Kevin got his first taste of adventure early at just 18 when he worked for two months at 12,500 feet, building a school at the Tengboche monastery, in Nepal, with Sir Edmund Hillary and that planted the seed. 

After finishing a physics degree at Auckland University and a Master of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge Kevin returned to NZ.  He took roles with Treasury and Ministry of Commerce before becoming a Strategy Consultant.  

A decision to leave the corporate world to take part in the 2003 Trans-Atlantic Rowing Race - a 5000km epic crossing in a 7m plywood dinghy – was an unusual choice for someone who had never rowed before!  Kevin’s business skills were vital in identifying and innovating on the most critical elements of the preparations. However, plans went awry just six weeks before the start when his rowing partner pulled out and the last minute replacement Jamie Fitzgerald, a 22 year old university student.    

They encountered storms, curious whales, sleep deprivation, breakages, hallucinations, stinging jellyfish and were dramatically thrown out of their boat in a capsize, leading to a desperate and thrilling sprint to the finish. They smashed the previous record by more than 21 hours completing the gruelling challenge in just over 40 days and 5 hours at sea.  

Two years with strategy groups in Telecom NZ followed, before Kevin and Jamie teamed up again to take on an unsupported, 1200 km man-haul to the South Pole a feat that fewer than 50 people have every achieved. The motivation for this trip was three-fold: to become the first New Zealanders to walk unsupported to the South Pole; to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary's South Pole expedition, and to work with the Foundation of Youth Development to help raise young people's awareness of outdoor pursuits. 

In preparation, the pair spent weeks training in the Canadian Arctic (dodging polar bears) in NZ’s coldest industrial fridge (dodging frozen chickens!) and dragging tyres around the streets and hills of Wellington and Auckland (dodging hooligans in Cortinas). 

They spent fifty days in Antarctica battling worse than expected conditions, temperatures as cold as -40 degrees, frostbite, injury, endless whiteouts and gear failure. It was brutal, and after 52 days they reached the South Pole – the first New Zealanders to walk unsupported to the Pole and the first people in the World to have rowed an Ocean AND walked to a Pole!   

Using hilarious stories and photos from his adventures Kevin talks about goal setting, risk management, teamwork, breaking out of your comfort zone and achieving excellence!

More recently, Kevin teamed up again with Jamie for the inspiring TV1 series First Crossings - to recreate the journeys of pioneer New Zealand explorers, using the exact equipment they used, eating the same type of food and wearing the same type of clothing and footwear.

If you are looking for a riveting speaker with great content who will also keep you entertained, then Kevin Biggar is your man!

The audience’s response to Kevin’s presentation was overwhelmingly positive.  We conducted a survey after the event and Kevin’s talk came back as the clear highlight.  Kevin followed the brief extremely well.  He bought into the theme of the event right from our initial meeting.  His enthusiasm in attending the whole event and hence getting a feel for the event was reflected strongly in the end result.
Peter Anderson – Inland Revenue Service Design & Implementation

"The presentation was excellent and fulfilled all of our required criteria. The audience took away a sense of what real achievement is and it has helped in some 'defining' conversations on where people see their futures."
IBM NZ Ltd

"Wow, what a way to end a frantic two days, a perfect culmination of the entire agenda professionally delivered in an inspirational, inspiring positive speech which our staff are still talking about!"
Glen Middleton, Orix 

"You blew us away...Thank you so much for putting so much effort into such a wonderful address"
Kirsty Higgs, King's School    

"He was the last speaker at the end of a three day conference - and he got a standing ovation!"
Stephen Noble, The Conference Company

Kevin was BRILLIANT!  his preparation was extremely thorough – and very timely.  He really made sure he involved the entire company both with what he spoke about, and the team building activities, which based on the diversity of the group was no mean feat.  All in all, I don’t think you could have suggested a better speaker -  Kevin most definitely exceeded my expectations
Parrs Products

Thank you for a very entertaining and inspiring talk, Kevin. We were looking for someone who could connect with our multi-disciplinary team around our conference themes of leadership, collaboration and success. I am delighted to say that we hit the nail on the head by engaging you. I was very impressed with the effort you went to in embracing our event, from initial planning discussion right through to attending the whole conference and working the themes into your delivery on the day. Your talk was the highlight of the morning, with the audience still buzzing well after the event"
Peter Anderson, Service Design & Implementation, Inland Revenue

"Thank you, Kevin for a truly inspiring and motivating presentation. I was looking for an outstanding speaker to address a large group of our business leaders on teamwork, leadership and periods of significant change. Your excellent background and testimonials were actually surpassed by your delivery. You made strong connections between your very entertaining account of your experiences and our desired leadership behaviours and examples. Your presentation was the highlight of our workshop and your standing ovation was testament to that."
Mary Bulog, Customer Service Manager, Inland Revenue