Oxford Brookes A Sporting Miracle?

Oxford Brookes University Boat Club has risen from obscurity to being acclaimed as probably the best rowing club in the world, winning no less than 13 titles at Henley Royal Regatta in the last two years. With a historical overview, analysis, photographs and interviews, this book lifts the lid on how inspirational coaches Richard Spratley and Henry Bailhache-Webb have taken Brookes to the very top of rowing, with athletes (men and women) who now compete with, and usually beat, the very best national and international crews. It is a story of sporting excellence, of hard work, innovation and sports psychology, but also contains lessons for anyone who wants to develop a high-performance, winning culture in their organisation. 

Author Biography

Peter Smith was born in Sunderland, where rowing is not particularly popular, but learnt to cox at Lady Margaret Boat Club, (LMBC), the boat club of St John’s College, Cambridge. Luckily for him, LMBC was very strong during his three years there, so he won Head of the Lents and Mays Bumps medals, the university Coxed Fours, various regatta trophies and medals. LMBC represented Cambridge at the British Universities event and won silver, and Peter coxed the Cambridge Lightweights to victory over Oxford in the 1978 race in a record time.

After university he joined Mars Confectionery, who showed little enthusiasm for giving him time off to follow a further serious rowing career, but he did some coaching and coxing at a local club, then became simply an enthusiastic follower of rowing, attending every Henley Royal Regatta since the late 1970s.  His professional life has revolved around procurement and supply chain management, with Board level roles in the public and private sector, as well as non-executive posts in both sectors. He is a top 20 influencer in his field and now lectures at several business schools.

He has written four business books, including Bad Buying – How Organisations Waste Billions Through Failures, Frauds and F*ck-ups” published by Penguin Books in October 2020, lifting the lid on some amazing global stories of disaster in the business (and government) world!  He is passionate about how procurement can contribute to solving global problems, and his book “Procurement with Purpose – How organizations can change the way they spend money NOW to protect the planet and its people” was published by Brown Dog Books in November 2021. 

Away from procurement and writing, he is active member of Humanists UK, plays the bass guitar, keeps fit (cycling, walking, gym), supports both Sunderland and Brentford football clubs, and attempts to grow fruit and vegetables.