Its hard to stand out from the crowd when it comes to professional speakers these days. Finding the right speaker for your event can be a real challenge when there are so many highly trained individuals to choose from. At just 33 years old, Alex is a modern day adventurer. He has gone from packing straws for McDonalds in a plastics factory to breaking world records on the solo ocean racing circuit on arguably the coolest race boat in just 10 short years. And he’s stared death in the face, live on global television, in the process. He first hit the headlines when mentor, Sir Robin Knox Johnston gave him his first break in competitive sailing and Alex repaid him by becoming the youngest skipper EVER to win a round the world yacht race, aged just 25.

Then in 2003, in his first solo Open60 race, Alex went on to break the world record for the single-handed monohull 24 hour speed, covering an amazing 468 miles at an average of 19.5 knots – a record which still stands today.

In 2003 he also established a hugely successful business – ALEX THOMSON RACING – in partnership with his close friend and business mentor, Sir Keith Mills, which later went onto secure international fashion brand, Hugo Boss, as the campaign’s title sponsor. The business now runs two race boats which compete in the most challenging races on earth and take Alex to media, fashion and business events and conferences all over the world.

In spite of his explosive start in the Open60 race circuit, Alex has been dogged by misfortune and in 2004 irreparable structural damage forced him to retire for the Vendée Globe, the race which launched Dame Ellen MacArthur to stardom. Then last year, during the Velux 5 Oceans race, the highly sophisticated keel mechanism snapped on Alex’s race boat, leaving him not only faced with a second retirement but more seriously, with having to abandon his beloved ‘HUGO BOSS’ more then 1000 miles from the nearest land or rescue. His race competitor and rival, Mike Golding was forced to turn his own boat back as although it would still take him more than nine hours, he was alex’s only hope. Amazingly, his tenacity and presence of mind pulled him through and Alex filmed the dramatic rescue and with the last of the yacht’s battery power, the whole adventure was beamed live via satellite to millions of people around the world.

This dramatic near- death experience has not deterred this extraordinary young man from his dream and in November 2007 he faced his demons again as he competed in the inaugural Barcelona World Race on his new HUGO BOSS race boat. Not only did he secure an amazing second place, but he also broke the solo world speed sailing record again.