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“The World’s Greatest Living Explorer” – Guinness World Records
Ranulph Feinnes is one of the most famous explorers and adventurers in the world, having led more than 20 expeditions to all corners of the globe. He reached the summit of Mount Everest in 2009 – becoming the oldest person at the time to do so – was the first man to cross both polar ice caps and climbed the North Face of the Eiger, a mountain in Switzerland.
His expeditions have raised vast sums of money for various charities, so not surprisingly, he was awarded an OBE in 1993 for human endeavour and charitable services. Thanks to the money he has raised, in 2010 he was named as the UK’s top online fundraiser by JustGiving.
Extreme dedication and determination have enabled him to become one of the most prolific explorers in the world, qualities he hopes to share with his audiences. He is inspirational, educational and humorous, and always manages to motivate delegates to achieve their goals.
An Adventure, Leadership, Teamwork, Creative Thinking keynote speaker.
Contact Great British Speakers today to book Prolific Explorer Ranulph Feinnes for your next event.
Before launching his career in exploration, Ranulph Feinnes served in the military, first in the Royal Scots Grey and then the SAS, where he became the youngest Captain in the British Army. From 1968, he fought Marxist terrorists, for which he received the Sultans Bravery Medal from The Queen.
After Ranulph relinquished his command, he became the forefront of a number of groundbreaking, and often dangerous, exploratory expeditions, including:
– Jostedalsbreen Glacier Expedition (1967)
– The Nile Hovercraft Expedition (1969)
– Second Jostedalsbreen Glacier Expedition (1970)
– The Headless Valley Expedition (1971)
– Greenland: Hayes Peninsular (1976-78)
– Transglobe – the first surface journey around the world’s polar axis (1979-82)
– North Polar Unsupported Expedition (1986-90)
– Anglo-Soviet North Pole Expedition (1990)
– Ubar Expedition (1991)
– Pentland Pole Expedition – the first unassisted polar journey across the Antarctic Continent (1993)
– The Arctic Solo Expedition (2000)
– Run 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents – which he did four months after a heart attack (2003)
– Climbed the North Face of the Eiger (2007)
– Conquered Mount Everest (2009)
– The Coldest Journey – the first foot journey across Antarctica in the Southern Winter (2013-14)
– Marathon des Sables – a 159-mile run over 6 days in 50c heat through the Sahara Desert (2015)
Ranulph has documented his journeys and learnings in over 25 books including A Talent For Trouble (1970), The Feather Men (1991) which became a UK No. 1 bestseller and was adapted into a movie in 2011, The Secret Hunters (2002), Captain Scott (2003) a bestselling biography of the adventurer, My Heroes (2011) which details the people who have inspired him, Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know (2008), Fear: Our Ultimate Challenge (2016) and Shackleton: A Biography (2021).
As well as completing the challenges for personal reasons, Ranulph has managed to raise large amounts of money for a variety of charities. Over the years he has raised in excess of £16 million for the likes of Marie Curie, British Heart Foundation, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Seeing is Believing,
Thanks to his amazing achievements, Ranulph has been the recipient of a number of awards and accolades over the years. In 1986, Queen Elizabeth II awarded him the Polar Medal for Outstanding Service to British Polar Exploration and Research (his late wife, Virginia, was the first female to be awarded the same medal). In 1994, he received the second clasp to his medal to recognise his further achievements in polar exploration.
He was awarded the Sultan of Oman’s Bravery medal in 1970, the Explorers Club of New York medal in 1983, the Royal Scottish Geographical Society’s Livingstone gold medal in 1983 and their Founder’s medal in 1984
Ranulph Feinnes is one of the country’s most inspirational motivational speaker, drawing analogies from his dangerous challenges to day-to-day business challenges. His charismatic nature and clever wit, combined with his wealth of anecdotes, makes him a popular and exciting choice for any event.
– Adventure and Sports
– Leadership
– Philanthropy
– Building a Team
– Importance of Creative Thinking
– Living Dangerously: A Life of Adventure
– Nothing is Beyond Your Reach: Motivation, Determination and Resilience
– A Commitment to Challenge: Motivation, Leadership and Teamwork
– Atlantis of the Sands: The Long Search for the Lost City of Ubar
– Transglobe – To The Ends of the Earth: Journey around the Earth’s polar axis
Ranulph is available for Q&As, motivational keynote or after-dinner speeches, conference moderating and event hosting.
Clients: Aberdeen, AMWAY, British Airways, BT, Cable and Wireless, Chamber of Commerce, Consort Medical, DABO & Co, IBM, JP Morgan, SMBC Aviation Capital, Unilever, We Are MEaT
I have attended a number of keynote speeches to the UK Marketing Forum. We have had top-level business leaders, the best educationists, knights of the realm and American gurus. None of them approached your address to us in range, content or inspiration. On rare occasions, something happens that one feels will live in memory for years to come and your address to us emphatically fits into this category.
Chief Executive, Unilever UK and US
Your speech was both enjoyable and motivating. We were all struck by the similarities between your challenges and ours.
Cable and Wireless
I have never in my experience been approached by so many customers and BT colleagues who have complimented us on our selection of an after dinner speaker.
BT
You provided a fascinating insight into your amazing exploits. You are an inspirational figure and an admirable example of what can be attained by extending the limits of personal motivation and challenge.
Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce
Ran’s keynote speech was incredibly captivating, inspirational and humorous. He did a great job of understanding the audience and was very easy to work with throughout the event. To top it off, it was the first time we have had a standing ovation at this event which speaks volumes considering previous speakers include Lord Seb Coe.
DABO & Co
We were delighted with Ranulph’s talk – all of our staff found it so interesting, engaging and were so positive about it afterwards.
SMBC Aviation Capital
We had the pleasure of having Sir Ranulph Fiennes as guest speaker for our event. Not only did he deliver a fascinating talk about his adventures, but was very personable and generous in his time both before and after the event. We would thoroughly recommend Sir Ranulph for those looking for a truly inspirational guest at their event.
James, We Are MEaT
Fabulous – a remarkable man who gave a brilliant presentation and was a delight to deal with. Nothing was too much trouble and the talk was as good as it gets – inspirational, witty, humbling and enthralling. You won’t do any better than have Ranulph Fiennes as your guest speaker.
Consort Medical
My admiration for Ran is unbounded, and thank God he exists.
HRH Prince Charles