Holly Budge

Holly Budge is an inspirational female motivational speaker, adventurer and leader who is widely recognised for pushing the limits of what is possible. Best known as the first woman to skydive over Mount Everest, Holly has built a remarkable career defined by courage, determination and a willingness to take calculated risks. Her extraordinary achievements in some of the world’s most extreme environments provide the foundation for her engaging keynote talks, where she translates powerful personal experiences into meaningful lessons about leadership, resilience and confidence. Passionate about empowering women to challenge perceived limits, Holly inspires audiences to step outside their comfort zones and embrace bold opportunities for growth.

Holly’s career began in the early stages of the adventure sports industry when she worked as a skydiving camera operator. Filming parachutists in mid-air required precision, composure and bravery, qualities that quickly became central to her identity as an adventurer. Her early experiences laid the groundwork for a series of groundbreaking expeditions, including her historic skydive over Mount Everest, jumping from 29,500 feet and landing on the highest landing zone on Earth. Soon after, she travelled to Mongolia to compete in the world’s longest and toughest horse race across the remote steppe. Riding semi-wild horses across 1000km over nine demanding days, Holly demonstrated exceptional endurance and determination while setting the Guinness World Record for the world’s longest horse race. In 2017, Holly sought extreme adventure once again and endured a gruelling 47 days about 500m on Mount Everest, climbing the infamous north side in a two-person team.

Beyond these extraordinary physical feats, Holly has also devoted her work to meaningful social impact. She founded the charity How Many Elephants to support the protection of African elephants and champion the work of female wildlife rangers on the front lines of conservation. Continuing her pursuit of extreme challenges, she later climbed the north side of Mount Everest as part of a two-person team, spending more than six weeks on the mountain in harsh conditions. Holly is also a member of the Explorers Club and the founder of World Female Ranger Week, an initiative that raises global awareness of the vital role female wildlife rangers play in conservation. Her insights have been featured across major media outlets, including Forbes, Woman’s Hour, Sky News and Marie Claire, and she has received recognition such as the Gold Stevie Award for Thought Leader of the Year in Non-Profit and Female Innovator of the Year in Non-Profit. She was also listed in the WISE100 ‘Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise’.

As a female motivational speaker, Holly Budge brings a powerful and authentic voice to conversations around leadership, courage and opportunity. Drawing on her experiences in high-risk environments, she helps organisations rethink how they approach uncertainty, demonstrating how bold but thoughtful decision-making can unlock extraordinary outcomes. Her talks particularly resonate with audiences looking to empower women in leadership and encourage greater confidence in taking initiative. Having delivered keynote speeches for organisations including J.P. Morgan, Shell, British Airways, McKinsey and The North Face, Holly equips audiences with practical strategies to lead with confidence, embrace challenges and transform fear into progress.