Mike Ellicock Keynote Speaker
- Founding CEO of Plain Numbers and National Numeracy, Co-founder Precision Fuel & Hydration
- Social entrepreneur helping organisations improve decision-making through clear communication
- Ex-Parachute Regiment officer and GB Elite sportsman, current Guiness World Record Holder
Mike Ellicock's Biography
Mike Ellicock has led winning teams on combat operations, in international sport and in both the charitable and commercial sector.
Alongside successful commercial exits, founding a national charity, and founding and currently leading an innovative social purpose start up, Mike has completed a series of arduous endurance challenges over the past two decades. He holds the Guiness World Record for running a marathon with a 20lbs backpack (2h56) and in summer 2025 he rowed solo over 1,800 miles around Great Britain in under 50 days to ‘celebrate’ his 50th birthday.
Having represented Great Britain as an oarsman, Mike thought he’d have a go at triathlon despite not being able to swim with his head under the water. Within 18 months he represented GB as a Junior and then as a member of the elite team in his first year as a senior athlete. When it became clear he would not be selected for the Olympics in Sydney he set his sights on becoming an officer in The Parachute Regiment instead.
Mike was wounded in action while commanding his platoon of paratroopers in a Special Forces-led hostage rescue operation in Sierra Leone in 2000. The operation led to 25 years of peace in the war-torn country and to the formation of 1PARA as the permanent Special Forces Support Group in the British Army. For Mike, having had a close shave with death, it led to a commitment to support former paratroopers who struggled to adapt to life following service.
Alongside normal life – in his case being married, working, and bringing up three daughters – he completes arduous challenges; Mike is, and always will be, ‘Ready for Anything’.
Mike Ellicock's Speaking Topics
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The formula for doing hard things well
Mike will draw upon a hostage rescue in Sierra Leone and a solo row around Great Britain to illustrate his formula for doing hard things well – to help you to better overcome the challenges you are facing as a team.
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Ready for Anything
The Parachute Regiment motto is Utrinque Paratus – Ready for Anything. Mike has had the unique privilege of commanding a platoon of paratroopers on combat operations in Sierra Leone, Iraq and in N. Ireland. This foundational experience, alongside an MBA, has served him well leading teams in both the commercial and charitable sector. In this talk he will help you and your team to become Ready for Anything.
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How to get good, fast
Mike is uniquely experienced at getting good, fast - in elite sport, the military, charitable and commercial sectors and in arduous challenges. Rather than hearing from someone who has decades of expertise in a single discipline and may struggle to remember what it was like to be a beginner, Mike will talk you through his formula for selecting a goal and then getting there fast – before moving on the next interesting challenge and going again.
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It’s about the numbers, stupid
Since 2008 Mike has led commercial and charitable organisations focussed on supporting people who struggle to understand numbers, which happens to be about half the population of the UK. In this talk he will explain how the assumptions we make about humans that underpin so much of our economy and society are false – and what we can do about this.
Why Book Mike Ellicock as a speaker?
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He helps leaders and teams build resilience, adaptability and high performance by drawing on lessons from elite sport, military leadership, entrepreneurship and extreme endurance.
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He translates experiences from combat, business and world-record endurance challenges into practical strategies that equip organisations to perform with confidence under pressure and embrace uncertainty.
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He combines frontline military leadership with commercial success and social entrepreneurship, demonstrating how purpose, perseverance and disciplined execution drive lasting results.
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He believes that resilience is built through preparation, challenge and a willingness to step beyond your comfort zone, inspiring audiences to adopt a mindset of being “Ready for Anything”.
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His keynotes equip organisations to strengthen leadership, build resilient teams and develop the mindset needed to overcome adversity and achieve ambitious goals.
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