Justin James Packshaw (born 13 March 1965) is an English entrepreneur, philanthropist and adventurer.

Early life

Packshaw was born on 13 March 1965 in London. He was raised in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

where he attended St Edwards College before returning to the United Kingdom in 1975 to finish his schooling at

Sandroyd School Sandroyd School is an independent co-educational preparatory school for day and boarding pupils aged 2 to 13 in the south of Wiltshire, England. The school's main building is Rushmore House, a 19th-century country house which is surrounded by the ...

and

Woolverstone Hall Woolverstone Hall is a large country house, now in use as a school and available at times as a function venue, located south of the centre of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It is set in on the banks of the River Orwell. Built in 1776 for William ...

. He completed a

Master's in Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1993.

Career

Packshaw served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

for eight years, attending the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

in 1985 before being commissioned into the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards where he served in

BAOR There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

and the first

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. He was Equerry to HRH The Duchess of Kent in 1992. He is a director of De Roemer, a luxury jewellery brand he co-founded with his wife, Tamsin de Roemer, in 2008. He is also chairman of travel company Joro Experienes. Packshaw also delivers talks worldwide to businesses, corporations and schools on topics around achievement, leadership, and adaptability, including a 2014

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

talk at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

Adventuring and expeditions

Packshaw participated in the 1989–1990 Whitbread Round the World Race, representing Great Britain. In 1996, he crossed Mongolia on horseback searching for the nomadic

Dukha The Dukha, DukhansElisabetta Ragagnin (2011)Dukhan, a Turkic Variety of Northern Mongolia, Description and Analysis Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden or Duhalar ( mn, Цаатан, Tsaatan) are a small Tuvan (Tozhu Tuvans) Turkic community of semi- ...

people, a small Tuvan (Tozhu Tuvans) Turkic community of reindeer herders. In 1999, he motorbiked across

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. In 2005, he won a 450-mile race to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

and, in 2008, he helped guide 15-year-old Camilla Hempleman-Adams to ski the last degree to the

Geographic North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

. In 2011, he summited

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

, helping to raise £130,000 for

Walking with the Wounded Walking With The Wounded (WWTW) is a British charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), th ...

, The Warrior Program, and

Alzheimer's Research UK Alzheimer's Research UK (ARUK) is a dementia research charity in the United Kingdom, founded in 1992 as the Alzheimer's Research Trust. ARUK funds scientific studies to find ways to treat, cure or prevent all forms of dementia, including Alzhei ...

. In 2012, the centenary of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's ''Terra Nova'' Expedition, he led a team including three wounded veterans to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

to raise money for Walking with the Wounded. In 2014, led an expedition across the coast of Nigeria from Cameroon to Benin via jet ski. That same year, Packshaw co-ordinated and led an expedition including two wounded veterans that followed the route of Sir Earnest Shackleton voyage of the ''James Caird'' from

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

to South Georgia to raise money for the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre. In 2015, he led a team of businessmen to the North Pole, raising more than £400,000 for

The Prince's Trust The Prince's Trust ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth y Tywysog) is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are u ...

, and in 2017, he led a team to the

that raised more than £685,000 for The Prince's Trust and the Roundhouse Trust. In 2021 Packshaw led a 57-day research expedition of

. The started from

Novolazarevskaya Station Novolazarevskaya Station (russian: Станция Новолазаревская) is a Russian, formerly Soviet, Antarctic research station. The station is located at Schirmacher Oasis, Queen Maud Land, from the Antarctic coast, from which it is ...

in Queen Maud Land and travelled through the interior 1,400 miles to the

Geographic South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

. With teammate Dr Jamie Facer-Childs the pair kite skied and man-hauled, unsupported across the ice. The team carried out research on climate change and also on human physiology and psychology working in collaboration with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

ESA , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...

and

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Honours and recognitions

Packshaw is a UK Ambassador for The Prince's Trust. During the 2016 New Year Honours, he was made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

'for services to expeditions, youth development, and charity'. In July 2016, he was commissioned a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London., and was awarded the

Freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom o ...

in 2018. In 2021 Packshaw was given a Lifetime Achievement award by the British Ex-Forces in Business Awards.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Packshaw, Justin Living people 1965 births Alumni of the University of Edinburgh English explorers Explorers of the Arctic English philanthropists British Army personnel of the Gulf War English male sailors (sport) English motivational speakers British summiters of Mount Everest Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Sandroyd School Deputy Lieutenants of Greater London Volvo Ocean Race sailors 20th-century British philanthropists