Rachael Robertson
Book Rachael Robertson for speaking engagements & events.
Imagine living in 24 hours of darkness for months at a time… Imagine the temperature hovering around minus 35 degrees You can’t get in or out… You didn’t even get to pick the people you live with…And you’re stuck there for a year!
Antarctica in Winter is totally inaccessible – which means once the last ship leaves in February no one can get in or out of the place, ever, until the ship returns in November. Rachael Robertson did exactly that.
Rachael led an expedition to Antarctica and was responsible for the welfare and safety of the 18 members of her team for an entire year.
Rachael’s work is in response to a massively growing demand in the business world to get real, practical tools backed up by solid theory from someone who has actually led, and led successfully.
“After 15 years leading diverse and remote teams and business units, I took the jump and lead the 58th annual expedition to Antarctica. It was a tough, gruelling and exhausting year, but ultimately extremely rewarding and fruitful. The intensity of this leadership role, where the leader is on-duty all day, every day, for 12 months with no respite, gave me the opportunity to road test my leadership ideas the hard way – without the luxury of peers, a desk or any way out! It was a ‘leadership laboratory’ in the most extreme, hostile environment on Earth.”
KEYNOTE TOPICS
LEADING ON THE EDGE
An entertaining and compelling account of Rachael’s time leading over 120 people in the most remote corner of the earth on a year long expedition. Hear about “life in the freezer”, the plane crash, how “the bacon war” nearly derailed a $20M science program and other unique stories backed by uncommon insight. This presentation is always themed according to your requirements.
EDGE MOMENTS
The Edge Moments keynote explores how great leaders turn “moments” into “momentum” by paying attention to the little things. This is all about showing BIG leadership in SMALL moments and it makes the difference between just having a great vision or idea, and having it executed with passion by your team.
LACONIC, DOWN-TO-EARTH, ENGAGING
Because Rachael speaks from experience, she connects deeply with audiences, relating her own challenges to the challenges of every workplace. She needs no props, no “rah- rah” moments or no forced audience participation to reach people at a deep level. This is a seasoned leader telling it how it is in her own approachable style. Your people will leave inspired and motivated to make their own lives extraordinary.
• 20 years corporate leadership experience • Youngest chief ranger at 32 • Antarctic expedition leader • Former Chief Ranger • Leader in Black Saturday Bushfire response • MBA (Melbourne Business School) • International conference speaker