Robyn Benincasa

Profile

The biggest, strongest, and fastest competitors are not guaranteed a successful finish. It’s the teams that truly understand interdependence, have empathy for one another, share common ideals, manage adversity well, and check their egos at the start line that win these races. In my experience, the same is true in the corporate world.” –Robyn Benincasa

Ms. Benincasa launched World Class Teams and its sister company Flashover Seminars to bring her unique and inspiring perspective on teamwork to the corporate world via keynotes, seminars and teambuilding programs.

Starbucks, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Aramark, Honda/Acura, Tony Robbins, Allianz, Wal-Mart, Timberland, Napster, AT&T and Earthlink rely on her “Extreme Performance: Why Winners Win,” “High Performance Leadership,” and her signature program “The 8 Essential Elements of Human Synergy.” Her unforgettable presentations have taught countless high-performance leaders all over the world about “Building World Class Teams” and the ‘followership’ skills necessary for dynamic role shifting and true teamwork.

Robyn Benincasa accepts full blame for inspiring people to do insane things like climb Mount Kilimanjaro, run their first triathlon, start their own adventure racing teams, or start their own businesses. This is, after all, who she is and what she does: she inspires people to do amazing things.

Ms. Benincasa has made an art form of extreme performance by competing and winning at the highest levels of sport and business. Revered as one of “California’s Fittest Women”, she spent her youth competing at the state and national level in gymnastics, diving, cross country, and judo in which she became a national champion. Soon after earning a Marketing degree from Arizona State University, Robyn ‘started at the top’ Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company where she earned the prestigious “Rookie of the Year” award.

 While consistently achieving top sales in her day job, Robyn Benincasa completed six Ironman races, with two podium finishes. Then the adventure race bug bit.

 In her 15-year career as a professional adventure racer, Ms. Benincasa has competed in close to 40 expedition-length events—gnarly, multi-day, multi-sport killers such as Primal Quest and Eco-Challenge. She has biked through jungles in Borneo, climbed Himalayan giants in Nepal, trekked across lava fields in Fiji, rafted rapids in Chile—and racked up multiple world championship titles along the way. In her spare time, she is a full-time firefighter in San Diego, on the nation’s first all-female crew.

NBC, ABC, CNN, ESPN, USA Network, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Life Network, PBS and FOX have all featured Robyn Benincasa and her amazing accomplishments. Add to those network credits editorials in Fast Company, Sport Illustrated, Vogue, Corporate & Incentive Travel, The New York Times, Outside, and Harper's Bazaar. She was the official ‘cover girl’ for a feature story in the November 2009 issue of Health Monitor, that has a circulation of 3 million medical doctors’ offices and hospitals.

She also appeared in the double-page spread on Project Athena (her non-profit foundation) in Triathlete Magazine and in December 2009, Runners World featured her with her Project Athena team as the lead image for their “Running Heroes of 2009” article.

Robyn Benincasa founded the Project Athena Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping women who've endured medical setbacks achieve their athletic dreams, whether it means climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or running a local 10K. The goal? To encourage survivors not just to survive—but to thrive in the wake of their diagnoses.

Clients Comments

"The conference went great!!! You were so effective in teaching teamwork, setting the tone is an understatement!!! We really got it!! That evening we did set up our committee by vote. We also redistributed 300 existing client business accounts for service with eager cooperation from everyone. The next day we increased the state's incentive fund contribution, set up a recruiting fund and training fund. These are monies that are deducted from everyone's statements and used to cover contest, conference etc. Anyway, that went very well too. Our morale has improved 100%. The meeting surveys were all positive and gave you lots of luv for your roll in our conference." - Steven W. Kaiser, State Sales Coordinator, Aflac Hawaii/Guam

"Hey Robyn... i saw you speak at leadership academy in 2006 and you were my ABSOLUTE favorite speaker..I got goosebumps when i saw your video footage and so admire all your dedication and strength! You so inspire me and when I have a hard time with workouts...I think of how kick-ass u are...and keep going! So much love to you Robyn...u rock!" - Jennifer Brown, Anthony Robbins Leadership Academy

"...It's been just over a year since we did that meeting with you and people still talk about being the best teambuilding meeting we've ever held." - Irwin I. Golub, Northrop Grumman IT Solutions Team

I would honored to recommend Robyn Benincasa as a keynote speaker for any of your clients. Robyn is a captivating, dynamic speaker with a style that it is both approachable and extremely compelling. While adventure racing and Robyn's exploits are clearly larger-than-life, she is so natural and unassuming that her audiences are readily inspired and eager to put her lessons to work. We have used Robyn as a keynote for groups as large as 550. She has no problem commanding each attendee's attention. She is consistently among our highest rated speakers. We've used, among others, Joe Thiesman, Jerry Linegar (the astronaut), and Ben Carson (the surgeon) for groups as large as 1300. Each has been very good. Robyn is better. Not only is her message as compelling, but her multimedia approach is well suited to very large groups; 1200 or more should be no problem. -- Christopher Mortell, Sr. Manager, HR, Professional Education and Learning, Siemens Medical Solutions

