Mark Squirrell “Squiz” OAM
Commando, Humanitarian Aid Worker & Everest Summiteer
Mark “Squiz” Squirrell is a former Australian Special Forces Commando, humanitarian aid leader and Mount Everest summiteer whose extraordinary life experiences deliver unforgettable lessons in resilience, teamwork and performance in extreme environments.
Quick Contact
From car bombings and frontline negotiations to meeting Yasser Arafat and standing on the summit of Mount Everest, Mark “Squiz” Squirrell has lived a life few can imagine — and even fewer can articulate with such impact.
Awarded the coveted Green Beret during his service as a Commando with the Australian Special Forces, Mark developed the discipline, courage and leadership required to perform under the most intense pressure. Driven by a deep desire to make a difference, he transitioned from military service into a career as a Humanitarian Aid Worker, applying his elite skill set to some of the world’s most dangerous and complex environments.
Mark has worked across the globe delivering emergency aid in war zones including Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Gaza and Sri Lanka, as well as responding to major humanitarian crises such as the East Timor conflict, the Nepal earthquake, and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. His work has seen him escort food convoys through active conflict zones, negotiate with armed groups including the Tamil Tigers, and broker agreements with Somali clans to ensure the safe delivery of United Nations food aid.
In 2006, while posted to Nepal during the Maoist insurgency, Mark took leave to undertake one of the world’s most demanding physical and mental challenges — climbing Mount Everest. After a gruelling six-week ascent across glaciers and exposed ridgelines, he raised the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) flag on the summit, helping raise global awareness of hunger and food insecurity.
This extraordinary achievement exemplifies the motivation, habits and adversity skills that define Mark’s life and work — the same principles he now shares with audiences around the world.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Business (Human Resource Management) and is the author of the memoir From Arafat to Everest. In recognition of his service to the international community, he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the 2019 Australia Day Honours List for “service to the international community through humanitarian aid”. He continues to deploy on short-term emergency assignments with the United Nations.
As a keynote speaker, Mark delivers powerful, immersive presentations that place audiences directly into real-world, high-stakes scenarios. Using authentic video footage, photographs and Virtual Reality technology, he challenges teams to think laterally, communicate effectively and make sound decisions under pressure.
Mark delivers keynotes, workshops and team-building experiences designed to elevate workplace performance, resilience and leadership. His presentations are gripping, practical and deeply human — guaranteeing a high-impact experience your audience will never forget.
Video
Topics
Extreme Leadership
This session focuses on the importance of making informed and early decisions in order to take control of high pressure and fluid circumstances. There are also tips and ideas that frontline and strategic leaders can take back to the workplace to build the teams they lead and motivate them to reach new heights.
Key Takeaways:
- Decision making under pressure
- The importance of the team
- Building relationships in advance of a crisis
Strategic Thinking
This session reveals how Squiz was motivated to step outside of his “Job Description” to climb Everest in order to raise awareness of global hunger. By doing so he was helping his organisation, the United Nations World Food Programme, achieve one of its strategic goals; to obtain global awareness on behalf of those that endure hunger and poverty.
Key Takeaways:
- The importance of shifting from tactical/operational goals to strategic focus
- Inspiring your team to think big and tackle big goals with confidence
- Creating the right mindset for adversity
Virtual Reality Experience
Experience first-hand the challenges and rewards of working in war zones and climbing Everest with this unique visual stimulation. Your team will literally be taken on a humanitarian mission into the Gaza Strip to experience first-hand an authentic, high-pressure situation that demands excellence in decision making, teamwork and leadership. They will also experience the joys of climbing to the summit of Mount Everest, inspiring them to go to new heights.
Key Takeaways:
- Decision making under pressure
- Maximising the strength of your team and wider network
- Inspiration to strive hard to achieve big goals
Building Resilience and Decision Making Under Pressure
This session reveals the proven strategies that enable success when dealing with adversity, high pressure and complex work environments. It will motivate your team to dive in when things begin to get challenging and allow your organisation to succeed when others are pulling back.
Key Takeaways:
- Challenge/Change/Difficulty are opportunities to be exploited
- Early and informed decisions allow you take charge of the crisis
- No one ever loses as long as the experience is framed as a learning experience
Safety and Risk Management
Squiz has managed the safety of personnel and operations in some of the world’s most high risk and fluid work environments, the battlefield! The mindset and mitigation strategies that he has employed have given him the confidence to go back into these environments over decades and face up to the inevitable obstacles found on Mt Everest. This storyline provides a perfect example of how high-risk environments can be successfully navigated.
Key Takeaways:
- Maintaining a focus on safety and risk management for individuals and/or leaders
- Managing fatigue and complacency
- The importance of the team, communication and clear thinking in crisis
