Scott Kress

Leadership Professor, Mountain Climber

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Scott Kress is a masterful storyteller, a leadership trainer, an Executive MBA Professor, an author and a life-long mountaineer. He is one of the very few people in the world who has summited Mt Everest. In fact, he has climbed the highest peak on each of the 7 continents plus skied to the South Pole and the North Pole. A feat that few people in history have accomplished. Scott has been adventuring for over 25 years, and in his other life he is a leadership and team performance expert teaching at some of the world's leading educational institutions. He is uniquely qualified to provide you with insights on how to scale your mountains in business and in life.

Scott's presentation will contain not only gripping stories from his adventures, but Scott will demonstrate the strategies that have led to both success and failure and how these strategies can be applied to your personal, team and leadership development.

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Speaking Topics

Learning in Thin Air Everest Keynote

What is it that separates success from failure? What allows some leaders and teams to achieve greatness where others stumble? Today's business environment is more complex than ever and presents a series of mountains, which must all be scaled. While there is always a leader breaking the trail to the top, they cannot do it alone. Great success comes from the synergy of great leadership, teamwork, and personal focus. This presentation will introduce models and concepts in the areas of leadership, vision, change management, communication, circles of influence, personal accountability, personal drive, team development and goal setting while blending them into a highly engaging, motivational, and entertaining story. Scott's keynote can be 60 or 90 minutes in length. The 60-minute version shares the story of Scott's ascent of Everest and the tools and strategies that created success. In the 90-minute version Scott is able to start with a story of failure and the leadership and team learning came from it. The contrast of the two makes for a very compelling message.

 

Achieving The Outrageous Keynote

Never one to be idle, in December of 2016 Scott completed a 960km unsupported ski to the South Pole. Scott is now the 7th Canadian to ever accomplish this and one of less than 100 people in history. Along with this achievement comes a new keynote “Achieve the Outrageous”. In this presentation, Scott will share the story of his punishing 44-day expedition across some of the most hostile ground on the planet. As always Scott will punctuate this adventure with learning and application. Whereas his Everest presentation “Learning in Thin Air” has a strong team focus, “Achieve the Outrageous” is aimed at helping the individual within the team perform at their peak. Any company, leadership team, departmental team or individual seeking to achieve a big goal will benefit from this presentation. Scott will share his insights into goal setting, overcoming adversity, perseverance, and so much more.

 

Keynote Workshop

Take your next training workshop to a higher level. Scott has revolutionized the training program by blending a motivational keynote and a training workshop. Custom designed for your group, this half- or full-day workshop integrates Scott Kress’ extremely popular keynote with a custom array of activities, models, tools, theories and strategies that meet your learning and development goals. The riveting story makes this workshop highly engaging, and the content makes it valuable to your team and your organization.

 

Recent Publications by Scott Kress

Learning in Thin Air

 
"Scott Kress was the opening Key Note for the AceTech Ontario Annual Retreat.  He was a fantastic speaker and, for the first time ever at one of our events, obtained a perfect 5 out of 5 rating from every single one of our attendees that filled out a survey.  His topic was incredibly interesting and his presentation very engaging, both because Scott is an excellent speaker and because his adventures

Testimonials

"Scott Kress was the opening Key Note for the AceTech Ontario Annual Retreat.  He was a fantastic speaker and, for the first time ever at one of our events, obtained a perfect 5 out of 5 rating from every single one of our attendees that filled out a survey.  His topic was incredibly interesting and his presentation very engaging, both because Scott is an excellent speaker and because his adventures are riveting.  But beyond that he was able to consistently tie back the lessons he learned on the mountains to relevant business concepts relating to personal growth, leadership and team building.  I would highly recommend Scott as a speaker in almost any business environment.  Here are a few comments from AceTech Ontario CEOs in attendance:

  • “Entertaining, relevant, and applicable.”
  • “Very good speaker and great way to analogize to the business world. 5 out of 5 from me!”
  • “5 out of 5 for me, Scott was great, most excellent way to really kick off the conference!!!”
    “Both engaging and relevant”
  • “5 out of 5!!! Excellent presentation with compelling messages that van actually be used immediately”
  • “The personalized book was the icing on the cake.   Very well done, informative and fascinating”
  • “Very relevant for me personally and in business”
  • “This was a 5 in my opinion. Extremely interesting, thought provoking and an engaging presenter. Just excellent!”

- JoAnn Dizy, Executive Director, AceTech Ontario

"Scott Kress addressed our conference with his 90 minute keynote message followed up with a workshop designed to apply his presentation content directly to our work environment.  In terms of pure entertainment the presentation was well worth the money we paid.  Scott’s stories kept us riveted.  It was not only what he was saying but it also had a slight physical effect with many of those in attendance.  We really did “feel” what Scott was talking to us about... listening, hearing AND seeing it...his presentation completely touched on a few senses!!
However what I also found very beneficial were the number of takeaways that were perfect segues into vibrant group discussions immediately after.  These discussions led to solid actions that my team and I will be plowing through in the weeks ahead.
I will also say that the way Scott Kress delivers his presentation is really first class.  He does remind me of the “guy next door”...your friend next door...that has a blockbuster not so next door story for you!
In sum...great for the entertainment alone...throw in the group work after and it is a one plus one equals three presentation!
Highly recommended. (except to my competitors...oh what the heck they should experience it too...will make us all better!)”
- Ben Kawa, National Director, Sales & Strategic Relationships, First National Financial

