitive sport in 2013 but remains driven to break boundaries. In 2016, she became the first woman to row the length of the navigable Thames in under 48 hours, earning her a Guinness World Record. In recognition of her public service and inspirational influence, Naomi was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire in 2023, working alongside The Countess Howe, His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of the county.

Naomi is frequently hired for her ability to turn personal adversity into powerful, relatable lessons. Her talks go beyond motivation—exploring marginal gains for high performance, mental resilience through challenge, and how diversity and emotional intelligence create stronger teams and organisations. Whether addressing corporate leaders, school pupils or community groups, Naomi’s lived experience and authentic voice continue to inspire change, action, and belief in what is possible.

Official Testimonials

Naomi Riches is regularly booked to engage audiences at events, read their latest feedback below:

“It gave me food for thought and left me feeling inspired and motivated to achieve my personal and career goals.”

Maria, EMEA Client Insight Analyst

“Really enjoyed Naomi’s session as very inspiring both in terms of how important team work is to move in the same direction, but also from a personal perspective that with right level of determination anything is possible.”

Steve, EMEA Director of Advisory

“Really interesting and inspiring talk – it was a mix of engaging and informative! Very motivational!”

Chloe, BI Analyst

“Loved it – Naomi was inspirational & shared her story in a powerful way. She also made it relevant to us by asking us to think about our goals & what motivates and drives us.”

Tom, Director, Global Analytics

“Naomi told us her journey with its highs, lows and huge achievements in such an engaging, motivating and relatable way.”

Women in Business event, London Chamber of Commerce & Industry

“Her parting thought was a striking one, urging us to consider that true success comes from building upon the obstacles we encounter.”

Women in Business event, London Chamber of Commerce & Industry

“Such an incredible story of resilience.”

Women in Business event, London Chamber of Commerce & Industry

“Naomi proves that if your desire to succeed is stronger than the obstacles thrown at you then there’s nothing staying in the way of your dream.”

Women in Business event, London Chamber of Commerce & Industry

“Naomi’s session was the highlight of our Away Day. She told her inspirational story and seamlessly linked it to our own work and understanding of our own motivations. Naomi’s style is very personable and engaging. She uses humour and her authenticity to draw the audience in and left us all with plenty to think about in our own work contexts. We all felt deeply privileged to have spent this time with Naomi and to have learned from her experiences on and off the water.”

UK Central Government Department

“Absolutely fantastic, she worked with several groups of students with differing educational and motivational needs, and all the students said they felt positive and learnt a lot from Naomi.”

Kenton School

“You could have heard a pin drop. They NEVER sit that still, for that long! She was very candid and open with the students.  It was refreshing to see how attentive they were, their reactions and, how much more positive a confident they appeared about their own futures and abilities.”

Studio West

“I’ve worked with Naomi a few times now and can honestly say she is an absolute inspiration and her story is relatable. She is professional, committed and passionate about inspiring others. I would 100% recommend working with Naomi as speaker.”

Charlotte, Global Organisational Learning & Development Senior Coordinator, GW Pharmaceutical PLC

“I was lucky to have Naomi as my assessor for the professional assessment and coaching process. She is a quite remarkable person and it was fascinating for me to see how Naomi’s experience and achievements provided such a great background for coaching. She is truly motivational, with a strong, logical style mixed with a great sense of humour. I learned a great deal from Naomi, and she undoubtedly helped me improve my leadership effectiveness as well as my own self-awareness. I would have no hesitation in recommending her in any role in which she had the opportunity to influence people, as she does that in the most outstanding way.”

Clive, CEO, De La Rue

“Naomi’s style is open, honest and inspiring. She has a remarkable ability to communicate quickly and authentically with people, rapidly establishing rapport. This means that she is particularly effective as a motivational speaker and facilitator. From personal experience, I know that audiences are inspired by what she has to say and that the integrity of her message can generate both tears and laughter. Highly recommended as a keynote speaker at a conferences.”

