Adrian Hayes – Keynote Speaker

Adrian Hayes is a British record-breaking polar explorer & adventurer, business coach, author and campaigner.

An Arabic and Nepalese speaking former Airbus Middle East Sales Director and British Army Gurkha Officer, in his expedition work he has achieved more major goals the past eight years than almost anyone in the world – Everest, K2, the North Pole, South Pole, the length of Greenland by kite-ski, the Arabian Desert by camel, two Guinness world records, two documentaries and one book.

Adrian Hayes served for two years as a trooper with 21 Special Air Service Regiment, qualifying as a Registered Emergency Medical Technician (Paramedic), before attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and becoming a British Officer in the Brigade of Gurkhas, serving in Hong Kong and Brunei. He followed this with a two year secondment to the Royal Army of Oman in Salalah, Southern Oman.

On leaving the Army he studied for an MBA at the University of Nottingham, UK, before going into business, culminating in his position as Regional Sales Director Middle East and West Asia for Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, followed by the UAE.

In 2013 Adrian Hayes attempted to summit K2, the world’s second highest mountain, from Pakistan which was aborted when an avalanche wiped out Camp 3 at 7300 metres, killing two fellow climbers. He returned for a second attempt in 2014 and successfully summited the “Savage Mountain’ on 26 July 2014. In doing so he became only the 8th Briton to summit K2 and reached a further milestone by becoming the first Briton and third person in the world ever to summit the world’s two highest mountains and trek to both poles.