Keynote SpeakersDebra Searle MVO MBE is an Inspirational Solo Atlantic Rower, adventurer, and international award-winning motivational speaker.
From building businesses to setting records and winning Gold medals, Debra lives by her motto of ‘Choose Your Attitude‘.
Highlights include:
- Presenting over 40 BBC programmes.
- Winning gold medals with the GB Dragon Boat Team.
- Being the youngest ever trustee of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
- Founding five companies and achieving entrepreneurial success.
- Having three books published.
- Rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
- Receiving an MBE and MVO from the Queen.
- Sailing the Southern Ocean.
Debra Searle TED Talk
Debra’s Early Years:
Debra Searle, one of an identical twin, was born in Plymouth in July 1975.
Her love of children and the outdoors led Debra to study a BEd in Physical Education and Art, majoring in Outdoor Education. She graduated in 1997 with a first-class honours degree and received an honorary Master’s from DeMontfort University.
Debra started her career teaching physical education and outdoor education.
At 24, Debra set up an Internet-based art company. She formed The Well Hung Art Company in 1999, specialising in Corporate Art Consultancy and promoting lesser-known artists’ work online. Following the business sale in 2004, her childhood dream of becoming a full-time adventurer became a reality.
Rowing the Atlantic:
In 1997, Debra and her ex-husband, Andrew Veale, signed up for the Atlantic Rowing Challenge. The couple raced against 34 other crews, rowing 3000 miles from Tenerife to Barbados. The Atlantic crossing began on 7th October 2001.
Each team rows 24 hours a day, in 2-hour shifts. During the 2-hour off-watch period, competitors eat, sleep, navigate and complete the logbook.
The 23-foot plywood boat has a small cabin measuring 6ft long and a few feet wide. The vessel’s length means competitors never take more than a few strides for months at a time.
From early on, after the start, it became apparent that Andrew was suffering from acute anxiety and irrational fear of the ocean. Andrew and Debra tried to work through it, but after nine days, they realised they needed to call a safety vessel to collect Andrew. The nearest yacht took five days to reach them, giving Andrew time to help Debra prepare the boat for her solo voyage. They decided together, as they felt it was the only option for Andrew’s well-being.
Debra, the novice rower, continued alone. While she was a reasonably inexperienced rower, she was an experienced expedition leader and mountaineer. She believed she could do it and wanted to give it her best shot, even though she knew that if something went wrong, she might never see her family again.
The Journey:
Debra spent 111 days, 5 hours, and 43 minutes rowing to reach Port St Charles in Barbados. As a result, she became the youngest and only third woman in the world to row an ocean solo.
The Times hailed her as “Britain’s latest sporting heroine”. The world’s media went crazy for the story of the 5ft 5″ young lady who kept rowing alone after her then-husband, a 6ft 5″ experienced oarsman, left the boat, overcome by an uncontrollable fear of the ocean.
She rowed 3000 miles, a journey that should have taken them six weeks, but it took Debra over three months at sea alone, encountering 30-foot waves, sharks, and force-eight storms, and on more than a few occasions, she had to dodge tankers!
However, worse than all of this was dealing with loneliness and solitude. Debra’s motto for keeping her going was “Choose Your Attitude”.
Debra’s Awards:
Debra has received numerous awards, including an MBE from Her Majesty the Queen. She was appointed a trustee of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in 2003, the youngest and only female trustee working alongside His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh.
Virtual Presentations by Debra Searle
Debra Searle Motivational Speaker:
In 2022, Debra ranked No. 3 in the World’s Top 30 Motivational Speakers, behind Simon Sinek (No. 1) and Tony Robbins (No. 2), making her the highest-ranking female motivational speaker in the world.
In 2023, a British newspaper listed Debra among the World’s Top 50 Inspirational Leaders.
Debra Searle’s overwhelming positivity and ‘go for it’ attitude are contagious, while her modesty is endearing.
She regularly delivers motivational presentations and after-dinner speeches, using her story to draw out business and personal lessons powerfully but subtly.
Debra is a natural, experienced communicator. She shares her highs and lows, personal battles and victories, to show what we can all achieve.
Speaking themes include:
- Choose Your Attitude! It’s not magic; it’s mindset.
- Practical tools to stay motivated and build resilience.
- Well-being techniques to expand our tolerance for challenges.
- How to keep going when the journey feels like it’s getting harder.
- Finding a way to innovate when pushed outside our comfort zones.
- Taking personal ownership while performing as part of a team.
- Leading through change: strategies for coping and excelling during times of adversity.
- Women in Leadership and how to manage Unconscious/Implicit Bias.
Debra Searle, MVO MBE, stands out from other motivational speakers through her commitment to each project.
She also takes the time to fully understand the conference themes. Gathering company- and industry-specific information allow her to tailor her presentation to the client’s requirements. Book Debra for your virtual meeting or in-person event.
Debra’s sister, Hayley Barnard, is also available to deliver keynote speeches on Unconscious Bias.
