Perry McCarthy Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerPerry McCarthy

Formerly 'The Stig' from BBC TV's 'Top Gear'

Perry McCarthy’s incredible story is legendary. He is a championship winning racing driver, best-selling author and was ‘The Stig’ from the BBC Top Gear motoring show. With over 1500 corporate appearances to date, Perry is in high demand to deliver inspirational and motivational speeches linking his unique experience and attitude... Read More

Biography

Perry McCarthy’s incredible story is legendary. He is a championship winning racing driver, best-selling author and was ‘The Stig’ from the BBC Top Gear motoring show. With over 1500 corporate appearances to date, Perry is in high demand to deliver inspirational and motivational speeches linking his unique experience and attitude to the world of business and its requirements.

From working on North Sea oil rigs to becoming a Grand Prix driver, he constantly overcame huge hurdles, including serious injury, to pursue his dream. In fact, according to F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, with no financial backing, ‘the odds of Perry actually reaching F1 were about a million to one’.

McCarthy’s bubbly character coupled with his determination, resilience, and absolute refusal to concede defeat has made him a highly popular personality within the sport and as a keynote speaker.

The Telegraph headlined him as ‘a new cult hero’ and F1 World Champion Damon Hill said; ‘I have constant admiration on how he turns a no hope situation into some sort of triumph’.

Perry McCarthy entertains and engages audiences by speaking with humour and passion, about the fiercely competitive demands of international motor racing and what it takes as an individual and as a team to survive and progress in it.

“While it’s all still hot off the press I wanted to thank Perry for his tremendous contribution to our Awards Evening. His willingness to support with whatever we needed, his openness to being available to everyone around him and, of course, his delight in delivering a guest speaker session that engaged and over-ran due to questions, was every penny what we hoped his involvement would achieve.” Briggs Equipment (2023 Awards evening, Liverpool)
“Absolutely fantastic motivational speech from Perry McCarthy aka ‘The Stig’ at the Keyloop GTM Conference in Malta. Great story told by Perry and extremely inspiring. Thank you, Perry!” Keyloop (2023 Sales kick-off, Malta)
“Perry was superb speaker at our recent business conference and mixed the perfect dose of fast paced humour, interest, business messages and fun! The delegates loved it and bombarded him with over half an hour of questions during the open session at the end of his speech! I am not sure how we will top this for next year!” Claire Burrows, Marketing Manager, De La Rue Identity Systems
"Bang & Olufsen UK have used Perry McCarthy on many occasions as a guest speaker for our highly discerning customer network. Perry's talks never fail to impress, amuse and delight the audience ... is there no end to this man's library of tales?" Graeme Taylor, Marketing Manager, Bang & Olufsen
"With Perry McCarthy you can always guarantee that your guests are going to have a fun time. His ability to grab everyone's attention and make them laugh has ensured that we book him on a regular basis" David Ingram - Audi PR Manager
"If Perry's motor sport successes mirrored his guest speaking acumen he would have been a world champion many times over! I have been delighted to work with Perry on a number of very high profile events for Auto Express magazine and he's always delivered the goods professionally and above all entertainingly, prepared to do that little bit extra to make things work. We'll be working together again soon and I look forward to it!" Phil Parker, Group Publishing Director, Auto Express & Evo
“Thanks Perry: like all good men, you rose to the occasion on the night! A spot-on speech, beautifully crafted with just the right amount of humour. Not only did an international audience welcome having you there as 'anchor-man', but our client appreciated the way you understood the message they wanted to deliver, and integrated this with top audience entertainment. And from our point of view, you were a (diamond) pleasure to work with." Juliet Jarvis, Director of RSM ref Automobili Lamborghini event
“Grand Prix Tours offers complete packages for race fans to go and see the races and includes cocktail parties hosted by race celebrities as part of the race weekend. Perry has hosted many of our race preview parties and is always very candid, informative and extremely entertaining. Perry’s talks are always a highlight of the race weekend and our clients love him!” Cherry Cooper – Grand Prix Tours
“Perry is extremely bright and witty. He has two traits I admire: the ability to simplify complicated explanations; and the ability to make people laugh.” Richard Farleigh, TV’s Dragons’ Den (Shark Tank in US)
“Perry McCarthy does for Formula One what Bill Bryson did for travel writing. But beneath the black humour and wisecracks – funny enough to make you laugh out loud in public – lies an inspiring and at times poignant tale of that rarest kind of racer: one who never gave up and was, literally, prepared to die trying.” The Independent on Sunday
“I have constant admiration for how he turns a no-hope situation into some sort of a triumph.” Damon Hill OBE. 1996 Formula One World Champion
“Just a short note to say thank you for being part of our kick-off last week in Kuala Lumpur and I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did having you there. You and the team really connected which they appreciated immensely as some visitors get put off a little by this kind of attention however I know you’re not that shy!!Please keep in touch.” Bill Lisle. Chief Executive Officer. AIA Insurance
“Perry was the ideal choice, his endorsement of the programme generated huge media coverage and interest throughout the country. Working with Perry was an absolute pleasure. He really understood and cared about what the programme aimed to achieve and he employed enthusiasm and professionalism throughout. An intriguing character Perry is also a superb speaker and this mixed with likability and his dynamic style, made him the perfect ambassador for our company on this occasion.” Maire Campbell, Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Coca Cola
“Perry McCarthy is a fantastic guest speaker and we were privileged to have him at our sales award event in January. Keep up the great work.” Leigh Edgley, Sales and Marketing Director Briggs
“Thank you so much for providing great entertainment and banter last week. We have had so many positive comments and feedback - the guys loved you!” Jill Moir. Head of Corporate Affairs & Communications, Talisman Sinopec Energy
“Perry McCarthy, race driver, author, raconteur and Business speaker’’ are but a few of his skills - believe everything you hear about him, and more! Perry is a larger than life character who has proved time and again that life holds no fears for him. He tackles each new hurdle with his own unique blend of tenacity and irreverent humour. I think he should run for Prime Minister!” Johnny Bute. Mount Stuart
“Those that have seen him race know he is F1 material. His hunger is as great as Senna and Mansell’s. F1 needs Perry as much as Perry needs F1.” Chequered Flag Magazine
“Perry is the most fantastic speaker – extremely entertaining, exciting and humorous. The question-and-answer session was absolutely brilliant with participation from the whole room – not in the least contrived in any way. The rapport he had with his “audience” was nothing short of brilliant!” Kerneos
"Perry was very well received by our audience. He did a great presentation that they could all relate to." Pavilion Technologies
“So great to hear Perry’s story and understand all the things that could have stopped him. He was so focused and determined that he was successful despite the circumstances.” The Growth Hub Masterclass 2023
“Perry was inspirational, he was also engaging and thoroughly entertaining 👏 Bravo.” Meridian Business Support (2023 Conference, Birmingham)

Popular Talks by Perry McCarthy

  • Performance, Hard Work, Determination
  • Resilience
  • Recognising and Creating Opportunities
  • Creating a Brand
  • Formula 1: Teamwork, Pursuit of Excellence and Marginal Gains
  • Competition, Commitment and Communication
  • Drive to Survive