Public Speaking - Vanessa O'Brien

Inspirational Speaker

Are you looking for someone to help motivate and encourage your team? I have 20 years of executive level experience in Fortune 50 companies. Using mountaineering as a metaphor, I will help get your teams excited about the challenges ahead.

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The Explorers Club Events

Fjällräven Special Event

The Explorers Club
February 21, 2018
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Beer & Gear Special Event

The Explorers Club
January 24, 2018
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Exploring Legends: K2 Climber

The Explorers Club
September 15, 2017
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Exploring Legends: Grand Slam Record-Holder

The Explorers Club
September 9, 2013
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The Explorers Club

The Explorers Club
December 2, 2017
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“LAST NIGHT WAS SUPER!!!! Vanessa–you are far more than a mountaineer. Your intellect, focus, concentration, determination and achievement all combine to make you a very special person. I appreciated your thoughtful candour, clear articulation of the risks, and emphasis on what it takes to succeed as well as your encouragement to the audience made the evening extremely special. Congratulations on becoming the first American and British women to summit K2.”

— Bill Liss

Testimonials

MOVING FROM BASE CAMP TO THE SUMMIT

“Thank you for such an inspiring presentation. I have received many comments already — how motivating your story and accomplishments are for folks to hear and the how effective and powerful the dovetailing of our strategic imperatives to camps and the proverbial avalanches to be aware of.”

Nicholas G. Quil
Chief Executive Officer
Chicago
February 11, 2019

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THE FIRST AMERICAN OR BRITISH WOMAN TO SUMMIT K2

“Vanessa O’Brien’s mountaineering achievements are astonishing. The combination of her down-to-earth commentary and stunning visuals captivated our audience, allowing them to experience both the excitement and danger of these rarefied peaks. An extraordinary presentation!”

— Chair, The Union Club of Boston

The Union Club of Boston
Boston, MA
January 15, 2019
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MOUNTAINEERING CHALLENGES: CLIMBING THE WORLD’S HIGHEST MOUNTAINS

“The girl on stage quite suddenly metamorphoses into a formidably able planner, climber and leader. In both cases, lecture hall and iced mountain crag, it is her wit and tough ability to conjure up and deal with the moment that wins hearts. Vanessa is just as forceful and effective during Q&A as her ability to take decisive decisions on those bleak iced rocks. Her terrifying and pioneering achievements are made all the more extraordinary by contrast with her years of a business life, which we can so easily relate to.”

Sir Humphry Wakefield, FRGS

Royal Geographical Society with IBG
November 19, 2018
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SEARCHING FOR A SUMMIT, BUT FINDING PAKISTAN

“Vanessa’s inspirational talk went beyond her remarkable achievement in getting to the top of the mighty and terrifying K2 (and leading others to the summit as well) but also, and importantly, it told of her journey of discovery about K2’s guardians, the country and people of Pakistan, and of the sense of engagement and fulfilment that this gave to her awesome adventure.”

The Pakistan Society, London
November 20, 2018
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SES EXPLORER TALK: VANESSA O’BRIEN – K2, THE FINAL CONQUEST

“Vanessa has twice given members of the Scientific Exploration Society a compelling account of her extraordinary journey to the summit of K2. She has educated, enthralled and entertained her audiences on both occasions. She is a true modern day explorer who inspires others to take action.”

Neil Laughton
Chairman, Scientific Exploration Society
Source

Scientific Exploration Society
October 30, 2018
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CEO CLUB PAKISTAN

“Vanessa simply stole the show at the Conference that attracted more than 100 top CEOs from the eading corporate organisations from Pakistan. She spoke about her unforgettable experience as the first British or American woman to conquer K2. She shared how leadership is often a risky, lonely role, but how successful CEOs, like Expedition Leaders, succeed by recognizing and surviving the dangers that challenge them as they take themselves and their teams to higher levels. Vanessa’s examples tested under the most brutal conditions on the most difficult summits, was an eye-opener and her talk remained the most discussed keynote of this high-profile event.”

