Eric Philips OAM

Professional Speaker

Eric Philips OAM is a pioneering spirit in Australian professional adventuring. He is the only person to have completed ground-breaking expeditions on the world’s four largest icecaps – Antarctica, Greenland, the South Patagonian Icecap and Canada’s Ellesmere Island - and is one of only two Australians to have skied to both the North and South Poles. Following his harrowing 1000km expedition across the Arctic Ocean from Siberia to the North Pole, Eric was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for achievements in polar exploration.

Eric’s expeditions have produced four documentary films, including the Emmy Award-winning Greenland film, Chasing the Midnight Sun, screening in over 100 countries worldwide on major networks such as National Geographic, ABC and Discovery Channel. He has worked on numerous film and television productions and as a host for the major American adventure series, Global Extremes:Mt Everest. Eric is also an acclaimed musician, photographer and writer and is the author of Icetrek. The Bitter Journey to the South Pole (HarperCollins 2000).

Before turning to professional adventuring Eric worked as an educator. He was the Director of Outdoor Education at Geelong Grammar School's prestigious Timbertop campus for five years, worked as a tertiary lecturer in outdoor leadership and was employed as a Field Training Officer at Mawson Station in Antarctica. He now operates his own successful adventure travel business, Icetrek Expeditions.

Based on his own hard-won lessons in the most severe environments on Earth, Eric nurtures a firm belief that we can succeed both through the power of emotion and our ability to cultivate foresight. His convictions, coupled with a natural ability to present, have made him a recognized force as a lively raconteur and compelling motivational speaker. Eric’s real-life stories of adventure and survival are steeped in honest and gritty realism and carry casual messages that underpin the structure and success of any team or individual striving for quality results. He has been engaged as a keynote speaker by major companies in Australia and overseas and works as a regular speaker for Young Presidents’ Organisation, completing a world YPO tour in 2005.

Eric continues to push the boundaries of human achievement.

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