Rob and Jo Gambi

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Biography

After battling Rob's cancer together and living with the knowledge that it may return, Rob and Jo decided to do more things together and went on to become the first couple to climb the seven summits and ski to both the North and South poles. An amazing story of strength and belief....and that's before they had even began to climb.

In 2005 Rob and Jo Gambi became the first married couple to achieve the ultimate adventurer’s ambition when they climbed the ‘Seven Summits’ (the highest mountains on all seven continents) and skied to both the North and South Poles together.  Jo is also the first female, and Rob the first Australian, to have achieved this feat.

What makes their story even more remarkable is that they achieved all this while Rob was in remission from his second bout of cancer. Having been warned that his cancer could reoccur, Rob and Jo both left their jobs in order to spend as much time together as they could, and embarked on what was to become an incredible adventure. In spite of setbacks and facing death high in the Himalaya, they persevered and fulfilled their dreams (while unwittingly setting a string of records). They experienced and endured more together during several challenging years, than most couples would in a lifetime, overcoming illness and living with an intensity few people ever know.

In 2005 Jo entered the Guinness World Records for the fastest female ascent of the ‘Seven Summits’ and still holds this record and Jo was the second British woman to climb Everest’s more difficult and daunting North Ridge.

Rob and Jo’s story has received broad national and international media coverage and Jo’s book ‘Holding On’ has been recently featured on GMTV LK Today and in feature articles in The Daily Telegraph, The Observer and The Express in addition to various BBC Radio programmes. Their story is not just an enthralling account of mountaineering and polar achievements; it is a powerful and emotional story of love and survival against the odds.

Rob was born in Sydney, Australia in 1958 and amongst his many sporting pursuits, grew up with a love for water sports.  After finishing school Rob studied at University and completed degrees in Actuarial Studies and Statistics and obtained an MBA. He then worked for an investment banking company, in corporate finance and securities markets till the age of 31. After this he had a short career break before joining an asset management company in 1989. In 1991 he was seconded by his company to their London operation and has lived in the UK since then.

During this time Rob had a successful career in the asset management business with responsibility for almost half of the assets under management of the group and a sizeable number of fund managers and other staff located in multiple international centres.

Jo was born in Worcester in 1969, and brought up in Penn, Buckinghamshire. Her childhood holidays were always spent outdoors, whether sailing or camping and hiking and her passion for these pursuits have continued to develop throughout her life.

Jo completed a 4 year degree course in ‘Business Management and Clothing’ at the Metropolitan University of Manchester. Whilst studying, she used her summer vacations to work and travel abroad and during this time Jo worked as a sailing instructor and lifeguard with Camp America, as well as working on community projects with Operation Raleigh in Kenya and various community and church based projects in Bolivia, Greece and Malaysia.

Between her first degree and starting work at Marks and Spencer she studied for 1 year at King’s Bible College in Scotland for a ‘Diploma in Biblical Studies’. In 1992 Jo joined Marks and Spencer’s on their ‘Graduate Management Training Programme’ and spent several years working across the business in different buying departments.  In 1997 Jo retrained to be a Physiotherapist and once qualified worked at University College London Hospitals (UCLH), one of the country’s leading NHS trusts in addition to working privately for the London Welsh Rugby Club and as a Pilates instructor.

Rob and Jo first met in 1995 while doing a sailing course on the south coast of the UK. The second time they met was in Chamonix, France while Jo was on a climbing holiday. They were married in September 1996 and continued to spend their holidays in the outdoors whether at sea level – sailing and windsurfing, or up a mountain – climbing, hiking and skiing.

In late 2000 Rob was diagnosed with his second bout of Cancer (the first occurring in 1993). This led to a major operation, plus an aggressive course of chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy treatment.  Rob was declared to be in remission by mid 2001.

Since returning from their travels, Jo has written their story in ‘Holding On - A story of love and survival’, published in September 2006, and Rob has re-entered the financial world and is now a Managing Director with UBS Global Asset Management.

Rob and Jo celebrated the birth of their first child, Benjamin, in July 2010.

Whilst Rob and Jo’s achievements may seem out of reach for most people, audiences are often delighted and relieved to discover they are from a “very ordinary background” without any of the potential advantages of a privileged upbringing or education. By tenaciously overcoming personal obstacles, they have discovered that so many of life’s answers are within reach of us all.

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