Peter FitzSimons
Rugby Star, Best-Selling Author & Media Commentator
Profile
Peter FitzSimons is a rugby star, best-selling author, well respected columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald and Sun-Herald and a television presenter on Fox Sports.
Current experience:
He speaks four languages, has played rugby for Australia, co-hosted radio shows with Mike Carlton and Doug Mulray, interviewed famous people around the globe from George Bush to Diego Maradona and written over twenty best-selling books including Batavia, Tobruk, Kokoda, A Simpler Time, Little Theories of Life and biographies on Douglas Mawson, Nancy Wake, Nene King, Les Darcy, Steve Waugh, Nick Farr-Jones, Kim Beazley, John Eales and Charles Kingsford Smith. In 2001 he was Australia’s biggest selling non-fiction author, duplicating that feat in 2004 with Kokoda. These contributions to literature, as well his charity work with sporting and disability care programs, were recognised when he was named a Member of the Order of Australia in 2011.
One of the ten most popular after-dinner speakers in Australia, Peter is married to Australian journalist and TV presenter Lisa Wilkinson. They have three children: sons Jake and Louis, and daughter Billi and live in Sydney.
Previous experience:
Born on a farm in Peat’s Ridge, Peter went to Knox Grammar School, before accepting an American Field Service Scholarship to go to Ohio for a year. He returned to complete an Arts degree at Sydney University majoring in government and political science.
In 1984 he broke into the Wallabies under the coaching of Alan Jones, then lived in France and Italy playing rugby for the next five years whilst learning both languages as well as Spanish. Upon his return to Australia he again played for the Wallabies, under Bob Dwyer, going on to play seven tests.
In 1989 he joined The Sydney Morning Herald full-time, and has been one of their most popular columnists since. Andrew Denton has called him “Australia’s finest sports journalist.”
Peter FitzSimons boasts an impressive list of interview credits including ex-president George Bush, Sir Edmund Hillary, Jodie Foster, Nicki Lauda, Joe Montana and Carl Lewis as well as all the major Australian sporting figures from Shane Gould to Lionel Rose and Allan Border. He has interviewed every Australian Prime Minister from Gough Whitlam through to Julia Gillard.
Media
Feedback
Entertaining, funny, intelligent, very real; every one enjoyed the night.
Peter was very professional. He filled the criteria 100%. I was impressed with his humour & wit. The audience thought he was fabulous.
Excellent presentation; the benchmark for attention.
Mr Fitzsimons was engaging, animated and highly entertaining. He was punctual, generous with his time and overall an asset to the occasion. We would not hesitate to use him again.
Peter's willingness for an initial briefing and then a final one two hours prior to the function were vital and much appreciated. He picked up on the mood of the room very well and adapted out notes to make the evening a success.
To be able to speak to a total male crowd ranging from 18-80 and hold them all with interest was fantastic. Many reported that he was one of the best presenters ever.
Peter was extremely lively and humorous. These qualities made him a perfect after dinner speaker. He immediately had people's attention.
Peter was terrific - funny, entertaining and witty. We would have him back anytime.
Peter was very entertaining and engaged the crowd in his presentation. He was extremely friendly and easy to work with.
Peter was an extremely entertaining speaker. He related a number of very amusing stories and anecdotes - all of which were thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. Fantastic delivery and presence!!!
Fun, terrific, excellent, a great start to the day.
Excellent, entertaining content, perfect for the occasion.
Entertaining, pitched his talk at just the right level. Was not too formal and appealed to a cross section of the audience.
Peter has an easy 'air' making guests feel instantly comfertable. Fro the production side, Peter is very professional, friendly and incredibly easy to work with - we'd use him anytime.
Peter FitzSimons was absolutely outstanding. Powerful, funny, informative and the ideal speaker in front of 260 corporate guests from a wide section of society. I would have no hesitation in recommending
him to anyone who was looking for an after dinner speaker or a corporate speaker at a conference. He exceeded our expectations.
Peter FitzSimons has a great talent - his ability to speak to the audience and craft his tales to their level is admirable. He was more than happy to speak to guests after the lunch and he also signed some autographs, which pleased the guests.
There are no other ex-rugby players in his league.
Peter tailored his presentation to suit the occasion and had the right mix to keep the audience enthralled. Interesting, entertaining, motivating and relevant.
Hit the mark and engaged audience very well. Feedback from the audience has been most complimentary.
Peter was very professional and was rated as "excellent"+++ by most of the target audience.
Peter Fitz was excellent with many positive comments. His talk fitted in well with the tone of the day.
Peter was excellent.
The speaker was articulate and very relevant to the theme of our conference. Above all, his witty, intelligent speech motivated and moved the whole room. I would definitely recommend Peter to other departments in Optus.
From the very moment Peter took the stage he captured the crowds full attention. All of his stories and discussions were very appropriate for the evening. He was very entertaining and inspiring.
Peter FitzSimons, although a giant of a man in many ways, is one of the most down to earth and approachable men I have ever met. He seemed to have a genuine interest in the business and the industry, and mixed with most in the room to gain further information and knowledge. He presentation was more then impressive and interesting, and it was hard to give him the wind up as we could have listen to him for most of the morning.
Peter was highly engaging and entertaining. Not only did he speak about his new book, he backgrounded his writing technique and was a great storyteller. The evaluations by the audience were excellent.
Peter was very warm, down to earth and accommodating, a huge hit in little Coffs Harbour!
Our delegates loved Peter FitzSimons; he was the highlight of the whole seminar.
Peter was an absolute professional and grabbed the audience the minute he stepped up on stage and kept them engaged for the entire duration of his address. He is a pleasure to work with.
Peter delivered an energetic performance that held the room enthralled for over an hour. He thoughtfully tailored his talking points to our conference themes while balancing the serious messages with a good dose of humour.
Peter was a wonderful speaker and addressed head on what we asked him to focus on as a group of historians. He provided invaluable advice also on writing styles and ways to connect with a more popular readership. He was incredibly entertaining focusing on some of his different historical works, a true story teller and performer. Peter was humorously self-deprecating but also direct and open about his commercial imperatives when it came to his focus on history. But I think he undersold himself a bit there, Peter does an enormous service for history in Australia.
