Available to book

Keynote speaker & Everest summiteer

Holly Budge

Risk Management

Resilience

Decision Making

Build risk-ready leaders with Holly Budge, keynote speaker, Everest summiteer, and global conservation leader. Holly helps organisations move from risk-averse to bold, decisive action, using her Risk-Ready Mindset framework. She has delivered keynotes for J.P. Morgan, Shell, British Airways, and McKinsey, and is a Gold Stevie Award winner for Thought Leader of the Year.

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Trusted by J.P. Morgan, Shell, British Airways, McKinsey & Company

Holly Budge

London, United Kingdom

Starting from

£6–10k

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Book Holly

London, United Kingdom

Starting from

£6–10k

Send an email

loading@getapeptalk.com

Give us a call

+44 203 835 2929

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Instant quote

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No upfront fee

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Vetted speaker

Holly Budge's biography

Inspirational Female

World Environment Day

International Women's Day

Female Empowerment

Explorer

High Energy

Mindset

Inclusion

Philanthropy

Inspirational

Adventurer

Environmentalist

Motivational

At a glance

Risk leadership expert, adventurer, and keynote speaker
First woman to skydive Everest and Everest summiteer
Global conservation leader and charity founder

World-record-holding adventurer Holly Budge helps leaders build the mindset and tools to make bold, calculated decisions when conditions are uncertain. Holly is the first woman to skydive Everest, an Everest summiteer, and a conservation leader whose work has been praised by Sir David Attenborough. She has spoken for J.P. Morgan, Shell, McKinsey, and British Airways, and her work has been featured in Forbes, National Geographic, and Marie Claire. A Gold Stevie Award winner for Thought Leader of the Year, she is also a UN Women UK Delegate. Holly draws on real experience, from surviving a freefall gone wrong at 29,500 feet to racing 1,000 km across Mongolia on semi-wild horses, to show audiences how to make bold, calculated decisions under pressure. She founded the global charity How Many Elephants, identified over 4,500 female wildlife rangers across Africa, and raised more than £650,000 for conservation in 24 countries. Through her Risk-Ready Mindset framework, Holly translates her high-stakes experience into practical strategies that teams can apply immediately to leadership challenges, strategic planning, and organisational change. Audiences leave Holly's sessions with tools to break overwhelming goals into specific, actionable steps, techniques to reframe setbacks as learning opportunities, and a tested approach to building resilience when conditions are volatile. Book Holly to give your audience a clear, proven framework for turning uncertainty into a competitive advantage.

Holly's showreel and videos

Topics, sessions and talks

The Risk Ready Mindset

Most organisations say they embrace risk, but default to caution when the stakes are real. Holly Budge draws on summiting Everest from the north side, becoming the first woman to skydive Everest, and patrolling on the frontline with anti-poaching units in Africa to unpack what bold, calculated decision-making actually looks like under pressure. Through her Risk-Ready Mindset framework, she equips leaders with the tools to move from hesitation to purposeful action — turning uncertainty from a threat into a competitive edge.

Leading Under Pressure

The leaders who perform in volatile, fast-moving environments are not those who have all the answers — they are those brave enough to act without them. Holly Budge draws on leading teams on high-altitude expeditions and working alongside armed rangers on the frontline of conservation to examine what courageous, empathetic leadership looks like when the stakes are highest. Teams leave with a sharper understanding of how to build trust, fuel innovation, and hold steady through uncertainty and change.

The Elephant In The Boardroom

Sustainability is too often treated as a compliance exercise rather than a strategic one. Drawing on more than a decade of front-line conservation work protecting African elephants and supporting women-led ranger initiatives across 24 countries, Holly Budge challenges boards and senior leaders to see environmental risk as a business resilience issue — not a reputational one. Through compelling field stories and concrete examples, she shows how organisations that integrate purpose and profit are not just doing good; they are future-proofing themselves.

Why we recommend booking Holly

Holly brings tested frameworks from Everest summits and high-stakes conservation leadership that translate directly into how your teams assess risk and execute under pressure. She'll give your leaders practical tools to break down complex challenges and build organisational resilience when market conditions demand bold moves.

Check Holly's availability

Trusted by J.P. Morgan, Shell, British Airways, McKinsey & Company

Testimonials

Down-to-earth, funny and incredibly inspiring.

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

An invaluable speaker to ignite change.

Paul Squirrell

MISSION Group

Our lecture theatre was packed!

Eton College

15,000+ experts

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What topics does Holly Budge specialise in?

Holly Budge specialises in discussing risk-taking, leadership, resilience and more.

What is Holly Budge's speaking style like?

Holly’s delivery is down-to-earth, funny, and inspiring. She grips audiences with real stories, ignites change, and motivates with courage and determination, leaving listeners energised and ready to act.

How can I book Holly Budge for my next event?

Email holly.budge@getapeptalk.com or call us on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm availability and fees. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and a bit about your audience. As speaker agents, PepTalk can secure Holly Budge for commercial and corporate events, conference keynotes, leadership talks, celebrity brand endorsements & partnerships, personal appearances, and motivational speaking engagements. We can assist with enquiries about Holly Budge's speaking fees, availability, and booking process for private business functions, industry conferences, and team events. Please note, for media interviews, autographs, charity appearances, or personal matters, we recommend contacting Holly Budge directly.

Have all the speakers on the website previously worked with PepTalk?

Not necessarily. While the speakers listed on our website may not have worked with PepTalk in the past, they are recognized professionals in the industry and known to engage in similar events and engagements. We work with a wide variety of speaker agents and talent agencies to ensure we have the best selection of speakers, hosts, comedians and entertainers available.

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