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.

What makes Mark Bryan one of the world’s leading futurists is his proven mastery advising organizations on the trends and tech that will disrupt their industries, and his inventive approaches for adapting to an ever-evolving business environment. He is the senior foresight manager at the Future Today Institute, a leading foresight and strategy firm founded by world renowned futurist Amy Webb. In his role, he supports leaders and their organizations in developing and implementing customized, forward-looking strategies that position them years ahead of their competitors and expedite their journeys to their desired futures. Bryan’s expertise spans across industries — having worked alongside national retail brands, higher education institutions, nonprofits, multi-family developers, and large corporate clients to evolve them from market leaders to market innovators.  

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.”

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.

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.

Never one to be bound by the limits society has set for him, Demond “Dom” Mullins is a pioneering adventurer whose remarkable feats of grit and endurance against all odds are inspiring the next generation of diverse adventurers. He is a member of Team Full Circle, which made history by becoming the first all-Black expedition to summit Mount Everest in the spring of 2022. Mullins is among the most influential voices in the outdoor adventure community known for his endeavoring spirit and unyielding tenacity, as well as his ability to impart these traits into his teams on the journey to unlocking peak performance to achieve a shared purpose.

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.

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.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes was, with Charles Burton, the first man to reach both poles by surface travel and, with Mike Stroud, the first to cross the Antarctic Continent unsupported.

Dawson achieved a world first in 2009 when he and his partner, Chris Martin, became the first and only people ever to successfully row the 7,000 miles across the North Pacific Ocean from Japan to San Francisco. After multiple voyages and attempts across both the Pacific and Atlantic, Dawson knows what it takes to face seemingly impossible odds, to overcome them and achieve in life's most difficult challenges. He draws on huge experience to discuss teamwork, determination to achieve something that has not been achieved before. And he applies these principles readily ot the professional environment. Funny, engaging and down-to-earth Mick is in his own words: "an ordinary man who achieved something extraordinary".

Jim has been involved in cave exploration for the last two decades and has participated in many expeditions to remote cave systems. He lives in Ireland where he is only a stone throw away from undiscovered cave passage. He got involved in diving at the age of 12 and from there on he forged a path towards highly technical diving in extreme environments. Jim is thrives on operating in these environments and has developed a methodical approach towards operating in these places. This ability has served him well in many situations including some life or death situations. Jim was one of the main players involved in rescuing the boys’ soccer team who got trapped in a 4km cave system in Thailand in July 2018. Jim also had the responsibility of extracting the team coach out through the complex underwater cave system. He has participated in the making of a feature film depicting the epic rescue due to be released in 2019. Jim also holds the record for completing the longest traverse of water-filled underground cave in Ireland. For his involvement in the cave rescue in Thailand Jim has received the knighthood of the Léopold order from the king of Belgium along with many other awards and honours. Jim has been a keynote speaker on in front of many groups of deferent categories and prides himself in telling his story and the story of the Thai cave rescue so others can be inspired. Operating in extreme environments puts you in a place that brings the worst and best out of people and learning how to handle in these situations teaches anyone how to deal with challenges in life or work.