Meet the Team

solutions to TV and Film in remote and hostile environments for the BBC, Ch4, Discovery and Nat Geo. He has worked in locations as diverse as Afghanistan, Norway and Nicaragua. He spent six years as an Officer in the Parachute Regiment, working in Africa and the humid rain forests of Brunei. He is a qualified Jungle Warfare Instructor and commanded on operations in Afghanistan in 2008 and 2010, where he worked alongside Afghan security forces.

A highlight for him in the early days of Secret Compass was pioneering tourism into South Sudan, where he led a team into the Imatong Mountains. Tom was central to our ground-breaking expeditions into Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor, leading the first ever mountain bike expedition through the high mountains. He has explored southern DRC and pioneered a route though Upemba National Park. He has also led jungle trekking trips in the Darien Gap and Madagascar, mountain biking projects in Ethiopia and ski touring expeditions in Lebanon.

Tom’s qualifications include Security Risk Management (Level V), Mountain Leader, MTB Leader, Swift Water Rescue and Wilderness EMT. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and is passionate about ski-touring, snowboarding, kite-surfing and mountain biking as well as travelling through the world’s wildest places.

Ben presented the multi-BAFTA winning Serious Series for the BBC, leading groups of teenagers on expeditions to remote and far-flung corners of the globe to achieve world firsts. He has consulted on series such as Mutiny, Planet Earth 1&2, Gold Rush, Human Planet, Oceans, Tribe, Frozen Planet, Last Man Standing, Around the World in 80 Days, Extreme Dreams, Adrenaline Junkie and various Sport Relief Challenges.

Serving in the British Army for 9 years, he spent time in the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Bosnia. An accomplished mountaineer and polar adventurer, Ben has led expeditions to the Arctic, Antarctic, Himalayas, Rockies and Andes including ascents of two 8000m peaks and a running high level traverse of the Pyrenees in 14 days.

Ben has led security operations to protect wildlife against professional poachers in Central and East Africa developing his love for camels; built eco-lodges and safari camps in Africa and led remote jungle conservation projects where he honed his survival skills amongst the native peoples of Asia, Central and South America. He is also an experienced yachtsman with over 50000 sea miles completing several Fastnet races, trans-Atlantics and building a traditional Arabian Dhow with a friend.

and the West Bank.

She has supported the Natural History Unit’s BAFTA-award winning ‘Blue Planet Live’ in Baja Mexico and designed and delivered the BBC’s ‘Managing High Risk Deployments’ course for senior editorial staff. Sally is a keen advocate of media safety and risk management, she sat on the Board of Directors for ACOS Alliance and lectures internationally on journalist safety.  She has a deep background in crisis and disaster management as an Army Officer, media advisor and Chartered Security Professional along with experience of multiple military operational tours providing emergency medical ground response.

Co-founder of Oxford Alpine Club Publishing, Sally is a Winston Churchill Fellow who has led expeditions in Borneo, Argentina, Kyrgyzstan, Iceland, Nepal and Morocco and received a Mount Everest Foundation funding award.  She enjoys climbing, ski touring and practicing yoga.

He personally served on operational tours of Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan. He has extensive risk management experience gained from his military career, as Regional Manager Africa for a global security company, leading expeditions to remote parts of the world, and mountaineering and climbing internationally for over 20 years.

In recent years he has been applying and expanding this experience as a safety advisor in the TV industry providing risk management advice to A-list celebrities and crews in various high-risk environments.

He is qualified as a Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor, military ski touring instructor, FREC3 First Responder and Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, he also holds the ‘A’ License for freefall parachuting.

she’s spending time outside!

Always curious, Louise has found herself involved in a wide range of different projects; some of the highlights of which range from having been part of the implementation team for the inaugural Invictus Games, being the British member of the International Federation of Skeleton; Bobsleigh – working to get adaptive ice sports included into the Winter Paralympic Games, developing a trek for a local guiding company in the Indian Himalaya, learning Arabic and working in some remote and hostile locations around the globe.

