Client Endorsements

Gary has made a profound impact on Dublin GAA football. He is a transformational leader in the truest sense, acting with integrity, encouraging innovation and he has an innate ability to inspire. Gary’s purpose orientated approach resonates with those in the pursuit of the high performance space. I have seen at first hand his unflagging energy and distinctive ability to understand and contextualise specific needs of teams and identify, with clarity, growth potential. If emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership, Gary’s self-management, empathy and social skills gives him the ability to connect with and move people together in an impactful direction. The biggest compliment that I can pay Gary is that he has led a mindset shift enabling us to create a purposeful pathway in what we do and how we do it, in our continued pursuit of high performance.

Gary Keegan was a member of the Dublin Senior Football backroom team from 2015 to 2019.

Jim Gavin
Dublin Senior Football Manager | 2012-2019

I have worked with Gary on numerous projects, ranging from high performance talks to leadership workshops and mentorship programs. His role as a world-class facilitator in high performance and leadership development is unique in its manifestation, due in no small part to the content of Gary’s personal demeanour. A measured pace and calming disposition aptly describes Gary’s commendable character, while his unyielding sense of determination in his area of expertise is a testament to the duty and passion he harbours towards the field of leadership. I believe many who know Gary personally will agree with me when I say that his skills as a motivator, mentor and orator are wholly unique. Where his true greatness lies however is the way in which he distils his knowledge down, compartmentalises the information and succeeds in gifting these lessons to all whom he meets. His diligence is exceptional and his passion inimitable. I have no doubt that his skills and qualities have enlightened many others and that he will continue to exemplify these admirable attributes in all of his future endeavours.

Gillian French
Former Chief People Officer, CarTrawler | 2007 – 2018

I first met Gary in his role at the Institute of Sport and was seriously impressed by him. The impact he has had on Irish Sport is astonishing.  He has made an immense impact on Irish teams and athletes to enable them to deliver podium performances at a National, European, World and Olympic levels. The contribution he has made to me personally and to my teams has been incredible to date. He truly lives and understands high performance, but it is his ability to inspire and enable individuals and teams to new heights that make him unique. The content and delivery of his presentations are so engaging and uplifting that it supports teams delivering on their potential. He is equally effective in the sporting or business arenas. The impact that he has had on my Bank of Ireland Leadership team in Munster and all aspects of the Tipperary All Ireland winning set up is just extraordinary and thankfully we continue to learn from him in on our ongoing pursuit of excellence in business and sport.

Liam Sheedy
Provincial Director, Munster at Bank of Ireland & Tipperary Senior Hurling Manager

Throughout the challenges of COVID-19, Gary Keegan’s expertise and guidance through Uppercut Consulting were nothing short of transformational.  Gary’s approach is both thoughtful and practical—he not only provided clarity and focus in decision-making but also nurtured the personal resilience and confidence I needed on a personal and professional level.

His mentorship was a source of motivation and perspective, enabling me to tackle challenges with renewed energy and optimism. Gary’s influence has been instrumental in shaping my growth as a professional and as an individual, and I consider his guidance a cornerstone of the progress I achieved during that time and since. I am immensely grateful for his impact on my journey and I highly recommend his unparalleled expertise.

Tom Brennan
EirGen Pharma, Q1 Scientific, TriviumVet, Shorla Oncology

Kate Candon
Business Strategy Senior Manager

There was no rush to fill the position because we knew if we got it wrong it could be very wrong. We scoured Ireland and Europe and a lot of places around the world to find someone that would fit. Somebody of Gary’s calibre is pretty hard to come by. Leo convinced him to work with him a little. Once I got the opportunity to sit down with him it sort of blew my mind. Everything about him just screams high performance. There’s a real hard edge to his outlook. There are no excuses. For us it was the right fit at the right time. We had a younger generation that needed a bit of shaping.

