Resilience is built long before it is ever tested.
David Knoff is an Antarctic Expedition Leader, Author, and leadership expert who specialises in remote leadership, hostile environment diplomacy, and resilience.
David's international career has taken him across the globe with experiences as an officer in the Australian Army, diplomatic postings in Pakistan and Iraq, and most recently with the Australian Antarctic Program. In 2019, David was given a leadership challenge unlike no other in modern history, as the Station Leader at Davis Station, Antarctica, he was leading a team of just 24 through the isolation of an Antarctic winter when the COVID-19 Pandemic broke out. The impact of the pandemic on Antarctic operations saw David's team without a ride home as planned and facing one of the longest periods of isolation in modern Antarctic History.
David's book, '537 Days of Winter: Resilience, Endurance and Humanity while stranded in Antarctica during the Pandemic' tells the story of what it was like to lead a team through unprecedented uncertainty and how to find resilience in the most extreme environments.
Combining his experiences from warzones and his six different Antarctic expeditions, David now works as a professional speaker to help others learn from his experiences in order to further their own knowledge of leadership in extreme situations. David's unique story also helps organisations and individuals understand the importance of environmental awareness and works with schools and corporations to better understand humanity's impact on climate and the planets most remote wilderness in Antarctica.
Previous Experience:
In 2007, as a junior Officer in the Australian Army, David served in the Solomon Islands which began a lifelong career in international relations. Following this, David began working with Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was soon overseas on his first Diplomatic posting to the Australian High Commission, Islamabad, at the height of the international coalitions efforts to bring stability and peace to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
It was here that David saw a different side of conflict and humanity as the security and political climate of the region changed daily and where certainty was rarely part of daily life. David then went on to work as part of the international coalition to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq. Here, David worked in a dynamic and hostile environment and learned the value of empowering remote leaders and teams in unpredictable circumstances and under constant change.
Leaving diplomacy aside, David began working with the Australian Antarctic program in 2019 as the Station Leader at Davis Research Station where he led the team through an extended stay on the ice as the COVID-19 Pandemic delayed their return home. Following this, David continued to lead Antarctic expeditions to all four stations operated by the Australian Antarctic Program and over two Antarctic summers from 2022-2024 he led the Denman Terrestrial Campaign, a dedicated scientific expedition to study the Denman Glacier and its surround. This entailed setting up Australian largest ever deep field camp and managing the team in the most inhospitable region on Earth.
Talking Points
537 Days of Winter
What is it like to lead an Antarctic expedition for 537 days, including nearly an entire year without resupply, whilst watching a global pandemic unfold from afar?537 Days of Winter
The incredible story of how David and his team endured the harsh Antarctic environment and the complex human experience of facing uncertainty and adversity as the days, weeks, and months ticked by and what it was like to return to a changed world. From an extended stay in Antarctica, a complex and daring medical evacuation and finally a shipboard fire just days away from returning home pushed everyone to the limits of human resilience. David's core keynote 537 Days of Winter is a story unlike any other in modern Antarctic history.
Key Takeaways:
- Mental Health/Resilience: How to maintain positive mindset and mental health in the most extreme situations when faced with overwhelming uncertainty.
- Leadership: Putting your ego aside and the team first, how leaders shape the mindset of their teams and set the course. How understanding the motivations and goals of individuals can produce group success.
Discover Antarctica: Science and Climate
What’s it like to voyage to the ends of the Earth to the last great wilderness? And more importantly, why is it so crucial to our understanding of Earth’s climate that we continue to study the Antarctic. Discover Antarctica: Science and Climate
Drawing on the experience of his six different Antarctic expeditions, David talks about the cutting edge science being undertaken across the continent by many nations to further humanities understanding of climate change, from glaciers and ice shelfs to Antarctic sea-ice and the unique animal species that live there.
Key Takeaways:
- Understanding Antarctica’s role in global climate and the impact of change.
- Overview of scientific work conduced in Antarctic to study glaciers, sea-ice and wildlife.
- What’s it like to live in the most inhospitable locations on Earth? How to scientific teams work in the extreme cold and isolated locations of Antarctica.
Leading through Adversity (Keynote or Workshop)
Drawing on experiences from warzones and Antarctica, this is a more focused session aimed at established and emerging leaders. Leading through Adversity (Keynote or Workshop)
Stripping back the layers of what it means to be a modern leader, David explores the different styles of leadership he blends for the situations faced in extreme conditions and helps others learn from his own mistakes and experiences. It doesn’t matter if you’re leading a business, sporting team, volunteer sports club or Antarctic expedition, the core elements of leadership remain the same.
Key Takeaways:
- Toolkit for leaders to show you: How to live with the team you lead. Where do you draw the line between leading and being part of the team. How to lead on your bad days, and how to manage your own emotions and ego whilst putting your team first.
Crisis Management (Workshop or Keynote)
Drawing on his years in global conflict zones and in Antarctica, David outlines how to prepare yourself individually and as a team for critical incident response. Using real-life case studies and examples from his own experience, David outlines his approach to leadership in a crisis and how to maintain teamwork and operational focus even when all hope seems lost and your team are turning to you for answers you don't have. Ideal for organisations involved in emergency response, use of force, and critical incident response.Crisis Management (Workshop or Keynote)
Key Takeaways:
- How to prepare for the worst: Planning tools and processes to ensure you and your team are ready for anything.
- Reacting and adapting: How to remain flexible and adaptable in the chaos of a crisis or emergency situation.
- Mindset: How leaders can remain calm and in control during a crisis to ensure the team can emerge successful on the other side.
MC and Moderator
From large international audiences to small intimate panels and workshops, David's experience in foreign affairs, international security, environment and science makes for an engaging and entertaining host in a variety of forums and cultural settings.
MC and Moderator
Video
David Knoff | Antarctic Expedition Leader, Adventurer, Isolation & Resilience Expert
David Knoff is an Antarctic Expedition Leader, Author, and leadership expert who specialises in remote leadership, hostile environment diplomacy, and resilience.500 Days in Antarctica | Australian Antarctic Program | Saxton Speakers
Looking back on a 2020-21 #Antarctic season like no other, we salute the #courage and #resilience of our expeditioners and their families. When they left Australia there was no #COVID19. Now they return to a changed world.David Knoff's 537 Days of Winter presentation was outstanding. The feedback from the Richmond AFLW players and staff was amazing, we all thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and learnings and ... keep reading Richmond Football Club
David's insights and stories were so engaging and valuable.
Interesting, relatable.the team absolutely loved it.
Insightful. Your experience leading teams through adversity, challenges and change at Davis Station during the 2019/20 expedition including practical examples of manage and lead was high impactful and sparked a great deal of positive feedback from our teams. David's insights on mindfulness and leading worked perfectly with other sessions we've run.
Incredibleinspirationalamazing!
David is a highly engaging speaker with such a unique and interesting story! He adapted key messages to match the needs of our current business challenges and our audience, which meant the session resonated really well. I would highly recommend David as a speaker for any organisation but particularly those focussed on leadership and resilience.
Dave's presentation was well received and he was incredibly personable and professional. There were heaps of questions from the audience and he answered them easily. He had the shift before lunch and it had been a long day so he engaged the audience with his stories and presentation.
Friendly, relatable and easy to work with. An impactful message about resilience that the audience got a great deal from.
