020 8914 8966
020 8914 8966
Pen Hadow motivates and inspires by combining a business background, and exceptional team leadership experience, with world class, ground-breaking achievements in the Arctic and Antarctic.
A leading explorer of the Arctic Ocean, Pen Hadow is now dedicated to the United Nations process that will advance protection. Protection for the wildlife and also ecosystem in the international waters around the North Pole.
Pen leads the not-for-profit 90 North Foundation which advocates for an international agreement to create a protected area for the international waters of the Arctic Ocean; and he is director of the annual scientific research and public engagement programme, Arctic Mission, which supports the Unit’s work.
The 90 North Foundation:
The Foundation introduced a significant new perspective on the Arctic’s diminishing sea ice. They revealed the environmental issue is less about the geophysics of a melting layer of frozen sea water, and far more about the potentially catastrophic loss of a globally unique “floating ice-reef ecosystem”. This is a system which includes some of the world’s most iconic and best-loved species.
In 2017 Arctic Mission sailed two 50′ yachts into the North Pole’s international waters. This was the first non-icebreaking vessels in history to do so. Pen was demonstrating the increasing accessibility of these waters to surface commercial shipping, fishing, tourism and mining. He also showed the emerging human threat to the wildlife, already stressed by its reduced sea-ice cover habitat.
Previously, Pen Hadow led the multi-award-winning £7.5m international scientific research programme, Catlin Arctic Survey (2007-2012). The survey investigated the rates, causes and impacts of the Arctic’s rapidly melting sea ice.
It was back in May 2003, Pen Hadow was catapulted to international fame. This was when he became the first person in history to sledge alone from Canada to the North Geographic Pole. He did this without any outside help. It was a feat of endurance thought to be harder than climbing Everest solo, without oxygen. This took Pen three attempts and fifteen years’ dedication to achieve his goal.
Pen Hadow has written books, including the best-seller, Solo, self-filmed a TV documentary for National Geographic, presented a series on BBC Radio 4, and contributed to numerous TV documentaries and books about adventure and exploration.
He is an honorary patron of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Also the British Exploring Society, Scientific Exploration Society, and The Explorers Club (UK Chapter).
Pen’s affinity with the polar regions and its wildlife began through his extraordinary childhood connection with the dying words of Captain Robert Falcon Scott (‘Scott of the Antarctic’) and his son, the world-renown naturalist and WWF founder, Sir Peter Scott.
in 1995 Pen set up The Polar Travel Company and he famously empowered a group of allegedly ‘ordinary’ women to walk into The Guinness Book of Records, by initiating, selecting, organising, and also largely funding the first ever All Women expedition to the North Geographic Pole.
The Polar Travel Company are the only specialist guide service of its kind in the world. Through it, Pen dedicated himself single-handedly, to opening up the Arctic and Antarctic to everyone. He also enabled a child with cerebral palsey to fly to the North Pole, and empowered a muscular dystrophy sufferer to cover the last 100 metres.
2004 saw Pen guide 63 year old international businessman Simon Murray to the South Pole. Simon became the oldest person by a decade ever to walk to the Pole. Meanwhile, Pen became the first Briton to trek without resupply to both Poles.
Pen Hadow is very involved in the environment and particularly the global climate change debate. He publicly launched an innovative ‘light green’ travel initiative. This was as well as fronting a supplement in the Sunday Times focusing on global warming.
Now a firmly established figure on the public speaking circuit. His audiences are regularly moved to tears, or standing ovations, or both!
For anything else you need to know about Pen Haddow, please visit his web site at: www.penhadow.co.uk
