Kevin Biggar has been described as adventurous, determined and goal driven. His latest venture proves that he is all that … and more. In January 2007 he, along with Jamie Fitzgerald, became the first New Zealander to reach the South Pole unsupported.
Kevin Biggar first came to public attention when he left the corporate world to take part in the 2003 Trans-Atlantic rowing race. An unusual choice for someone who had never rowed before! Together with Jamie Fitzgerald, they not only won, but smashed the previous record by more than 21 hours completing the gruelling 5000km challenge in just over 40 days and 5 hours at sea. In a desperate and thrilling race they finished just nine hours ahead of their closest rivals.
The couple partnered again in late 2006 to take on their biggest challenge yet, an unsupported, 1200 km manhaul to the South Pole – a feat that fewer than 50 people have ever achieved.
The motivation for this trip was three-fold:
to become the first New Zealanders to walk unsupported to the South Pole;
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s South Pole expedition, and
to help raise young people's awareness of outdoor pursuits.
To prepare for this the pair spent weeks training in the Canadian Arctic (dodging polar bears), in New Zealand’s coldest industrial fridge (dodging frozen chickens!) and dragging tyres around the streets and hills of Wellington and Auckland (dodging hooligans in Cortinas).
In Antarctica Kevin and Jamie had to overcome worse than expected conditions, temperatures as cold as -40 degrees, frostbite, injury, whiteouts and gear failure.
For both expeditions, Kevin and Jamie did all the initial marketing, public relations and sponsorship for the trip themselves, gaining valuable experience in running their own businesses. They successfully used the media as part of their fundraising campaign and opened their own advertising agency to sell advertising space to exclusive media. Their businesses plan and attention to detail helped them when daily changes in weather and circumstances forced them to constantly adjust their objectives.
To put together these campaigns Kevin has been able to draw on a wealth of experience from his first class academic background and a successful corporate career. Kevin graduated with a BSc from the University of Auckland with an A+ average in physics and psychology and a masters degree in environmental development from the University of Cambridge (UK). His career has included roles at the New Zealand Treasury in the International Economics Division, as a Strategy Consultant for The Boston Consulting Group, and as a Strategy Manager with Telecom NZ. Somewhere along the way he also won the Toastmasters humorous speech competition for the Wellington region!
With an unusual background of proven performance in both extreme adventure and business, Kevin brings a unique perspective and insight into how the principles, frameworks and learnings from each can be applied to the other.
Kevin uses strong visuals and humour to deliver an inspirational message about setting outrageous goals, overcoming extreme obstacles, and persevering through adversity to achieve success. The audience is taken on a breath taking and unforgettable romp across oceans, through storms, down giant waves, in blizzards and across continents in a way that never fails to inspire and motivate.
