Felicity Aston MBE is a polar scientist and explorer whose feats of endurance have involved long treks over snow, sand and ice. She has led several expeditions to the North Pole, including one solo journey across the Antarctic on skis, which earned her a place in the Guinness Book of... Read more
Felicity Aston MBE is a polar scientist and explorer whose feats of endurance have involved long treks over snow, sand and ice. She has led several expeditions to the North Pole, including one solo journey across the Antarctic on skis, which earned her a place in the Guinness Book of Records. Felicity was part of the first ever female-only team to complete the Polar Challenge. She is the author of five books: Call of the White: Taking the World to the South Pole (2011); Alone in Antarctica (2013); Chasing Winter (2014); Life Lessons from Explorers (2021); and Polar Exposure: An All-Women’s Expedition to the North Pole, which was published in 2022.
The metaphor of exploration has always chimed with business and leadership as it unites a disparate group of people to strive for a common goal under conditions of extreme stress. In her keynote speeches Felicity analyses the qualities that are needed in extreme physical feats of endurance, such as resilience, courage and ingenuity, and transfers them into the boardroom.
In 2012 Felicity crossed the Antarctic landmass on skis. This 59-day, 1,744-kilometre expedition taught her not only how to overcome the feelings of loneliness and isolation but also gave her maximum insight into how a successful team functions. Her account of the loneliness she felt on her solo trip and the difficulties she faced on her reintegration in society resonated with many during the Covid Lockdown.
Felicity’s expeditions champion gender equality and cultural diversity and she speaks candidly about the psychological journey that goes hand-in-hand with exploration. She is currently lead explorer for the Before It’s Gone Polar Expedition, a.k.a. the B.I.G. Polar Expedition, in which a team of six women undertake annual treks across the Arctic region in order to research the effects of airborne pollutants on the Arctic ice and snow.
Felicity was appointed MBE for services to polar exploration in 2015 and was awarded the Polar Medal for services to the Arctic and Antarctic. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London, The Explorers Club in New York and Wings World Quest, and is currently based at the National Oceanography Centre at Southampton University.
Felicity recounts how failing to reach the North Pole enabled her team to forge a multiyear, pan-Arctic project far more ambitious in scope and impact than anything they would have dared propose at the outset. The expedition faced unexpected challenges as they ventured into an Arctic environment that is changing...
In 2012 Felicity became the first woman in the world to ski across Antarctica alone. The 1084-mile journey took her 59 days skiing unaccompanied through a monotonous and hostile landscape. Describing her record-making expedition she reveals – with astonishing honesty – the fear, the doubt and the loneliness of the...
It is not unusual in today’s world for a team to be scattered over multiple timezones, incorporating a variety of cultures, levels of expertise and systems of work. How do you manage such diversity effectively? Felicity answers this question in her account of selecting, training and leading a team of...