Author, Medical Doctor, Passionate about Brain Health and helping people look after their amazing brains ; Experienced General Practitioner; special interests in Sleep, Lifestyle/Functional Medicine with a demonstrated history of working in NHS and Private Health Care. Founder Noggin The Brain People with a mission to improve the cognitive health of the nation.
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https://geni.us/HeadsUpDrClaraDoran


Clara Doran MBBS MRCGP

Keynote Speaker | Human Performance Scientist | Consultant & Advisor | Unlock Extraordinary Performance Without Compromising Wellbeing

I equip leaders and teams to perform under pressure, without burning out.

My journey started with a question: what separates people who perform at their best under pressure from those who struggle and slip? I've chased the answer for two-decades, first as a full-time racing cyclist (not the most talented, but relentlessly curious), then through a PhD studying how elite performers think and execute when the stakes are high.

That path took me to Formula 1. As former Chief Innovation Officer for the performance coaching company behind 19 F1 World Championships, I helped develop methods that support clarity and execution when time is tight and consequences are high.

I continue to work with F1 teams and elite performers today, so my insights come from the cutting edge, not the archive. I bring those insights into everyday business pressure: always-on work, change, ambiguity, conflict, and relentless pace, working with organisations like PwC, HSBC, and Mercedes-Benz through my consultancy, the Knowledge Work Lab.

And my understanding of pressure isn't just professional. When I faced and fought back from cancer, I learned firsthand what high-stakes moments do to the mind and body.

After two decades studying elite and everyday performance, one truth keeps proving itself: people rarely struggle under pressure because they lack talent. They struggle because nobody trained them for that moment. That’s the work I do now, because:

Pressure is inevitable. Performance is trainable.

WHERE I SPEAK:

I've delivered keynotes in 35+ countries for audiences up to 8,000+, including:

• Three World Economic Forum Annual Meetings in Davos.
• Nordic Business Forum (one of 12 speakers, alongside President Obama).
• Global Leadership Summit (the world's largest leadership conference).
• Top-ranked business schools: IMD, Duke, St. Gallen.

My keynotes do more than lift the room. Audiences don’t just feel motivated; they leave equipped. Expect sharp stories, humor in the right places, clear science, and practical tools your people will use long after the applause.

Clear. Practical. Memorable.

Clients book me for annual meetings, leadership summits, sales kick-offs, and executive retreats: events where they want substance, delivered with energy.

If your organization is looking for inspiration, proven frameworks and field-tested tools that protect focus, build capacity, and improve execution when the pressure is on, I would love to hear from you.

Dr James Hewitt

Performing under pressure isn't something you're born with. 

It's a skill you can develop.

Sunglasses on. Jetlag plan in place. I’m back on the road and kicking off 2026 with a trip to the US for a keynote, followed by a few days at CES in Las Vegas. 

The keynote, for a Sales Kickoff (SKO) event, is all about how we can perform at our best when the pressure is highest.

I’ll be taking a dose of my own medicine over the next few days with three simple tactics:

1. A pre-performance routine

A morning workout + a few minutes of breathwork to shift my physiology before I step on stage (PMID: 30245619).

2. Micro-recovery during the day.

Idle time is not a waste of time. I’ll be intentional about creating gaps where my brain can connect dots (PMID: 37167968).

3. A helpful interpretation of stress. 

I’ll remind myself that stress is a signal that what I'm doing matters. The goal isn't to eliminate it, it's to use it (PMID: 28120622).

With the right preparation, we can ensure that the best of us shows up when it counts.

What's your go-to tactic before a high-pressure moment?

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The human performance myth that drives me nuts? 

That we have to optimise every moment.

•⁠ ⁠Podcasts at double speed
•⁠ Back-to-back meetings.
•⁠"Just quickly" replying in every gap.

I've been guilty of all three.

However, while it looks like productivity, most of the time, it's productivity theatre, because meaningful output doesn't come from more minutes filled. 

It comes from better ideas.

And better ideas don't arrive when your brain is treated like a machine.

They arrive when we create space for "Random Episodic Silent Thought" (REST): quiet moments when your mind is free of inputs and allowed to wander (PMID: 21694961).

In that downtime, our brains connect dots we didn't even know were related.
This is why breaks create breakthroughs.

Here’s an experiment I encourage you to try this week.

Leave a 10-minute gap between two meetings. Protect it like it matters. 
No phone. No inbox. Just you and your thoughts.

Where could you stop optimising and start creating space for your best thinking?

The biggest health and performance upgrade probably isn’t another supplement or protocol; it’s another person.

My social media and news feeds are full of ‘health tips’ and ‘hacks’ at this time of year.

But while we chase optimisation, supplements, bio-whatever, many people are neglecting one of the most protective behaviours: investing in relationships.

One in ten (!) people say they have no close friends (Goddard, 2023).

Half of adults report feeling lonely, with some of the highest rates among young adults (contrary to the popular image of loneliness as primarily an elderly person’s burden) (Office of the Surgeon General, 2023).

Loneliness and social isolation increase the risk of premature death by 26 to 29% (Office of the Surgeon General, 2023).

That should stop us mid-scroll.

I have a simple experiment we could all try: message one friend you've been meaning to reconnect with.

Put a walk or coffee in the diary. Not next month. This week or next.

If connection is so important, why do we keep deprioritising it?

275 interruptions a day. 

That's how often the average employee’s attention is hijacked during a typical workday.

Meetings, emails, or pings pop up and distract us every two minutes (according to Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index).

No wonder 64% of people say they don't have enough time to get their work done, despite working longer hours.

The data paint a clear picture:

→ 60% of meetings are now ad hoc, not scheduled.
→ Messages outside the 9-to-5 are up 15% year-on-year.
→ Work technology stress affects nearly a third of employees 
(PMID: 39639298)

And it creates a negative spiral: the more reactive we become, the more our day fragments, and the more everything feels urgent.

Our best thinking gets squeezed into the cracks.

Try this for five days:

→ Close the inbox by default. (If it's open, it's whispering “check me”).
→ Batch email into 2-3 windows: Triage, reply, file, done. No ‘inbox grazing’.
→ Set expectations with your signature: "I check email at 9:00, 12:00, and 16:00. If urgent, call."

We don't need more willpower. 

We need fewer open loops.

What's harder for you, continuous interruption, or trusting you won't miss something?

Resistance training doesn't just protect your muscles.

It might also protect your brain from cognitive decline.

A study compared resistance training with computerised cognitive training to see which better protected brain health (PMID: 31978826).

The result: resistance training, not brain training, led to significant cognitive improvements and protected brain regions vulnerable to degeneration.

Even more striking: the protection lasted up to a year after the training ended.

In a world where dementia affects 47 million people, this finding matters.

We already know resistance training is essential for physical health as we age. 

Being in the top 25% of muscle mass for your age is a significant predictor of longevity (PMID: 24561114)

But the brain benefits are less widely known, and arguably just as important.
I'm reminding myself of this research today.

On days when my motivation dips, knowing I'm investing in my brain as well as my body helps.

Is resistance training part of your routine?

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The Battle

Clara Doran MBBS MRCGP

Dr James Hewitt

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The Battle

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Dr James Hewitt

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