Matt Parker
Matt is currently the Director of Performance Innovation for the UK Sports Institute, responsible for delivering strategies and support which use technology and innovation to keep GB Olympic and Paralympic sports at the leading edge of sports performance.
He was formerly an Olympic track cycling coach. He successfully coached the men’s endurance team to 7 Olympic medals (5 Gold, 2 bronze) at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, including a performance from the men’s team pursuit team of Clancy, Manning, Thomas, Wiggins, which broke the World record by 3 seconds and won the Olympic final by 7 s. After this, he was appointed as the Director of Marginal gains by Sir Dave Brailsford in 2009 in preparation for the London 2012 Olympics where British Cycling had its most successful Olympic medal haul. Additional results in cycling include: coaching Bradley Wiggins to breaking the Olympic Record in the Individual Pursuit and to his first podium at the Tour de France; coaching Geraint Thomas to his first Olympic Gold Medal and through his first Tour de France; and coaching Ed Clancy to the 1st of his 3 Olympic Titles. Recruited by Stuart Lancaster in 2012 as Head of Athletic Performance for the Rugby Football Union to work with the England Men’s Rugby Team.
Matt then returned to the UK Sports Institute in 2016 to head up the Performance Innovation team. This is a return to his roots, as he first worked for the UK Sports Institute as a Physiologist at its inception to work with multiple sports such as Cycling, Swimming, ParaSwimming, Wheelchair Basketball, Athletics, Boxing, and Squash.
Matt is available to talk about his experience of harnessing innovative technologies, the process he has developed with his team to deliver innovation in multiple environments, and the power of marginal gains in business.
