Jacco Verhaeren

Athlete

45 min

NL

Leadership,
Olympics,
Performance,
Swimming

Team Building,
Cooperation

Jacco Verhaeren is not only a top coach but also an inspiring speaker who shares his extensive experience as a coach and leader in the world of sports. As a former national team coach and team director for the Dutch, Australian, and French swimming teams, he has demonstrated how all disciplines within a team come together to achieve top results. With more than 30 years of national and international experience in Olympic swimming, he has also led the Sports Management Team of the cycling team Team Visma | Lease a Bike through their transition to new leadership. His impressive career, during which he has won Olympic gold numerous times with various athletes and teams, makes him an inspiring speaker for companies and teams striving for improvement and success under high pressure.

Jacco Verhaeren is one of the most successful sports coaches in the Netherlands, known for his work with swimming stars such as Pieter van den Hoogenband, Inge de Bruijn, and Ranomi Kromowidjojo. His Dutch athletes have won no fewer than ten Olympic gold medals, and he served as technical director of both the National Swimming Institute in Eindhoven and the Dutch Swimming Federation. In 2014, Jacco moved to Australia, where he led the swim team to unprecedented successes. He then worked with the French swim team, with whom he won seven medals—including four gold—at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. He proved that his leadership can also be successful in other sports during his tenure as Head of Sport Management for the Team Visma | Lease a Bike cycling team.

In his lectures, Jacco shares his experiences on leadership, transitions, coaching, talent development, innovation, and working with teams across different cultures. He takes you on a journey through his experiences coaching elite athletes and building successful teams, focusing on performing under pressure and achieving goals. Jacco’s stories are not only inspiring but also practical, offering lessons that are directly applicable to companies and teams across a wide range of industries.

What can you expect?
• Insights on leadership: How you, as a leader, can guide a team to success, even under intense pressure.
• Talent development: Strategies for identifying and developing talent, both individually and as a group.
• Innovation and success: How innovation in training and team dynamics can lead to exceptional performance.
• Practical lessons: Jacco shares real-life experiences and teaches you how to apply the principles of elite sports to your company or organization.

Jacco Verhaeren offers a captivating and inspiring session for companies, leaders, and teams who want to learn how to excel in their field.

Share this act