Arif Anis Malik
Presenter, Author and Attendee
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CEO Club Pakistan’s 16th CEO Summit
Dec 11, 2017
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THE EXPLORERS CLUB

Bill Liss
The Explorers Club
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“It was a pleasure interviewing Vanessa O’Brien at The Explorers Club as part of my “Exploring Legends” series. She follows in a line of other great guests including Sen. John Glenn, Jim Whittaker, Buzz Aldrin and James Cameron. Vanessa really had to think on her feet as this series is just one-on-one Q&A between myself and the guest (no visual props) in front of some of the world’s more hard-core adventurers. She was dynamic, and both funny and dead serious when discussing her challenges at the Poles and on the Seven Summits. The audience clearly was engaged as she graciously answered several more questions afterward, publicly and privately. I highly recommend her as a speaker at any kind of event.”

Jim Clash
The Explorers Club Director and “Exploring Legends” Moderator

The Explorers Club
Dec 2, 2017
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Sep 15, 2017
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Sep 9th, 2013
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THE AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB

Each November since 1980, the New York Section of the American Alpine Club, has hosted an annual dinner with a notable speaker from the world of alpinism. Over the years, historic climbers such as Hillary, Messner and Houston, have kept members and guests enthralled with their exploits. Last night Vanessa O’Brien, only the third woman to speak at this event, kept the tradition alive with a captivating presentation revolving around her recent ascent of K-2. Vanessa became the first American woman to summit the most difficult and dangerous of the 8000 meter Himalayan giants in July of this year. In addition, as a holder of dual British-American passports, she also became the first British woman to summit and safely descend K-2, the “killer mountain”. As a speaker she speaks with energy, enthusiasm and humour. Her message, not only to female audiences, is that determination, persistence and enthusiasm can achieve great things.”

Philip Erard
Chairman American Alpine Club, New York Section (1980-2015)

Source

NYS American Alpine Club
Nov 11, 2017
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Jun 1st, 2013

BOSTON COLLEGE CARROLL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

“Vanessa O’Brien has been a guest lecturer and a presenter for us at the Boston College’s MBA program at the Carroll School of Management on two occasions. Her orientation and experience as both an adventurer and business leader make her an exceptional speaker on topics at the intersection of leadership, strategy, execution, and teamwork. Vanessa recently brought to life the story of the catastrophic events that took place in 1996 on Mt. Everest (HBR) and K2: The Brotherhood of The Rope (Darden) for a class of graduate students in our High Performing Teams course. With both a sense of history, and also through her first-hand perspective of climbing Everest and K2, Vanessa expertly connected her audience with the magnitude of the accomplishment. She effectively wove together the elements of leadership, teamwork, motivation, and incredible commitment to tell the story of each of these expeditions.”

Scott F. McDermott
Director, BC MBA Consulting Service
Boston College Carroll School of Management

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Boston College
Carroll School of Management
Sep 21, 2016
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Sep 18, 2013

WORLD CONGRESS OF OVERSEAS PAKISTANIS (WCOP)

“Vanessa touched hundreds of hearts when she spoke at Women Achievers Congress in Westminster, London in the presence of the British Home Secretary Rt Hon Theresa May and hundreds of high achiever women from various disciplines. The Congress brought together the most prominent women leaders from the UK in public sector, politics, policymaking, business, academia along with select leaders from government, media, sports & philanthropy. Vanessa talked about the central theme of the Congress “Leading with Purpose” and inspired the audience. The audience loved her analogy of conquering the mountain vis-e-vis scaling the corporate ladder. Her passion and enthusiasm were termed infectious.”

Arif Anis Malik
Executive Director, WCOP

Source

WCOP, London
Nov 29, 2015
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PAKISTAN – U.S. ALUMNI NETWORK

“The focus of my activity was to give women an open and safe environment for physical activity that is not only good for their health but also for their psychological development. Vanessa O’Brien’s presence and the support from the PUAN leadership have been instrumental in making this project a success.”

Ms. Shah Rukh
Alumna of the Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women Project Artemis
Sponsored by the U.S. State Department & Pakistan – U.S. Alumni Network

Source

Pakistan – U.S. Alumni Network
Aug 7, 2015 Islamabad
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