Inspiration Speakers

Sir Ranulph Fiennes was born in 1944 and educated at Eton. He served with the Royal Scots Greys before joining the SAS. He was then the youngest captain in the British Army.

In 1968 he joined the army of the Sultan of Oman and in 1970 was awarded the Sultan’s Bravery Medal.

Since 1969 when he led the British Expedition on the White Nile, Sir Ranulph Fiennes has been at the forefront of many exploratory expeditions.

Described in 1984 as the “World’s Greatest Living Explorer” by the Guinness Book of Records, his expeditions around the world include Transglobe (the world’s first surface journey around the world’s polar axis) 1979-82; North Polar Unsupported Expedition (furthest north unsupported record) 1986; Anglo-Soviet North Pole Expedition 1990/91; co-leader of the Ubar Expedition (which in 1991 discovered Ptolomy’s long-lost Atlantis of the Sands, the frankincense centre of the world); leader of the Pentland South Pole expedition 1992/93 (which achieved the first unsupported crossing of the Antarctic Continent and the longest unsupported polar journey in history).

By drawing the analogy between nature’s most dangerous and difficult challenges, and the very real day-to-day business challenges in the 1990s, Sir Ranulph Fiennes involves each individual in the audience on a very personal level.

The elements vital to the success of an expedition include teamwork, determination, patience, discipline, enthusiasm and creative thinking. Building a team with the right character and attitude is of paramount importance. Persistence, tolerance, planning skills, high organisational ability, flexibility to meet and beat unexpected obstacles, goal-setting and performing under extreme pressure are clearly all factors in the success of Sir Ranulph’s remarkable endeavours.

As a motivational speaker popular with both UK and European audiences, Sir Ranulph demonstrates how the qualities of the explorer/adventurer are applicable, crucial even, to success in the business world.

“It is quite remarkable how appropriate the review of your exploits turned out to be. Many comparisons could be drawn between your efforts and those we ask of our own people, such as decisiveness, tenacity, courage and the will and determination to succeed. It is for that reason that your presentation was amongst the most relevant and successful we have yet held for our staff”
Paul A. Verburgt, Executive Vice President, Bank of America

“Congratulations not only on your heroic accomplishments, but also in the manner in which you convey this story to an audience”
E.C. Rogers, Vice President Marketing IBM Corporation

“ Just reading a list of Ibrahim’s achievements is exhausting” was the verdict of Scotland’s Sunday Post on this multitalented whizz-kid. Although still only in his mid-thirties, he seems to have packed a number of careers into one.

Already a respected entrepreneur, philanthropist, academic and former paratrooper, he is fast building a formidable track record as an adviser to a number of world leaders.

Born and Raised in Scotland, Azeem went from teaching himself to spot good investments from the newspapers he read in his father’s shop to a fast-paced business career.

Azeem rapidly moved from outsourcing IT to India, through import and export to maritime insurance, and then setting up a private bank, building society and even a hedge fund, all before his 32nd birthday. In 2006 he was the youngest person on both the Sunday Times Scots’ Rich List and Carter Anderson’s UK Power 100 list.

During this time, his commitment to relentless goal-setting saw him spend seven years as a reservist in the IV Battalion Parachute Regiment – the British army’s elite airborne infantry reserve, and gain an MBA, an MSc(Econ) and is completing a PhD in Strategic Studies at Cambridge University.

As well as an honorary doctorate, he is now a Research Scholar at the International Security Program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a member of the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy’s Dean’s International Council, Director of Research at the European Centre for Advanced Defence and Strategic Studies in Geneva and Member of the Board of Directors at the Institute of Social Policy Understanding.

He has also been named an ‘emerging World Leader’ by Yale in their World Fellows Program. His columns are regularly published around the world, and can be read in Foreign Policy, The Scotsman and the Sunday Herald, The Middle East Times, The Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune and the LA Times.

Azeem now devotes much of his time to his own charities. As well as a private grant-giving foundation, he has founded charities which tackle problems as diverse as family and marriage breakdown in Scotland to providing clean drinking water in disaster areas.

He has offered strategic advice to the British government, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the Prime Minister of Turkey, the First Minister of Scotland and the Sheikh of Dubai, on topics ranging from anti-radicalisation to improving social mobility and national competitiveness. He is also a founding member of the Aspen US-UAE initiative with Madeleine Albright.

Most recently, Ibrahim has been appointed an advisor to the Chairman of the US Homeland Security Congressional Committee on security and terrorism.

A self-made success in a number of diverse fields, Glasgow-born Azeem Ibrahim has been described by his peers as a brilliant young scholar, financial wizard and gifted entrepreneur.

In 2007, Azeem became the youngest member of the Bank of Scotland Asian Power 100 produced by Carter Anderson, which described him as one of the most influential and highest-achieving people in Britain. The same year Azeem was included in the Observer Courvoisier Future 500 – a definitive list of the nation’s most forward-thinking and brightest young innovators.

In December 2007, a Scottish Parliament motion signed by a number of MSPs congratulated Azeem and his contribution to the country and in April 2008 Azeem accepted the Lloyds TSB and KPMG Business and Commerce Excellence Jewel Award.

His achievements have attracted considerable recognition around the globe and over the last few years Azeem has met and advised a number of world leaders, including the Prime Minister of Turkey and leaders in the Gulf States.

Business Interests Azeem Ibrahim began by launching his own IT consultancy, later expanding the operation into continental Europe, and then moved onto an insurance corporation for the niche maritime-transportation market.

Since then, he has founded over half a dozen companies, mostly in the financial sector, including an online insurance company specialising in maritime insurance, a private online bank for commodity traders, and an FSA-regulated global macro hedge fund based in London.

He was the youngest person on both the Sunday Times Scottish Rich List in 2006 and Carter Anderson’s UK Power 100 list.

Azeem’s most recent venture is Ibrahim Associates, a global strategic consultancy firm aimed at advising governments, NGOs and non-profits on recognising and capitalising on strategic advantage.

Academic life

Azeem’s former professors refer to him as a ‘first-class critical thinker’. He obtained an MBA and an M.Sc.(Econ) in Strategic Studies, then read for a PhD at the University of Cambridge on Geopolitical Strategy. Azeem also served as a Research Scholar on the International Security Program at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University.

Azeem also sits alongside former UK Defence Chiefs as a Director and Board Member of the UKNDA – United Kingdom National Defence Association – which operates to improve the position of the armed forces in government circles.

In 2008 Azeem also became a member of the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy’s Dean’s International Council – a prestigious group of specialists from around the world with substantive experience in government and the private sector including former Prime Ministers, Presidents, Ambassadors and Diplomats.