Isa Nacewa
4-time European Cup Winner with Leinster Rugby

I first saw Gary speaking at Pendulum and I was immediately drawn to his energy, passion and insights for high performance – he truly is an inspirational speaker and coach for both personal and professional development with specific focus on developing high performance. I have engaged Gary over the past 18 months to work with our Global Supply Chain leadership team, our Senior Leadership team and as a coach. His support and guidance has been instrumental as we embarked on a global program focused on High Performance and a Culture of Excellence – his blended approach of coaching backed up with his personal style and experience makes his sessions hugely energising and impactful in developing a sense of what’s achievable with a high performance mindset.  He is always available at the end of the phone for advice and most importantly tells you what you need to hear – not what you want to hear! A man who practices what he preaches and has translated a high performance mindset from the field of sport into the field of business – backed up by personal experience. A truly unique individual coach and speaker.

James Winters
Corporate VP, Manufacturing and Supply Chain | Teleflex

First and foremost Gary is a person of the highest integrity, who is driven by a core set of values and has a highly collaborative approach to everything he does. He is not a leader who operates from a text book in an ivory tower, he is the embodiment of what a real thought leader in his field should look like in these fast paced turbulent times in which we live i.e. results focused, short term and long term. It is very clear he has personally experienced success and failure in the domains of business and high performance sport to know what it takes to succeed at the very highest level on a world stage. From the research I have conducted, I have yet to see anybody else bring together the best practices of business and high performance sport in the way Gary achieves it. Just as important, he knows how to translate it into real action that delivers quantifiable business benefits. I have also had the pleasure, on a number of occasions, of observing the impact of Gary’s message first hand on large groupings of business managers and executives. It was simply electrifying. There is no other way to describe it. This rare combination of inspiration and real world experience that he possesses, will be the real catalyst of change for any organisation who is looking to achieve a higher level of business performance and fortunate enough to work directly with Gary.

Graham Fagan
Group Director of Technology and Operations, AIB

Gary’s vision and leadership philosophy, that works so well in the sports world, transfers seamlessly into a corporate environment. From day one Gary was in my corner pushing for the success of me and my team. To Gary leadership success is much more than excelling in business deliverables it is about your impact as a leader, the belief you build and the environment you create that allows your team to excel. Gary’s counsel and challenge supported me as I successfully delivered a cultural transformation programme for over 300 people and our national customer base that fundamentally changed the workplace and way we worked. Gary helped me to create an environment where everyone had a voice, collaboration was second nature and creativity encouraged. The team were empowered to deliver and my role as leader was to coach and ensure that we were all working to one common purpose. Gary has huge integrity and works hard to get to know you at an individual level, building a trusted partnership. It is through this trust and his natural empathy that Gary can challenge and bring out the true leader within you. Gary’s coaching encapsulates the whole person and he encouraged me to focus on fitness and mindset and to move outside my comfort zone in all spheres of my life. This has inspired me to take on new challenges in the last months and to seek new opportunities as an independent director, mediator, and advisory consultant. Sessions with Gary can be challenging and direct, but they always leave you excited, motivated, and inspired. Any business leader or team would be lucky to have Gary in their corner, his passion and inspiration are contagious.

Brid O’Donovan
Former Senior Leader, AIB

Gary Keegan is a genuine leader in the rarest sense of the word. He is not just an outstanding thinker but also a truly exceptional person that I have had the fortune of guidance from within the PEP Program in the Irish Institute of Sport to Olympic preparations on site in Rio de Janiero. Gary sees peoples potential and leads them beyond where they may not have believed was within their capability. When assessing he can understand complexity remarkably quickly and views an objective or problem beyond a person’s normal dimensions. He articulates the parts to bring clarity, direction and benefit. When operating he relishes these processes and the natural passion and leadership of his personality compels people to their best so the benefit is multiplied. He has an exceptional understanding capability through the various layers of any problem or plan, from the vision and strategy right through to the people and the detail. Gary’s integrity is applied and stalwart, his character consistently inspires and he is a true master in high performance.

Rory Fitzpatrick
Olympic Coach at Irish Sailing Association

The day I started working with Gary was one of the most important of my career. Since then, I have become curious about my strengths and weaknesses. I now constantly ask how I can improve and serve others while enjoying the journey. Having someone in my corner to act as a guide has been hugely important.

