Ranulph Fiennes

Sir Ranulph Fiennes has been described by the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘World’s greatest living explorer’.

A prolific author, a committed fundraiser and an inspirational keynote speaker on teamwork, leadership, and overcoming adversity, Ranulph has truly tested the limits of human endurance discovering lost cities and leading legendary (and sometimes life-threatening) expeditions for over 40 years.

After a childhood in South Africa, he returned to the UK where he attended the Eton College. Later he served in the Royals Scots Greys becoming the youngest commanding officer in the British Army.

In 1970 he married his childhood sweetheart Ginnie Pepper and together they launched a series of record-breaking expeditions that kept them ahead of their international rivals for decades.

Some of these huge challenges include the Transglobe Expedition, form 1979 to 1982, the first expedition that ever circumnavigated the world along its polar axis. ‘This 3 year, 52 000 mile odyssey took intricate planning, 1900 sponsors, a 52 person team to handle, complex communications, meticulous planning and iron determination mixed with flexibility. The circumnavigation has never been successfully repeated.’ says Ranulph. Up to this moment he is the only man alive ever to have travelled around the Earth’s circumpolar surface.

Other expeditions include the Unsupported North Pole Russian Expedition (1990); the discovery of the lost city of Ubar on the Yemeni border (1992); the Pentland South Pole expedition 1992/93 (which achieved the first unsupported crossing of the Antarctic Continent and the longest unsupported polar journey in history).

In 2003, only 3½ months after a strong heart attack, 3 day coma and double heart bypass, Ranulph achieved the first 7x7x7 (Seven marathons in seven consecutive days on all seven continents).

In 2005, he climbed Everest (Tibet-side) to within 300m of summit raising £2 million for the British Heart Foundations new research MRI scanner.

In March 2007, he climbed the North Face of the Eiger (with Kenton Cook and Ian Parnless) and raised £1.8m for Marie Curie Cancer Care’s delivering Choice Programme.

In 2009, at 65, he summited Everest and cross both polar ice caps raising over £ 6,2 millions for Marie Curie Cancer Care and becoming the oldest Briton ever to summit.

The Coldest Journey and The Hottest Journey
In 2014 , at the age of 68 Ranulph led the Coldest Journey expedition with minus 90°C in Antarctica. During this life-threatening trip he lost fingers to frostbite following the removal of his gloves to fix a ski.

One and half year after, he won his latest battle with extreme temperatures, the Marathon des Sables, widely considered the planet’s most challenging endurance test. This would be a daunting ordeal for a fit 20-something – Fiennes took it on and completed the 156-mile circuit at the tender age of 71.

To date, Sir Ranulph has, through his expeditions, raised £ 18 millions for various charities, earning him an OBE for Human Endeavour and Charitable Services.

With a multitude of exhilarating experiences, Ranulph’s motivational speeches are littered with thrilling anecdotes from times spent pushing the limits of human endurance during which persistence, patience, tolerance, resilience and planning skills are of paramount importance. By drawing analogies between the real business challenges and the challenges he and his team have met during the expeditions he shows audiences on how best to build and motivate a team, overcome adversities, set goals and perform under pressure.

Books
He is the author of 18 books including The Feather Men,eyond the Limits, Captain Scott, the best-selling biography of 2003 and his latest autobiography, Mad, bad and Dangerous to Know 2007. In 2011 My Heroes was published which describes the extraordinary and often horrific events that led to ordinary individuals becoming Sir Ranulph’s great heroes. Also in 2011 The Feather Men was released as a major motion picture Killer Elite. In 2013 Cold was published and his latest book Agincourt was published in September 2014. Heat came out in October 2015 followed by Fear and Colder in 2016.