Roz Savage MBE

An Oxford-trained lawyer, Roz spent the first eleven years of her career working as a management consultant, braving nothing more intrepid than rush hour on the London Underground before an environmental epiphany led to a radical personal transformation into a world-class adventurer.

During the seven years of her ocean rowing career, Roz Savage had more chance than most to explore the far horizons of courage. Spending up to five months alone at sea on a 23-foot rowboat, thousands of miles from land and humanity, at the mercy of winds, waves and currents, she evolved from a nervous novice adventurer into the world’s foremost female ocean rower, having rowed – solo – across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

While crossing those 15,000 miles of the ocean she had to redefine her comfort zone on a daily basis and reach deep into her inner sources of strength, self-discipline, and commitment to her goal.

She discovered the vital importance of keeping a cool head in life-endangering situations, to optimise her capacity for smart decision-making, accurate risk assessment and creative problem-solving.

Since her adventures, she has become a passionate campaigner for ocean plastic, sustainability and the environment, subjects which increasingly feature in her talks, as well as an author and political figure.

Contact Great British Speakers today to book ocean rower, resilience, environmentalist, sustainability and motivational speaker Dr Roz Savage MBE for your next event.

Type Of Speaker

Diversity Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Exploration & Military Female Speakers Health & Wellbeing Influencer International Women's Day Keynote Leadership & Teamwork Motivational Nature & Wildlife Speaker Sport Sustainability Sustainability Travel Virtual Speakers

More About Roz Savage MBE

Currently teaching a class at Yale – on courage, naturally – she also combines her self-taught life skills with principles from neuroscience, psychology, personal development and leadership theory, to inform and inspire corporate audiences. She has spoken on 6 continents, with clients like Google, Disney, Kaiser Permanente, National Geographic, and TED, plus numerous schools, universities and corporations. Roz founded The Sisters, a global network of women and organisations, working together to create a more peaceful and sustainable future.

SUSTAINABILITY

Roz is the founder of ‘Sisters Global, a network of women, and women’s organisations, working together to create a more peaceful and sustainable future.

An advocate for sustainability Roz is a passionate speaker about environmental challenges ‘referring to them as a ‘many-headed sea monster’.

“We can keep cutting off the heads of plastic pollution, deforestation, coral reef destruction, climate change, and so on, but they will just keep sprouting back. What we have to do is to get to the heart of the monster, and that heart is the fact that we have forgotten that we are a part of nature. When we damage the web of life, we hurt ourselves.” Roz Savage MBE

WRITING

Roz has since wrote four bestselling books:

– Rowing the Atlantic (2009) which documents her 103-day journey across the Atlantic

– Stop Drifting, Start Rowing (2013) which documents her solo row across the Pacific

– The Gifts of Solitude (2020) which provides wisdom on loneliness and solitude

– The Ocean in a Drop (2022) which explores theories on what it means to be human in the 21st Century

AWARDS:

In 2010, she was named Adventurer of the Year by National Geographic; in 2012 a World Fellow at Yale; and in 2013 she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to fundraising and the environment. She also holds four Guinness World Records for ocean rowing.

MEDIA

Roz has appeared on numerous TV channels including the BBC, CBS, Channel 4, ESPN, and Fox News, and has also featured on radio stations including BBC Radio Four, BBC World Service, NPR, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

She has contributed in newspapers including The New York Times, The Daily Telegraph, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Observer, The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Financial Times, and The Evening Standard. She has also featured in magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Red, Grazia, Outside Magazine, and Fortune.

A documentary based on her Atlantic voyage, “Rowing the Atlantic”, was screened in 32 countries as a finalist in the prestigious Banff Mountain Film Festival.

KEYNOTE SPEAKING TOPICS:

– Motivation and Mind Management

– Motivation > Fear = Courage

– VUCA: Leadership From the Inside Out Risk Management and Resilience in an Unpredictable World

– Re-Thinking Reality: The Stories We Tell Ourselves

– The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create it

COACHING:

Roz now speaks to organisations all over the world that are keen to find new ways to inspire and motivate more engaged, happy and purpose-driven individuals.

She shares stories from the epic adventures she has experienced and the lessons she has learned.

Her speeches help audiences to take more personal responsibility for their individual and collective success, find higher levels of resilience and courage, more effectively navigate the uncharted waters of change and invest more of themselves into every challenge they undertake.

This is one of Roz’s Ted Talks about her Atlantic Crossing.

Clients include AXA, BBC, Brocade, Cabinet Office, CBS, Credit Suisse, Disney, eBay, Egon Zehnder, ESPN, Forbes, Fox News, Google, Hershey, the Huffington Post, Kaiser Permanente, Maison-McDuffie, National Geographic, Qubit, NPR, the Royal Geographical Society, Royal Navy, San Francisco Chronicle, SAP, TED, TEDx, Yale, YPO

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book motivational speaker Dr Roz Savage for your next live event or corporate video.

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Testimonials

Heroic, epic, inspiring, historic.
Sir Richard Branson

Roz recently spoke to Gannett employees about ways to face stormy seas on the path to transforming our business. Her lessons in grit and perseverance will help anyone navigating today’s rapidly evolving business landscape.
Maryam Banikarim, Gannett Co., Inc.

Roz was energetic, passionate, engaging and real. Her connection with both our employees and our clients, and the dialogue it sparked both within the room and beyond was tremendous. Everyone left with a little optimistic spring in their step, inspired to make changes and live their lives a little differently. It was an amazing experience to share her world for that hour.
Jill Ford, Credit Suisse

Women were still talking about you after the conference ended. What a tremendous inspiration you were, and are, to all of us. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Amy Belivacqua, YaleWome