Alex Alley
After 9 years of hard work, tenacity, resilience and an unfailing desire never to give up, Alex Alley has just returned from his biggest adventure to date. A professional sailor all his life, on Christmas eve 2018 he set off from the UK into the Atlantic in his crowd funded Class 40 race yacht. His aim – to break a Solo Non-Stop Around the World record.
However, after 75 days alone at sea and having covered over 14,000 miles, disaster struck, and he was forced to abandon the record attempt 1000 miles south of Australia in the middle of the Southern Ocean. Very few people have spent longer alone at sea.
Pushing himself and the boat to the limit 24 hours a day proved too much for some of the equipment onboard. Rebuilding his autopilot and water-maker to keep going – what drove him on?
A pioneer of the new discipline of Adventure Psychology™ he now imparts his knowledge and experience to help people and businesses to ‘Go Knowingly into the Unknown’ ™
SPEAKING
Multiple World Record and World Champion sailor, Round the World Yachtsman, and co author of Boat to Boardroom, Alex Alley has spoken at conferences and helped companies all over the world, from sales teams to the boardroom, from charities to some of the world’s biggest blue-chip companies. His unique style keeps the audiencecaptivated while instilling powerful lessons. Whatever the level of seniority, there is always learning to be had.
He cleverly brings to life the analogy between sailing and business and draws out the lessons from top level yacht racing – ‘we are literally all in the same boat, with a skipper/CEO in charge. We all have to cope with competition and when things don’t go to plan we still have to deal with it.’
He talks candidly about living, and racing around the World, with the same team 24/7 for up to 8 weeks at a time through storms and life-threatening conditions. How do you motivate a team when they are 1000 miles from civilisation, 3 crew down, one seriously injured, it’s freezing cold outside with huge waves pounding the boat day and night?
But most importantly he makes it relevant to the workplace. With powerful video footage it’s almost like being there on the boat with him and his team. Hear the story and learn the lessons from someone who has really been there – an ordinary man who has achieved, and is still achieving, extraordinary things.
"Excellent yet again. This is the second time I have heard Alex speak, and it is still just as impressive and the lessons are still just as powerful. Again the audience has left inspired and fired up"
— Financial Director, Scottish Power, Centrica/BG Group
“Alex has the most extraordinary leadership skills. He has an innate way of understanding what is required to motivate the team at any given moment with his unending optimism and energy. Alex has my enormous respect. I have lead teams and facilitated large groups and have never seen it done better."
— Sharon Callaghan, Manager British Airways Executive Club
"(Alex’s) presentation style is impressive, a mix of adventure stories, hardship, success, setback and the one overriding message that you should never, ever, give up. Alex was an inspiration to our team, and whatever challenges we face there was motivation and techniques to help succeed for all of us."
— John Mobly, Managing Director, Newnet plc