The Council meets twice a year and acts as an advisory group for new policy initiatives and resource development for governments around the globe.

Since then he has been accepted as a Yale World Fellow in 2009. The programme selects emerging global leaders from over 1000 nominations and brought to Yale to undertake the Ivy League School’s signature program in advanced leadership training with some of the leading experts in various fields.

He has also been awarded an honorary doctorate from Glasgow Caledonian University for his contribution to ‘global international affairs and community developments in Scotland,’ an Adjunct Professorship from Fatih University in Istanbul, and was made a Fellow at the Macmillan Centre for International Area Studies at Yale University, an organization dedicated to improving Americans’ understanding of the world beyond their borders.

In 2010, Azeem was named as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2009 by the LSDP European Social Think Tank and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Most recently Azeem was appointed a Fellow and Member of the Board of Directors at the Institute of Social Policy Understanding in the USA.

Much of Azeem’s time is now devoted to his own charities. He operates a private grant-giving foundation (www.ibrahimfoundation.com) and founded and chairs a number of charities which tackle problems as diverse as family and marriage breakdown in the Asian community in Scotland, (www.unityfamily.co.uk), lack of access to higher education for Bosnian students (www.benevolencefund.org), and lack of access to clean drinking water in disaster areas (www.purifi.com). He also owns and manages a school for 500 orphans in Bangladesh (www.asia-pacificfund.org).

He has recently increased his involvement in independent charity initiatives. He launched the first think tank in Scotland which is dedicated to providing education in authentic Islamic teachings, which can help to reduce the appeal of perverse extremist Islamic narratives.

He has also been the Director of Strategy for the British Writers’ Awards, one of the largest educational initiatives in the UK, which has helped to expose over 300,000 children in 7,000 schools to the benefits of creative writing, and secured endorsements from the leaders of the biggest political parties in England and Scotland.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales’ Charity, the Princes’ Scottish Youth Business Trust Charity, has also recently appointed him an Ambassador.

Political Involvement

Azeem has also broadened his political involvement over the last year. He was the youngest member of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Special Task Force on Social Mobility, on which he was appointed the sub-team leader tasked with studying how internships could help to improve access to the professions in Britain.

He is a regular contributor of editorials to the Scotsman newspaper, politics.co.uk, and a number of other publications around the world, on topics including budgetary policy, defence spending and policy, European integration, Israel-Palestinian peace talks, constitutional matters, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Islamic radicalisation, Scottish energy policy, and sharia law in Britain.

Other interests

For seven years until early 2006, Azeem was a reservist in the IV Battalion Parachute Regiment – the British army’s elite airborne infantry reserve where they are trained to be inserted by parachute behind enemy lines at short notice.

A citizen of both the US and the UK, he is a fitness fanatic keen on marathon and fell running, and speaks four languages.

Testimonials

“ The work that you have undertaken and published is serious and high quality. The analysis and rigour you bought to this issue (social mobility) will provide a firm platform for actions by the professions and government over the years ahead”
Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, (as Prime Minister) – July 2009

“ I was struck by his great intelligence and wide ranging professional expertise and interests. Rarely have I met someone so accomplished at such an early age.”
Ambassador John Shattuck – US Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy and Human Rights – February 2009

“ The Prime Minister has made a very wise choice by appointing Azeem Ibrahim to help disadvantaged people. He is an example to people everywhere and a sound choice to help others become high-flyers.”
Evening Times – January 2009

Scottish Muslim Contributor of the Year Award – 2010

Named as World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader – 2010

Named as ‘Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2009’ by LSDP European Social Policy Think Tank – 2010

Honorary Doctorate from Glasgow Caledonian University – 2009

Scotland’s Distinguished Citizens Award – St Andrews Society – 2009

Insider Elite International Executive of the Year – 2009

Named as ‘Emerging Global Leader’ by Yale World Fellows Program – 2009

Scottish Asian Business Entrepreneur of the Year – 2008

KPMG – Lloyd TSB Business and Commerce Excellence Jewel Award – 2008

Sunday Times Scot’s Rich List inauguration – 2008

Youngest Member of Carter Anderson’s Bank of Scotland Power 100 – 2007

‘THE MAESTRO OF MOTIVATION’

It’s the one thing all businesses absolutely MUST have to generate profits, stay competitive and keep their staff working effectively.

That secret ingredient is MOTIVATION.

It’s not taught much in MBA programmes or Management Training Courses, because it’s such an intangible thing to get to grips with and understand.

But one man who knows more about it than almost anyone is Lawrence Leyton.

Lawrence has been studying the intricacies of Motivation and how to apply it in the workplace all his life. What he discovered, and now teaches, are a set of mind-tools guaranteed to ignite and invigorate the fire and passion in your workforce.

In fact, Lawrence has been so successful in what he does; he’s helped over 200 companies around the world (major blue-chip names like: Microsoft, AstraZeneca, Kimberly Clarke, Vodafone, AMP, The Prudential, Provident, Lombard, plus many others) to change the mind-sets of their staff and turn them into peak performers and high achievers.

Savvy companies like these understand the value Lawrence’s entertaining, engaging, but serious messages bring to their business.

He’s so sought after; he’s appeared as a regular guest on many prime-time TV and radio shows including Richard and Judy and Russell Brand.

He was even snapped up by ITV and Channel 4 to demonstrate his unique skills in three TV specials, one being the popular peak-time Channel 4 show “Fear of Flying”.

On this particular show for example, Lawrence demonstrated another of his amazing skills; helping people overcome phobias and addictions. He helped 40 of the most extreme flying phobics in Britain overcome their fear once-and-for-all. His methods were such a success, many of the participants who would NEVER go on a plane, have now been able to take holidays abroad with their families!

With literally thousands of major stage appearances under his belt, you know you’re in safe hands as Lawrence tailors the speech for the theme of the conference or the message you’re trying to get across.

Here’s just a taste of what Lawrence reveals…

• Why events in your life are not quite what they seem. Your mind is a wonderful thing when you use it the right way, but can also be the biggest obstacle to your success. Here’s how to spot the limiting illusions you carry around with you…

• Discover the Number One factor that makes the difference between success and failure in your life. Top sports people, business leaders and even politicians know how to use this to get to the very top of their chosen field. You can use it too, once you know what it is…

• What three characteristics all ‘Peak Performers’ possess. These three can be honed and perfected by anyone once they’re aware of them. Which one’s are you neglecting and hold you back from reaching your destiny?

• How three simple components control your state of mind. If one or more of these components are not being nurtured regularly, then your behaviour will suffer. Which ones are you neglecting and what you can do to put them right…

• What three members of the audience and a piece of wood can teach you about taking positive action in your life. You’ll discover the factors that hold you back and what you can do to banish those limiting factors from your life… once and for all…

The techniques Lawrence reveals in his entertaining presentations, to thousands of people in auditoriums and conference halls around the world, really do work.

