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Mark Agnew

European Adventurer of the Year, survived a polar bear attack, best selling author

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As Mark Agnew lay in his sleeping bag, he was woken by a deep guttural growl. A polar bear was trying to get into his tent. Now, he builds resilient teams that view change and growth as an exciting challenge, with his signature keynote Find Your Polar Bear.

“When your teams view change as an exciting challenge, they’ll enjoy the struggle together. And they’ll outperform everyone who only sees change as an obstacle to endure,” Mark says.

Mark is a motivational adventure speaker, Arctic explorer and resilience expert.

He made history with his three teammates by becoming the first team to kayak the entire Northwest Passage, a feat named one of the Top 10 Greatest Kayak Expeditions of the Century and that earned him European Adventurer of the Year.

When the news was broken on the BBC, his encounter with the bear went viral. He was immediately interviewed on ITV and featured in over 200 media outlets, like Sky News, The Times, Daily Mail and many more.

Battling shifting sea ice, unpredictable weather and the constant threat of polar bears, Mark developed his Find Your Polar Bear resilience framework, a practical model for thriving through change and growth, turning obstacles into exciting challenges.

Find Your Polar Bear is packed with:

Incredible gripping tales of adventures and polar bear encounters
Actionable takeaways to build resilience for change
Cutting edge psychology, combined with lived experiences, for a robust proven framework to thrive

Mark is a best-selling author and global keynote speaker who has delivered resilience keynotes across the US, UK and Asia, to the likes of Google, Daiichi Sankyo, John Lewis, M&S, Bosch, Swiss Re and dozens more.

He was named Mainstage Speaker of the Year 2025. His storytelling, humour and high-performance mindset have made him a sought-after speaker for organisations navigating change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-Km5MHEA-Y

"Mark joined us on our team "away day" to tell is about his past and upcoming rowing expeditions. The way he engaged the team in his story and made us think about the way our team works going forward was really inspiring. Mark seamlessly brought our company behaviours in to his presentation to deliver his message in a very relevant manner. A true pleasure to work with."

Calum Rankine, Senior Data Analyst, Heineken

"Mark's mix of honesty, humour, success, and failure made him an instant selection as a professional speaker, fit for the specific purpose we had in mind. Mark enables true adventure to be relatable to the day to day working life of corporate employees by his engaging storytelling and transparent approach to articulate his trials and tribulations. I'd highly recommend Mark for your event or professional speaking needs, easy to work with, great content and a fast turnaround time. Exactly what we were looking for!"

Craig Clarke, Senior Manager, UKIMESA Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

"It was an absolute pleasure to have Mark come and talk to our GP trainee group. As well as him being very responsive to our communications, his talk was inspiring, engaging, entertaining and poignant. We shared in the highs and lows of his experiences as an adventurer, and along the way learnt that even what might be considered a failure has value for learning and personal growth. I would highly recommend Mark"

Debra Harper, GP Training Programme Director - NHS

"Mark gave the RSG-HK a talk on his Atlantic rowing expeditions and his upcoming Northwest Passage expedition. The talk was engaging, exciting, at times even funny with a clear narrative about his expeditions. Our audience appreciated also the honesty Mark showed in sharing his low mental health moments, which made the talk unique and relatable for all walks and stages of life."

Rupert McCowan, Director, Royal Geographical Society Hong Kong

"Mark joined our team-day and gave an energising talk of his rowing experiences. He has a unique and inspiring story, which was really relatable to my team. He has a special way of talking about and learning from failures. The logistics of the talk were simple to organise with Mark, we even met in advance to arrange how his story could tie into the team-day's objective. Due to Covid complications the talk switched to be virtual from in-person. This change in plan was simple to rearrange with Mark, and the effect of Mark's talk in energising the group was still 100% effective."

Swiss Re Asia - Insurance Firm

"Mark is a confident and persuading speaker who knows how to present himself to the audience. His thrilling story about the Northwest Passage really provides determination and encouragement to people of all ages to develop resilience and never give up on their dreams, no matter how many times it takes to achieve them."

TedxUniversityofEdinburgh

"As a speaker Mark is dynamic and engaging, and his story about his rowing (mis)adventures and the lessons he learned provided great entertainment and valuable takeaways for the audience. You won't be disappointed when you book him for your next event!."

Mel Sherwood, Pitch & Presentation Skills Specialist, The RED Effect founder

"Mark was an ideal presenter for our firm's Wellness Programme. His presentation and speaking style was effortless, engaging, educational and entertaining. The attendees thoroughly enjoyed the talk and came away energised, inspired and motivated."

Walkers - Law Firm

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Mark Agnew

"As a speaker Mark is dynamic and engaging, and his story about his rowing (mis)adventures and the lessons he learned provided great entertainment and valuable takeaways for the audience. You won't be disappointed when you book him for your next event!."