The Eternal Optimists

Ollie Phillips
Ex-England Rugby Captain and once voted the Best 7’s Player in the World, Ollie is a Director at PwC and Founder of Optimist Performance. Since retiring from professional rugby, Ollie has been involved in a number of life-changing challenges and has notched up 4 Guinness World Records to date. Ollie brings over 20 years of experience in sports and business to help leaders overcome change and transform their teams to achieve new levels of success.

Charlotte Wathan
Charlotte has a twenty-year career history as an academic and strategist, leading cultural change most recently as Head of the Women’s game at the Welsh Rugby Union, where she instigated the inaugural professional contracts for senior women’s rugby. Charlotte has a wealth of experience working across public, private and third-sector organisations. Charlotte is a self-confessed insight geek who supports companies in measuring the impact of strategic and cultural change.

Russell Earnshaw
Having graduated from Cambridge with a Maths and Economics degree, Rusty played rugby for several teams, including Bath (winning the European Cup in 1998) and England 7’s, before moving into coaching and working with England U18’s, U20’s and 7’s, coaching and mentoring some of the brightest young players and coaches in the country. He now works across business and sport, helping the likes of Google, Abbott, NZ Rugby and GB Hockey responding to their needs, including creativity, coaching skills, leadership and high-performing teams.

Ryan Jones, MBE
Ryan is a three-time Grand Slam-winning former Wales Rugby Captain & British and Irish Lion. Ryan is the Ex-Director of Performance at the Welsh Rugby Union and a previous Board Member of Disability Sport Wales. Ryan was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours in 2021 for his services to rugby and charity, raising thousands of pounds for the NHS during the first lockdown period in 2020, with events such as a solo garden marathon and a 100-mile kitchen treadmill endeavour.
Learn more about our Optimistic Talks!
Optimistic Insights
Building an antifragile team – By Ollie Phillips
What would happen if I got hit by a bus tomorrow? I ask my team this question often (or rather, frame the scenario that I’m suddenly out of the picture and the business needs to keep moving forwards) with the aim of creating an antifragile team. If the last few years...
4 Tips to change behaviours successfully this year – By Optimist Performance
The holiday season is over, the new year has begun, and now is the time to take your New Year’s resolutions seriously. Whether you want to get healthier, start exercising, quit smoking, or start your own business, you will need to change some behaviours to make...
How to Stay Healthy When You’re Travelling for Work – By Optimist Performance
Are you travelling this Christmas? Maintaining healthy routines on the road can be a real challenge. It’s easy to be sedentary and turn to takeout when you need a quick meal. Plus, travelling can be hard on your body, disrupting your sleep routine and creating...