In fact, they’re the very same methods Lawrence uses to run his own successful businesses. These range from Optimum Health Centres, one of the fastest growing family wellness clinics in the UK, to his own multimedia information marketing company.

He’s the author of two books and many personal development related products such as books, CDs, DVDs and seminars.

So with such a successful business background and his own uniquely dynamic and entertaining stage presentation, you don’t have to look any further than Lawrence Leyton to super-charge your workforce, and help them catapult your organisation into the realms of the top peak performance companies in your industry.



This Lawrence Leyton audio course is based on trusted techniques to develop the capabilities a manager or leader needs to create loyalty and improve management effectiveness.






View video material for Lawrence Leyton.

William Crawley is a broadcaster, journalist and writer of Will & Testament, one of the country’s most popular blogs. The diversity of subjects he deals with on television, radio, in print and online inevitably lead others to describe him as “versatile”, though he wonders himself if it isn’t a sign of a short attention span. Or the fact that he’s Irish.

His TV series “Blueprint”, which explored 600 million years of Ireland’s natural history in three hours of television, was described by the BBC in Northern Ireland as the “most ambitious multi-platform broadcasting project” in their history.

In his BBC interview series “William Crawley Meets …”, he travels around the world to talk to some of the controversial thinkers and activists who help shape the modern conversation — from the biologist Richard Dawkins to the philosopher Peter Singer, from the gay bishop Gene Robinson to the architect Richard Rogers.

After hundreds of interviews on radio and television, he realizes that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Which may explain why Ian Paisley first revealed in an interview with William Crawley that he had prayed in private with his former enemy Martin McGuinness; why the Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney first talked about his pot-smoking days in Berkeley, California; and why Richard Dawkins had second thoughts about the use of the word “delusion” in the title of his global bestseller The God Delusion. Alas, it may also explain why the Holywood screen legend Tony Curtis used so many expletives in one live interview during a lunchtime news programme that he made headlines around the world for “turning the BBC airwaves blue” (as the New York Daily News put it).

A former philosophy teacher, with a PhD in the subject, William is an expert on ethics and religion and has made many programmes investigating contemporary moral debates, including “What’s Wrong With …?”, a round-table discussion show, and “Frozen North”, which took him to the Canadian sub-arctic to investigate the impact of climate change.

With a passion for the arts, William presents The Book Programme for BBC Radio Ulster, has hosted the BBC’s TV coverage of the Belfast Festival since 2005, and has presented features on the arts for Radio 3 and Radio Ulster. One of his biggest challenges was a documentary for Radio 4 in which William was tasked with explaining the annual Loyalist bonfires to an English audience without the use of subtitles.

William has also turned the camera on himself in a semi-autobiographical TV series which examined some of the big issues of our modern age, and some of the obsessions of Irish culture: death, booze and religion. In Dying For A Drink, William joined a very short but nevertheless illustrious list of BBC presenters who have become inebriated on screen. That is, inebriated deliberately.

He also regularly presents news and political phone-in shows for the BBC in Northern Ireland, frequently hosts the drive-time news and current affairs programmes for Radio Ulster, gets up early every Sunday morning to present a specialist religion and ethics programme, Sunday Sequence (which was recently named UK Religion Programme of the Year) and can also be heard presenting Radio 4′s Sunday programme from time to time. He presented an edition of Sunday Sequence live from the Ground Zero site shortly after 9/11, and marked the 50th anniversary of South Africa’s Freedom Charter with a programme broadcast from the cell that held Nelson Mandela.

If this looks like a media career, it’s well to remember that it all happened by accident. Ten years ago, William was asked to present a Thought for the Day, which, at less than 3 minutes, is an ideal format for a short attention span. He’s been broadcasting ever since.

After many years in high-level diplomacy Charles Crawford has a unique profile as an imaginative, dynamic and even provocative speaker who has addressed audiences large and small in English, Polish and Serbian

After an Honours degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University he qualified as a Barrister before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

From 1985-87 Charles served as Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe’s official Speechwriter, contributing ideas/language for speeches by the Foreign Secretary (major set-piece speeches, Parliamentary debates and less formal after-dinner remarks)

His first job on joining the FCO in 1979 was to head the Indonesia Section, followed by his first posting, to communist post-Tito Yugoslavia. He returned to London in 1984 and after a year on the Aviation Desk was appointed FCO Speech-writer. He was posted to South Africa in 1987 as part of the Embassy team led by Ambassador Robin Renwick working to end apartheid.

Returning to London in 1991 he worked in the FCO Department dealing with the Soviet Union as communist rule collapsed. He then spent three years in Moscow as Political Counsellor and then served three times as HM Ambassador: in Sarajevo (1996-1998); in Belgrade (2001-2003) and most recently in Poland (2003-2007).

In 1987 he wrote the FCO’s first Guide to Speech-Writing, a dynamic text full of real-life examples on how to write speeches – and how to weed out lugubrious mistakes. Two decades later it remains a core part of the FCO’s speech-drafting training

He subsequently contributed to speeches by members of the Royal Family and successive Prime Ministers, as well as different Ministers and other senior personalities in public and commercial life

He left the FCO at the end of 2007 to start a new career as writer, consultant, mediator and trainer. In 2009 he joined the UK Conservative Party candidates list

In recent months Charles Crawford led training courses for senior EU and other officials and private clients aimed at improving their communication skills. He has written for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Independent, DIPLOMAT and Total Politics.

In 2009 his audiences included the Headmasters Conference and Conservative Friends of Poland, as well as private groups and academic gatherings

In 2010 he and other former British Ambassadors in partnership with ADR Group launched a new senior strategic dispute resolution panel, ADRg Ambassadors

Charles Crawford’s trenchant observations on public policy issues are now available to a growing readership on his blog




Such honesty has no place in modern government…it’s bloody dangerous!
Andrew Dodge (Samizdata)

The most telling critique of this delusional foreign policy comes in regular instalments in the form of a blog by the former British ambassador to Poland, Charles Crawford. It’s called www.charlescrawford.biz, and if you want to know just how much in despair many of our diplomats are, this is the place to look
Dominic Lawson (The Times, 2010)

In 2005 a humorous FCO email he wrote as Ambassador to Warsaw (a satirical speech by Prime Minister Tony Blair damning other countries’ selfishness on EU Budget issues) caused a stir when it was leaked to the Sunday Times

His FCO written work was praised at the highest levels in London, NATO and the EU for its uncompromising dynamic style:

“fabulously readable and interesting analysis, with practical application … just about the best scenesetter [No10 staff] have ever seen”

“acrobatic and eye-catching in his use of language”

As a speaker Charles Crawford draws on dramatic episodes from his diplomatic career to explain wider policy themes, paradoxes and trends. His presentations are interesting and thought-provoking, but above all memorable

He is strong on foreign and public policy issues such as:

o Communism (and Vampires)
o Dealing with extremists and war criminals
o Climate change and PPP (perverse precautionary principles)
o Amazon Space: how the Internet is changing the strategic policy context
o International negotiation (as explained by Shrek, the Joker and Clint Eastwood)
o UK/European Union relations: Too Big (not) to Fail

Brain researcher, Chartered Neuropsychologist, Sony Award-Winning Broadcaster & Best selling author.

