BIO

With over 40 years in global motorsport, Peter Hodgkinson has played a pivotal role behind the scenes of some of the most iconic teams in racing history — including BAR, Honda, Brawn GP, and the record-breaking Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. His career spans 9 Formula 1 World Championships, 139 race wins, two Le Mans victories, and multiple Daytona and IMSA titles.

But Peter’s journey is far from typical. Starting out as an apprentice mechanic in New Zealand, he rose through the ranks to become Head of Build at Mercedes F1 — and then made an unusual move into HR as Head of Employee Engagement, where he led leadership development, Gen Z engagement, DE&I support, and culture change programmes. Most recently, he applied this dual lens of people and performance to the INEOS America’s Cup Team as Build Operations Manager for the AC37 campaign.

Peter is a rare hybrid: a leader who has lived and led in both highly technical and deeply human environments. His keynotes are engaging, insightful and often surprising — blending behind-the-scenes Formula 1 stories with powerful lessons in leadership, teamwork, resilience, and change.

Whether he's speaking to senior executives, after-dinner guests or students, Peter brings warmth, humility and a deep understanding of what it takes to win — and keep winning — in fast-moving, high-pressure environments.

Speaking topics:

• Formula 1: The Stories You Were Never Meant to Hear
  Behind-the-scenes tales from a 9-time World Championship-winning career.

• Leading and Winning under pressure
  How to align people, culture and systems to perform — and adapt — in high-stakes environments.  Drawing on 40 years in elite motorsport, Peter shares what it takes to lead high-performing teams when expectations are relentless and change is constant. From race-day pressure to organisational transformation, this session explores the real-world strategies behind building trust, driving performance, communicating with clarity, and staying agile when there’s no margin for error.

• From Workshop Floor to World Championships
  A motivational career journey built on resilience, mindset and teamwork.

• Not Just the Driver: Careers in Motorsport
  Exploring the many roles behind racing success — ideal for STEM and early careers.

• Leading Across Generations
  Engaging and empowering Gen Z in high-performance environments – ideal for HR audiences

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·       Further information, please get in touch with Deborah:

hello@papillonspeakers.com

07814 934740