Khoo Swee Chiow is an adventurer, inspirational speaker, author, photographer and adventure consultant. He was the first South East Asian and fourth person in the world to complete the 'Explorer's Grand Slam', that is, to trek through the North and South poles and to climb each of the Seven Summits.
Mr Khoo has organised over 120 adventure and mountaineering expeditions since 1989. He helps people to achieve their dreams and organisations to foster team spirit. Popular destinations for his expeditions include Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Aconcagua in Argentina, the Kinabalu, Rinjani and Fansipan peaks in Southeast Asia and the 6000m peaks in Nepal. He also coordinates the Everest Base Camp trek.
Current work
Mr Khoo also organises customised trips, which include climbing Mt Everest, climbing the Seven Summits, going to the South and North Poles and Northern Light viewing.
Previous experience
Volunteer: A volunteer with CARE (Children-At-Risk Empowerment Association), Mr Khoo has been heavily involved in charity initiatives. He has worked on educational projects with Shuqun Primary School, Hougang Primary School, Edgefield Primary School and Springfield Secondary School. He also worked with the National Youth Achievement Award Council to stage exhibitions, book launches and seminars about adventure and leadership for young people. He was involved in the 2001 Extreme North Charity Mission, which raised $255, 000 for intellectually disabled children and tetraplegics, and also the Riding For Life event, which raised $50, 000 for Action for Aids.
Awards: Mr Khoo has twice received the Singapore National Youth Award for Sports and Adventure; once in 1998 as part of a team and in 2002 as an individual. He has also received an Excellence Award from the Totalisator Board (team achievement, 1998).
Author: Mr Khoo is author of five books, all published by Angsana Books, which detail his adventuring experiences; Journeys to the Ends of the Earth (2003), Singapore to Beijing on a Bike (2007), World's Longest Journey on Skates (2009) Across the Philippines in a Kayak (2012) and KR: the Ultimate Peak (2015).
Presentations: In more than 420 talks, Mr Khoo has presented to organisations ranging from schools to multinational corporations, to audiences ranging from CEOs to front-line staff. His sessions have been attended by more than 107, 000 people. He uses his powerful first hand experiences from organising high-risk expeditions and surviving in the most remote and hostile parts of the world to discuss the importance of courage, vision, leadership, teamwork and life-long learning.
Talking Points
Swee Chiow is very inspiring. He shares his experience and paints a vivid picture on how he achieves his dreams. It's a story of leadership, commitment and teamwork. Success is taking one st ... keep reading See Chin Teik, VP, Personal Systems Group, Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific
Swee Chiow's amazing journey was inspirational learning for us. I was totally mesmerized by his bravery, passion and boundless energy to always want to attempt the impossible. He spoke with a deep sense of humility and honesty of his incredible achievements. I left feeling great, thinking that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.
Swee Chiow delivers an inspirational but extremely well targeted presentation. He is able to incorporate the specific interests of his audience into the flow of his presentation and link the learning from his adventures into application for the business environment.
Swee Chiow is an excellent living example of daring to dream. He has the guts, grit and gumption to pursue his dream, overcoming all odds and moving on to new challenges. He is an example of the CAN-DO spirit.
Business, like life itself, is a series of challenges and targets. Swee Chiow embodies how determination and enthusiasm can reduce the toughest of goals into a realistic objective: a valuable lesson for business ... and life.
Swee Chiow's determination, courage, focus and passion shine through in his journey to achieve his dreams. His talk was highly captivating, realistic and truly an inspiration for many for the challenges to come.
I will never forget Swee's performance in front of 400 people. His story is fantastic and the analogies for us in term of experiences were really valuable to reinforce our best practices. But also his simplicity has been really appreciated. Great moment of motivation and inspiration!
Swee Chiow's approach to goal setting and a never-give-up attitude resonates through all areas of both business and personal life. His passion and sometimes humorous approach made you realise how intertwined they both are and how reliant they are on each other. A truly inspirational speaker and person and I look forward to watching him excel at his next adventure.