Renowned as the ‘father of neuromarketing’ due to his pioneering work in developing the science of Neurometrics, David is Chairman and Director of Research at Mindlab International. Based at the University of Sussex, it is the UK’s leading company specialising in brain research and neuroscience as applied to consumers.

David began his career studying medicine, later switching to psychology, gaining First Class Honours degree in psychology and a doctorate from the University of Sussex. After lecturing in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology he left, to start his own research organisation.

Over the past twenty years David has made more than a thousand TV and radio appearances as both a presenter and contributor. His television credits include: Red Mist (LWT); Rude London; After Dark; Tomorrow’s World; Shopology (BBC1); 100 Best Television Commercials (Channel 4); Road Rages (BBC1); The Colour Eye (BBC1) – as Presenter; Work is a Four Letter Word (BBC2); The Alpha Plan (BBC1); A Little of What You Fancy (BBC1); Should We Be Worried About? (BBC1) Sky, CNN and the Discovery Channel as well as many others.

David has written many best selling books on practical psychology, including Thinking Better (Rawson Wade) which became a best selling business book and a Fortune Book Club Choice. Also, The Secret Language Of Success (1989) a practical guide to body language which was also a best seller. Business Week wrote: “The best book on the subject”.

Other books include, The Soul of the New Consumer: What People Buy and Why in the New Economy; of this book Tim Waterstone wrote in Management Today: “This is such an enjoyable, important and timely book…required reading.” Bookpage described it as: “…a lucid analysis of a wide range of sales related issues…for anyone in the business of sending those messages, it’s an enlightening and compelling guide.”

David now lectures to major corporations in Europe, Scandinavia, USA and the Far East with clients including IBM, British Airways, BT, Disney, Coca-Cola, MacDonald, Hewlett Packard, SAP, Novartis, Glaxo, and Merck as well as other leading financial institutions and pharmaceutical companies. In 1978 he founded the registered charity Action on Phobias and has been active in working with self-help groups for phobics and anxiety sufferers.

Academic Qualifications & Affiliations
Director of Research Mind Lab International (www.themindlab.org).
First class honours degree in psychology (BSc Hons). University of Westminster, 1981.
Doctorate in Philosophy (D.Phil), University of Sussex, 1986.
Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society.
Fellow of the Institute of Directors.
Fellow International Stress Management Association.
Fellow Royal Society of Medicine.
Member of the American Association for Psychological Science.
Member of the International Society for Neuronal Regulation.
Member of the New York Academy of Science.
Member of the Medical & Scientific Network.
Member MENSA
Member of the Society of Authors.
Member National Union of Journalists.

Chris Crudelli is the TV presenter, cultural explorer, best-selling author and internationally recognised kung fu master. His self-penned TV series for the BBC, “Mind, Body & Kick Ass Moves”, was a smash hit, becoming the most widely distributed documentary in BBC TV history after it was broadcast in over 180 countries worldwide.

As a best-selling author, his book, “The Way of The Warrior”, is doing well in the UK and US, and his TV shows are continuing to break new records in the UK and in the States, where they are broadcast on Discovery Travel & Leisure, and Fox FSN.

Recently, The Sunday Telegraph labeled Chris as “the most engaging personality on British TV”, the Telegraph said he is “one of the top ten martial arts practitioners alive today”, and The Sun simply stated “Chris Crudelli is a star”. But most of all, Chris is a talented and inspiring teacher and speaker who has taught thousands around the world.

Growing up in Birmingham, Chris had already witnessed a number of violent crimes by the age of seven, which inspired him to take up Martial Arts. His passion for the Arts soon developed and as a teenager he moved to China in order to study full time with the world’s most revered masters. He stayed and travelled all over Asia for over ten years, venturing to places as diverse as Mongolia, Nepal and India, studying and developing his knowledge in the Arts, and picking up two fluent dialects of Chinese along the way.

Chris also became the very first Westerner to actually develop a Chinese-style kung fu on Chinese soil. It’s called Jiufamen and is taught by Chris at his network of schools in and around South East London, and to thousands up and down the country who attend his seminars. Not only that, but Chris and his team have taught simplified versions of it to police organisations and special forces & military personnel around the world.

Aside from the seminars, Chris also leads groups on training adventures to the mountains of North Wales, and around Thailand & Cambodia. Participants are encouraged to find their mental and physical limits and, with Chris’s help, push beyond them. They’ve been life-changing experiences for many people who’ve attended.

Last year, Chris also wrote and headlined his own stage show in London. Part biographical, part action sequences, Chris displayed some of the amazing mind and body tricks he’s picked up over the years, including the ability to detect lies 100% of the time simply through the sound of someone’s voice; teaching any member of the audience to become 300% stronger with a simple kung fu concentration technique; and coaching any willing participant to smash a brick with their bare hand with no pain or injury!

All impressive feats alone, but the practical application and relevance of such skills to every day life is even more interesting. Martial Arts are disciplines of problem solving for body and mind; they can help you explore aggression, competitiveness, fear, and how you respond to challenges. From Chris’s own lifelong research he teaches how ancient Martial Arts can help one learn through the body how to solve problems in life, and thus make serious change happen.

Chris says, “There’s more to Martial Arts than punching and kicking.” His travel-inspired teaching and speeches lead audiences to face challenges head-on, whilst providing humorous and kick ass anecdotes along the journey!

He is living proof that Martial Arts, when taught well, are good for you.

Who else could stand in an old ballroom above a pub in Battersea and see the future of comedy? That’s what Jongleurs Comedy Club founder Maria Kempinska did in 1983. Building an empire of purpose built venues including state of the art city centre major capacity entertainment arenas and changing the face of European comedy forever; all from a room that smelt of nothing more than sticky carpets and Stella Artois.

The Jongleurs brand is the UK’s funniest calling card; it’s synonymous with comedy and has launched a host of stars into comedy’s firmament including Jack Dee, Harry Enfield, Paul Merton and Lee Evans. Twenty years later and the brand and clubs are still pioneering new talent and showingcasing the best comedy.

