SUMMIT TALKS AT MLM SPONSORED LUNCH

The first Welsh woman to conquer Everest will be speaking about her experiences at a special lunch sponsored by leading law firm MLM.

Tori James, 25, from Haverfordwest, will be recounting her adventure, which also led to her becoming the youngest British woman to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, at a business lunch in the Copthorne Hotel, Cardiff.

The lunch will take place on October 18, 2007 and is organised by the SWAN Group which is a networking group aimed at women working at senior managerial level throughout South Wales.

Ms James, who was part of the London Business School Team climbing Everest, will be using her experiences to inspire guests and show that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

She said, “My talk is called High Performance Against the Odds as I truly believe that you can overcome your fears even in the most difficult conditions and achieve whatever you want to achieve by really putting your mind to it. Climbing Everest seemed a challenge too far, particularly as I’m only 5ft 2in, but I thrive on scepticism and wanted to show anything is possible in any area of your life whether that’s business or personal.”

Her preparation for the Everest climb involved spending 18 months training six days a week, largely on mountains in Wales.

The expedition was the latest in a series of extreme record attempts by Ms James.

In 2005, she became the youngest woman to complete a 360-mile race to the Magnetic North Pole and last year she successfully climbed Cho Oyu in Nepal and Mount Kilimanjaro.

Cardiff based law firm MLM who are sponsoring the SWAN group lunch said they were looking forward to learning from Ms James’s achievements.

Litigation and Healthcare Partner Andrea Thomas said, “MLM is keen to support local networking initiatives such as the SWAN Group. We are very pleased to be sponsoring this talk by Tori James who is an excellent example of a young woman who has set herself some very ambitious targets. Whilst members of the SWAN Group work in very different environments, I am sure that we can all learn something from her achievements and her determination to succeed.”

MLM provide a principally commercial legal service based around the core practice areas of commercial property, company and commercial, litigation, employment and healthcare.

They have a diverse client base including public companies, NHS Trusts and Local Health Boards, government agencies, media and leisure companies, private venture capital funds and mobile telecommunications companies

FACT FILE
The SWAN group (Senior Women at Network) is a women only networking group that meet once a month on a Thursday at the Copthorne Hotel, Cardiff.

It is aimed at women who work at senior managerial level and are the decision makers within their organisations.

Daniela Vaccari, a solicitor at MLM who specialises in employment law, believes that it is very important for young professional women to exchange ideas and build up a network of contacts, especially when starting out in their chosen career. She said, “The SWAN group is an ideal networking facility at which women, of all ages and at various stages of their careers, meet to discuss topical issues which predominantly affect women. We also work out how to help each other to succeed in business.”

For more information on the SWAN group please contact Anna Maria Sakellariou on 01633 626978.

FACT FILE
Tori James is an accomplished speaker and has recently been appointed as an ambassador for the Make Your Mark Campaign, which aims to encourage young people aged 14-30 to get into enterprise and develop networking as a key skill to making ideas happen. The Campaign is part of National Enterprise Week, which begins on November 12, 2007.

For more information on Tori and the Make Your Mark Campaign please visit www.everest2007.net and www.makeyourmark.org.uk

* For further information or to arrange an interview opportunity with Tori James, please contact Alison Watkins on 07854 386054 or e-mail info@alisonwatkinscommunications.com