Rob Lilwall Keynote Speaker

Asia-based NatGeo TV Adventurer
Sought-after motivational speaker on resilience, agility, and mindset shifts
Author of 'Cycling Home from Siberia' and 'Walking Home From Mongolia'

Rob Lilwall's Biography

Rob Lilwall is an ordinary person who, through taking an adventurous attitude to life, has achieved the extraordinary.

In the last two decades, he has embarked on expeditions by bicycle and on foot, covering over 70,000 km of the world’s land surface, including across Siberia and the Gobi (in winter), China, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, America, Europe, Australia and Iran.

National Geographic have made two television series about his adventurers, and he is the author of two books, Cycling Home From Siberia and Walking Home From Mongolia. As a keynote speaker, he has inspired tens of thousands of people, in hundreds of top companies, all over the world. Former clients including Nike, adidas, Microsoft, Google, Disney, Marriott, IHG, HSBC, DBS, Goldman Sachs, Heineken, Walmart, AIA, Manulife, and Thomson Reuters.

He is now based in Hong Kong and 80% of his speaking work is in the APAC region.

Thinking Like An Adventurer

In a world a rapid change, we all need to think a bit more like an adventurer.

Through his expeditions, Rob learned the importance of resilience, agility, collaboration, prioritisation and a Growth Mindset as he faced countless challenges far out of his comfort zone: from living at -40 degrees to crossing thick jungles, flooded rivers and vast deserts.

In his interactive and unforgettable keynote speeches, Rob takes the audience on an experiential journey through these environments, with vulnerable stories, and epic photos and videos. He weaves in practical reflections and activities about how having the right mindsets and habits in a changing environment can empower us to new levels of resilience and agility. We will then persevere through setbacks, adapt to new challenges, and embrace new opportunities - in both our work and in our whole lives.

Key topics that Rob covers include:

A Prepared Mindset - preparing can make all the difference between success and failure
A Growth Mindset - empowering one’s beliefs about improving our skills and learning from failure
A Collaborative Mindset - we cannot make it on our own, we need each other
A Courageous Mindset - learning how to harness our fears and be bold with trying new things
A Self-Care Mindset - taking good care of fundamental needs is vital for resilience and agility
A Prioritised Mindset - of core tasks, to allow for greater success, less overwhelm, more focus
A Purpose-Driven Mindset - knowing ‘why’ we do something is vital, energising, motivating
A Step-by-Step Mindset - to break challenges into parts and find ways forward
A Positive Reframing Mindset - practising gratitude, and seeing the opportunities around us
A Persistent Mindset - persevering for a long time in the right direction leads to great outcomes

His keynotes equip leaders and teams to step outside their comfort zones, embrace calculated risk and build the mental toughness required to thrive in volatile and high pressure environments.
He has completed more than 70,000 kilometres of expeditions by bicycle and on foot across some of the world’s most remote and demanding environments, from Siberia and the Gobi Desert in winter to Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea.
He draws on two decades of extreme adventure to translate risk, uncertainty and endurance into practical lessons on resilience, adaptability and long term performance.
He combines the perspective of a National Geographic featured explorer and published author with the commercial insight gained from working with leading global brands across Asia Pacific and beyond.
He inspires organisations to cultivate a culture of courage, curiosity and perseverance that drives sustained performance in the face of constant change.

Videos of Rob Lilwall

Rob Lilwall, Singapore-based Nat Geo Adventurer and Motivational Speaker

Books by Rob Lilwall

Walking Home From Mongolia: Ten Million Steps Through China, From the Gobi Desert to the South China Sea

Cycling Home from Siberia: 30,000 Miles, 3 Years, 1 Bicycle

Comments & Testimonials

Rob, your stories and insights were spot-on and perfectly hit the mark for the cohort. I couldn't have asked for a better way to kick off the Flagship 2026 program!

Google

I can wholeheartedly recommend Rob as a speaker – he is dynamic, engaging and applies his adventures practically to leaders. We were lucky to have Rob at a recent conference for our extended team – and his comments and interaction were appreciated by all. Thank you, Rob, for helping us learn and grow!

Emily Thomas CEO, Cereal Partners Worldwide (part of Nestlé & General Mills)

Clients and colleagues were so impressed, that we had Rob speak at two subsequent conferences in Warsaw and Singapore this year. Rob’s story perfectly aligned with our theme of resiliency and the importance of a growth mindset and he even tailored his presentation to include some of the strategic themes gleaned from our global keynote.

Traci Ford Senior VP, Citi 

His messages on the resilience needed to overcome setbacks, and the agility needed to bounce forward and embrace new challenges, highly resonated with our group and the topics we'd been discussing throughout the 3 days. More importantly, he connected with the audience by sharing vulnerably, imparting us with 'can-do' energy, and making us laugh.

Amanda Niem Director of Sourcing, adidas

Rob was an exceptionally engaging and inspiring speaker at our global offsite in Zurich. He brought his experiences to life with authenticity and energy, and the lessons he shared from his adventures were both insightful and highly relevant. His stories resonated strongly with the audience and landed with real impact - so much so that many wished his session lasted longer. He left us motivated, reflective and genuinely inspired

Sandra Treiber Chief Audit Executive, Swiss Re