Cathy O'Dowd is the first woman in the world to climb Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, from both its north and south sides. She remains an active adventurer, dog-sledding in the remote wilderness of the Norwegian Arctic, tackling the sheer rock walls of Yosemite, skiing untracked snow in the Alps. Cathy, who grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, has climbed ever since leaving school. She was completing her Masters degree in Media Studies at Rhodes University, and working as university lecturer, when she saw a newspaper advert for a place on the 1st South African Everest Expedition. She was one of 200 women who applied for the Everest place, and was the one finally selected. The team followed the route made famous by Edmund Hillary. Despite being the apprentice on the team Cathy O’Dowd reached the summit. It was, however, a tough introduction, as a team-mate was killed on the descent.   Following the expedition the South African government passed a Resolution saying: "Cathy O'Dowd joins illustrious women in South Africa who are demonstrating that women have come into their own and are contributing to the many glories achieved by our nation." Two years later she took on the challenge of the treacherous north side of Everest, where George Mallory had famously disappeared in 1924. Her attempt ended just hours below the summit when she stopped to try and save a dying American woman. The following year she returned once more, and succeeded, becoming the first woman in the world to climb Everest from both north and south sides. She returned to Everest one more time to make a bold but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to climb a new route on the notorious east face of Everest. Cathy O’Dowd has written two books about her Everest experiences, Everest: Free To Decide, co-written with Ian Woodall, and Just for the love of it, translated into German as Aus Liebe Zum Berg. Cathy O’Dowd is currently living in Andorra, in the Pyrenees mountains, while she pursues her speaking career, and explores the mountains of Europe. Cathy has presented to corporate audiences in 38 countries on six continents and has been sharing her messages for over 15 years. Her inspirational keynotes focus on motivation of self and others, risk-assessment, team dynamics, leadership, and tackling seemingly overwhelming challenges. Cathy's great strength lies in combining her exciting adventures with a coherent message to business. She is a natural story-teller and her passionate delivery produces an inspirational tale - dramatic, memorable and packed with metaphors pertinent to industry. All presentations are generously illustrated with dramatic photographs from the mountain. As one of the best of the female inspirational speakers working internationally, Cathy is a great way to bring diversity to the platform. Her clear diction and neutral accent make her a favourite with English second-language audiences. Cathy also presents in Spanish.

The story was riveting and it was great that you managed to weave in a number of parallels to our current situation. [The CEO] was rapt throughout and kept scribbling notes that he referenced throughout [the next day’s] discussions. Global Head of Learning and Development, Xchanging Ltd, LONDON Your remarks were truly a highlight of the event--dramatic, insightful and considered. Your story was a kind of parable--unique in terms of setting but with lessons that extended far beyond the craggy peaks of Mount Everest. World Bank Treasury Forum, WASHINGTON DC I thought you pitched it perfectly and got across the messages clearly about how important it is to stay focused, to have clear and united objectives, to recognise our differences and how together we are stronger and how vital it is to embrace change and never give up - all so important to us all at Royal Mail as we face the challenges ahead. Chairman, Royal Mail, LONDON ...fascinating and inspiring address.... your universal insights, although applied in the most extreme of environments, will remain highly relevant and will continue to inspire my people for a long time to come. Chief Credit Officer, Deutsche Bank Credit Risk Management, LISBON It was genius! The participants were enthusiastic, you got very positive feedbacks; you made good parallels between climbing and business, your English was very good and comprehensive. Swiss Post, BERNE For an hour and ten minutes you could hear a pin drop in the conference room as you walked through your experiences, the lessons you learnt and how you (and we) were able to relate these to our business environment....simple messages about teamwork, leadership, the weakness link, communication....and even coffee served without sugar !! You were also able to draw together for us the essence of the core theme of the conference "Climbing Higher" and "you can do it if only you believe you can". RS Components, MUNICH