Niall O’Sullivan
Global Solution Chief Investment Officer, Mercer

I have known Gary for the best part of 30 years. From his early days as a coach, it was quite evident that Gary saw and thought about not just sport, but individual and team development in a very different way. He is a strategic thinker and has world class ability to lead and bring people on the journey with him. Having observed him working with teams, I have seen his ability to inspire and develop a culture of excellence. As high performance director of Irish boxing, Gary created a system that achieved consistent world class results. As a personal mentor he has shared some invaluable advice which I am truly grateful for. He has encouraged me to never fear failure and to push the boundaries to achieve maximum performance. Gary is an excellent communicator who can mix his knowledge of both the world of high performance sport and business to connect teams with performance excellence. As someone who has experienced and succeeded in the tough world of professional sport I can attest to Gary’s capacity and skills to assimilate the unique contexts individuals, teams and organisations are in and use that understanding to affect real and impactful change.

Bernard Dunne
IABA High Performance Director & Former Super Bantamweight Boxing World Champion

In my 15 years on the global circuit of high performance sport, I’ve yet to meet anyone to compare with Keegan’s ability to lead, strategise and improve performance. My first connection with Gary was in 2001 while Gary was part of the IABA coaching committee. My first impression was of a man who was thirsty for knowledge, a fast learner and a strategic thinker. Two years later, Gary employs me as Head Coach of Irish Boxing. For the next five years we followed Gary’s vision. Gary coached and guided throughout our wonderful journey which took Irish Boxing to amazing success. From 2008 to present, Gary has continued to be an advisor and confidant and more importantly a friend and leader to count on.
Billy Walsh
Headcoach, USA Boxing

Gary is an inspirational leader who exudes integrity, expertise and strategic thinking. I worked with, and for Gary, for six years of his eight-year tenure as Director of the Irish Institute of Sport. During this time he consistently both challenged and inspired me, in equal measure. His character and energy are infectious and his ability to deliver succinct solutions to complex problems is exceptional. He is equally adept at developing comprehensive systemic strategy, or isolating the minutest detail impacting the delivery of excellence. Gary is a passionate high performer with an expert understanding of high performance.

Ciaran Ward
Performance Lead at Judo NI

Gary is a deeply strategic thinker who has an ability to assimilate and analyse to bring clarity of focus to any organisation. His leadership skills are exceptional and founded on a bedrock of integrity and clear values. Gary has the ability to inspire his team to achieve more than they thought possible by focusing on what really matters and bringing passion and energy to the task at hand.

Phil Moore
Head of Performance Support, Olympics Federation of Ireland

Gary brings clarity to high performance and helps leaders and managers understand what they need to do to achieve it with good implementation in real businesses. I have been lucky enough to benefit from Gary’s work in two businesses and in the IMI and have seen him in action as a programme leader, facilitator, coach and speaker and he always challenges hard with passion and fairness.

Brian Ingarfield
Former CPO & CCO, CarTrawler | 2012-2017

Ultimate authority on high performance, innovator, strategist, positive team and company culture change & championing, rock solid, values driven coach, leadership expert, winner…..are all phrases, words and descriptors that jump into my mind when I think about Gary Keegan. I met Gary at a high performance conference about 10 years ago and since that time, he has been a huge inspiration and source of wisdom and guidance relating to every aspect of team performance and development. Gary’s knowledge of high performance systems and how to develop a strong and positively competitive team culture are second to none. In any team crisis situation, if you’re seeking direction or a route for resolution Gary is the man. His generosity knows no bounds in sharing his time and knowledge. Above all, what most impresses me about Gary is his ability to quickly assess and understand the team or performance scenario that is proving to be a stumbling block or derailer. He then promptly provides a route map and strategically guides you on how to overcome any obstacle, or on ways to recover from any setback, with thoroughly thought through steers on potential pitfalls and how to avoid them. With Gary’s driven but likeable personality, with his knowledge, his expertise and his experience relating to every aspect of team performance, leadership and culture, I know the massive measureable impact he would make on companies of every scale and at every stage of their lifecycle would be phenomenally positive.

Justin McNulty
MLA

Gary is an inspirational leader, an enlightening speaker and an exceptional strategic thinker. He is a man of great integrity, and he has taught me many valuable lessons that have helped me on my ongoing leadership journey.

Gary Cahill
Performance Director, Tennis Ireland