Earl de Blonville FRGS

Explorer, author and one of today's most inspiring thinkers on leadership.

Professor the Hon Barry Jones AO describes Earl as 'a great, but unsung, Australian hero, courageous, strong, confident, and with outstanding leadership qualifications'.

Background
Earl grew up in a remote area of the Victorian bush, in Australia, and an isolated stretch of coast where he began solo sea kayaking at age 11. His broad interests include Arctic and Middle Eastern history, gaff rig sailing, vintage motorcycle touring, and artistic pursuits such as painting, playing music and writing poetry. Best known for having conceived, mounted and led Australia's first expedition to the Arctic, he is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, London, and has advised Arctic and desert expeditions. He has exhibited as an artist, produced an internationally released documentary film and authored a critically acclaimed book Seventh Journey, exploring real-life lessons of entrepreneurial leadership for future-focused leaders.

Leadership Philosophy
Earl's innovative and challenging philosophy of leadership is based on a unique combination of field leadership, executive coaching and intuition. Earl's highly informed and integrated leadership philosophy is underpinned by quantum theory and a belief in transformative human potential. Earl has 25 years of field leadership experience in mountain training, adventure pursuits and expeditions, followed by 10 years in high-level corporate leadership coaching and communications. His acutely intelligent and well-researched understanding of issues, matched with an engaging sense of humour and communication style, helps reduce complex problems to inspirational solutions for change and growth in a way that appeals to all audiences.

Expedition leadership and adventure training
Following an early Outward Bound course, with further training in rockclimbing and snow & ice skills in Australia, Earl became a professional mountain instructor in the UK, working with Outward Bound in Scotland and the Lakeside Centre in Cumbria. At British and Scottish Mountaineering Centres he was trained to the highest levels of mountain leadership, white water kayaking, navigation and mountain rescue, developing improved safety equipment and training procedures for a national mountain centre. In Australia, he was founding president of the Victorian Sea Kayak Club, and went on to pioneer Australian executive adventure, leading expeditions to the remote Kimberley and both West and remote East Greenland.

Entrepreneurship and business development
Prior to a career in adventure pursuits, Earl trained in signs and graphics, opening his first business at 18. During the 80s, between expeditions, he opened Alpine Signs in Mansfield, Victoria, with client sectors included tourism, retail, food, performing arts, banking and snowfields. During the 1990s he founded and established a business in Britain, ExplorersUK, to design, manufacture and distribute a totally new concept of outdoor adventure recreation equipment for use by all ages, marketed as Explorers Challenge. Markets included county education, local authorities, caravan parks and community recreation. As at 2000, the product had generated retail sales of some AU$14 million.

Corporate consulting and executive coaching
Earl has worked as consultant and trainer with Rogen International (1999-2000), the company responsible for winning the 2000 Olympics for Sydney (the $10 billion pitch) and the Commonwealth and Masters Games for Melbourne (business presenting and pitch consulting). He was a consultant with AchieveGlobal (2000-2002), the world's largest business skills training enterprise, serving 450 of the Fortune 500 companies, with offices in 40 countries and programs translated into 25 languages (leadership consulting). He expanded his corporate consulting, founding Ursus International, in Melbourne, providing C-level leadership coaching, enterprise leadership cultural development, business communication skills and pitch consulting.

Project management
Most notably, Earl was appointed Director of the Tall Ships spectacular (1988) that officially opened Australia's Bicentenary: a five-day, multi-million dollar program, televised internationally. He was responsible for all official arrangements for Governor, Prime Minister, Victorian Premier and visiting Diplomats, management of 500 local volunteers and oversight of the public events and live performance program. Other projects include Project Manager for Melbourne-based developers of modern regional shopping centres, managing projects worth $11 million (1989); and Managing Director (1973) of his own housing development company, with four speculative modern design dwellings in Melbourne's outer green suburbs.

Community service
Earl has a lifetime of community service, including volunteer woodwork teacher and adventure leader for children at risk. He raised significant research funds to support the Cystic Fibrosis gene discovery (UK), and for multiple sclerosis, children and schools in need and the scouts. In Mansfield, Victoria, Earl was founding president of the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce, co-directed the Mountain Country Festival, and created and directed the Great Mountain Race, Australia's richest and toughest bush horse event, used by the Australian government to promote tourism in the USA and Europe. His leadership revitalized the Mansfield economic region generate substantial inward investment, growth in property values and increased employment.