 Ken Hames served in the British Forces for 25 years and is one of the elite British Officers to have worn the red beret of the Parachute Brigade, the green beret of the Royal Marines and the sand beret of the Special Air Service. His military experiences have taken him world wide and he was one of the last British soldiers to guard Rudolph Hesse in the infamous stronghold of Spandau in Berlin. Ironically he was there when the Berlin Wall was finally broken down as one of the last British Officers to work behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany. Ken’s operational experience is vast. He completed no less than eight tours of Northern Ireland at the height of the troubles. He was also at the liberation of Port Stanley in the Falklands and served in the SAS in the first Gulf War after commanding Britain’s anti-terrorist team for one year.
Ken brings strong evidence from the SAS of winning formulas in demanding circumstances. His delivery is both passionate and rigorous but underpinned with a strong sense of realism about what challenges businesses face today. Ken helps leaders and teams to focus and develop essential thinking skills required to manage ever changing situations and cope with threats or crisis. Ken has co-produced and presented programmes for Channel 4 and is now working with the BBC on his eighth documentary. All his documentary work has provided strong evidence that sound leadership is the key to long term success. In 1994, with the help of Diana Princess of Wales, Ken took 12 disadvantaged young people to the heart of Africa for a 500 mile trek over desert and mountainous terrain, which was broadcast as a TV series, ‘The Trek’ by Meridien. The process transformed their lives and Ken still monitors there progress, ten years on. His next television series ‘Jungle Janes’ for Channel 4, saw him leading a team of women into the jungles of Borneo. Ken’s challenge to turn a group of British women, none of whom had faced anything like this before, into a cohesive team fit enough to take on the jungle was watched by millions of viewers who found this journey an inspiration. In October 2002 Ken took couples to Namibia, which witnessed attempting to cross the harsh Namib Desert in the hope of re-defining the fundamentals of relationships. ‘Desert Darlings’ was broadcast by Channel 4 in the spring of 2003. Ken was involved in the design and development of ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’ and his other TV credits include CBBC’s ‘Bring it On’, ‘Hero Factor’ for the Discovery Channel in 2002, ‘Battle Stripes’ for Sky in 2000, ‘Future Fighting Machines’ for the US in 2003, Channel 4’s ‘Shattered’, Big Brother’s Little Brother and ITV’s ‘Celebrity Fit Club’. Ken has two new series this year, ‘Greatest SAS Missions’ for Five and a series for BBC ‘Beyond Boundaries’. There is also a series ‘Forces For Good’ in the pipeline at BBC1. Ken is a real life action man who leads from the front. He is an accomplished Mountain Guide and skier and represented Great Britain in cross country skiing. He has played rugby for the Combined Services and is an expert in the great outdoors in all survival disciplines. |