A regular presence on TV and radio, Maria has talked business and comedy with Trisha as well as with Channel 4 and BBC 2. While on air time for radio includes appearances on Radio One, Radio 4’s Start The Week and other leading London commercial stations, including LBC. Maria has been recognised with awards including Real Business magazine’s ‘Entrepreneur award’ and by Buckingham Palace to collect an MBE.

Maria’s topics include, the business of comedy, leadership, a woman as a leader of men and how to build successful brands and inspire markets. She’s also developing a series of masterclasses for management groups to understand the use and relevance of humour in successful negotiation and people management.

Maria is currently working on projects such as content provision for 3G phones, live comedy on the internet, the ongoing Jongleurs on the Road Theatre tour across Europe and is the executive producer of ‘Live at Jongleurs’. She’s currently also overseeing the overhaul of the hugely popular Jongleurs website and e-zine.

Maria is on the Women in Business board for Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme with the Countess of Wessex, she is also a member of Anti-Slavery committee. She’s recently been involved in developing a screenplay called Out Of The Dark, which is currently in pre-production. And finally, as if comedy is not enough, Maria has co-created Lockout, a live music event and label that introduces new artists to the British public and music industry. She intends to sleep only when she’s dead.

Journalist and adventurer Donal MacIntyre is Europe’s best known investigative reporter. He has worked for all the UK broadcasters, most famously ITV and the BBC where he has won awards for his outstanding and often dangerous work.

As a finalist of Dancing on Ice he won the nation’s heart and brought his journalism to whole new audience. MacIntyre has worked also in adventure television for Discovery and National Geographic and travelled the world living with far flung tribes and enduring the planets Wild Weather for the BBC.

His work is more diverse than any other broadcaster in the country ranging from undercover to war zone reporting to animal welfare documentaries. From live radio to live television, he has won awards across the world for his unique brand of work. Recently he has worked with the Government on fatherhood and health campaigns and he is currently an Ambassador for Born Free and Mencap.

In addition, he has won major awards as a director across Europe. He is currently broadcasting on BBC Radio Five Live and writing screenplays and novels.

Donal inspires and entertains conference and after dinner audiences with his experiences from war zones to jungles to one of the most surprising and biggest departures yet from his comfort zone – going from rank outsider to finalist on Dancing On Ice.

He talks about overcoming fear stress and anxiety, operating outside of your comfort zone, and managing risk and reward. From welcoming tribes into his home to learning to dance on ice, Donal is not afraid to take a risk and believes that we can achieve anything we want with the right mindset. Donal is inspiring and entertaining and appeals to a wide audience.

Sir Steven Redgrave has proved himself to be the greatest Olympian Britain has ever produced. After striking gold in Atlanta – Britain’s solitary victory of the games – he became the only British athlete ever (and one of only five sportsmen worldwide) who has won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic games. Gold in the Coxed fours in Los Angeles in 1984, gold in the Coxless pairs in Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000).

In addition to his Olympic successes and following two unbeaten seasons in 1993 and 1994, Steve (and his partner Matthew Pinsent) won his sixth world championship gold in August 1995 in Finland. His previous world championship golds were in 1986, 1987, 1991, 1993 and 1994.

His other interests include golf and winter sports, and he was a member of the British Bobsleigh team.

Together with Matthew Pinsent, Steven Redgrave is the holder of the world record in coxless pairs set in Lucerne in 1994 and the Olympic record set in Barcelona in 1992.

Now established as the most outstanding rower of all time, he has announced that he has decided to carry on competing and to maintain his association with sport at the highest level as a standard bearer for British Olympic aspirants through to the Millennium Games in Sydney.

Steven Redgrave was awarded the MBE in the New Year’s Honours List in 1986, and the CBE in the New Year’s Honours List of 1997. The Queen of England has since knighted him.

Redgrave is Vice President of the British Olympic Association and a member of the board that won the bid for London in 2012. After the public voted him Sports Personality of the Year, he then topped an all time poll of winners – beating David Beckham and Ian Botham.

Major Ken Hames is a British former Special Air Service’s officer,highly rated motivational speaker and specialist television presenter.

Ken Hames is a real life action man who leads from the front. He has 25 years military experience under his belt, and is almost unique in having served in The Parachute Brigade, the Royal Marines and the Special Air Service. Ken’s operational experience is vast, ranging from guarding Nazi war criminal Rudolph Hesse, in Spandau Prison to the liberation of Port Stanley in the Falklands.

He is an accomplished Mountain Guide and skier and represented Great Britain in cross-country skiing. He played rugby for the Combined Services, is an expert in the great outdoors in all survival disciplines and is a keen amateur opera singer

Following an impressive 25 year military career, Ken Hames has brought a unique slant to the many documentaries that he has created and presented for television. Ken’s third series of ‘Beyond Boundaries’ was set in the Andes range in Ecuador and followed his highly acclaimed BBC1 documentary ‘Ex Forces and Homeless’ , his next broadcast series will be ‘Beyond Boundaries – Where Are They Now’.

Ken has created and presented series like, ‘Mission Africa’ – a 15 part series for prime time BBC1 where Ken took a group of young apprentice builders from the UK to Kenya to build the first eco lodge and game reserve to protect the endangered species that live there working closely with the Born Free Foundation. This was then handed over to the local Samburu tribe as a sustainable business that also protects the wildlife.

Ken created and is the expedition leader on the ground breaking ‘Beyond Boundaries’ series for BBC TV. This is now a successful brand with it’s own live event, bringing disabled people from all over the world together with their friends and families. Each series, Ken takes a different group of highly disabled people and motivates them to achieve seemingly impossible expeditions. He trains and inspires them into a team and the end result is life changing.

‘Desert Darlings’ was broadcast on Channel 4 in spring 2003. Ken took couples across the Namib Desert, placing their sometimes fragile relationships under the extreme pressures of an expedition. His first series for Channel 4, was the award winning, ‘Jungle Janes’, where Ken’s challenge was to turn a group of British women, none of whom had any expedition experience, into a cohesive team fit enough to take on the gruelling jungles of Borneo. It was enjoyed by millions who found this journey an inspiration. The first documentary was a television series, called ‘The Trek’ broadcast by Meridian. In 1994, with the help of Diana, Princess of Wales, Ken was able to take twelve disadvantaged youngsters to the heart of Africa on a 500-mile trek over desert and mountainous terrain, The process transformed their lives and Ken still monitors their progress.

These documentaries have proved Ken’s extraordinary ability to inspire and motivate even the most unlikely candidates. His unique skills enable him to take any rabble of individuals and finish with a winning, cohesive team, using sound leadership and thorough training are just some of the tools he uses. Ken is passionate about empowering people to transform their lives for the better.

