Alan Chambers MBE

As a Royal Marine, Alan Chambers spent 16 years exploring the world’s most hostile and thrilling environments, including jungles, deserts and frozen tundra.

As a Royal marine, Alan Chambers spent 16 years exploring the world’s most hostile and thrilling environments, including jungles, deserts and frozen tundra.

After spending five years researching, planning, and training, Alan led the first successful British unsupported expedition from Canada to the Geographic North Pole. After a gruelling seventy days on the ice, Alan and teammate, Charlie Paton, raised the Union Jack on top of the world at 23:16 hours on 16th May 2000.

Only one in one hundred and fifty thousand people ever attempt to walk to the North Pole unsupported. Through determination, guile, resolute planning and motivation they succeeded against all odds.

The ten-week expedition, which left the team ten days overdue suffering extreme body weight loss and dwindling food supplies, was a catalyst for the future for Alan.

Upon return from the top of the world Alan, aged 32, was awarded the MBE by Her Majesty the Queen for Determined Leadership in Constant Adversity.

Alan has returned to the Geographic North Pole 14 times and in 2008 led a team across Greenland from Coast to Coast 600 kilometres, launched the UK's largest education-based expedition, and in 2009 led a team to the South Pole across Antarctica.

With a list of accomplishments including becoming the youngest father and son duo to stand on top of the world, competing the Scottish Quadrathon race, the Yukon Arctic Ultra Challenge and helping to raise over £12 million for charities through Polar expeditions, thousands of business leaders worldwide have been inspired by Alan's authentic, humble and determined style of leadership and storytelling.

He balances the ability to ‘tell it as it is’ with humour and humility as he explains the key experiences through anecdotes and images. The audience cannot fail to be inspired by the sense that here is a leader who has shown that leadership is about ordinary people achieving extraordinary things. His talks can be linked to several organisational initiatives including talent development, sales force motivation, leadership and performance management.