Mark Denton is a leadership, team, resilience and navigating change expert, and captivating keynote speaker on a mission! To inspire organisations to ‘Master the Waves of Change’, a capability so crucial for achieving sustained success in this increasingly turbulent world. But it’s how Mark does this that sets him apart from the crowd. Rather than preaching the usual cliches, he takes his audiences on an ‘edge of your seat’ journey instead, through the ups, downs, twists and turns of leading a team to success in the ‘world’s toughest’ around-the-world yacht race.
This epic event sees 12 teams racing for 10 months and 32000 miles, the wrong way around the world, against the spin of the earth. But the crews are not made up of those from the rarefied world of elite sport, but rather amateurs, male and female, aged 18-60, with 70% having never sailed before! And as the race unfolds the secrets are revealed that allowed him and his team to thrive, despite facing constant adversity, change and competition. The secrets that will allow your organisation to do the same, as the parallels with the world of business are remarkable.
When combined with masterful storytelling, stunning images, gripping footage and the option of fun and insightful audience participation (that guarantees a standing ovation!), it’s so immersive you could be forgiven for thinking you’re actually on the Team! Mark's audiences from many of the world's greatest organisations agree, captivating them in over 31 countries to date and with consistent 5-star reviews. He’s also won several prestigious awards, including being voted the ‘Bookers Choice’ at the Speaker Awards 2024.
So if you want to help your organisation ride the waves towards the brightest tomorrow, Mark is ready and waiting to work with you.
Mark Denton's official speaking topics are listed below:
Leadership & Teamwork
"Together We Triumph" - Making the Impossible, Possible:
‘TOGETHER WE TRIUMPH’ is Mark Denton’s signature Leadership and Teamwork Keynote, an ‘edge of your seat’ multi-media journey through the ups, downs, twists and turns of leading an amateur Team to success in the ‘world’s toughest’ around-the-world yacht race.
As this epic journey unfolds, the secrets are revealed that allowed this team to thrive when facing constant adversity, change and competition including:
- Galvanising the team with a compelling and unifying Purpose and Value set
- Playing to the Team’s strengths in key onboard positions
- Intelligent and meaningful goal setting that built confidence over time
- Data-driven strategic decision-making, constantly adjusting performance for risk
- The Leader being self-aware, creating an enabling rather than disabling environment
- Instilling a daily meeting with strong psychological safety, where clarity, feedback, and creativity flourished to overcome the constant changes they faced
- Empowering the frontline sailing teams to be able to experiment and make decisions to improve performance
- Challenging mindsets and collaborating to achieve breakthrough performance
- A focus on overall victory rather than short-term glory
Mark summarises these into the 3 cultural factors that were the team values that were validated around the world as being crucial for any team to embrace to achieve the seemingly impossible no matter how choppy the waters.
Resilience
"Navigate the Storm" - 8 Steps to Unstoppable:
‘NAVIGATE THE STORM’ is Mark Denton’s signature ‘Resilience’ keynote, a roller-coaster multi-media journey through the ups, downs, twists and turns of an amateur team taking part in the ‘world’s toughest’ around-the-world yacht race.
As the gripping account unfolds, Mark shares his unique perspective on what kept him and the team resilient, including top tips on how to nurture the 8 key factors summarised in the ‘Navig-8 Compass’ that builds stage by stage as the race unfolds.
