Ed Coats
Obstetrician & Adventurer
Alan Chambers MBE
Expedition Leader
The former Royal Marine (aka The Arctic Tractor) led the first unsupported UK expedition from Canada to the geographic North Pole. After taking disaffected British children to African classrooms with Channel 4, Alan showed us the method to making good with a book: Lead Yourself To Success. In presentations he emphasises the need to question norms, build total trust and make decisions purely based on the facts. Alan also advocates leading from behind.
JLA Agent - Barbara de LacyWhen you first meet Alan his expression is so deadpan it's hard to believe he motivates people in such large numbers. See him in front of an audience and he's utterly captivating. You suddenly realise how he's able to lead groups of big egos through the harshest environments in the world. And you've got to admire a man who takes his 10-year old son on a trip to the North Pole!
Alan Chambers served with the Royal Marines in the most extreme climates, from the Arctic to the desert, the jungle and remote mountain ranges. Then, after years of planning, preparation and fundraising, he led the first British team to walk without any support services from Canada to the Geographic North Pole.
The walk on ice lasted a gruelling seventy days. Suffering near starvation and a dwindling fuel supply to cover 500 miles in the worst polar weather recorded in 100 years, they achieved what many said was impossible. It demanded an extraordinary level of commitment, focus and teamwork. Alan was awarded the MBE as a result.
Alan relates his experiences to business audiences with wonderful clarity, outlining how the values which helped them reach the North Pole apply in any competitive environment. He demonstrated this with the England rugby squad before their assault on the 2003 World Cup, and again two years later when he addressed the national cricket team before they went on to win the Ashes.
Alan now takes business leaders on polar expeditions. He believes in leading from behind, watching the team. His mantra revolves around meticulous preparations, taking tough decisions, managing emotions and questioning conventional thinking.
Alongside Ed Coats, Alan Chambers is planning to close the chapter on one of the most famous ever endeavours - following in Captain Scott's footsteps.
“Totally captivating and extremely relevant.”
Alan was absolutely amazing. The whole team loved it and have not stopped talking about his session since.
His story aligned perfectly with our day and the business generally, so a very worthwhile session for us.
Was brilliant! Alan inspired everyone with his journey. He was the perfect fit for our day and he really brought things to life.
Exceptional, incredibly engaging, inspiring and thought provoking, and really brought his story, which was utterly captivating, to life through his presentation. Importantly, the key messages he shared regards how to lead a team effectively resonated incredibly well with our audience and we discussed these again later in the day. Feedback from the many delegates after the conference was extremely, and consistently, strong.
A great speaker and gentleman. Very engaging and encouraging to the audience who enjoyed all he had to say. He was great at making sure the polar content always came back to working as part of a team.
Alan went down fantastically yesterday. Lots of ‘best speaker we’ve ever heard’, ‘awe-inspiring’, ‘really hit the brief’ and he was a thoroughly lovely man to boot!
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