LITTLE over a week after completing a gruelling Arctic trek a modern-day adventurer will be in the North-East this week explaining how his polar adventures can translate to the demands of the business world.

Pen Hadow will address delegates at the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s annual conference, Inspired6, on Thursday.

Mr Hadow was part of a threestrong team that finished a 73-day trek last Wednesday, measuring the thickness of floating sea ice.

The data they collected will be used by scientists studying the impact of global warming in the region.

Mr Hadow has first-hand experience of the challenges entrepreneurs face, having been an executive with the IMG sports organisation and, for the past decade, running his own Polar Travel Company enterprise.

Conference organisers said that securing Mr Hadow for Inspired6 – The Power of Positive Thinking – was a major coup for the forum, as he has previously spoken at environmental events alongside Prince Charles and US politician Al Gore.

Forum chief executive Carole Beverley said: “Pen Hadow is a superb addition to what is already an influential and inspirational set of guest speakers.

“I know that the tenacious stories behind his extraordinary expeditions, as well as his ability to offer insights into how we can all improve our business performance, will make him extremely popular with delegates.”

In 2003, Mr Hadow became the first person to trek solo and without support from Canada to the geographic North Pole. The expedition was considered by many polar experts to be impossible, yet Mr Hadow completed the 480-mile route unsupported.

Only eight months later, he became the first Briton to trek, without re-supply, to both Poles – raising £280,000 for the restoration and cataloguing of items in the Royal Geographical Society’s polar heritage collection.

Today, he is a nationally renowned campaigner and spokesman on climate change issues, citing his own experiences in the extreme conditions of the North Pole.

Other guest speakers at Thursday’s event, at the Newcastle Gateshead Hilton Hotel, include Martin Lightbody, chief executive of Finsbury Food Group, financial and Internet entrepreneur Julie Meyer, Daisy Communications chief executive Matthew Riley and Dragons’ Den star and “Business Angel” Richard Farleigh.

The conference is followed by a dinner and awards ceremony, with guest speaker Perry McCarthy – the original Top Gear cult hero, The Stig.

The conference runs from 10am to 5.30pm, with dinner and awards from 7pm to 10.30pm. To book a place, or for further information, contact the forum on 0870-850-2233 or email info@entrepreneursforum.net