Ken presented the highly praised series, ‘Greatest SAS Missions’ for Five in 2004, CBBC’s ‘Bring it On’, ‘Hero Factor’ for the Discovery Channel in 2002, ‘Battle Stripes’ for Sky in 2000, ‘Future Fighting Machines’ for the US in 2003, Channel 4’s ‘Shattered’ and ITV’s ‘Celebrity Fit Club’. Ken was also involved from the earliest of stages in the design and development of ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’.
A powerful and charismatic speaker, Ken’s experiences in the cutting edge of the military and at the forefront of some of history’s most significant expeditions combine with those in the business arena to provide a fascinating insight into pressure, survival, teamwork, leadership and motivation. Ken is an action man who leads from the front. He is an accomplished Mountain Guide and skier and represented Great Britain in cross country skiing. He has played rugby for the Combined Services and is an expert in the great outdoors in all survival disciplines.

Testimonials

• Thank you for your fantastic presentation. The feedback was excellent. People will not forget ‘Lead, follow or get out of the way’

Martin Goodman, Office of the Director – IBM

• Your speech was an inspiration to our audience. You have given IGF members a renewed sense of motivation and desire to succeed.

Paul Foulkes
Director of Global Financing – IBM

• Ken’s motivational style lifts people’s horizons. He was an absolute inspiration to our delegates.

Carole Nicholl, Director
Lehman Brothers

• Ken Hames is the master practitioner in the field of motivation. He has the unique ability to inspire other to seek personal transformation and high achievement.

Diana, Princess of Wales

• In his leadership master class Ken gave my senior managers a renewed sense of purpose and direction. He is current, credible and inspirational and is particularly adept at getting results in a short timeframe. I continue to use him to keep my leaders at the cutting edge.

Robert Ford CIO EMEA
Microsoft Corporation

• Ken inspired us all with his motivational conference programme and leadership master class. We are looking forward to the next phase in our business development programme.
Simon Curry Director BT UK

• Ken did a fantastic job for us and it was an inspiration to hear him talk and motivate our leadership team. We look forward to his return.
Derek Hudson Vice President UK, British Gas

• Wherever Ken goes the atmosphere changes significantly. He is able to get results and does this with credibility as someone who is still out there ‘doing it’ so to speak. He has a unique understanding of the pressures facing business today and delivers solutions that will help managers do better.
Jerry Hagan, Director GlaxoSmithKline

• I give Ken 10 out of 10 for everything from how the audience reacted to the content of his talk. He really met our expectations and at the end of the presentation there was an audible ‘wow’ factor – it really hit the spot. Our clients really appreciated his enthusiasm for their project and the willingness to stay behind and become involved on an informal basis.
Chris Ball Senior Partner Penna PLC

• Ken, Thank you so much for speaking at the Business Direct Forum, the feedback has been excellent. The Management team were really impressed and delighted. Your positioning was spot on and we were all grateful for the amount of time you took to understand our business and current challenges.
Vodaphone HQ, Management Meeting

• We have now come to the end of our series of leadership workshops held during March and April and as one of the guest speakers on the workshops I would just like to say thank you for your time in talking to us recently your session was extremely interesting and the feedback from our leaders has been very positive.
Nigel Cann Station Director, British Energy

Oliver Dudley is an ‘Everyman’ adventurer who has tackled world records in ocean rowing and ultra distance running, despite being a novice at both sports. As a team member of the 14 man crew aboard La Mondiale in 2008, Oliver rowed for 2 hours on, 2 hours off, for 33 days across the Atlantic breaking the 16 year old Guinness World Record – a record that had withstood 60 previous challenges.

In 2009, Oliver joined a small team of runners to attempt 7 ultra marathons on 7 continents 7 days. (He’d never run a marathon before.) As Sir Ranulph Fiennes put it this was a ‘great achievement – a success made all the more remarkable by their background as novice runners. This accomplishment demonstrates what can be done with proper planning, hard work and self belief.’

Oliver is certainly not superhuman. He has succeeded because he possesses an unshakable passion and unwavering determination. He proves that ordinary people can do extraordinary things if they ‘think possible’. He does not call himself an athlete, rarely visits the gym, doesn’t have any particular outdoor training or skills, and no military training – but he believes if you ‘think possible’ you can leave your comfort zones, navigate fear, embrace change and start out in a new direction. Oliver’s ‘think possible’ philosophy was forged out of a turbulent childhood and a series of setbacks as a young adult (including breaking his neck when he was a promising Rugby Union player).

Oliver’s talks draw on his Atlantic world record, his attempt at the “777 Challenge” and his recent experiences challenging the record for rowing around Great Britain. In August 2009, after a frightening storm in which the crew of four nearly capsized and also a ‘near miss’ with a tanker, Oliver and the crew became national heroes when the raised the alarm after seeing a plane crash into the Irish Sea.

The rowers raced two miles to reach the pilot of the sinking plane, the coastguard‘s helicopter successfully winched him to safety. Oliver and the crew were rowing to raise money and awareness for the charity Orchid that fights male cancer. Their attempt at the round Great Britain row was abandoned.

In January 2008, the Atlantic World Record row drew acclaim for the crew from all quarters. Gordon Brown wrote to the team, saying ‘your achievement in an inspiration to millions of people around the world.’ Finishing in 33 days and 7½ hours in January 2008, this was an astonishing feat given that they rowed in a second-hand boat and drifted backwards for 3 days whilst battling 30ft waves in a tropical storm.

In March 2009, Oliver organised and competed in the 777 Challenge – the world’s first attempt to run 7 ultra marathons (50km) in 7 consecutive days on all 7 continents. In March 2009, two of his team set a new world record of 6 days, 23 hours and 40 minutes Oliver finished just 26 hours later – having been hospitalised in Johannesburg prior to starting the sixth run. Not one to be easily defeated, Oliver stayed behind alone to complete the 50km the following day. He re-visited hospital upon landing in London, losing even more time, but when given the all clear completed the last of the seven 50km runs in London. The event had wide media coverage, including news channels on Channel 4, BBC, ITV and ABC.

Oliver’s ‘Think Possible’ philosophy is behind his astounding successes as a novice runner and rower. He has a particular passion for encouraging young people to make the most of opportunities. Oliver’s key messages are built on his experiences of teamwork, personal leadership, planning, embracing change and risk. He motivates others to go beyond their self-limiting beliefs and to ‘Think Possible’: a mantra and belief for our times.

World record breaking polar explorer Ann Daniels is an inspiration to those who hear her speak. She has led expeditions in the most hostile environments on earth, literally to the very top and bottom of the world, where strong leadership and teamwork are essential to achieve results in a world that is always challenging and the terrain ever changing.

