Motivational Speaker: Dr. Thimo L. Sommerfeld

Thimo Sommerfeld is a Managing Director of Top Executive Development, an executive development firm with offices in London and Munich, and has been a supervisory board member of a number of European multi-national companies. He has worked with clients all over Europe and the US for many years.  From February to May 2004, Thimo flew around the world to successfully climb Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua and Mount Everest, the year when more people died on Everest than ever since Jon Krakauer wrote his best-seller “Into Thin Air”.

Thimo is an Everest climber with one of the broadest business experience in the world: as a consultant (with McKinsey & Company), financial investor (he invested more than USD 108mn for US private equity investor Warburg Pincus), founder, CEO and supervisory board member. His presentations provide deep insights in topics such as goal-setting, leadership, high-performing teams, motivation, and the nature of success. Depending on the purpose of his presentation, you may hear a needle drop when he talks about the Everest summit push or the audience burst out with energy and enthusiasm when he helps overcoming organizational inertia.  There are few Everest motivational speakers that able to analytically dissect business and mountaineering and then re-synthesize it without missing out on thrill and entertainment.

Clients on his Everest presentation and potential references have been Mahle Group, Voith Paper, RWE Dea and Deutsche Bank. Thimo may give Everest speeches in English, German, Swiss German, French, Spanish and Italian.

Leadership, Teamwork and Everest

The Occasion: On May 23, 2004, Thimo Sommerfeld, Managing Director with Top Executive Development and head of the firm’s German office, reached the summit of Mount Everest (8850m) from the exposed Tibetan side.  He was the 25th German national to stand on the highest mountain in the world.  Before summit success, a well-organized mountaineering expedition had besieged Everest for two months.  More than 20 sherpas supported the expedition and 180 yaks had carried food and equipment up to Advanced Base Camp at 6400m. The year 2004 will be known for its deadly events:  Seven climbers died in snow storms before the successful expeditions passed their bodies high on Everest in late May.  Since Jon Krakauer wrote his famous book (“Into Thin Air”) in 1996, not nearly as many climbers were killed in one season.

The Presentation: Top Executive Development is dedicated to building client competences through trainings, executive workshops and individual coaching.  The firm pursues an analytical and value-oriented approach.  Top Executive Development trainers have extensive own executive experience – Thimo Sommerfeld has been a supervisory board member with five European companies before co-founding the firm.

The summit of Mount Everest is an extreme goal that has been on many climbers’ minds decades before they actually set out for the summit.  The numerous best-sellers about Everest bear testimony to the fascination this mountain exerts on climbers and non-climbers alike.  Climbing Everest involves a number of high risks and requires good planning and organization, mutual cooperation, discipline and superior capabilities of the participants.

Thimo Sommerfeld’s presentation over 45-90 min, as requested, compares mountaineering and business life without missing out on thrill and amusing entertainment.  In its standard version, the presentation contains four parts:

1. On the way to Everest Base Camp, the expedition passed through Nepal and Tibet. The expedition members are introduced and the complex process of acclimatization begins.

2. In the two lower camps, relationships between the expedition members develop. Discussing the challenges and the hostile environment at high altitude is important for understanding the psychological and physical pressure climbers experience. During the expedition, events required clear leadership and perilous decisions, team members developed an intense relationship and took on responsibilities for the group: Most observations and experiences regarding leadership and teamwork are discussed in this second part.

3. The summit push over seven days includes a short discussion of the tragic events in May 2004 and is illustrated with unique pictures of the higher parts of Mount Everest.

4. Q&A session, as requested Leadership and teamwork may be key topics, in particular in the second part of the presentation. In addition, Mr. Sommerfeld could address further topics, e.g.:  Previous/planned client programs

Roles and responsibilities:  Some business professionals are tempted to overstep own boundaries.  If you did on Everest, the consequences would be severe.

Conflicts-of-interest management:  One of the most sensitive and intellectually stimulating issues in high-altitude climbing and business are conflicts of interest:  Above 8000m, climbers are not supposed to help each other in danger and have, as a consequence, various conflicts of interest.  So have business executives.

Work-life balancing:  It is easy to lose sight of life when working or training hard.

Success and failure:  When you turn around in bad weather right before Everest summit have you failed?  When you achieve your budget through meaningful windfall sales have you succeeded?

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