Robert
de Castella
MBE
Speaker Profile
For over a decade Robert de Castella (or Deek) competed internationally in the marathon, setting world records and winning World Championships, Commonwealth Games and many other international races.
He was awarded an MBE and was Australian of the Year in 1983, and in 1991 his international peers in Track and Field acknowledged him as the World’s Best Marathon Runner of the 1980 decade.
After retiring from competitive sport after his fourth Olympics in 1992, Robert de Castella took up the position of Director of the Australian Institute of Sport. He left after five years and established his own company SmartStart specialising in children’s and corporate health and wellness. He is a major national figure campaigning for a greater preventative approach to health care, especially in regard to address children’s obesity and declining health.
He has also recently launched Deeks, specialist grain and gluten free bakeries & cafés, for the health and fitness conscious and those suffering from autoimmune diseases. They now have two bakeries in Canberra and a rapidly growing wholesale and mail order business.
He is Chairman of the Leisure Australia Foundation and LesiureCo, a Board member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame chairing their Selection Committee, and is an occasional sports media commentator.
In January 2003 Robert and his family were one of nearly 500 families that lost everything in the Canberra fires. He assisted in the community recovery process, serving on the Recovery Task Force and is still actively involved in the reestablishment of the Stromlo forest recreation park.
Robert de Castella is Patron of and volunteers his time to many other community organisations and events such as the National Heart Foundation, the ACT Olympians Club, Camp Quality, SIDS, Fred Hollow Foundation, and talks extensively to schools, children, and businesses.
Robert is still very active and fit, having received his black belt in traditional Okinawan Goju Ryu karate in 2004. He lives in Canberra with his wife Theresa (also a black belt) and has four children.
Travels from Australian Capital Territory
Client Comments
Client Comments
- Brilliant; inspirational & motivational from a great Australian.
CPA Australia - Equally, Robert de Castella's address as guest speaker, provided an inspirational insight into the good that can sometimes flow from tragedies such as the devasting Canberra bushfires of 2003.
Governor General Michael Jeffrey - The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Dotars - I've received a lot of positive feedback about your talk during the day and it was clear that our staff loved having you there in the evening. Without a doubt you added significant value to the whole event.
WalterTurnball - Your speech was inspirational. It was exactly the type of speech needed for the event, and thank you for being prepared to share your personal experiences and reflections, of those dreadful January 2003 bushfires. Your message of drawing positive experience from negative situations is something that will stay with all our guests, including our own Scouting members, for the rest of their lives.
Scouts Australia - Outstanding. The event was fantastic and Robert was perfect! He got a great response from the crowd and fitted very well into the overall theme
Clayton Utz Lawyers - Thanks so much for appearing on Saturday night. I thought, and it was confirmed by all I spoke to, that your speech was unbelievably well presented, well structured and perfectly pitched. It was a tough message to deliver and you did it perfectly. It made for a terrific celebration of life.
Grapevine - Brilliant, inspirational and motivational from a great Australian, great start to the day, very motivating speech, engaged the audience and made some valuable comments. Just viewing the video footage is inspirational. The bonus is Mr De Castella's excellent presentation style. Great to have a local well known presenter.
CPA Australia
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