She is one of the world’s leading female polar explorers. In the year 200O, she walked from the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole and in 2002 walked from Canada to the North Geographic Pole to become the first all women’s team in the world to manhaul to both the North and South poles. She is now involved in a new project to measure the thickness of the North Pole ice cap and will navigate a 3 man ice team over 1000 kilometres of frozen Arctic Ocean to the North Pole.

Ann first set her sights on the Polar Regions in 1995 when she was selected from over 200 applicants in an SAS style selection process to take part in the 1997 McVities Penguin Polar Relay. Although she had no previous outdoor experience, her grit, determination and positivity convinced the selectors not only to choose Ann for the team but to select her for the first and most arduous part of the journey. Team Alpha doubled the target mileage set for them and gave the expedition a fantastic start. On 27 May 1997 team Echo stepped onto the North Pole to celebrate success.

Arctic Survey 2009

Setting out in February 2009, the Arctic Survey expedition undertook a 100 day, 1000km crossing of the ice cap in temperatures as low as minus 50ºC. The survey team departed from Alaska, walking, skiing and on occasions swimming stretches of open water to reach the North Geographic Pole in June. The survey captured for the first time, detailed information of the ice thickness and its snow layers. Vital information that will be used by the scientific world to determine just how long the permanent ice cap will last.

In 2001 Ann became the first British female North Pole guide. She leads groups from varying backgrounds the last degree to the North and South Poles.

Ann tailors every speech to her audience and illustrates the importance of strong leadership, teamwork, the correct attitude, setting goals, managing change, overcoming the odds and the importance of persistence. There is no doubt she is an ordinary woman who has achieved the extraordinary.

Spanish explorer Andreu Mateu rose to international fame in 1992 when he decided to relinquish everything and travel to the most remote places on earth using every conceivable means of transportation known to man. He named his journey The Transcovery Project.

At the time, he was working at the Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy in New York, and had achieved his academic goals: a degree in Economics, and an M.B.A.

To raise the necessary funds to launch this new ambitious adventure, Andreu sold all of his worldly possessions and conscious that team work is secret behind ordinary people achieving extraordinary results, Andreu put together an international expedition support team to advise him and provide the necessary supplies and equipment required to carry out his mission.

On 11 August 1992, Andreu Mateu strapped on a pair of in-line skates and departed from Spain to begin his unique adventure.

Whilst pursuing his dream across the globe, Andreu swam the Straits of Gibraltar, sailed solo across the Atlantic Ocean in a 30 foot boat, crossed Europe by motorcycle, jumped from an airplane at 12,500 feet and traversed the entire length of Africa by motorbike. His gruelling travels involved everything from balloons to canoes, horses to elephants, helicopters to jeeps throughout all 7 continents. He conquered numerous challenges during his three year expedition that took him to 120 countries, using more than 131 different means of transportation.

Andreu is now rising in prominence as one of Europe’s leading motivational and inspirational speakers. His speeches are full of anecdotes from his adventures which not only entertain but help to inspire audiences to achieve the enormous potential they have hidden within themselves. Andreu has the charisma to hold the audience, visually his presentations are spectacular with video footage of his travels.

He has appeared in many TV shows in Europe and the USA and is author of 2 books. He has also lectured widely and now travels extensively in Europe with his remarkable experiences. He also runs the Barcelona-based DREAMS & ADVENTURES, an outdoor activity company.

When he was a child, Alain Robert’s heroes were some of the most famous rock-climbers of all time. To his parents despair he decided to become a top climber. He learnt how to move, how to handle the ropes. When he was 12, he once forgot his keys and climbed eight floors to get home through the window.

Alain used to train on the cliffs around Valence, his home town in the south of France. He became a top climber through personal motivation, taking calculated risks and mastering his fear. He became so proficient that he decided to climb solo, with his bare hands and with no ropes for protection. If he fell, he would die, pure and simple.

Having climbed the most extreme cliff faces he had two serious accidents in 1982, falling over 15-meters head first in one fall, remaining in a coma for 5 days and enduring multiple fractures : cranium, nose, wrists, elbows, pelvis and heels. The prognosis was serious; his doctors said he would never climb again. The after effects of the injuries included vertigo, caused by disease affecting the inner ear. The French national health organisation pronounced him disabled up to 60%.

A year later, Alain Robert got back to the cliffs and soon regained the top level title, stronger than ever. In 1991 Patrick Edlinger gave him an award for his performance at the Janssen’s Festival. Two years later, Juan Antonio Samaranche gave him the IOC (International Olympic Committee) award for his performance. He also achieved a world record for the most extreme solo performance, in the gorge of the Verdon (south of France).

Sector –a sponsor, specialist in extreme sports, adventure- offered him to shoot a documentary. They suggested that he climb skyscrapers and in 1994, Alain climbed his very first skyscraper, in Chicago, and the Urban Climber legend was born.

Alain realized that he enjoyed climbing the seemingly impossible; the feats also offered him a chance to earn a living. He scoured the world searching for skyscrapers and climbing them, he also incurred jail sentences many times as the climbs invariably occurred without the authorisation of the buildings owners. In the course of his unlikely career he has met presidents and prisoners, kings and shanty town folks.

Despite being known for his bold ascents, he often climbs to collect money for charity. In 1997, he climbed -without authorisation- the world’s tallest skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur.

The impact on the media was so great that Sabah Foundation asked him to climb its building in Borneo. With the government’s authority, the event grew extensively, drawing a crowd of 15,000 people. The event raised over $150,000.

In Paris, the association ADT Quart Monde requested his presence for a climb, to promote the opening of the flats built for the capital’s homeless. The event drew the nation’s most senior figures, including Mrs. Bernadette Chirac and Mrs. Geneviève de Gaulle.

In eight years, Alain Robert has climbed over 100 skyscrapers and mythical monuments around the world. His greatest success so far has been the ascent of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi with over 100,000 spectators!

To him, a city is like a range of mountains, with one little difference, there will always be new skyscrapers under construction.

Rick Stein OBE is the first TV chef everyone thinks of when it comes to seafood. But with his series Food Heroes, Rick has shown that he’s equally passionate about the best of British produce whatever its provenance. In his most recent series French Odyssey, he also revealed a passion for the French way of life, especially the food culture.

Stein didn’t always harbour ambitions to be an award-winning chef. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, he spent several years at running a disco before buying an ailing local nightclub in Padstow.

