24947
Gary Prout is an army veteran from Northern Ireland who completed a tour in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan. He now works as a consultant at Cleartrack, an agency working on human performance.
He received a Conspicuous Gallantry Cross in 2010 after he risked his life to save another soldier during a Taliban ambush on his second tour of Afghanistan.
Gary shares the inspiring and motivational rollercoaster of his military career, from the high of receiving the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (one award below the Victoria Cross) to lows of suffering both a career and life changing injury.
Remarkably through the low of his injury, Gary achieved another highlight of captaining the UK Armed Forces Archery team at the 2014 Invictus Games.
Gary has a straightforward, no nonsense style, ready to challenge but coming from a sincere place. He utilises his experience in the Armed Forces to deliver powerful live case studies exploring values, biases and behaviours that impact the decisions made under pressure.
He has a passion for helping individuals and teams perform to the best of their abilities, support good leadership, achieve resilience and effective teamwork across organisations.
Gary Prout was born in west Germany where his Father was serving in the British Army and he is 4th generation military, with his Great Grandfather being a recipient of the Military Medal and his Great Uncle receiving the Victoria Cross.
Gary’s army career started in 2004, after a period of time working as a personal trainer in Northern Ireland. Shortly after joining the which he was selected to become a Forward Observer, a role not usually given to new recruits and one that requires impeccable judgement with no margin for error.
This role requires the observer to make calculations, apply the correct procedure and call in artillery, air, helicopter and precision weapon strikes dangerously close to friendly forces.
Looking back Andy ponders on what it took for the 25 year old version of him to be able to maintain such high levels of motivation, commitment and professionalism in such a stressful and demanding role.
Unfortunately, Gary’s army career came to an end in 2013 when he snapped his lower right leg in several places during a training exercise in Scotland. The injury was not healing as it should and Gary was in immense pain. He was then given the diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, which means the skin of his leg has become so sensitive that just a slight touch, bump or even a change in temperature can provoke intense pain.
Gary’s intrinsic drivers are care, honesty, loyalty and he has a passion for helping both individuals and teams to think and perform to the best of their ability. His style is straightforward and challenging but always coming from a very sincere place, challenging when he sees an opportunity to develop.
Audiences of Gary’s talks are guaranteed to hear an emotional, brutal and honest account of his experiences and how he learned to cope with the harsh realities of army life. Gary shows how he could conduct complex mathematics under fire and risk assess the situation in order to call in “danger close” artillery strikes. He shares the importance of leadership and decision making, and how to harness these vital qualities.