Jesse epitomises achievement and bravery in the face of adversity. Born severely sight impaired and now blind he was advised as a child he may never be able to read or write. However, through his attitude, determination and ingenuity he has become an elite rock climber. Best known for his ascent of The Old Man of Hoy, for conquering previously unclimbed peaks in Arctic Greenland and as a world class competition climber, he has also excelled in the academic and corporate spheres. He holds a doctorate in Materials Chemistry, is passionate about the environment and clean energy and holds a senior role in a global hydrogen fuel cell company enabling decarbonisation throughout society.
Jesse’s talks allow him to share the mindset and mental tools which underpin his numerous achievements, from managing fear, overcoming obstacles through ingenuity and dealing with crisis in hostile environments. He deftly balances humour and harrowing anecdotes with keen insight into performance, diversity, teamwork and sustainability from a unique viewpoint. While he is too modest to admit it, his achievements and outlook in the face of his disability are hugely inspiring and the fact that he has achieved such success in both the sporting and corporate worlds allows him to understand and relate the key attributes which underpin success universally.
If you are interested in having Jesse speak at your event, please get in touch via the contact form.
Testimonials
“We asked Jesse to share his story with our employee resource group focused on disabilities. His talk was captivating and inspirational. Jesse does a great job of bringing the listener along for the climb, describing the challenges and problem solving he uses to achieve his goals. We received lots of enthusiastic praise from our members for booking Jesse.
Joe Blandino – Director of Quality Assurance, U. S. Steel
“Jesse was a joy to work with and delivered an emotional, enlightening and focused keynote speech which challenged our people in the way that they lead. His climbing partnership with Molly was a particular highlight that the audience connected with and which delivered on our values of ‘humanity’ and ‘together’ as well as aligning to the event’s theme of ‘Believe in People’.”
Nigel Daly – Lead for Leadership Culture and Strategy, Ministry of Justice
“Jesse epitomized our theme of ‘Culture, Collaboration, and Change’ at our summer event. His speech was truly fantastic, engaging everyone in the room during the Q&A session. What made it even more special was that he spent considerable time chatting with the team afterward. The feedback from the attendees consistently described his presentation as ‘AMAZING.’ Inspired by Jesse’s Greenland expedition, one of our managers plans to implement his approach of sharing responsibilities within the team. Jesse’s phenomenal achievements in the face of adversity left us all inspired and motivated. His quote, ‘The most important thing is the bravery to try,’ will continue to resonate with me.” A true legend!
Hazel Pattison & Sara Jones – Mobile Operations, BT
“Jesse presented his journey into free climbing and his story of conquering some of the global extreme climbs to our World Class Programme athletes on their induction to the Podium Potential Pathway squad. His inspiring talk touched on managing the mental demands of high performance, not letting adversity stop you from doing what you enjoy, and how even the narrowest of handholds brings you closer towards achieving your goals. He kept the room enthralled and amazed in equal measure as his story is of someone who has a disability that make his achievements even more incredible, but does not let it hold him back from doing what he sets out to do”.
David Hamer – Head of Performance Pathways, British Equestrian.
“Your talk was a stand out of the show and you as a person just radiated great vibes!”
Danny Bent – National Outdoor Expo 2022.
“Jesse’s talk stands out as one of the highlights of our event. An ordinary man with an extraordinary story, he is so genuine, so remarkable yet so humble. He did a great job understanding our audience and was a dream to work with throughout the event. Jesse truly is an inspiration to us all in all parts of our lives. Our audience was captivated by his amazing story, I could not recommend him enough.”
Elaine Lynch – Senior Marketing Manager, BT.
Jesse Dufton Climbing Blind 