The venture was not a success and Rick turned to food as a way out. He opened a restaurant that specialised in freshly caught local produce, supplied by the fishermen who had once frequented his club.
Rick has run the Seafood Restaurant for more than 25 years, seeing it grow from a seaside bistro to an award-winning restaurant with an international reputation. Since those early days, the Steins have added guest bedrooms, a Seafood Delicatessen, a gift shop and two smaller restaurants – St Petroc’s Bistro and Rick Stein’s Café. The most recent addition is the Padstow Seafood School overlooking the Camel estuary and a fish and chips takeaway.

He has been honoured for his cookery success with many awards, including the Glenfiddich Trophy for his outstanding contribution to widening the understanding and appreciation of excellent food and drink in Britain through his work as a chef, teacher, presenter and author.

His many TV programmes and books include Rick Stein’s Taste of the Sea, Fruits of the Sea, Seafood Odyssey, Fresh Food, Seafood Lovers’ Guide, Food Heroes, French Odyssey and, most recently, Mediterranean Escapes.

In January 2003, Rick was awarded an OBE for services to Cornish tourism. He’s based in Padstow but spends several weeks each year in Sydney, Australia.

From the ranks of a BMW-blessed crop in the mid-1980s, Danner was an extremely successful touring car exponent who transferred that talent to Formula 3000 and won the 1985 Championship before graduating to Formula 1 with Zakspeed at the end of the year. He drove for Arrows in 1986 after Marc Surer was badly injured in an accident; finishing sixth in Austria, then went back to Zakspeed with Martin Brundle in 1987.

His best result was a fourth place at Phoenix in 1989 at the wheel of the Rial owned by former ATS wheels boss Gunther Schmid. Thereafter Danner’s stepped away from Formula 1 and he spent most of the next decade competing in a variety of differing categories including the Japanese Formula 3000 series, CART and the German national DTM series with an Alfa Romeo.

In recent years he has run a sponsorship consultancy business and worked as a TV commentator in F1 becoming a favourite of the German corporation, speaking and motivating management groups. Christian’s relaxed yet efficient style has won him many admirers in European boardrooms, his anecdotes and astute observations are drawn from his experiences in competition.

Entrepreneur and team leader Richard Noble specialises in developing high risk ventures. His Thrust team have held the land speed record for over a quarter of a century. First time around with the Thrust 2 programme which brought the World Land Speed Record back to Britain in 1983 and then with Thrust SSC, the first ever supersonic land speed record programme.

Other ground breaking projects have included the ARV Super2 aircraft, the Atlantic Sprinter Blue Riband contender, an original television funding company, and the last, Farnborough Aircraft.

At the end of September 1997 Richard achieved the seemingly impossible. His newly designed Supersonic car broke first the land speed record, and in October 1997 it broke the sound barrier with Andy Green as one of the top RAF pilots at the wheel. On the 15th October 1997 the first supersonic world land-speed record – 763.035 MPH was achieved.

The adventure is far from over. Bloodhound SSC was conceived with the objective of making engineering excellence and innovation sexy once again to young British adults. The project team will design, construction and attain 1000 mph on land.

His presentations are thought provoking, fast paced and feature enthralling video inserts. The idea is to inspire the audience to realize their potential to encourage original thought, develop ownership of responsibility and understand the principles of true teamwork.

Richard has received numerous awards from accross the world, the most valued among them are his OBE, RAC Diamond Jubilee Trophy, John Cobb Memorial Trophy, the Sir Malcolm Campbell Trophy and the Sir Henry Segrave Trophy.

The successes of Richard’s projects are driven by his energy and leadership, by bringing together a team and motivating and inspiring them towards the same goal. The tremendous loyalty and ‘ownership’ heuristic inherent in his teams are testament to the ability of humans to work together.

A child chess prodigy who started playing as a five year old, Kasparov qualified as an International Chess Master at the age of sixteen. Those close to Garry know his unrestrained contagious laugh, his kindness and caring and know him as a multi-faceted and unique person.

All of his adult life the courage of his convictions have been put to the test. His matches against Anatoli Karpov were widely regarded as a show of individual opposition to the authoritarian state. Kasparov was in the fore-front of the anticommunist movement and the resulting threats to his well-being were real.

In 1988, a computer program was devised to analyze a vast collection of chess statistics, in order to create a ranking of the all-time chess greats. Top of the list, was the twenty-five year old Russian, Garry Kasparov. Today, in his late-thirties, Kasparov has been THE WORLD CHAMPION for fourteen years.

He has successfully defended his title more times than any other champion in modern times. On each occasion, his famous attacking style of play and brilliant strategy have proven too much for his opponents.

The restless Russian is always looking for new challenges and for the past decade has astounded the Chess world by beating some of the world’s strongest Olympic chess teams, playing four or six Grandmasters simultaneously.

In February 1996, in Philadelphia, he played IBM’s Deep Blue computer. His opponent was able to analyze 50 billion moves in three minutes. In NYC in May 1997, Kasparov again played the monster computer. The series stands at one match each and the World Champion has challenged IBM to a tie-breaking third match.

The Brain Club and Synapsia elected Garry as its first ‘Brain of the Year’ and described him as ‘The World Chess Champion, athlete and humanitarian both, and a cultivated and curious man who closely follows literature, films and politics’.

He has authored several books on chess and is a regular contributor for the Wall Street Journal. Other recent contributions have been made to TIME magazine and Forbes. His speeches are as dynamic as his chess.

Everywhere he goes he is a guaranteed news story. This is brought about by his forceful personality, his outspoken political and economic views and his greatest passion of all – an undying love of the game of Chess.

At the age of 25 most ordinary people count themselves lucky if they have achieved one small ambition. Earlier this year, Scotsman Mark Beaumont became the fastest man to cycle around the world. On Friday 15th September 2008 at 1530, Mark Beaumont cycled under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. He arrived 194 days and 17 hours (and 18,297 miles) after he left, having circumnavigated the globe by bicycle.

Guinness World Records verified all of Mark’s data and confirmed him as the new Guinness World Record holder – smashing the previous record by an amazing 81 days. His amazing journey saw him pedalling over 18 000 miles through 20 countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, Australia, and the USA.

A film of his journey was commissioned by the BBC and his story was picked up along the way by news agencies across the globe. Mark talks to audiences about his experiences, preparation, coping with the loneliness of the journey and his new found fame.

Mark has been involved in adventure cycling since he was 12 years old. After completing a degree in economics and politics, he decided that a city job could wait and went for broke with the biggest adventure he could dream of.

“The world record for cycling around the world wasn’t particularly competitive and I knew from the outset that I could break it with the right preparation and backing,” he says. “I love the mental challenge of ultra endurance sports and wanted to push my comfort zones.”

Mark set a target of 195 days to cycle 18,000 miles – 100 miles a day with a day off every fortnight. Yet in training for this, he never did a single 100-mile training session.