MARK POLLOCK

EXPLORER, INNOVATOR & COLLABORATION CATALYST

UNBREAKABLE tells the inspirational story of Mark Pollock’s amazing strength and positivity in the face of incredible obstacles throughout his life. Ten years after losing his sight at 22, Mark Pollock became the first blind person to race to the South Pole.  The psychological impact of that success put blindness behind him and he moved on with his life and became engaged to his girlfriend Simone. He also won silver and bronze medals for rowing at the Commonwealth Games.

But three weeks before the wedding, an accident left Mark paralysed from the waist down and threw his life into turmoil once again. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Ross Whitaker this moving, fascinating film – six years in the making – tells the story of Mark’s rehabilitation and his search for ground-breaking cures in the worlds of robotics and science.

In 2010 Mark was left paralysed after falling from a second story window. He is now exploring the frontiers of spinal injury recovery as the world’s leading test pilot of Ekso robotic legs combined with aggressive physical therapy and innovative electrical stimulation.

He shared his story in a passionate and inspiring talk entitled: “Expect Problems as We Explore Possibilities” at TEDx Hollywood

EXPLORER, INNOVATOR & COLLABORATION CATALYST

It is tough to deal with change and uncertainty. Your people won’t do it by chance. With a high-impact catalyst you can help them lead with courage and make it happen. Mark Pollock is that catalyst.

Red Bull UK’s Managing Director describes Mark as “awe-inspiring”. Google’s Head of SMB Sales says that he “…started a conversation about challenging conventional wisdom that is ongoing at Google”.

Acknowledged as an expert in resilience, innovation and collaboration, Mark says “The reason to bring in a speaker is to move the audience emotionally. It can never be about the speaker, rather it must be about engaging the audience to help them achieve more than they thought possible – that is what I aim to do every time.”

With this in mind, Mark has shared his expertise to help people in over 500 organisations worldwide including at Davos, the Web Summit, the World Economic Forum, EG, Wired and TEDx Hollywood.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, described Mark as one of “the most inspiring people I met” after they discussed the ways in which technology is changing how people learn. 

As he explores the intersection where humans and technology collide, Mark is developing a deep insight into human enhancement and performance. Through his Centre for Radical Collaborations he is a catalyst for connecting people across science, technology, venture philanthropy and marketing to fast-track a cure for paralysis.

TESTIMONIALS:

“In the weeks following Mark’s talk I have seen managers’ at LinkedIn reference Mark’s approach to solving complex problems. His talk was inspirational and can be applied in our daily business lives.” – Director, Northern Europe & Growth Markets, LinkedIn

“Having heard many speakers over the years, Mark Pollock stands out when it comes to leading through a crisis. That’s why we invited him to contribute to our global marketing event at Udemy for 4,000 leaders around the world. If you are looking for inspiration and impact, look no further than Mark.”
Vice President EMEA, Udemy.  

“Mark joined our Chief Digital & Technology Officer and 70 senior Digital & Tech leaders to share his story of personal resilience, ambition and collaboration. Our GSK ambition is to unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together and positively impact the lives of over 2.5 billion people and Mark’s ambition and commitment to walk again and create a way for other paralysed people to regain movement, using technology, was a huge inspiration for us in terms of the power of technology and the power of collaboration. Mark spoke with honesty, openness and humour and it was a presentation none of us will ever forget. Thank you, Mark.” – VP CDTO Office, GSK.  

TOPICS:

Adversity and Challenge – resilience and attitude under pressure.
Passion and Leadership – goal setting and leading with passion.
Collaboration and Teamwork – creating and motivating dispersed teams across disciplines and
Innovation and Technology – creating relationships at the intersection where humans and technology collide.