Having relocated back to the mighty West Country from her beloved Highland’s of Scotland, Louise is itching to get out adventuring. A lover of Winter, she’s keen to dust off her collection of ski’s, sharpen her axes and head out into the mountains!

Whilst she is most familiar with locations that have a coastline she was initially drawn to expeditions through a love of cold places, ski-touring in Scandinavia with nights in snow holes and skiing on the sea ice through the North West Passage.

Recognising the best days usually involve a roll mat and camping stove, if she can’t be out on an expedition herself the next best thing is to chat to you about yours.

Having swapped scientific experiments for organising expeditions, she has settled into the Secret Compass team.

A geologist at heart, Anya is likely to be found underground, regularly caving in the local Mendip Hills. This interest in karst has taken her all over the world including exploring and surveying cave systems in the Philippines, India and the USA. When not caving Anya is an ocean enthusiast who loves spending time scuba diving off the south coast and spotting the local sea life. Always looking for ways to spend more time in the water, she has recently taken up open water swimming which she hopes will be a year-round activity.

specialist and joined Secret Compass from a Security and Travel Risk Management company. 

He holds qualifications in Security Risk Management (Level 6) and FREC 3 medical first response. When he’s not looking for his next adventure in his self-converted campervan, Josh enjoys skiing, stand up paddleboarding and attempting to surf. 

management consultant for educational and adventure travel organisations in the UK, US and Canada. 

A qualified Off-Site Safety Management trainer, Liz has written and provided a number of travel risk management workshops and training courses, and is one of the founders of the CORE Risk Conference which meets annually to discuss sector-specific travel risk issues. Liz sits on the British Standards Institute committee for BS8848 (a standard for overseas travel and fieldwork) and over the last 10 years has been an auditor for organisations seeking compliance to the standard. Liz is also part of an international committee writing ISO 31031 – Risk Management for youth travel, alongside colleagues from Europe, Australia, the US, Middle East, Kenya, South Africa and India. 

When Liz isn’t geeking-out about the exciting world of risk management, she can be found in front of an artist’s easel finishing a private commission (her first career); playing viola with a symphony orchestra or singing in one of her two choirs (her life’s passion); channelling her inner Olympian in a single scull on the River Avon (her latest passion) or on standby with her scrubs as an NHS COVID volunteer vaccinator!

Having lived and worked in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, he has first hand experience of coordinating crisis responses to a range of situations impacting aid workers, including kidnappings, active shooters, and high-profile attacks. As a researcher, writer and adventurer, he has climbed, freedived, kayaked and trekked his way across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australasia and Africa.

multiple countries from Ukraine to Canada. He frequently seeks out adventure and has conducted his own expeditions to remote parts of Africa; always planning one on the back burner.

been a great addition to the Secret Compass team. An impressive portfolio of adventures, including backpacking in South America, trekking the Skeleton Coast in Namibia, and road-tripping around Iceland have prepared her well for taking the lead as Secret Compass’ main expedition planner, though she also dabbles in project management for TV shoots. In her spare time Aysha surfs, climbs, and mountain bikes, and is currently converting a campervan so she can get out and about on even more adventures!.

When she’s not managing Secret Compass’ network of consultants and helping to keep things at the office running smoothly, Alice loves to climb, row and hike, and regularly daydreams about her travel goal of setting foot on every continent – so far she’s 3 out of 7 down!

Kathy has ridden for years, competing in endurance races and has taught horse riding and guided treks in New Zealand, South Africa, USA and Greece. When not in the saddle, she can be found hiking in the Welsh hills, playing rugby, swimming, or trying any new sport or outdoor pursuit.

history productions. With a degree in Anthropology and African Studies, Harriet loves to explore the world whenever she has the opportunity. She is a passionate skier and is happiest when having outdoor adventures with her family. 

Supported by our excellent freelance Stores team, he is responsible for managing all kit deployments and overseeing the large inventory of equipment sent out on expeditions and TV shoots.

Outside of work, Oscar can be found scaling cliffs all over the world, having climbed hundreds of extreme grade rock climbs including one of the 6 great north faces of the alps. Oscar is also a keen cyclist, and has completed many cycle tours, culminating in a solo and unsupported adventure from southern India into Nepal.

