Polar explorer, TED speaker, and record-breaking long-distance skier Ben Saunders fuses the spirit of adventure with impressive technical ingenuity. He has five North Pole expeditions under his belt and is best known for leading one of the most ambitious expeditions in a century. Humble and self-effacing, he is an explorer of limits and his message is one of inspiration, empowerment, and boundless potential. He explores the dichotomy between ideas and action and urges audiences to consider carefully how to spend the “tiny amount of time we each have on this planet.”

Cassandra “Cassi” Chandler is an innovator, strategist, investigator, and leader who has broken barriers, led diverse teams, and built cultures of motivational leadership and inclusivity at some of the world’s most important organizations, including Bank of America and the FBI. In a career that has included many “firsts” across the U.S. government and financial services industries, she served as the FBI’s first African American female special agent assistant director as well as the Bureau’s first female national spokesperson and director of public and community affairs. In addition to defining the tools motivational leaders need to mindfully build more high-performing cultures, Chandler provides actionable insights on how to move the needle while leading with empathy.

A NASA astronaut, Joan Higginbotham is a trailblazing electrical engineer who in December 2006, flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery to become the third African American woman to travel into space. Over the nearly 13-day mission, she joined the seven-member crew to continue construction of the International Space Station (ISS), embarking on four space walks and operating the station’s robotic arm. Sharing captivating insights from her 20-year distinguished career with NASA, Higginbotham inspires audiences with her personal journey of breaking barriers into space and beyond. Taking groups aboard the International Space Station and sharing her lessons-learned along the way, she highlights the keys to succeeding in her missions – including preparation, perseverance, and never giving up – and how these tactics can be applied to any endeavor.

John Paul Volanthen is a world record-holding British exploratory cave diver who specialises in rescues through the Cave Rescue Organisation, South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue, and the British Cave Rescue Council. John hit the headlines in July 2018, when he was part of the multi-national team involved in the rescue of 12 young football players and their coach in the Tham Luang caves in Thailand. John and his co-diver, Rich Stanton, were the first to make contact with the missing youngsters when they had been lost for nine days. Both men were part of the team that successfully rescued all the boys and their coach and brought them to safety. In keynote talks, John gives audiences an astonishing account of the harrowing rescue effort. With heart-pounding anecdotes from the high-risk rescue mission, he hammers home the importance of perseverance, determination, and preparation, and explains why he believes success in life is rarely due to “luck.” John also shares his belief that anyone can rise to the occasion and achieve extraordinary things in the face of insurmountable odds. Using a combination of pictures and audio, he communicates what it was like to be there and the joy he felt when it was all over. Uplifting and inspiring, John’s story is one in a million.

Recognised as “the man who fixes businesses” Kevin Gaskell has an impressive track record in building and leading successful companies. As CEO of Porsche, Lamborghini, and BMW, Gaskell led hugely successful turnarounds that are pointed to as examples of how to successfully transform companies and position them for long-term success. His energy and leadership have helped companies to achieve world-class levels of customer service and financial performance, and he speaks with electricity about using inspired leadership to achieve incredible results.

Poppy Jamie is an entrepreneur, influencer, and rising star in the happiness, mental health, and mindfulness space. She is the founder of the mental wellbeing company and app Happy Not Perfect – a source to better brain health. A deeply personal project combining behavioral scientific research, inspiration from her mother, and real life-experience, she created Happy Not Perfect to inspire and empower people to take control of their mental health through products, services, and experiences. As organizations worldwide grapple with how to manage the growing mental health crisis, Poppy provides a clear path to overcoming uncertainty, fears of rejection, anxiety, and burnout to find peace with the past and create a happier, healthier future. She is also author of the anticipated book Happy Not Perfect.

Millennial, award-winning entrepreneur, CEO of Inkpact and women-in-tech ambassador. Charlotte is an inspiring and motivational speaker whose mission is to bring delight and connection to the heart of business communications. Using innovative and disruptive tech, Inkpact, successfully transforms digital email campaigns into beautiful, handwritten notes at scale. The letters are written by hand, by a freelance community of scribes - The Scribe Tribe, who make up the heart of the business. The thriving community of over 100 UK and US based creative freelancers leverage the flexible working hours and equal opportunity employment to earn in their spare time whilst doing work they love. Inkpact has recently launched a successful salesforce app allowing businesses to scale thoughtfulness at the touch of a button. Charlotte is a passionate and energetic leader who leads with heart. She has built a flexible and collaborative culture internally, provides work to those who prefer flexibility and has revolutionized the depth of connection companies can experience with their customers, through the power of innovative tech and human heart. Expertise: Charlotte is on a mission to connect the head and the heart of business and to drive innovation in the way humans and technology co-create meaningful experiences and lasting business relationships.

Alex Gregory is an Olympic rowing gold medalist for Great Britain and world rowing championship winner. He is passionate about sharing his story and inspiring others to find the strength that lies within themselves. In 2013, he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to rowing.

Jeff Skiles, the co-pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 (otherwise known as “The Miracle on the Hudson”), is no stranger to intense training, re-training, preparation, and organization. Before the fateful collision with the Canadian geese that caused the plane’s engine failure, Skiles had logged over 20,000 hours in the sky and had worked more than 23 years as a U.S. Airways pilot and first officer. Skiles recounts how he reacted to the crisis and the events that led to the Hudson River landing and addresses leadership, teamwork, adaptability, and the need for training and preparation.

A globally recognized brand-building innovator and a champion both of creativity and challenging the status quo in the workplace, Marisa Thalberg is 1 of only 18 to be inducted into the Forbes CMO Hall of Fame. She is considered one of the most dynamic and versatile marketing executives in the field, displaying versatility and adaptability that has led to her being an exceedingly successful leader in a diverse portfolio of industries, ranging from luxury beauty (The Estée Lauder Companies) and fast food (Taco Bell) to big box retail (Lowe’s Home Improvement) and theme parks and entertainment (SeaWorld/Busch Gardens). Her passionate advocacy for women at work led her on the path to social entrepreneurship as the founder of Executive Moms, an organization created to connect and support accomplished women who are both professionals and moms. In this capacity, Thalberg became an early leading voice and supporter for women, and particularly mothers, in the workplace, appearing across a range of media outlets including The TODAY Show, FOX, CNN, NBC News, and many more.

Widely regarded as one of Britain’s greatest-ever skiers, Chemmy Alcott is a four-time Winter Olympian who has defied the odds in sport and life to inspire the world and show people that anything is possible when they’re willing to take risks. She represented Team GB throughout her 20-year sporting career, during which she became the eighth ranked skier in the world and the first British ski racer to win a run in the World Cup.

Caspar Berry is a former professional poker player. He uses strategies based on poker to inspire audiences to change the way they think about risk. Participants to learn about the nature of risk, the fallacy of risk management, the brilliance and flaws of intuition, what getting “the edge” actually means, and why fear of failure can be brilliant if you know how to use it to your advantage.