“Neil is trying very hard but achieving very little” stated an early school report. Despite this inauspicious outlook and many subsequent setbacks, he was commissioned into the Royal Marines, qualified as a helicopter pilot and served 12 years in UK Special Forces (21 SAS) reaching the rank of Captain. Later on, he founded a construction company which grew to £40 million turnover before being sold to a FTSE 100 company in 2011.

At Laughton & Co, he dedicates his time to developing inspirational leaders and high-performing teams. Working with individuals and businesses, he helps them build their powers of discovery, teamwork and adventure (www.laughton.co). Neil is a Sussex Business Awards Winner, has a Certificate in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors and he won the Ness Award for “Inspirational leadership” from the Royal Geographical Society. He is also Chairman of the Scientific Exploration Society and Founder of the Penny Farthing Club.

Neil has a passion for travel, sport and adventure. He has organised and led more than 50 adventurous expeditions on 7 continents by land, sea and air. He climbed Mt Everest with Bear Grylls, was the first person to circumnavigate the UK & Ireland on a jet-ski and he piloted the world’s first road legal flying car on a 10,000 km journey from London to Timbuktu. Neil has Guinness World Records for riding a Penny Farthing bicycle with ‘no hands’ and for hosting the world’s highest black tie dinner party. But he is best known for his many ‘world firsts’ which include playing golf at the North Pole, cricket at the South Pole and paddling a bathtub across the Solent.