Maria Witchell

Biography

Maria Witchell’s varied career has taken her to both the to some of the most intense and high pressure environments on both the planet and in business. She is a polar explorer who has completed eight polar expeditions (including reaching both the North and South poles), as well as having had a varied career that has included leadership roles in the military and banking. 

Maria joined the British Army as an Officer after completing her studies at university. She then completed the Special Forces selection process, becoming one of the few women to serve as an operative. In this role, she worked in covert operations and counter-terrorism in intense and dangerous environments. She then worked for the British Government, before going on to work as a kidnap ransom negotiator, mostly in Central and South America. Here, she negotiated the terms of release of multiple senior corporate executives and high net worth individuals who had been kidnapped, dealing with terrorist organisations and criminal gangs in the process. Her role was depicted in the film Proof of Life, with Russell Crowe playing Maria's role as the kidnap and ransom negotiator. 

Due to the nature of her work as a negotiator, Maria often had to remain secluded in the areas she was working in. To pass the time, she studied law, which led to her next career pivot. As a solicitor, she specialised in banking, and has held roles at major investment banks. She is currently Head of Corporate Loans and Derivatives, Legal for Asia-Pacific for a multinational bank.

In speeches, Maria covers the motivation and resilience required to succeed in high-pressure environments, drawing on her experience in her varied career to draw out lessons that are relevant to a range of audiences. She reflects on the lessons she has learned in her leadership roles, including the value of authentic, trust based leadership, and how to thrive in traditionally male-dominated spaces.