Welsh 3000s as well as numerous expeditions abroad for teenagers.

Ollie’s been to a fair few places, the best being Latin America (though perhaps he biased due to being half Venezuelan). Ollie enjoys mountain biking and is up for doing anything outdoors.

and overseas and holds the Winter Mountain Leader, Mountaineering Instructor Award and International Mountain Leader qualifications.

Her work and personal expeditions have taken her to all seven continents and most of the Greater Ranges. When not leading expeditions or instructing she is planning her own climbing trips. She has climbed 7000m peaks, first ascents in South Georgia, Antarctica, a major ascent in the Hindu Kush, Afghanistan and been exploratory mountaineering in Tajikistan. In 2011, she returned from Nepal overland and has cycled the length of Lake Malawi solo. Last Autumn Rebecca made a first ascent of a 6000m peak in the Far West of Nepal.

Rebecca has a PhD in Glaciology, is a Wilderness First Responder, is a Winter Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor and sits on the Mount Everest Foundation expedition committee, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Member of the Alpine Club and is a brand ambassador for Lowe Alpine.

Read about Becky’s First Ascent of Lasarm (6250m), Nepal in Sidetracked Magazine.

and is a linguistic sponge and walking Wikipedia according to the many happy walkers, trekkers and adventurers with whom he has travelled.

His favourite journeys to date include London to Beijing overland, Istanbul to Cape Town and Quito to Ushuaia. We look forward to working with Luca more on future expeditions.

Read about Luca in Wanderlust.

home country: Panama.  As an expert naturalist and expedition guide, Rick has explored some of Panama’s most remote areas and other neighbouring regions including the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama. He is highly recognised for his skills and knowledge of Panama’s abundant and diverse wildlife and has had personal encounters with indigenous species including viper, jaguar, monkey, quetzal, puma, ocelot and tapir.

Rick is the founder of the TransPanama Project which aims to develop map sections of trail connecting regions and people throughout Panama. In 2011 Rick became the first person to walk the Panama Trail, a through-hike from the Colombian border to Costa Rica.

and the high mountains of the Andes, Atlas and Himalayas. She first worked for Secret Compass in 2015 and likes to turn her hand to any environment and challenge, although it’s high snowy places that really get her buzzing. Cat lives for expeditions and experiencing new places and local cuisines.

Personal endeavours include a pioneering self-supported 21-day trek through the jungle in India from Irpu Falls in Coorg to Mangalore along the Kerala-Karnataka border, the first ascent of Karbu Ri (6010m) on the Upper Rolwaling glacier on the Nepal/Tibet border, and a month as part of a small self-supported exploratory team camping on the Antarctic Peninsula, including the first known ski descent of Harrison Peak.

Cat is a qualified Winter and International Mountain Leader, Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, Rock Climbing Instructor, Canoe and Kayak Coach and White-water Rescue Technician. She has also recently undertaken a part-time MSc. in Environmental Change, Impact and Adaptation, and always endeavours to minimise and prevent unnecessary wastage and plastic on expeditions.

He specialises in getting into places in hostile or remote areas and has spent over 35 years in mountains, jungles, and deserts (including 10 years in the military), exploring and gaining valuable skills to pass on to others.

He has summited the highest mountains in countries like Afghanistan (Mount Noshaq 7492m) and Iraq (Mount Halgurd 3607m), and is a former member of the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team in the Highlands of Scotland, where he was involved in many rescues over the years. He is heading towards climbing all the mountains in his home country of Scotland and loves being at sea in his kayak, snowboarding in the back country, and scuba diving around the world.

In addition to expedition work, Rob also looks after A-list celebrities, journalists, and TV crews when they are working in war zones and remote wilderness areas of the planet. This has taken him from Ukraine and Afghanistan to spending time with gorillas in the Congo and dodging polar bears in the Arctic. Rob is a qualified Rescue Diver, and has done the FREC 4 course and Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician programme.