Kitty Chiller AM

Winner of the 2020 International Olympic Committee Women in Sport Award for Oceania

How did Kitty Chiller AM become Australia’s very first female Chef de Mission at the 2016 Rio Olympics? Well, it all started on a napkin. She came up with a “one team” concept focusing on the culture and values of the Australian team and pitched it to the AOC. The rest is history.

As Chef de Mission, one of her main roles was to improve the culture of the team which had gone “backwards” at the previous Olympics, as there was no common theme binding everyone together. Despite the enormous logistical and security challenges of Rio, her strong resolve helped her prevail and lead 410 elite athletes as one.

Before she got the top job, she held virtually every other role on the Australian Olympic team: media officer, coach, manager - and where she’s had the most experience - as an athlete. In the pentathlon, she was national champion on 12 occasions, won seven World Cup medals and was ranked number one in the world 3 times.

Kitty has been in the People and Culture “business” for years with the likes of Athletics Australia, Deloitte and The Australian Olympic Committee.

In 2020, Kitty was awarded the International Olympic Committee Women is Sport Award for Oceania, a highly prized and prestigious award.

She has boundless energy and is an incredible, engaging presenter. What can we say, Kitty… pure gold!

© ICMI Speakers & Entertainers

Key Points

Winner of the 2020 International Olympic Committee Women in Sport Award for Oceania.
Kitty Chiller AM became Australia's first ever female Chef de Mission for the 2016 Rio Olympics and Deputy Chef de Mission London Olympics 2012.
She is also an Executive Board member of the Australian Olympic Committee and President of Modern Pentathlon Australia and the Oceania Modern Pentathlon Confederation and also an Executive Board Member of the International Modern Pentathlon Federation.
In 2019, Kitty was awarded an AM for her services to sport as both a competitor and administrator.
She is a 12-time National Modern Pentathlon champion and 7-time World Cup medallist.
Kitty was ranked World no. 1 in the mid 80's and from 1996 – 1998.