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Excell!
A testimonial on the interface between top-class sport and business.
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This keynote is a testimony on the interfaces between top-class sport and the business world: coaching, ambition, teambuilding, how to deal with setbacks, stress management and motivation. No theoretical explanation, or scientific approach, but brought to you from the gut with examples from practice. Drenched in humour and a touch of drama.
From top-class sport to being self-employed seems a big step, and it is. Nevertheless, there are many similarities. Gella's switch after sport went well. What counts are the results, both in sport and in business. Either the number of medals and cups, or the turnover at the end of the financial year. A coach or manager is a guide who directs, stimulates, motivates and confronts. Both in her judo career and in her second life as a self-employed person, Gella has to analyse the competition, innovate and scan the market, surfing on supply and demand. Motivation and ambition, stress, setbacks or injuries are inextricably linked to this. Top-class sport is her university of life and she now carries that with her as an entrepreneur. It remains a fascinating journey that Gella likes to tell about.
As a guest speaker, she always tries to tell a story in a juicy and ad rem manner with anecdotes from her sporting past and fascinating present.
Keynote by
Gella Vandecaveye started judo at the age of 8 at Judoclub Zwevegem. Her breakthrough came in 1993 with her first world title in Hamilton, Canada. She successfully combined top-level sport with higher studies in communication management and journalism.
In 1996, Gella won a brilliant silver medal after a very difficult course. Despite breaking her neck in 1998 and barely escaping the wheelchair, she became European Champion again just five months later. Two months before the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000, she tore the cruciate ligaments in her right knee. Despite this, she achieved a second Olympic bronze medal with a broken knee.
Eight years after winning her first world title, Gella became world champion for the second time in 2001, not losing a single match that year. Her transition after her top sport career went smoothly, with no sign of the often-feared "black hole."
With the same determination, enthusiasm, and commitment she showed in judo, Gella threw herself into her second life. A jack-of-all-trades, she reoriented herself to become an independent entrepreneur in "PR & Sport Consulting," seeking exciting projects, new horizons, and challenging opportunities. Her professional activities focus mainly on companies, the non-profit sector, and sport for all.
Gella's mission is to inspire people and promote a fit lifestyle through healthy eating, recreational events, and sporting initiatives. She also engages in promotional campaigns, judo initiations and demonstrations, travel shows, PR activities, team building, lectures, and incentives. As a cosmopolitan, she travels the world with her travel project, "Gella Goes Global."
After her biography "Gella & Eddy, a neck-breaking duo," Gella plans to publish a second book. Thanks to, despite, or partly due to the Corona crisis, Gella was inspired to reorient herself again, reinventing and redirecting her career for a second time.
In addition to her "PR, Sport Consulting, Event" department, she has added a "Real Estate, Renovation, Coordination" section to her professional activities. She now takes care of people's renovations with full transparency and mutual consultation.
Gella Vandecaveye, ex-judoka. Successfully combines top-level sport and higher studies in communication management/journalism, a paragon of willpower, perseverance and boundless ambition.
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