Team

Pen Hadow – Founder & CEO, Geo Mission

As the originator, and ongoing Survey Director, Pen provides creative and strategic input into the management of the Catlin Arctic Surveys. He led the first such Survey (2009) on the Arctic Ocean measuring sea ice thickness. In the process he developed a new method of estimating ice thickness, using surface observational techniques (Wadhams, Toberg & Hadow, 2011)

As CEO, he also oversees the strategic development of Geo Mission’s services, including the setting up of new partnerships and research programmes, while managing the business day-to-day.

On May 19, 2003, Pen became the first (and still only) person, to have trekked solo, and without resupply by aircraft, from Canada to the North Geographic Pole – a feat thought by some to have been comparable to making the first solo ascent of Mt Everest. Within 9 months he had gone on to make a journey with a sledging partner, again without resupply by aircraft, from the continental coast of Antarctica, via a new route to the South Geographic Pole.

In 1995, Pen had founded the first guide service to the North and South Poles. In 1997 he organised the first all-women expedition to the North Pole, enabling 20 women with no previous polar experience, from all backgrounds and age groups, to take part in such a pioneering journey.

He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law (University of Exeter, 2003) and an Honorary Doctorate of Science (University of Plymouth, 2009), having read geography at University College London (BA Hons). He was nominated as a ‘Hero of the Environment’ by Time magazine (2009), and won the World Technology Award – Environment (2010). His book ‘Solo: Alone and Unsupported to the North Pole’ was a bestseller in 2004.

Chip Cunliffe – Head of Geo Operations

Chip has project management responsibility for the successful integration of safety, budgetary, operational, scientific, and communication functions across Geo Mission’s programmes. He also manages progress-reporting of our programmes to clients.

He draws on a diverse background, including a decade of planning and leading expeditions worldwide, to enable Geo Mission’s delivery of pioneering, complex, and dynamic scientific exploration programmes in some of the world’s most challenging environments – the Arctic Ocean and Amazonian rainforest.

Chip believes the fundamental principles, underpinning the safety record of the Surveys to date, to be meticulous planning, and the development of trusted relationships with key service partners and suppliers.

Chip’s deep and rigorous commitment to operational safety has led to a pioneering, across-the-board, professionalisation of polar expedition work on sea ice – and his leadership in this field has placed Geo Mission at the forefront of high Arctic expedition management.

Paul Thompson – Head of Programme Partnerships

Paul leads Geo Mission’s work introducing businesses to the emerging opportunities presented by high profile scientific exploration and natural science research programmes. He brings considerable experience to the role, to the benefit of our clients as they look to explore the best ways to secure a return on their investment as title partners and programme sponsors.

Before joining, Paul previously spent eleven years as Sales Director with Sir Chay Blyth’s Challenge Business. This business organised the Global Challenge round-the- world yacht race, with its famously tough route against the prevailing winds and currents.  During this time Paul developed an active sponsor community of more than 150 companies and introduced organisations such as BP, Barclays and LG to the world of sailing sponsorship for the first time.

His has worked in product sales, business development, event sponsorship, and client management across a variety of industries. Early roles included business development positions at Psion and Microsoft, during the heady days of the emergence of the personal computing industry in the 1980’s.

Paul is a fervent believer in the value of well-planned and activated sponsorships, having seen many times the positive results that can be achieved with internal and external audiences.

Tim Cullingford – Science Programme Manager

Tim is responsible for the selection, quality and management of all scientific research facilitated by Geo Mission.

To ensure partners and sponsors can be confident the programmes are independent and authoritative, Tim was instrumental in setting up a full peer review process for Geo Mission. This ensures only high quality research, in terms of scientific and societal merit as assessed by the scientific community, is undertaken on behalf of our clients.
In his earlier work as a scientist, he published original molecular biology-based research in neurology and cardiology, co-ordinated international collaborative research, and presented extensively at international meetings.  His developing interest in global environmental issues, and the need for returning high quality environmental scientific research, led him to Geo Mission.

Tim has an MSc in Environmental Technology (Imperial College, London), a PhD in Biochemistry (Kings College, London), and a BSc in Biochemistry (Imperial College, London).

Rod Macrae – Head of Geo Communications

Rod is a former broadcaster and, after training at the BBC, worked as a producer on Radio 4, including the ‘Start the Week’ and ‘You and Yours’ programmes. He also worked on Radio 1 and Radio 2.

As a TV news reporter and correspondent he has worked for ITV and Reuters in the UK and USA, and covered the Kosovo war during the Balkans conflict. He was appointed Director of Communications at Greenpeace International and has gone on to specialise in sustainable and environmental communications.

Other major independent projects include the launch of the photographic exhibition ‘Earth from the Air’ at the Natural History Museum, a documentary production for Ogilvy & Mather, plus communications strategy and media relations for National Express, RPS, Carbon Free Group, Oxford Geoengineering, Solar Cities, Oxford University’s Young Lives programme and Procure4.

Somewhere along the way he has acquired an MBA, an allotment, a few awards, an admiration for explorers and twin daughters.

Dominic Hilton – Head of Geo Activation

Dominic has been hooked on all things ‘adventure’ since the age of 11, when he first read Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ epic account of his crossing of Antarctica. Having graduated from Leeds University with French and Italian (BA Hons), he secured a job as a journalist and travelled throughout Africa, the Middle-East and Asia for three years.

Following his return to the UK he decided that a job in the ‘polar industry’ would be a sensible career path. The first stage of his masterplan involved writing letters to the major UK-based polar explorers – all four of them. Pen made the mistake of sending back a typically polite reply, which then prompted a sustained bombardment of emails and phone calls.

Dominic has now been working with Pen since 2007, focused on managing the multi-media Survey content and producing the Survey websites. Latterly this role has extended, as Head of Geo Activation, to supporting partners and sponsors in deepening their engagement with prioritised stakeholders. In his spare time, he is a keen (as opposed to good) fell-runner and photographer.

Rebecca Duckworth – Project Planning Manager

Working with scientists at the forefront of climate science, Rebecca investigates cutting edge scientific research in different regions around the world. Once a suitable field of study has been identified, a programme of operations is developed to enable the science to happen, and the expedition comes to life.

After working in the adventure travel industry designing and operating expeditions worldwide, Rebecca first came to Geo Mission as the International Operations Manager before moving to her current role.