Topic: Communication

Philip Beale

Philip is an intrepid explorer, adventurer and leader. By the age of 21 he had participated in two expeditions in the Pacific region and Papua New Guinea, ultimately trekking solo along the north coast of Papua New Guinea and then venturing up the mighty Sepik River. In 2005 he participated in a rafting decent of the Firth River in northern Canada and the following year completed the first skiing traverse of Liverpool Land in Eastern Greenland.  He is best known for his pioneering adventures in replica ancient sailing ships, where he has sailed more miles (over 30 thousand) in the in charge of ancient type vessels than any living or historic sailors. He is driven by a passion and determination to better understand how ancient civilisations have migrated by trans-oceanic voyages.

From his trans-Indian Ocean voyage in an Indonesian double outrigger ship (2003-04) to the completion of his most recent voyage in 2019 across the Atlantic in a replica Phoenician galley, Philip has pushed himself to the very limits of endurance. He has sailed through pirate invested waters around Somalia (2009) and battled with a torn main sail in 40 knot winds off the Cape of Good Hope.

Philip is a highly experienced expedition leader. His tenacity, drive and determination kept him focussed, motivating his crew and dealing with the most challenging of situations. The experience he has gained from his incredible endeavours of planning, commissioning the building of the ships and leading three expeditions is what he shares with audiences internationally, enabling him to motivate and inspire on leadership, teamwork, overcoming adversity, negotiation and project management.

Hal Weitzman

Hal Weitzman is executive director for intellectual capital at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. He is editor-in-chief of Chicago Booth Review and host of The Big Question, Booth's monthly video panel discussion series. He was a reporter and editor at the Financial Times from 2000 to 2012, the last seven years as a foreign correspondent in South America and Chicago. As well as the FT, his reporting has appeared in The Economist, the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald, New Statesman, The Irish Times, Slate and Politico.

Hal's experience in South America formed the basis for his 2012 book, Latin Lessons: How South America Stopped Listening to the United States and Started Prospering. His time as a reporter in Chicago led him to write 'Chicago's Decade of Innovation, 1972-1982', a chapter covering the development of financial derivatives, which was published in the 2010 book Regulated Exchanges: Dynamic Agents of Economic Growth.

Hal grew up in Wales. He was an undergraduate at Leeds, gained a master's at Oriel College, Oxford, and was a Frank Knox Memorial Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

His interests include rugby, tea, and gardening.

Bertrand Piccard

The first surprising thing about Bertrand Piccard is the extreme diversity of his interests and abilities.

An explorer unconstrained by certitude and stereotypes, a pioneer of the human spirit more than an adventurer; he rejects all dogmas other than the need for all-embracing curiosity.

As an enthusiastic balloonist and aviator, Bertrand tackles challenges that others consider impossible. He made the first ever non-stop round-the-world flight in a balloon and launched the «Solar Impulse» project for a solar airplane, in which he flew from Europe to Africa without a single drop of fuel.

A doctor and psychiatrist, he derives from his training in hypnosis and his interest in oriental philosophies a different focus putting human beings and their quality of life in the foreground.

A real visionary, he formulates his projects’ pioneering philosophies and sketches out their symbolic significance and relevance for the public. The stratosphere and ocean depths attracted his forefathers, but the issues of today fascinate him: sustainable development, responsibility, the fight against poverty, technologies for environmental protection.

A persuasive communicator, he has a striking way of always trying to build bridges between the extremes in order to develop synergies instead of oppositions.

Through his books, lectures and interviews as well as in political encounters he tries to promote a human-oriented vision that leaves ample room for pioneering spirit and innovation in everyday life.

He is the president of the humanitarian foundation Winds of Hope and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.