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.

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.”

Erik Weihenmayer is a world-class adventurer, the first blind man to summit Mount Everest, and one of only 150 mountaineers to climb the Seven Summits. His latest and most demanding adventure is kayaking the 277 miles of the Grand Canyon. One of the most exciting and well-known athletes in the world, he never let his lack of vision interfere with his quality of life. Weihenmayer’s feats have earned him incredible press coverage and dozens of awards. He is also the author of two books and addresses leadership, teamwork, overcoming adversity, motivation, and inspiration.

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.

A 21-year veteran of the United States Air Force, Colonel Nicole Malachowski (USAF, Ret.) wanted to fly military jets from the moment she saw them at her first air show when she was five years old. She achieved that goal – and then some. A leader, a combat veteran, the first woman pilot on the Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Squadron, an instructor, a White House Fellow, and an inductee into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame, Nicole’s Air Force career exceeded her wildest dreams.

An adventurer, record-setter, and boundary-breaker, Darcy Gaechter is best known as the first woman - and member of the first team - to kayak the Amazon River from source to sea. The journey required her crew to paddle over 4,000 miles across the widest part of South America, a voyage that took 148 days to complete. She is also the author of The Kayaker’s Guide to Ecuador and Amazon Woman, an adventure memoir detailing her Amazon River expedition and the life challenges she faced to get there – the rights of which have been purchased to turn her story into a movie. Gaechter inspires audiences with her personal journey of overcoming obstacles and making the impossible possible – sharing useful tactics to take on even the most daunting of challenges and demonstrating how a strong belief in yourself and in your goal are key ingredients to any success.

Described as “a trailblazer, and the most determined, tenacious, and motivated woman,” Preet Chandi holds the record of being the fastest woman to complete a solo unsupported ski expedition to the South Pole, as well as the distinction of being the first woman of colour to complete a solo expedition on the continent. Driven by an unending desire to push her mental and physical boundaries, Preet is any Army officer, physiotherapist, Nordic skier, ultramarathon runner, and endurance athlete with an iron will that has led to her making history and breaking barriers in the world of adventuring.

Kate Ancketill is the brains and driving force behind GDR Creative Intelligence, a globally recognised consultancy focused on innovation and emerging trends in retail, leisure and hospitality around the world. World-renowned, dynamic and commercially successful, Ancketill won the Jennifer d’Abo Memorial Scholarship for female entrepreneurs in 2007 and was selected as one of the UK’s top 100 in the Courvoisier Future 500 in 2009.

Molly Bloom is an inspirational keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and bestselling author of Molly’s Game. She is best known for her memoir, Molly’s Game, which was adapted into an award-winning film of the same name by Aaron Sorkin. Bloom’s memoir chronicles her journey from college student to LA waitress to building and operating the largest and most notorious private poker game in the world. Her games featured hundreds of millions of dollars and players like Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, A-Rod, and Ben Affleck. Bloom began her career as a world-class skier. While training as a pre-teen she was diagnosed with severe scoliosis and had to undergo surgery that the doctors said would end her athletic career. A year later, fully recovered, she was back on the slopes. She later joined the U.S. Ski Team and at 21 years old was ranked No. 3 in North America in moguls, but her Olympic dreams would go unrealized as she left the team to pursue other projects. This led her to what she thought would be a year sabbatical in LA. Bloom was finishing her degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado – Boulder, and was in the process of applying to top tier Law Schools, when her assistant job turned her into an accidental entrepreneur, running one of the most exclusive, high-stakes underground poker games in the world, pulling in as much as $4 million per year. What happened next is where her story truly begins. The film Molly’s Game, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, stars Jessica Chastain (as Molly), Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Brian d’Arcy James, and Chris O’Dowd. Bloom has appeared on numerous shows and in media outlets such as Ellen, Vice, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, Vulture, and has been asked to speak at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women, for companies like Blackrock Financial, SiriusXM Radio, and will deliver the 2018 commencement speech at Colorado State University. Bloom is now focused on building WeWork for female entrepreneurs. For years

With an extraordinary career at the highest levels of sport, politics, and international diplomacy, Lord Coe has achieved huge success by leading from the front to make vision a reality. He cemented his place in public life leading the successful bid, and subsequently the organising committee, for London 2012, and is today the President of the IAAF and Executive Chairman of CSM Sport & Entertainment.

Steve Baskis is an inspirational blind veteran and adventurer. Just eight months into his deployment to Iraq, his squad was attacked. A roadside bomb severely wounded Baskis, but, despite his injuries, he amazed his doctors with his recovery and attitude. An “adrenaline junkie,” he was eager to test his potential and push the boundaries of what disabled people are perceived capable of doing. He has since competed in athletic competitions and summited mountains. Baskis addresses motivation, inspiration, overcoming adversity, humanitarian efforts, and pushing the limits of human potential.

Lord Stuart Rose is the former chairman and chief executive of Marks & Spencer, Argos, Arcadia Group, and Booker Plc. Stuart, one of the preeminent executives in retail and one of the best-known British business leaders, is credited with giving Marks & Spencer renewed energy and cachet among younger, more fashion-savvy customers. During his time, he successfully defended the company from several takeover attempts, helped to rejuvenate the brand and was named the 2006 Business Leader of the Year by the World Leadership Forum.