Speaker Phil Keoghan
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Phil has been sharing stories in front of a TV camera for over 30 years in over 130 countries on more than 1,500 program episodes and is arguably the most traveled host on the planet. He is currently serving as host and an executive producer of CBS’s multi-Emmy Award-winning reality series The Amazing Race, currently in its 32nd season.
Born in New Zealand, Keoghan has experienced a life full of travel and adventure. He started traveling around the world at the age of 2, accompanying his father, a plant scientist, and mother who taught music, in third world countries for over a decade. Phil has been globetrotting ever since.
Growing up with an in-depth knowledge of photography, Phil began his television career at 18 in Christchurch, New Zealand where he worked as a film camera assistant. He soon found himself shooting network news stories, entertainment shows and major live sporting events before making a move in front of the camera at 19.
Surviving a near-death experience, Phil wrote a list of things to do before he died, which he then developed into a best-selling book and television show called, No Opportunity Wasted, N.O.W..
Working with IMG, Phil is now a regular motivational speaker at colleges and Fortune 500 companies around the world, and also shares his inspirational message on a podcast series called Buckit with Phil Keoghan where he talks to others who share his Tick-it Before You Kick-it! mindset.
Phil sold Keoghan’s Heroes internationally at 23 and has gone on to co-create, produce, write and host more than a dozen series and documentaries for a variety of distribution platforms including National Geographic: Discovery Channel; Hulu: Showtime; CTV; TVNZ as well as developing projects for Miramax, Paramount, Bravo and CBS.
Phil was recently a correspondent for 60 Minutes Sports on CBS; directed Aerial New Zealand and produced and hosted an on air pilot he co-created for the Smithsonian Channel called Flying High and hosted Earth Live with Jane Lynch, a two-hour live show highlighting spectacular wildlife from more than 52 locations around the world for National Geographic.
Some of his on camera adventures include riding his bicycle from LA to New York; having a five-star meal on top of an erupting volcano of Stromboli; breaking an unofficial world record bungy jump; putting a golf ball across Scotland; changing a light bulb on top of the Verrazano Bridge; diving the world’s longest underwater caves and swimming from Asia to Europe across the Bosporus.
Keoghan’s most daring challenge to date involved retracing the exact route of the 1928 Tour de France, riding an original heavy steel vintage bicycle that had no gears. Riding an average of 150 miles a day for 26 days, he shot a documentary called Le Ride to tell the forgotten ‘underdog’ story about the first English speaking team to take on the toughest sporting event on earth. Le Ride screened at SXSW and has been selected as an Opening Night and Festival Favorite Film at a number of festivals around the world.
As a philanthropist, Keoghan has raised over one million dollars for his favorite charity, MS, and was named among the world’s top 100 Most Influential Philanthropists and Social Entrepreneurs in 2018.
Keoghan’s work has earned him numerous awards including; ten prime-time Emmy Awards as a producer and host of the hit CBS series The Amazing Race; Best Director Award, at the 2017 American Documentary Film Festival; the 2018 Sports Documentarian Award from the International Sports Hall of Fame; a World Class New Zealand Award; The Dorothy Corwin Spirit of Life award for services to MS; a Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award and the Endurance Live, Celebrity Athlete of the Year in 2013. Keoghan was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2014 for his services to television and tourism.
Phil lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. His birth date is May 31.
Speaking on: SUMMIT SHOWDOWN: INTERNATIONAL PITCH COMPETITION; Keynote Conversation: Nancy Daniels, Chief Brand Officer, Discovery & Factual