"I have known Robyn Benincasa for a number of years, and have utilized her talents as both a speaker, as well as a leader of team oriented events. While the SVP for the Western U.S. for Starbucks Coffee, I selected her as both the lead speaker, as well as the team leader, for our annual Store Manager Leadership Conference, held in Tacoma, Washington. The event was an overwhelming success. In fact, 6 years later, they are still talking about the key learnings, the fun, and the excitement of working together as a team. She also addressed the national Leadership Conference for Starbucks Coffee, speaking to about a 1000 attendees, including the Board of Directors, Howard Schultz, the founder, as well as the senior leadership team, the corporate office, and the entire field organization for Starbucks. She was a great success. Likewise, 2 years ago I was the C.O.O. for It's A Grind Coffee Houses, and we invited Robyn to facilitate a one day team building event, as well as deliver the keynote address at the first ever national Franchisee Convention. She went above and beyond, ensuring the success of the event, and providing much in the way of key learnings the each Franchisee could take back to their individual businesses. I can recommend Robyn and her team to provide an exceptional event that will thrill the audience short term, and provide meaningful change in the long-term as she provides key insights into the synergies of building a World Class team. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to call. " -- John Alderson, Zone V.P. Starbucks/C.O.O. It's a Grind

"Dear Robyn, I want to thank you so much for coming to speak to our company this past week! As you know, my office facilitates the sales of residential units being built by a “New Homes” developer. Our sales efforts would not be successful without the team of contractors and consultants that contribute to the construction of these wonderful homes. The amount of teamwork required is immense! In attendance at your presentation were: contractors, lawyers, sales people, bankers, architects, brokers, insurance agents, engineers, and many other consultants. The feedback we have received since the presentation has been overwhelming. Not only did everyone gain a fresh perspective about “Teamwork”, our company also gained a reputation as an office that cares about the growth and contribution of the people that are a part of this extended team. Many of the attendees said that they had not considered all of the facets of “Teamwork” that you offered and that the presentation had given them much to contemplate! Your approach to the concept of “Teamwork” is unique. Even though most of us are not athletes, everyone could relate to the stories and situations that were shown during your presentation. I don’t think anyone realized how much “Teamwork” is actually required to “win” in the eco-challenge races. Your presentation showed us that not only is it crucial to the survival of the team, it is guaranteed failure if the support, caring, and cooperation amongst the players is missing. The videos you showed were not only entertaining, they were very relatable. We all saw a part of ourselves in those team scenarios. We laughed, we learned, and some people in the audience were deeply emotionally touched. We all benefited so much from seeing you. I can already see the results of your presentation amongst the teammates in my sales office. We are now engaged in: “WE” thinking, and the amount of support and empathy for each other has tripled. We talk about it everyday! I feel honored and privileged to have had you with us. You are truly a living example of the benefits of “Teamwork”, and we will have you back to work with us in a greater capacity to improve our performance as a real team!"--Very Sincerely, Tammy Bagnato Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Ed Peete Company-New Home Sales Team Arlington, VA

"Your presentation was extremely motivating--WOW!! Your life and the risks you have taken are truly inspiring and phenomenal! I am 53 and will never be climbing the Andes or any other peaks, but I strive to continue overcoming difficulty with a positive attitude. You gave me more hope and direction and reminded me of the little tiger I used to be. Thank you so very much! Keep sending your strong message of achievement and success! " -- Linda J. Griffith, Director of Concierge Services Coldwell Banker/Sky Ridge Realty

Robyn was absolutely fantastic at the ORD conference in Toronto. She has an outstanding ability to immediately connect with the audience and ‘shush’ them with her incredible story. All hearts and minds in the room were captivated by her presence and detailed account of her personal journey and that of others who complete these amazing eco-challenge events. What resonated incredibly well were the elements of teamwork and how each member takes turns being the leader when it makes the most sense, particularly from a skill set or capability perspective – and particularly when it counts, i.e. when the fun stops! She exudes courage, strength, compassion, determination, and fun! All qualities that we want to emulate as leaders. I definitely would love to have her come back again some time in the future – she is truly one amazing and inspiring person! - Toronto Financial Institution

"A HUGE thank you for your talk yesterday – it was a hit!!!! Many people came up to us today saying that hearing you speak was the highlight of the offsite. Your stories and videos were incredible (I was at the edge of my seat!) and your messages really resonated with the audience. Many people got emotional hearing you speak. A huge thank you as well to Jeff for all his help – you two make an incredible team." - Kraft Foods, 2011