Available to book
Ben Cohen
Ben Cohen MBE helps organisations build inclusive, high-performing teams. The Rugby World Cup winner and founder of the StandUp Foundation speaks on leadership, resilience, and anti-bullying, drawing on over 50 England caps.
Ben Cohen MBE is a Rugby World Cup winner and the founder of the StandUp Foundation, the world's first anti-bullying charity focused on equality and inclusion. He speaks on leadership, resilience, and building team cultures grounded in respect.
Ben earned over 50 caps for England, is one of the highest try scorers in the team's history, and played a central role in the 2003 Rugby World Cup victory. He also represented the British and Irish Lions, and has appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
After retiring, Ben turned his attention to social impact, founding the StandUp Foundation and supporting charities including BBC Children in Need and Sport Relief. Clinically deaf himself, he champions accessibility in sport for deaf and hard of hearing people. That mix of elite performance and advocacy gives him a grounded view of identity, wellbeing, and leadership under pressure.
Audiences learn how to build supportive teams where people feel valued, how allies can use their platform to challenge discrimination, and how to manage pressure with honesty. He usually combines a keynote with a fireside chat and Q&A.
For events on inclusion, culture, or wellbeing, Ben brings lessons from the top of international rugby and years of advocacy work.
Topics, sessions and talks
Ben Cohen MBE draws on his years in the England team that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup to show what elite sport teaches about leadership and teamwork. He covers how trust, accountability, and shared standards are built in a squad, and how those same principles apply in business, community, and personal life. Teams leave with a clearer sense of how to work together when the pressure is on.
Bullying and discrimination damage performance as well as people. Ben Cohen MBE, founder of the StandUp Foundation, shares practical strategies for creating safer, more supportive environments at work and in wider communities. Drawing on his advocacy work and his experience as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, he shows how leaders can spot exclusion early and respond to it. Organisations gain clear steps for building cultures where everyone feels respected.
Ben Cohen MBE talks openly about thriving under pressure in international rugby and the personal challenges he has faced, including living with deafness. He explores how honest conversations, support networks, and self-awareness help people perform and protect their wellbeing at the same time. His stories give audiences practical ways to manage pressure, look after their mental health, and support colleagues who may be struggling.
Ben Cohen MBE moved from the top of international rugby into social impact, founding the StandUp Foundation, the world's first anti-bullying charity focused on equality and inclusion, and supporting BBC Children in Need and Sport Relief. He explains how a clear purpose turns good intentions into action, and what it takes to keep that work going over time. Individuals and organisations come away with a sharper sense of how to use their influence to create change that lasts.
Allies have a platform, and Ben Cohen MBE shows how to use it. Drawing on years of advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community and his work championing access to sport for deaf and hard of hearing people, he explores what allyship looks like in practice, from challenging discrimination when it happens to backing colleagues whose voices go unheard. Leaders and teams leave ready to speak up with confidence and turn support for equality into everyday action.
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frequently asked questions
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Ben Cohen draws on his career as a Rugby World Cup winner and his experience founding an anti-bullying charity to deliver talks structured around personal narrative, moving from high-performance sport into social advocacy and inclusion work.
Ben Cohen MBE speaks on resilience and performing under pressure, anti-bullying and inclusion, and building team cultures grounded in respect and accountability. He earned over 50 caps for England, was part of the 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning squad, and founded the StandUp Foundation, the world's first anti-bullying charity focused on equality and inclusion.
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