Paula Reid – Keynote Speaker

Paula Reid is an acclaimed adventurer and the world’s first Adventure Psychologist. She is the 3rd British female to ski full distance to the South Pole on the Messner Route, is a round-the-world yachtswoman, has walked across three countries and cycled across 12. She believes in living life to the full and has achieved 118 ‘live life to the full’ experiences (so far) including: fire walking; London Marathon; taking part in the RedBull Soapbox Race; trekking in West Papua; bog-snorkelling; great white shark diving and many more.

The South Pole expedition took the Messner Route, which is a challenging 1000km trek through remote, freezing terrain from the Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf on the edge of the frozen Antarctic continent to the Geographic South Pole. The expedition involved pulling an 80kg pulk in one of the most inhospitable environments of the world, uphill and into the wind, climbing 11,000 feet (3350 m) with temperatures below –40°C plus severe wind chill and storms.

As a core crew member of the Global Challenge, the World’s Toughest Yacht Race, Paula Reid raced 35,000 miles the ‘wrong way’ around the world, competing against 11 other 72’ yachts. The race lasted for ten months, including 187 days at sea; 75 of which were spent in the notoriously freezing and dangerous Southern Ocean. Reid, with two months notice and no sailing experience, was immediately in at the deep end with a Force 8 gale and a man overboard within ten hours of the race starting!

Paula Reid has written several books about her experiences. Her book “Boat to Boardroom” uses the Global Challenge as an extreme case study, referencing it to provide memorable and unique lessons, advice and practical exercises in high performance leadership and teamwork. Her second book, “The 7 Racing Rules – Lessons for Winning in Business and in Life” contains her top seven performance principles. “The World’s Most Dangerous Jobs” (2012) is a result of researching 21 high risk professions around the world including: astronaut, red arrows pilot, sniper and international search & rescue. Out of the interviews she discovered many leadership, team, risk and communication tips. She has also written “Live Life to the Full” and delivered a TEDx talk on stepping into the Stretch zone.

With her recent Masters in Applied Positive Psychology, Reid researched the purpose and benefits of adventuring. She has now launched ‘Adventure Psychology – Going Knowingly into the Unknown™’ helping business and individuals thrive during challenge and uncertainty.

Paula Reid combines extreme sailing stories and analogies with business expertise to create leadership and performance development that is unique, powerful and deeply rooted. She has over twenty years’ experience in training and speaking at corporate events and conferences, and inspiring through interactive workshops.