Ken Hames

Ken Hames is an adventurer and explorer in every sense of the word. Where most of us are destined to follow, Ken, is a born leader. He served in the British Forces for almost 30 years and is one of only a few elite British Officers to have worn the red beret of the parachute brigade, the green beret of the Royal Marines and the sand beret of the Special Air Service.

From his childhood on a farm to a professional career in the army, including 16 years in the world famous SAS, Ken Hames’ love for the great outdoors has taken him from jungle to desert.

His military experiences include being one of the last British soldiers to guard Rudolf Hess in the infamous stronghold of Spandau in Berlin, the liberation of Port Stanley and serving in the first Gulf War.

His desire to discover what lies beyond the horizon has fuelled his enthusiasm to encourage others less able to be inspired by adventure and exploration. Ken is an accomplished mountain guide skier and represented Great Britain in cross-country skiing. He played rugby for the Combined Services, is an expert in the great outdoors in all survival disciplines and is a keen amateur opera singer.

Ken Hames is also a familiar face on television and has built a formidable reputation as a presenter of challenging and extreme adventure programming.
 
The Trek launched his television career in 1994. The adventure series followed twelve disadvantaged youngsters to the heart of Africa on a 500 mile journey through desert and mountainous terrain, with the help and encouragement of the late Princess Diana, who described Ken as ”the master practitioner in the field of training and development”.

However - perhaps ironically - he only became famous when he led a team of women into the jungle of Borneo for the TV Show - Jungle Janes (CH4). Ken's challenge was to turn a group of British women - none of whom had faced anything like this before - into a cohesive team fit enough to take on the jungle. Millions of viewers found the journey an inspiration and following its success, he was subsequently involved in the design and development of the highly successful flagship ITV show 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here'.

Ken’s other TV series’ include Beyond Boundaries (BBC1), A Soldier's Story (History), Greatest SAS Missions (C5), Bring it On (CBBC), Hero Factor (Discovery), Battle Stripes &  Future Fighting Machines (US), Shattered (C4) and Celebrity Fit Club (ITV).

After Dinner Speaking
As an after dinner speaker, Ken entertains audiences of all sizes, age ranges and professions, captivating them with his astounding tales of daring escapades.

A powerful and charismatic speaker, Ken's comparison between leading hardened army platoons into the jungle - and leading the women across the jungle - provides a fascinating insight into pressure, survival, teamwork and motivation.

Motivational Keynote Speaking
Motivational speaking is very close to Ken's heart. He believes there is an explorer in all of us and you don't have to venture into a real jungle to test your leadership skills.

How often have you heard the saying "it's a jungle out there?" That's life, and the better equipped you are to deal with it the more successful you will be.

Ken Hames is one of the country's leading motivational speakers and primarily focuses on leadership, attitude and competence training. He also provides a fascinating insight into pressure, survival, teamwork and motivation.

Ken’s presentations bring strong evidence of best-practice in difficult and demanding circumstances. His main effort is to promote development, provide motivation and give inspiration to leaders and managers — offering practical solutions with strong anecdotal evidence from the army and working with business.

His corporate work is focused mainly on business improvement programmes with strong emphasis on behavioural skills and positive attitude.

Team Building & Leadership Training
Ken Hames is an expert in developing exciting courses to enable managers and team supervisors to become inspirational leaders through powerful and innovative guidance.
 
Through his military experience and subsequent leadership of challenging expeditions for civilians, to the far corners of the globe, Ken specifically targets the needs of your staff and organisation to take both forward.
 
Ken brings a unique blend of military experience, expedition experience and business skills to help empower teams to achieve greater productivity. He is a specialised team building coach and has worked some of the worlds biggest blue chip companies including Airbus, Lufthansa, Shell, Allianz Insurance, Greene King, plus the Metropolitan Police and Department of Transport.

Ken comments, "They recognise that most organisational problems stem from people – their attitudes, behaviours and relationships, as do all successes. If you get the foundations right, the rest will follow, and much quicker."
 
He coaches a number of top executives as individuals and has a proven track record of success. Ken's philosophy is "people not process" and his training focuses on behaviour, values and needs delivering effective, lasting and meaningful learning experiences that stay relevant to you and your staff.