David, Principal, Opus Business Consulting

“Naomi, I wanted to say a HUGE thank you for your presentation. It was incredible how gripped you had every single one of us throughout (despite doing it all via Zoom too!). I know a few of our volunteers were particularly moved and inspired by your personal journey, so I want to pass on a particularly huge thank you for the profound impact you have had.”

Samuel, Head of Communication, Nightline Association

“In a business career of (too many) years, you occasionally meet truly exceptional people. Naomi is one of those people. Her CV speaks for itself, much better than I could in this text box. I can thoroughly recommend that you speak to her yourself, to find out if she can help your organisation.”

Mark, Manager - Network & Development, Porsche GB

“Naomi was the guest speaker at our infamous ICAEW Thames Valley Annual Dinner, this one was special as it was our 45th ICAEW Thames Valley Anniversary.

“All I can say is WOW, Naomi’s story gave all the audience goosebumps and had everyone in awe, if you are looking for a speaker that will have a massive impact on the audience and leave everyone with a tear in their eye… Naomi is the perfect speaker.

“Naomi did not fail to deliver; I have had so much feedback to how touched and informed the audience felt after hearing from her. She was a pleasurer to work with and I cannot recommend her enough.

“Naomi you were extremely profession, approachable and informing, I hope to work with you again the in future. Thank you, from all of us at ICAEW Thames Valley!”

Emily, Regional Executive, ICAEW

“Naomi spoke at the P2P Annual Gathering recently and was fantastic. Her speech was presented in a highly professionally manner with a fascinating story. She was engaging, funny and there were a few thrills n spills too. But delivering a good speech is only half of it, after her 30 minutes, she had a Q & A session and then she talked with attendees over lunch. She continued to wow the crowd through her charm and interesting stories, but also her interest in our attendees shone through, she really is a ‘people person’. The feedback for our Gathering has been terrific and Naomi was a big part of that success. It was our first since returning after the pandemic, so we had to make it a great event.”

Peter, Director, People 2 Places

“I met Naomi back in 2014 when I started working with the guys at Thomas International, in this time Naomi has not only developed into someone who understands the Thomas tools and how to integrate them into peoples’ everyday lives, she has also become an accomplished keynote speaker sharing her moving story to help others reach for their goals. I would have no problems in recommending Naomi as a World class speaker for your conference.”

Derek, Olympian, Speaker, Business Coach & Mentor

“We felt extremely honoured to welcome Naomi Riches MBE DL to our BBO PA Network Awards in 2021, and then back to our Strategic PA Network Awards in 2023.

“Naomi opened both our Awards with an empowering keynote address, sharing with us her journey to date and some of the challenges she overcame along the way. She also shone a spotlight on the unsung heroes behind the success of the team, the ones who don’t receive gold medals, which is exactly what our awards are about, celebrating the Personal, Executive and Virtual Assistants that work tirelessly behind the scenes to make things happy, yet very rare see the rewards.  Naomi is a genuine and engaging motivational speaker who’s experiences are relatable.  She was brilliant at getting her message across and on both occasions, it was a perfect start to our Awards, really setting the evening up.

“We would thoroughly recommend Naomi as a speaker!  I’d happily connect with anyone who had any questions they’d like to ask me. Thank you for being you Naomi!”

Sarah & Marianne, Founders & Directors, Strategic PA Network

“Since 2019, 2M have worked with Naomi on numerous occasions with a variety of leadership teams across 2M Holding LTD and with our Future Leaders, now Accelerate programmes. She really does add value to the teams she works with, is insightful, but is that rare combination of someone who has achieved great things and yet remains down to earth. This makes her the best of motivational speakers and facilitators. Not only is she inspiring and engaging, but she is also a warm and personable individual who everyone connected with. Everyone needs a dose of Naomi!”

Liran, Chair, 2M Manufacturing

To enquire about Naomi Riches for your event or corporate function, simply contact us via agent@female-motivational-speakers.com or call a booking agent on 0203 9158 282.