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Presentations & testimonials

Most popular presentation * Custom content

Cathy O’Dowd’s presentations combine adventure, drama, failure and success, sharing with you lessons learnt from one of the world’s most spectacular challenges: Everest.

Cathy weaves together the literal adventure of the climb and the metaphorical challenge of reaching for the peak of achievement, sharing her stories of challenge, adventure, passion for life and the reality of death. Her inspirational keynotes focus on self-motivation, risk-assessment, team dynamics, leadership, and tackling seemingly overwhelming challenges.

Cathy is a natural story-teller and her passionate delivery produces an inspirational tale – dramatic, memorable and packed with metaphors pertinent to business. All presentations are generously illustrated with dramatic photographs from the mountain.


“The whole audience was really impressed and we received only the best feedback from our partners.” SEE Partner Development Manager, Sun Microsystems

Cathy’s most popular presentation: Reach for the heights!

Team dynamics and leadership on the slopes of the world’s highest mountain.

Everest: at 8850 metres high, this is literally the world’s biggest challenge – 3 1/2 vertical kilometres of rock, ice and snow. Of the climbers who tackle this challenge, 75% will fail, one in a hundred will die.

What makes the mountain so difficult? The obvious answers are crevasses, avalanches, blizzards. However, the most dangerous thing you will ever encounter on Everest is people: yourself, your team-mates.

Reach for the heights! draws on the lessons Cathy O’Dowd learnt from her first Everest expedition. With the focus on finances and logistics, human dynamic came a pitiful last. The team collapsed into conflict from the first day, and three members resigned before even reaching the foot of Everest.

Cathy and her team-mates discovered that there are hidden obstacles that must be met before the climbing can start, and throughout the expedition. And there are hidden tools that allow the successful 25% to triumph over the rest.

There are three hidden obstacles as fierce as any storm:

  • Complacency: which so easily destroys the achievement of a seemingly successful team. A climber ignores the safety procedures for two minutes and slips on the slick ice – to his death.
  • Stress: caught in tiny tents for a week by bad weather, the team threatens to collapse over disputes about who does the cooking.
  • Fear: a final knife-edge ridge, with a 6000 foot drop. We have to technical competence to climb it, but can we overcome the voices of fear in our heads?

There are six key tools the successful teams use to meet the challenges of the mountain:

  • One team, one aim
  • Passion for the process
  • Courage to make your own choices
  • Determination in the face of disaster
  • Fully integrate all talent within the team
  • Motivation through recognition

“Effective, entertaining & inspiring” Nokia
“The standing ovation and feedback we received was incredible” Distribution Solutions
“Great, fantastic, and impressive presentation” Sun Microsystems


“Evaluated to 99% satisfaction” IBM


Custom Content

In a wide range of cases, the content of Cathy’s presentations are tailored to meet the specific requirements of particular clients and events. This will be done through a briefing call before the conference.

“Awsome performance …You captured the audience, passed the messages perfectly according to BSI brief (I could see your speech in front of me, with all modifications…..just splendid), made us cry. To tell you that it was highly professional, it would not be enough.” BSI, LUGANO
“Thank you not only for great delivery of a great story but more importantly for interpreting my brief so well and aligning your message to our conference theme.” Royal Bank of Scotland Group, BRIGHTON
“Although the adventures you experienced are of a total different nature than our business, you managed to turn it in such a way that every single person present was able to take out the points to his/her interest and could apply it to his/her job, attitude, way of thinking…. And it fitted in the Kyphon spirit perfectly.” Kyphon Europe, HEIDELBERG
“The content was perfect and exactly what I expected … You had many symbols we were able to use afterwards in the workshop or even in the future.” IMG AG, OEHNINGEN

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