"As the adage goes... The road is littered with failed or distracted companies loaded with plenty of I-Q, it is often the E-Q that propels success or kills it!  In a life-changing experience, you gain invaluable insights and learn to think differently.  Scott Kress masterfully connects with the audience and navigates them to a place where the audience gains from his breathtaking and harrowing experiences climbing Mt. Everest.  Warning!  Your team will leave with real lessons and valuable takeaways that will give your company the very edge needed to successfully run and grow right past your competitors!" - Roger Woolsey, CEO, Million Air Aviation

"I recently saw Scott Kress speak for a group based on his "Learning in Thin Air" theme. He was funny, relevant, customized! As a fellow keynote speaker, I was also carefully watching -- Scott had a rapt audience who were hanging on every word. Being in the industry, I know that motivational mountain climbers are a dime a dozen when it comes to keynotes. But there aren't many who combine the exhilarating story of achievement combined with deep, relevant business insight. Scott teaches Leadership for the EMBA and Omnium programs at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, the MBA program at the University of Edinburgh, and other programs that focus on business strategy. His "Learning in Thin Air" keynote isn't just a story of adventure and daring -- it challenges you to think in a unique way about how to align your business and leadership team for all the challenges that the global economy is bringing your way each and every day." - Jim Carroll, globally recognized Futurist, Trends & Innovation Expert

"Thanks you Scott and team for delivering a true leadership perspective to our Partnership Forum." Frances McAllister, OREA

"A truly inspiring gentleman with high integrity... It was our honor to host Scott to speak in front of our client group of entrepreneurs. While his experience is often in front of corporate c-suite executives he was equally gifted at crafting his message for independent entrepreneurs. Simply said, great guy, great story, great delivery." Paul Tobey, President, Business Training Pros.

"We had an overwhelming response to the event and had a packed house. Scott grabbed our attention from the start and kept it. He is a captivating speaker, and his stories and photos were breathtaking. Especially great was the way he wove in various lessons, models and strategies that were easily applicable to everyone in the audience. The participants left with a renewed motivation to achieve a higher level of performance in their lives and they were armed with a few tools to help them along their way. Many told me this was the highlight of all the Mayor's Breakfast speakers to date." Norm Lingard, manager Economic Development, Town of Caledon

"Our Wellbridge Team was mesmerized by Scott's presentation as he took us through his expedition to climb Mt. Everest. The pictures and the videos clips were excellent and did a great job in capturing the history and the geography of the area. Scott's narrative as to what made his team high performing and successful was effectively contrasted with the characteristics of some of the other teams who were not successful. Our associates were able to take these lessons back to their work teams and immediately apply what they learned from Scott's amazing presentation. Our associates are already asking if we can get Scott back for our next year's annual meeting." Wellbridge Health and Fitness 

"This summer at our annual off site strategic planning event, our extended management team was inspired by Scott's presentation of his recent climb to Mt. Everest. His fascinating slides and remarks captured not only the history and geography of the area, but also the more abstract "feel' of this incredible experience.  Scott's accompanying narrative highlighted what made his team high performing and successful. These first-hand lessons were great takeaways to apply with our teams and we look forward to further continuous learning opportunities with Scott and his associates." GS1 Canada

"I've known Scott Kress personally and professionally for five years. I recently saw him speak for a group based on his "Learning in Thin Air" theme, shortly after his Antarctic summit. He was funny, relevant, customized! As a fellow keynote speaker, I was also carefully watching -- Scott had a rapt audience who were hanging on every word. Being in the industry, I know that motivational mountain climbers are a dime a dozen when it comes to keynotes. But there aren't many who combine the exhilarating story of achievement combined with deep, relevant business insight. Scott teaches Leadership for the EMBA and Omnium programs at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, the MBA program at the University of Edinburgh, and other programs that focus on business strategy. His "Learning in Thin Air" keynote isn't just a story of adventure and daring -- it challenges you to think in a unique way about how to align your business and leadership team for all the challenges that the global economy is bringing your way each and every day." Jim Carroll, globally recognized futurist, trends & innovation expert

"Dear Scott, many thanks to you for a fabulous day!! By all accounts, everyone was thrilled with the entire training event. I have never had so many people come and tell me how much they had enjoyed a training event ... seriously, you hit the mark on all fronts ... kudos to you!!" - Scotiabank

"We have incorporated the Learning in Thin Air presentation into our Play-to-Win new employee team training experience. It is a great example of the power of strong teaming and supports the curriculum of our program and the culture of our organization so well. Scott weaves the heartfelt experiences and challenges of the physical task of summiting Everest with the equally powerful messages of teaming and leadership using dramatic examples of success and failure.  This stark contrast portrayed against the visual images of Everest is memorable and real. Scott works hard to customize his presentation to dove tail our needs. I recommend Learning In Thin Air as a great addition to anyone's leadership or team training curriculum."- VP Manufacturing, ArcelorMittal Dofasco

"I was very impressed that with such short notice Scott was able to put together a team building afternoon experience tailored to meet our needs.  His high energy talk on his Everest climb kept everyone in awe and on the edge of their seat.  He demonstrated how the successes and failures of their climbs directly related to the team and their interaction with each other.  The two hour team building activity that Scott and his team put together after the talk elevated the teams' spirit and morale.  They had everybody totally engaged, having fun-playing with a purpose!" Ministry of Revenue

"In a very interesting and inspirational fashion, Scott demonstrated that success needs to be planned for; it doesn't just happen. Scott illustrated the importance of planning, attitude, teamwork, and communication and how each of these factors contributed to his successful ascent of Mount Everest. To make the keynote even more valuable he then facilitated us to capture our key insights and to turn those insights into real world applications to enhance our leadership ability and our overall success...What Scott was able to do was to help provide us with the tools to accomplish our goals and the motivation to do it. Our management team agreed that Scott's presentation was certainly one of the highlights of this year's planning session and our end results were better for it." - Director HR, SGS Canada