Ken Hames has co-produced four television series for Channel 4 which demonstrate his expedition leadership skills. In his last series - Jungle Janes - he had the challenging task of leading a team of untrained Herefordshire women into the jungles of Borneo.

Ken Hames has served in the British forces for almost 30 years - including eight years with the SAS, rising to the rank of Major with seven operational tours of Northern Ireland.

He has over 20 years' experience of teaching leadership. His account of military service gives a remarkable picture of life on the front line. His presentations provide a fascinating perspective on how individuals learn to tackle pressure, work as a team and ultimately become leaders. Ken has faced action across the World - including the Falklands, Northern Ireland and the Gulf War - and was leader of 12 major expeditions worldwide.

After joining the Army in 1973 he served as a tank driver in Germany, one of the last British soldiers to guard Rudolf Hesse - the infamous stronghold of Spandau in Berlin. Just two years later he was selected to attend the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst - and served as Platoon Commander in Germany with the British Army of the Rhine.

In 1980 he was seconded to the Royal Marines where he took part in the liberation of Port Stanley. After many tours of Northern Ireland he joined the SAS in 1986 - one of just three officers selected that year. He also served in the Gulf War. He has spent his military career teaching and briefing soldiers under his command.

But - perhaps ironically - he only became famous when he led a team of women into the jungle of Borneo in the hugely popular TV show Jungle Janes. The whole expedition started at a dinner party when four Herefordshire women decided they wanted to do an arduous and exciting trip into a remote part of the world. They asked Ken to lead the trip. He agreed and set them a year-long training programme to get them fit enough to tackle the tough trip. The Borneo jungle is a key site for training British soldiers survival and jungle warfare tactics - it is an unforgivably inhospitable place. Ken's challenge was to turn a group of British women - non of whom had faced anything like this before - into a cohesive team fit enough to take on the jungle. The results were fascinating. The TV series intimately showed the women's experiences - revealing their strengths, weaknesses, highs and lows. Millions of viewers found the journey an inspiration.

In his presentation, Ken's comparison between leading hardened army platoons into the jungle - and leading the women - provides a fascinating insight into pressure, survival, teamwork and motivation. Ken is an 'action' man, he has played rugby for the Army and Combined Services, is an expedition and adventure training expert. He is an instructor in mountaineering, rock climbing, ski, survival and rescue disciplines. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and has represented England in the sport of cross-county marathon ski-ing. The following quotes give a flavour of the high standard of Ken's motivational conference and after dinner speeches.

"Ken was an inspiration to our delegates. He has a great motivational style which lifts peoples horizons"
Carole Nicholl, Lehman Bros

"In my experience few public speakers have the ability to both captivate and inspire their audiences, Major Ken Hames has this rare ability".
Richard Merriweather, MD
Merriweather Ltd.

"Ken has all of the classic skills of a great public speaker, an innate ability to hold an audience, a natural gravitas mixed with a good sense of humour, a strong, measured delivery and an enviable story-telling gift"
Paul Smith, Channel 4, Publicity Manager- Factual programmes

"Ken is one of life's great speakers and when listening to him it as if time has paused and you are drawn into his world that is exciting and dangerous"
Ruth Moody - World Challenge Expeditions

"Ken was able to deliver a stirring inspirational speech, drawing on his unique background and experiences, which offered an insight into how both individuals and teams, given the right motivation, can excel in any environment. Drawing endless parallels with the challenges faced by business today, I can honestly say the audience was left knowing that it was within them to make the difference and achieve the edge we all strive for."                 Microsoft Corp.

"His overview of military service including Special Forces in the last 20 years paints a remarkable picture of life in the front line. "