Ferenc Krausz
2023 Nobel Laureate in Physics | Founder of Attosecond Science | Chair Professor, University of Hong Kong | Pioneer of Laser-Based Cancer Diagnostics
Global Head of Human Performance & Principal Scientist at WHOOP | Psychophysiologist | Former Princeton Field Hockey Coach & NCAA Champion | Iowa Hall of Fame
Kristen Holmes is the Global Head of Human Performance and Principal Scientist at WHOOP, the leading human-performance company. A former three-time All-American at Iowa, she became one of the most successful coaches in Ivy League history, leading Princeton to 12 league titles and an NCAA championship. On stage, she translates the science of sleep, recovery, and resilience into practical tools that help athletes, executives, and teams perform sustainably.
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Healthcare speaker Kristen Holmes is the Global Head of Human Performance and Principal Scientist at WHOOP, the leading wearable technology company, where she turns biometric data into practical strategies for living and performing better. A psychophysiologist by training, she studies how sleep, circadian rhythms, recovery, and behavior shape resilience, and helps athletes, military teams, and executives use those insights to perform under pressure.
Holmes brought a remarkable athletic and coaching record to that work. At the University of Iowa, she was a three-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Athlete of the Year, competing in both field hockey and basketball, and she went on to represent the U.S. National Field Hockey Team for seven years. As head coach of Princeton University’s field hockey program for 13 seasons, she became one of the most successful coaches in Ivy League history, winning 12 league titles and the program’s first NCAA national championship.
Her own experience as an athlete, by her account chronically overtrained for years, drew her toward the science of recovery. At WHOOP, she leads research that decodes the physiological and psychological patterns behind peak performance, then translates that complex data into clear, actionable guidance. She works with professional sports teams, military units, and high-stakes professionals, and her approach consistently bridges two worlds that rarely meet: rigorous data and the human behavior it is meant to change. She holds a master’s in psychology and sport performance and continues to pursue doctoral research in the field.
In 2021, Holmes was inducted into the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame. Today she is a sought-after voice on sleep, circadian health, and behavior change, known for distilling her research into simple principles, such as the power of consistent sleep and wake times, that anyone can apply. Her work reaches wide audiences through keynotes, podcasts, and WHOOP’s own research, always with the same goal: helping people understand the signals their bodies are already sending.
As a speaker, Kristen Holmes blends elite athletic experience, championship coaching, and scientific rigor into guidance that is both credible and practical. She speaks on performance optimization, sleep and recovery, resilience, team culture, and data-driven wellbeing, giving audiences science-backed tools to improve not just how they perform, but how they live. Her talks resonate with anyone, from athletes to executives, committed to sustainable high performance.
Kristen Holmes explores how the mind and body work together to shape performance, decision-making, and resilience. She unpacks the physiological and psychological signals that determine whether we are truly ready to perform, and shows how stress, recovery, and daily behavior add up to the outcomes we see. Audiences leave understanding their own readiness in a new way, and with concrete levers they can pull to improve it.
In this session, Holmes breaks down the science of sleep and its outsized impact on cognition, physical recovery, emotional balance, and long-term health. Drawing on WHOOP's research, she shares practical, evidence-based strategies for improving sleep quality, including the underrated power of consistent sleep and wake times. It is a clear, actionable roadmap for anyone who wants to perform and feel better.
Holmes examines how biometric tools are transforming the way we train, coach, and develop talent. She shows how wearable technology turns the body's hidden signals into usable insight, creating a future in which data-driven decisions improve precision, safety, and results, in sport and well beyond it. Audiences gain a grounded view of where the technology is most useful today and where it is heading.
Drawing on her years in elite sport and performance analytics, Holmes explains how teams can use data to build trust, sharpen communication, and align behavior around shared goals. She shows how evidence, used well, strengthens collaboration rather than reducing people to numbers, and how leaders can create the conditions for sustainable team success. It is a practical look at making analytics truly human.
Holmes makes the case that intentional recovery, not just hard work, is what sustains high performance. She shares practical techniques for managing stress, regulating emotions, and improving focus through purposeful rest and mental clarity. Audiences come away with simple, repeatable practices that protect wellbeing and keep performance high over the long term.
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