Gerco van Deventer

Gerco van Deventer is an extraordinary keynote speaker, a former Operational Emergency Care Practitioner, and a specialist in hostage survival and mental resilience. With nearly three decades of frontline experience and a harrowing personal story of survival, Gerco captivates audiences with unmatched authenticity. He is best known for being South Africa’s longest-held hostage, having endured over six years in captivity by al-Qaeda in the harsh deserts of Mali. Today, he speaks with authority on survival, psychological endurance, and operating under extreme pressure, offering life-saving insight to those preparing for high-risk assignments across the globe.

Gerco began his career in the South African Military Health Services, joining the elite 7 Medical Battalion Group in 1994. As a medical support specialist, he was attached to the 4 & 5 Special Forces Regiments and 1 Parachute Battalion and also supported the Police Special Task Force. These early years were shaped by intense military training, Advanced Life Support certification, and operational deployments that would build the foundation for his resilience. His role demanded not only exceptional medical expertise but also the ability to function in unpredictable, dangerous environments—skills that later became vital to his survival during captivity.

After leaving the military in 2004, Gerco transitioned to the private sector, taking on roles with medical device companies as a surgical product specialist and product manager. In 2009, he moved into the security and risk sector, working in Afghanistan as a Deputy Security Coordinator and Medic at a multimillion-dollar Kabul power plant construction site. He was later promoted to Deputy Operations Manager. His career continued to evolve with assignments in Somalia, where he managed a clinic for the Puntland Maritime Police Force, and on the notorious Gardez–Khost highway in Afghanistan as a Mobile Security Coordinator/Medic. In 2014, he was promoted to Project Risk and Security Manager in Kabul. In 2017, while working as the Site Medic for a power station project in Libya, Gerco was ambushed and kidnapped. He spent more than six years as a prisoner - first in Libya and then in Mali, held by JNIM, al-Qaeda’s North African branch. His release in December 2023 marked the end of an astonishing ordeal and the beginning of his mission to train others in survival.

Audiences are drawn to Gerco van Deventer for his powerful message and practical tools. He speaks on hostage survival, mental resilience, operating in hostile environments, and counter-terror insights - topics that are essential for military personnel, NGO workers, journalists, and private contractors. His recent participation in a Royal Dutch Airforce SERE School training session in 2024 highlights his growing role in professional survival instruction. With a rare combination of battlefield training, real-world experience, and deep psychological insight, Gerco brings unparalleled value to any event. His story is not only a testament to the human spirit, but a call to prepare better, endure more, and survive the unimaginable.