This simple but comprehensive framework that’s shared with attendees post-event, equips them to:
- Recognise that resilience is multifaceted and accessible to all
- Understand the different factors, and why each is key
- Learn practical ways of accessing these when facing a challenge
- Navigate any storm in their personal or professional lives
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
Feedback from In-Person Events:
"Exceptional speaker, remarkable story, profound insight" - Jonathan, CEO, Dreams Plc
"Everyone should see this" - Sam, Head of Learning, Leicester City FC
"Absolutely delighted with Mark’s leadership keynote ’Navigate the Storm’ at our two HO/SO conferences. One might think that a story based on the BT Global Challenge, dubbed ‘the world’s toughest around-the-world yacht race’ is not immediately relatable. However, nothing could be further from the truth. As an organisation of over 10,000 people seeking to weather the storm of significant organisational change, it couldn’t have been more relevant. This is a story about how ordinary people can achieve the extraordinary by pulling together, thinking outside the box, and going that extra mile to deliver a result. And Mark showed how thoughtful leadership can galvanise diverse and disparate teams to do this, and in the most testing of circumstances. And his story is not just about what went right, but also what went wrong, and how he and his crew recovered from the setbacks and persevered to achieve their goal. Furthermore, Mark was able to subtly tailor his story to align with our specific challenges, which made it so powerful. Finally, the fact that it’s just an incredible story so well told, it’s no surprise that our audiences were just transfixed. The feedback has been nothing less than outstanding" - UK Border Force
"Mark was just a perfect fit for our theme of Navigating Together, and the journey he took us on to bring this to life was epic. Everyone thought his talk was outstanding, as demonstrated by the standing ovation at the end! And the insight he shared about leading Teams through adversity and change couldn’t have been more relevant. A world-class performance!" - Vizient Inc
"Mark's story gave us some very powerful messages about leading people in an engaging, human and well-grounded manner. Entertaining, refreshing and so thought-provoking!" - Lorraine, Group HRD, IBP Group
"It couldn't have been more perfect from our perspective. The feedback has been extremely positive with everyone saying it was the most impactful session of the day, and people are already referencing the 'NAVIG-8' model" - Victoria, Commercial Director, Draeger Medical
"An incredible story full of key insights" - Richard, Chairman, British Aerospace
"It exceeded my expectations which were already sky high, and aligned so well with the key messages we are trying to drive out to the teams this year around the need for resilience." - Adam, CRO, Chargebee
"An inspirational and enthralling session which was utterly captivating and resonated so well with our audience." - Rob, Chief Communications Officer, Balfour Beatty Plc
"A game-changing speaker everyone will remember forever" - Pierre-Olivier, Head of HR, Ceva Logistics
"A truly inspirational speaker who provided so much transferable learning for our members who are really challenged by change" - Mark, Head of Learning & Development, AHDB
"The highlight of the conference and very well received by all participants who felt it was just so relevant" - Johanna, Programme Director, McKinsey & Co
"I’ve seen hundreds of speakers over the years, Mark stands head and shoulders above them all. Relevant, captivating, Insightful" - Rachel, Head of Sales, Chiesi Pharmaceuticals Plc
"Outstanding! We were hanging off every word and we also really enjoyed the psychological safety session. Some brilliant points to take back to the business and incredibly inspiring!" - Sara, Head of L&D, Dreams Plc
"We couldn’t have hoped for more from the 1-day Virtual Masterclass sessions we ran. 100% attention, 5-star feedback and our leaders visibly moved afterwards by what they’d experienced and heard. It was everything we were hoping for!" - Sunny, Human Resources Director, Geodis China
"Mark is an inspirational speaker on leadership and team development. He is a leader in his field of leadership development, executive coaching, team development and performance consultancy. I wholeheartedly recommend Mark and MAXVMG." - Simon, Managing Director, Prometheus Sailing Limited
"Mark delivers the most inspiring presentations and interactive masterclasses around teamwork, leadership and resilience, relating the lessons he learnt from "The World's Toughest Yacht Race" to the challenges teams, individuals, leaders and organisations are facing in today's challenging times. I would thoroughly recommend using his expertise to help develop the people at all levels within your organisation." - Ruari, Managing Director, High Performance Development Ltd
- 2024 - Voted as the "Bookers Choice" at the 2024 Speaker Awards
- 2020 - Partner of Amy Edmondson's "Fearless Organisation"
- 2017 - Became an Accredited Leadership & Team Coach
- 2016 - Member of the Professional Speakers Association
- 2015 - Leadership Faculty member of Barclays
- 2013 - Recipient of the International Visual Communications Association Gold Award
- 2012 - Recipient of the Procurement Leaders Gold Award
- 2012 - Partner of Insights Discovery
- 2011 - Leadership Faculty member for BP
- 2009 - Took a second company into the Top 100 Best Companies to Work for
- 2008 - Took a company into the Top 100 Best Companies to Work for
- 2006 - Founder of MAXVMG Limited
- 2000 - Race Skipper in the BT Global Challenge Around-the-World Yacht Race
How to hire Mark Denton
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Mark Denton for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
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