Speaker fees:
Topics:
Performance specialist, entrepreneur and bestselling author, Rasmus Ankersen is a trusted advisor to businesses and elite athletes around the world.
A sought-after keynote speaker, Rasmus helps organisations understand how to identify, grow and sustain high performance in environments where success can easily breed complacency.
Rasmus’ work is rooted in deep, first-hand research. In his quest to crack the code of high performance, he travelled the world from Ethiopia to South Korea, living and training alongside some of the greatest athletes on the planet. His fascination with why certain cultures consistently outperform others led him to ask powerful questions: why do some environments produce extraordinary talent, while others with equal resources do not?
These insights formed the basis of his global bestseller The Gold Mine Effect, now published in more than 40 countries. In it, Rasmus explores how organisations can build their own “gold mines of talent”, from spotting potential competitors overlook to creating performance environments that are deliberately uncomfortable enough to drive growth.
His subsequent book, Hunger in Paradise, challenges conventional thinking around success, arguing that failure often stems not from lack of talent but from comfort, arrogance and the fear of losing what has already been achieved. Drawing on five years of research, Rasmus shows leaders how to create urgency, humility and hunger even when results are strong and profits are high.
Rasmus wrote his first book, The DNA of a Winner, at just 22, followed by Leader DNA, which became Denmark’s bestselling leadership book of the past decade. Across his work, one theme is constant: sustained success is never accidental.
Beyond the stage, Rasmus holds senior leadership roles in professional football. He is Chairman of FC Midtjylland, champions of the Danish Superliga, and Co-Director of Football at Brentford FC. Both clubs are recognised across Europe for their innovative, data-led approach to decision-making and talent development.
Rasmus has shared his research with global organisations including LEGO, Google, Facebook, Boston Consulting Group, IKEA, Nasdaq, Ernst & Young and leading business schools worldwide. He is also a regular media contributor and columnist, translating elite performance thinking into practical strategies for business leaders.
On stage, Rasmus is compelling, evidence-led and highly practical, leaving audiences with a clear challenge: success is not something you reach, it is something you must defend.
Rasmus challenges the idea that success naturally leads to sustained performance. Drawing on years of global research, he shows how comfort, complacency and fear of loss can quietly undermine results, and shares practical strategies for creating urgency, humility and hunger even in high-performing organisations.
Using lessons from elite football and data-driven decision-making, Rasmus reveals how the world’s most innovative clubs identify talent, manage risk and outperform better-resourced competitors. This keynote translates advanced analytics into clear, practical insights that leaders can apply to hiring, strategy and performance management.
Rasmus explores why some environments consistently produce exceptional results while others with similar resources fall behind. He explains how to build cultures that spot hidden potential, embrace productive discomfort and continuously raise standards, helping organisations sustain excellence over the long term.
Regardless of where you are in your business cycle the timing of his lecture is always right, the findings of his studies are always relevant and the way it will change your view on how to act to safe guard your businesses is very simple and mindblowing! Listen to him before it is to late!
Rasmus Ankerson was a huge hit on the day and made the event memorable for everyone who was lucky enough to hear him speak. Overall his keynote had a massively positive impact, and the guys at EA were genuinely excited, inspired and provoked as a result. Plus there was a lot of discussion the following day which had been sparked by Rasmus’ stories his generosity and energy, it was truly valuable.
