Download Legendary Leadership Style of Sir Ernest Shackleton Mirrored by

Media Release
4 December 2012
Legendary Leadership Style of Sir Ernest Shackleton Mirrored
by Australian Business Leaders
Shackleton Epic Leadership Round Table Announced
Sydney: Sir Ernest Shackelton’s triumphant example of great leadership and masterful crisis
management continues to inspire modern leaders around the world. The former Secretary of
the US Navy and the commander of Apollo 13 are among those who have looked to emulate
the Shackleton style of leadership that ensured the survival of his 27 men stranded with him in
the Antarctic for almost two years during 1914-1916.
The announcement in Sydney today that Australian business leaders have an opportunity to
join the exclusive Shackleton Epic Leadership Round Table follows the official farewell from
Australia of Tim Jarvis AM, one of the world’s most acclaimed explorers, who will depart in
January to embark on Shackleton Epic expedition in honour of the great man.
Mr Peter Bailey, Chair and CEO, Arup Australasia and Chairman, Shackleton Epic Leadership
Round Table, said Arup sustainability leader Tim Jarvis’s example of modern leadership, and
Shackleton’s before him, is enlightening.
“The leadership lessons to be learned from Shackleton and the inspirational leadership
example that Tim and his team are providing to forward-thinking leaders across the country is
exciting,” Bailey said.
“It is entirely fitting that one our country’s finest leaders, Her Excellency Professor
Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of New South Wales, has agreed to be Patron of the
Shackleton Epic Leadership Round Table,” Bailey added.
In mid-January Tim Jarvis and his crew will set sail from Elephant Island to attempt to
authentically recreate Shackleton’s sea voyage of late April 1915 across 800 nautical miles of
the notoriously dangerous Southern Ocean in a 22.5’ whaler as well as the crossing of the
unmapped interior of South Georgia.
“I’ll be guided by Shackleton’s example of leadership during Shackleton Epic as I have been
during the preparation period,” Jarvis said.
“His was a brilliant survival strategy and Shackleton’s principles of leadership during times of
challenge is key to the high-risk expedition I am about to undertake,” added Jarvis, 46, from
Adelaide.
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-2Presented by Margot Morrell, world-renowned leadership expert, author of New York Times
Business Bestseller Shackleton’s Way and veteran business observer, the Shackleton Epic
Leadership Round Table is a forum for 28 prominent Australian business leaders that will
challenge their thinking about the way in which they lead while offering them tools to navigate
the remarkable challenges prominent business leaders of the 21st Century face.
Natasha Cica, facilitator of the Shackleton Epic Leadership Round Table and director of the
Inglis Clark Centre at the University of Tasmania said the timing of the Shackleton Epic
Leadership Round Table could not be more perfect.
“Australians today are widely and deeply concerned about leadership, and the quality of our
response to challenges that will shape the future of our nation and the planet,” she said.
“The practical lessons from Shackleton’s Antarctic adventures a hundred years ago send
important contemporary messages – especially about risk and responsibility – to anyone
aspiring to steer us in more inspiring, sustainable and effective directions.”
Shackleton Epic’s presenting partner, Intrepid Travel along with major sponsors, Arup and
St.George Bank, have already signed up to the Round Table.
One of the aims of Shackleton Epic is to raise awareness of the impact of climate change on
the Antarctic. Intrepid Travel’s Managing Director and co-founder, Geoff Manchester, is calling
on Australian businesses to become leaders in the area of climate change to show the rest of
the world that positive action benefits the bottom line.
“Tim Jarvis is showing great leadership and courage by re-enacting Shackleton’s journey in an
effort to highlight the impact of emissions created elsewhere on the Antarctic,” Manchester
said.
“My challenge to Australian business is to show the same courage and leadership in addressing
the very real threat that climate change has on our ability to operate and these business men
and women have the opportunity to gather with like-minded leaders to address this pressing
issue at the Shackleton Epic Leadership Round Table,” Manchester added.
As Shackleton Epic’s conservation partner, Fauna and Flora International (FFI), the world’s
longest established international conservation body and registered charity, is the beneficiary
of the Shackleton Epic Leadership Round Table. FFI’s Patron is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,
and Sir David Attenborough, Professor David Bellamy, Dame Judi Dench, Stephen Fry and Rove
McManus are among its Vice Presidents.
Also participating in the announcement of the Shackleton Epic Leadership Round Table was
Mark Loane, legendary Australian Wallaby Captain and one of Australia’s leading
ophthalmologists and philanthropists.
The Shackleton Epic Leadership Round Table will convene in April 2013. Further information
about Shackleton Epic and the Leadership Round Table can be found at
www.shackletonepic.com or by contacting convener, Ms Kim McKay AO, on (02) 9252 4800 or
via [email protected]
-ends…/3
-3Media contacts:
Simone Bird on 0411 968 326 / [email protected]
Kim McKay on (02) 9252 4800 / [email protected]
Biarta Parnham on (02) 9252 4800 / [email protected]