Presenters

At age 5, Cullen Jones nearly drowned while splashing around at a Pennsylvania water park. Immediately after Jones was put into swim lessons and developed a passion for the water. Leaving his home state of New Jersey, Jones headed to Raleigh, North Carolina, to attend North Carolina State University and quickly solidified himself as one of the greatest sprinters by winning the NCAA Championships in the 50 freestyle his senior year.

In 2008 Jones, along with Jason Lezak, Garrett Weber Gale and Michael Phelps won gold in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay in a world record time of 3:08.24 which still stands. Jones was not done and in 2012 Jones made his second Olympic Team. At the Games in London, he earned silver medals in the 50 free (21.54) and as part of the 400 free relay. Jones won a gold medal as a member of the 400 medley relay as well.

Throughout his career, Jones realized he can impact people’s lives beyond his performances in the pool. Knowing the absence of diversity in swimming, Jones has built his career around changing the landscape of his sport. Understanding the power of his life story, Jones began speaking with the purpose of motivating and inspiring others. His topics include, mental toughness, overcoming cultural norms, setting goals and reaching them and exceeding expectations. Using humor and life experiences, Jones develops speeches with a focus on displaying the parallels between the sports and business world. This pursuit has transformed into a career in public speaking with notable companies such as Deloitte, Boeing, Bank of America, CitiBank, Phillips 66 and many universities.