John Volanthen, Inspirational Speaker

John Volanthen, Inspirational Speaker

ERA is proud to announce that this year’s inspirational speaker is John Volanthen, the exploratory diver who played a leading role in the 2018 Thailand cave rescue.

Volanthen is a world record-holding British cave diver who has been involved in cave exploration and rescue for more than two decades. He began caving at the age of 14 and has been at the forefront of cave exploration ever since. In 2018, he played a key role in the Tham Luang Thailand cave rescue and was named one of Time magazine’s ‘Heroes of the Year’. The courageous mission was chronicled in the National Geographic documentary The Rescue, as well as the book Thirteen Lessons That Saved Thirteen Lives: The Thai Cave Rescue and the critically-acclaimed Hollywood film Thirteen Lives, in which Volanthen is played by Colin Farrell.

In addition to Tham Luang, Volanthen has been involved in a number of other search, rescue and recovery incidents around the world and has been awarded the George Medal for bravery. He is one of only two people to have been awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold medals by the Royal Humane society for his efforts.

Volanthen takes his audiences on an unforgettable journey deep into the Tham Luang caves of Thailand as he shares lessons that are key to performing in high-pressure situations and reveals how those principles can be applied by any organisation working toward its goals.