Cheryl Pounder
2-Time Olympic Gold Medalist in Women’s Hockey. This sentence is invisible .
Cheryl Pounder wants to instill thought and confidence in her keynote speeches. The former Canadian Women’s hockey player has success both in and out of the rink.
She began her hockey career in the 1990s when her team won the Under-18 Canadian National Championship. She won gold in 1994 at the IIHF World Women’s Hockey Championship and won two Olympic gold medals in 2002 and 2006. She earned the title of IIHF World Champion six times.
She was also a colour commentator for women’s hockey in the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics.
Cheryl is an in-demand speaker with clients like Tim Hortons, TD Bank, Women in Leadership Groups, the City of Toronto, among others. She is popular because she identifies with wide groups of people.
Topics such as completing a task, perseverance and learning from failures are some of the subjects she talks about in her keynotes.
Pursuit of Excellence: “Growing for Gold”
Self-Awareness, Leadership and Teamwork
How does one grow and get gold, no matter their situation? Cheryl’s enlightening keynote is interactive, engaging and entertaining.
She discusses the importance of building a vision while focusing on participation vs engagement and the importance of seizing every opportunity. Cheryl also focuses on the character dimensions of leadership, the importance of collaboration and how one individual can affect and impact the culture and mission of a group. By sharing information, understanding the importance of inclusivity and recognizing value, we build culture and efficiency. Growing for Gold involves trusting the process, tough conversations and clarity of the common goal.
Thinking differently is essential to excellence.
Pursuit of Excellence: “Breaking the Barriers”
The Courage to Overcome Adversity
How do you take what cards life has dealt you and turn them into a win?
Cheryl discusses adversity as it applied to her journey and how being ‘abnormal’ and taking chances helped her succeed in a world where many believed she couldn’t. Finding strength in vulnerability and having the courage to embrace change, leads to incredible opportunities. Cheryl takes you on a journey, discussing how she developed resiliency and how she has overcome her personal fear of failure in order to break barriers and prove to herself and others that she has what it takes to win.
Pursuit of Excellence: “End the Stigma”
Understanding Mental Health
Can you recognize the signs of mental illness? Are you doing what you need to do to take care of your own mental wellness?
Cheryl talks about the pressures of leadership, being in the public eye and the importance of taking care of your own mental wellness in order to reach your goals and lead a fulfilling life. She also talks about the importance of encouraging your team and those around you to put mental wellness on their list of personal goals.
Pursuit of Excellence: “Women in Leadership”
The importance of finding your voice, rising up and collaborating
As a professional hockey player and sports broadcaster, Cheryl Pounder will share her journey as a female in a male-dominated community. She discusses the courage needed to find your voice and how to find the strength to ‘stand on top of your story’. She will reinforce the importance of joining the conversation and how women can rise up to any challenge in any circumstance. She encourages the audience to talk about their own personal barriers while recognizing their role within a community. Cheryl also talks about the need for collaboration as women in leadership and how teamwork really does make the dream work.
Host/Emcee
Cheryl brings her high energy and effervescent personality to each and every event, large or small. With her warmth and friendliness, Cheryl immediately makes guests feel like they have a new friend. For fundraising events, Cheryl encourages giving and supports the cause with personal stories. With galas and award presentations, Cheryl is professional, yet down to earth. There’s never a dull moment with Cheryl. With her experience as a sports commentator, radio host and keynote speaker, Cheryl keeps the energy moving while focusing on the goal of the event she’s at.
“In a day and age where presentations seem all to plentiful it has become more challenging to find unique and intimate experiences that truly can inspire the pursuit of a dream, a tear and a laugh, and help us each understand what it means to represent something even bigger than we each are and the path to get there. I have had the privilege of seeing Cheryl present to different audiences, from young kids to accomplished professionals, and her level of inspiration and audience engagement is that special touch that is otherwise a missing ingredient for so many. Cheryl represents not only an elite level of accomplished athleticism and winning but at her core message, a heart-felt reminder to us all on the importance of the pursuit and belief in a dream, a vision and to battle through obstacles to achieve it. The medals were earned and her character and integrity of message is natural. Each presentation has ended in a standing ovation with tears throughout. Cheryl is a unique story of someone that achieved excellence built from a dream as a child; had that world taken away from her and had to find a way to battle back to that level of success through nothing short of a commitment to work hard and sacrifice. Cheryl’s message, and perhaps even more so, she individually, will inspire your heart and your own visions.”
Grote Industries Canada
“As we started our new fiscal year, we were looking for some motivational messaging to ignite the passion in our leadership team which consists of over 20 people leaders. Having seen Cheryl at a few RBC events, I asked her to attend. Wow, what a first class, inspiring message…everything from preparation, to overcoming obstacles, to staying focused…Cheryl and Becky delivered ‘tag team’ style, in an entertaining, professional, energized format. The team was riveted and you could hear a pin drop as their attention was held throughout. The focus was on what coaches can say, and what players hear that resonates to motivate a team.and how a team comes together to attain world class performance. It is an outstanding investment of time for any leadership team to hear.”
Royal Bank of Canada
“Cheryl was amazing! She connected with the guests, had her photo taken, let guests hold her medals, and her presentation was perfect. She integrated her story with our work and at the end, she had a standing ovation. Cheryl is a lovely person and an outstanding presenter. Her love for presenting and her passion for her story and her caring for others comes through loud and clear.”
Halton Healthcare Services
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