Fearless adventurer, successful entrepreneur and BBC trained TV presenter, Debra Seale has proven she really can do it all. From overcoming a challenging childhood, having been adopted and struggling in school, to rowing the Atlantic and inspiring individuals worldwide, Debra’s life story is truly remarkable. Since showing her strength sailing the oceans, Debra has become a sought-after speaker, turning her lessons learned from out at sea, into valuable insights for corporate teams. Her speaking ability was rewarded as she was officially named the third-best motivational speaker in the world by Global Gurus in 2021, behind Tony Robbins and Simon Sinek. Drawing on her extensive experiences, Debra discusses how to choose your attitude for success, strategies for excelling in periods of change and empowers individuals to reach their goals, no matter their ability, gender, race or otherwise.
Best recognised for her debut venture, in 2001 Debra rowed across the Atlantic, 3,300 miles from Tenerife to Barbados. Entering the Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge with her husband, who after falling ill, left her to complete the trip solo. Battling isolation, adverse weather conditions and the physical journey, Debra made global headlines when, as a novice rower, she completed the trip. Since gaining a passion for adventure, Debra has gone on to lead an all-female traverse of Baffin Island in the Arctic Circle, secured a Gold medal at the European Dragon Boat Championships for Great Britain and completed the L’Etape du Tour bike race. Many of Debra’s subsequent expeditions have focused on empowering women in sport.
Having documented her time alone in the Atlantic via camcorder, Debra’s footage was snapped up by the BBC who made a feature of it on the prime-time news. With such an inspiring story and a natural on-screen presence, Debra went from the focus of the media to the figure presenting it, to date she has presented 42 programmes and published three books. From the Southampton Boat Show to Extreme Lives, Debra has paved a career as a popular media figure, making her an expert presenter at events. For her outstanding achievements, Debra was honoured with an MBE and MVO from HRH The Queen, and she became the youngest ever trustee of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
Equally accomplished as an entrepreneur, Debra has founded five companies. In 2002 she founded Shoal Projects Ltd which creates captivating content both during and after her expeditions. As a champion of empowering others, Debra created MIX Diversity Developers LTD, an award-winning diversity consultancy, that utilises her expertise as a speaker to educate on the importance of inclusivity.
When booked for events, audiences are guaranteed a transformative presentation from one of the most successful, inspiring and motivational speakers on the circuit. An opportunity not to be missed, Debra has spoken both in person and virtually for the likes of Microsoft, Google and JPMorgan, and was named third in the World’s Top Motivational Speakers list.
How to hire Debra Searle
Contact the Champions Speakers agency to provisionally enquire about Debra Searle for your event today. Simply call a booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Debra's official speaking topics are listed below.
- Choose your attitude!
- Strategies for not just coping but excelling during periods of change
- Personal motivation and productivity
- Teamwork and positive relationships
- Achieving seemingly impossible goals
- Personal performance when under pressure
FEEDBACK FROM VIRTUAL EVENTS & WEBINARS:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Debra attended many virtual events, booked as the exciting guest speaker. Read the feedback she has received below.
"What an outstanding job! The feedback on your session has been incredible. I think the note sent to me by our Global Head of Customer Success sums it up best... 'She is amazing and this is so the most unbelievably timely presentation ever!!!!'." - Seth, Global Head of Sales Enablement, Data & Analytics, London Stock Exchange Group
"Debra’s speech went down tremendously well thank you, the feedback was awesome. What a truly astounding story she has to tell. Her experiences were very relevant to many of the emotions we all share amongst the team at the moment too and she offered the tangible examples of how to deal with these, as we were hoping." - Kate, Microsoft
"What an incredible job you did today, and we cannot thank you enough!! 😊 The Merit folks truly loved your talk today, and your story was incredible. Thank you for everything!" - Tiffany, Merit Medical
"I just wanted to say a massive thank you to Debra for that session, it was really inspiring! And I've never seen so many people interact with the chat box before haha! definitely a record." – Madeline, Global Web Index
"Debra has got the top rating so far from the feedback. She was amazing." - Donna, Gilead Sciences, Inc.
FEEDBACK FROM IN-PERSON EVENTS:
Debra is regularly booked to engage audiences at in-person events, read her latest feedback below.
"Debra not only has a great story to tell, but she uses her experiences to support real business situations and bring alive those everyday moments faced by leaders. She clearly understood our organisation and within an hour had totally transformed the mindset of some of the most ‘fixed’ people in this intimate audience.” - Anthony, TMF Group
"There are good speakers, there are great speakers and then there is Debra Searle. I've never seen an audience so engaged, inspired and in touch with the messages that she shared.” - Matt, Autotrader
“I thought she was fantastic and brought in some really useful tools to use when choosing your mindset and facing challenges. She has such an inspirational story, great to hear all the details first hand. We’ve been getting great feedback all day, she was very well received.” - Yee, Deloitte
"'I cannot thank you enough for the fantastic session you delivered at IFS today. You left me feeling incredibly empowered and motivated and you are an incredible role model for professional women (and men) across the globe. It was so refreshing to see a human presentation filled with compassion, honesty and humour. You are an inspiration and your messages resonated with me loud and clear. Thank you so much, I’m excited to tell my colleagues about you and share your message. - IFS, Institute for Fiscal Studies
"The way that Debra translates her experience into actionable day to day practices to change behaviour and get into a positive mindset is very powerful." - Katja, Biogen
"Our guests really enjoyed listening to Debra's story - it was brilliant to see them all so engaged in the journey." - Sarah, Wolters Kluwer
"The way that Debra linked her story and her life lessons back to business helped to make the whole event feel very connected and so much more powerful." - Katie, Hitachi: Inspire The Next
- 2021 - Named the third-best motivational speaker in the world by Global Gurus.
- 2017 - She completed a cycling mission from Valencia to Barcelona
- 2015 - She led the Women’s Arctic Challenge from Qikiqtarjuaq to Pangnirtung in the Arctic Circle
- 2014 - Awarded an MVO
- 2002 - Appointed MBE
- 2002 - Rowed across the Atlantic solo
- 1999 - secured bronze, silver and gold medals in the Dragon Boat race at the Nottingham World Championships
- 1998 - Won Bronze, Silver and Gold medals at the Rome European Championship in the Dragon Boat Race
- Debra is the founder of five successful businesses
- As a young adventurer, she completed the Duke of Edinburgh Award and Ten Tors
- Debra hosts the podcast, Expert Speaking Made Simple, and supplies training for speakers
- Debra was a trustee of the Duke of Edinburgh Award for a decade
- She has written and published Rowing it Alone and The Journey: How to Achieve Against the Odds.
