Speaker of the day: Sarah Marquis — Leadership & Management

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Languages spoken by the speaker:

• French
• English

Sarah Marquis gives keynote conferences across French-speaking Switzerland (Geneva, Lausanne, Vaud, Neuchâtel…) and internationally.

A Passion for Adventure and a Spartan Lifestyle

Drawn to travel from a very young age, young Sarah Marquis developed an unquenchable thirst for adventure. After trying horseback riding and canoeing, she chose long-distance walking to thrive… and discover herself. Her modus operandi: walking tens of kilometers each day with a backpack or a small trolley for her gear, and pitching a tent each evening to spend the night.

Memorable Journeys, Thrilling Adventures… But Not Without Danger!

In 2010, she trekked across vast landscapes from Siberia to Australia via Mongolia, the Gobi Desert, China, Laos, and Thailand. She had to endure temperatures of -33 degrees Celsius, sandstorms, hostile night encounters with Mongolian horsemen, nights hiding in sewers, drug smugglers, bouts of dengue fever, and an arrest by Chinese special forces.

Five years later, the National Geographic Explorer successfully completed her survival expedition in the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia. Over a period of 3 months, from June to September, she traversed the region subsisting on "bush tucker" just like our hunter-gatherer ancestors. During this trek, Sarah survived severe drought, face-to-face encounters with saltwater crocodiles, bushfires, and deadly snakes. She is one of the very few people to have experienced such extreme conditions.

Every obstacle she overcame engraved this core mindset in her: no problem arises without a solution.

25 Years of Exploration and Adventure

• 2000: Crossing of the USA: 4,260 km in 4 months and 6 days between the Canadian and Mexican borders
• 2002: 14,000 km across the Australian Outback
• 2006: 8 months and 7,000 km across the Andes Mountains
• 2010: 3 years of solo walking from Siberia to Australia
• 2013: European Adventurer of the Year
• 2014: Nomination for National Geographic Adventurer of the Year
• 2014: Profile published in The New York Times Magazine
• 2015: 3 months and 750 km of extreme survival in the wildest part of Australia
• 2018: Named by CN Traveller as one of the world's most influential women
• 2018: Solo crossing of unexplored primary rainforests in Tasmania

Key lessons your teams will draw from Sarah Marquis's expeditions:

• Learning to surpass one's limits
• Stepping outside the comfort zone
• Cultivating flexibility
• Building resilience
• How to navigate and move forward into the unknown

Her Publications

• L'aventurière des sables : 14000 km à pied à travers les déserts australiens, Éditions Michel Lafon, 2004
• L'extraordinaire destin de D'Joe: le chien australien de l'aventurière Sarah Marquis, Eucalype, Verbier, 2009
• Sauvage par nature : 3 ans de marche extrême en solitaire de Sibérie en Australie, Michel Lafon, Paris, 2014
• Déserts d'altitude : Du Chili au Machu Picchu, 8 mois à pied sur la Cordillère des Andes, Michel Lafon, Paris, 2015
• Instincts : Trois mois seule à pied, en survie dans l'Ouest sauvage australien, Michel Lafon, Paris, 2016
• J'ai réveillé le tigre, Michel Lafon, Paris, 2018
• La nature dans ma vie, les trucs et astuces d’une aventurière, Michel Lafon, Paris
• À dos d'oiseaux, Michel Lafon, Paris, 2021