Alex Alley

Multiple World Record and World Champion sailor, co-author of Boat to Boardroom and leading speaker, Alex Alley has achieved the extraordinary. With a story of true determination, resilience and hard work, Alex takes his experience from the ocean and turns it into an inspirational talk that all can take encouragement from.

Alex has always been an incredibly competitive individual, starting from a young age, Alex taught himself how to sail in mirror dinghies. Later on in his life, he got the taste of what it feels like to be on the open water with the wind propelling the boat to victory, he gained this experience from helping out on other boats in the Yacht racing club. It was very clear that his life was destined to be on the water.

Upon finishing school, Alex was able to progress his education and moved to the prestigious University of Southampton to study Yacht Design. He did this to expand his knowledge of both the craft and to be closer to one of the homes of Yacht racing. During his time at University - he spent as much time as possible on the open water, helping out on other boats to gain more experience.

After all of his hard work and dedication to the sport, Alex was lucky enough to end up on the team chosen to represent England in an International Team Competition based out of Ireland. His life changed when the convoy of three boats, won the competition. During his speeches, you'll find that there is a very subtle link that he creates to showcase how yachting is almost like a business.

One of the most memorable moments of Alex’s career was his mission to break the Solo Non-Stop Around the World record, travelling from the UK to the Atlantic in a crowd-funded Class 40 race yacht. After 75 days alone at sea, Alex was forced to abandon the record attempt 1000 miles south of Australia in the middle of the Southern Ocean. He had pushed himself and the boat to the limit, and some of his equipment was failing him. However, Alex never gave up. He was able to rebuild his autopilot and watermaker to keep going. 

A refreshing take on the typical business speaker, Alex can bring metaphors to the table which make his presentations humorous and engaging. With a strong focus on teamwork and dedication, he is fantastic for a variety of events. Alex has been applauded for his work as a motivational speaker, his innovative content marks him as a truly inspirational business speaker and his success in the world of business motivation speaking has brought him before some of the most prominent senior members and managers of businesses in the UK.

While Alex is a fantastic motivational speaker, he is also a peak performance speaker, focusing on pushing yourself to the limit and putting everything on the line, something which is common in the world of boat racing.

“Alex has the most extraordinary leadership skills. He has an innate way of understanding what is required to motivate the team at any given moment with his unending optimism and energy. Alex has my enormous respect. I have lead teams and facilitated large groups and have never seen it done better."
Sharon Callaghan - Manager British Airways Executive Club

"(Alex’s) presentation style is impressive, a mix of adventure stories, hardship, success, setback and the one over riding message that you should never, ever, give up. Alex was an inspiration to our team, and whatever challenges we face there was motivation and techniques to help succeed for all of us."
John Mobly - Managing Director, Newnet plc

"Alex was an enthusiastic and engaging speaker, bringing to life the trials and tribulations of the Global Challenge. His talk was very interesting with some great stories and anecdotes. Moreover, he made it relevant to our business need with the theme of "challenge" cleverly interwoven into his talk. The group found him very motivational and took away some useful learning’s. A terrific speaker who can be highly recommended."Commercial Analytics Team, GSK

“Excellent yet again. This is the second time I have heard Alex speak, and it is still just as impressive and the lessons are still just as powerful. Again the audience has left inspired and fired up”  – Financial Director, Scottish Power, Centrica/BG Group

“I want to thank you for an excellent contribution to the (Leaders) Forum workshop last week. The amount of questions at the end of your talk and the rest of the evening shows how much you provoked thinking and how enjoyable it was.
The workshop was a great success as evidenced by feedback from the CD leaders themselves, both verbal and in the ratings at the end. You contributed significantly to this success & we really appreciate your efforts to make this a success. The feedback from your session was very positive and I think everyone will remember your high sea adventures for a long time (and also apply your principles).”  – Anne Brindley, CD Leaders Professional Development, AstraZeneca

“Alex has the most extraordinary leadership skills. He has an innate way of understanding what is required to motivate the team at any given moment with his unending optimism and energy. Alex has my enormous respect. I have lead teams and facilitated large groups and have never seen it done better.”  – Sharon Callaghan, Manager British Airways Executive Club

“(Alex’s) presentation style is impressive, a mix of adventure stories, hardship, success, setback and the one overriding message that you should never, ever, give up. Alex was an inspiration to our team, and whatever challenges we face there was motivation and techniques to help succeed for all of us.”  – John Mobly, Managing Director, Newnet plc

“Alex was an enthusiastic and engaging speaker, bringing to life the trials and tribulations of the Global Challenge. His talk was very interesting with some great stories and anecdotes. Moreover, he made it relevant to our business need with the theme of “challenge” cleverly interwoven into his talk. The group found him very motivational and took away some useful learnings. A terrific speaker who can be highly recommended.”  – Commercial Analytics Team, GSK

“Alex showed a special combination of practical skills, teaching ability and above all calmness under pressure when leading his team through tough conditions. I would recommend him to anyone who is seeking an exceptional person to help develop leadership and motivational skills as well of course his undoubted ability in a sailing boat.”  – Rob Packham, Deputy Director General, National Crime Squad

“Probably the most motivated and positive person I have ever met.”  – James Smith, Supply Chain Integration Project Manager, Unilever UK Foods

“What an excellent presentation. Alex was confident, interesting and as inspirational as the subject he was presenting. He captured the attention of the audience with his warm personality and held it throughout; a truly motivational speaker”  – Sue Quinnan, Senior Intelligence Officer, HM Revenue and Customs