Holly Budge

Holly Budge is a world-class adventurer, social entrepreneur and keynote speaker who helps leaders and teams build the confidence and decision-making skills needed to act decisively under pressure. An Everest summiteer and the first woman to skydive Everest, she founded the international conservation NGO How Many Elephants and World Female Ranger Week, initiatives that have reached over 500 million people globally. Recently named Female Thought Leader of the Year in the non-profit sector, Holly draws on real expeditions and frontline conservation work to translate courage into practical leadership behaviours. Her sessions leave audiences energised, focused and better equipped to navigate uncertainty, manage risk and make confident decisions when it matters most.

At 29,500 feet above sea level, Holly Budge became the first woman to skydive the North Face of Mount Everest, an achievement that marked not just a personal milestone but the beginning of a career spent translating extreme experiences into practical leadership insight. Since then, she has summited Everest, worked alongside armed female rangers on the frontline of conservation in Africa, and founded two global initiatives that have reached over 500 million people worldwide. Her ability to operate in high-consequence environments, where hesitation can be fatal and decisions must be made with incomplete information, has given her a rare and grounded perspective on risk, resilience and performance under pressure. Holly now works with organisations navigating uncertainty, helping leaders and teams build the confidence and decision-making clarity needed to act decisively when the stakes are high.

As founder of the international conservation NGO How Many Elephants and the driving force behind World Female Ranger Week, Holly has built a reputation not only as an adventurer but as a strategic thinker and social entrepreneur. Her work sits at the intersection of conservation, innovation and human potential, exploring how nature, technology and bold ideas can solve complex challenges. From using bees as bio-engineers to reduce human-elephant conflict in Africa to empowering women as frontline wildlife rangers, she approaches problems with systems thinking and creativity. Recently named Female Thought Leader of the Year and Female Innovator of the Year in the non-profit sector at the 2026 Stevie Awards, Holly has been recognised by Forbes, featured on the Diversity Power List, and serves as a UN Women UK Delegate and ambassador for Stay At School, a charity supporting education in remote Nepal. Her achievements span conservation, gender equality, STEM advocacy and frontier innovation, including a growing interest in space exploration and what it can teach us about adaptability and survival.

In her keynote sessions, Holly helps audiences move from comfort-led thinking to risk-ready action. She speaks on resilience, leadership under pressure, navigating uncertainty and reconnecting teams with purpose, drawing on real moments from expeditions and fieldwork to translate courage into practical behaviours leaders can apply immediately. Her delivery is warm, engaging and honest, blending humour with clear insight and usable frameworks that resonate across industries. Trusted by organisations including McKinsey, J.P. Morgan, Shell and St James's Place, Holly leaves audiences energised, focused and better equipped to make confident decisions in fast-moving, high-pressure environments where clarity and conviction matter most.