Board of Directors

Dr. Mark Toshner - Non-Executive Director & Chair

Dr. Mark Toshner is a University Lecturer in Translational Respiratory Research at the University of Cambridge, an Honorary Consultant in Pulmonary Vascular Diseases at Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and an Honorary Consultant in Respiratory Medicine, Cambridge University Hospitals Trust. In 2018, he was admitted to the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians.

He currently leads a group of 9 researchers in clinical trials in Cambridge and holds a number of leadership roles including chairing national and international committees in teaching, research networks and strategy groups. He has a particular interest in teaching and education and is currently the Director of the largest post-graduate masters course in the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge.

Dr. Toshner is an experienced climber and high-altitude mountaineer and has climbed extensively in the Scottish Highlands, the Alps, The Tien Shan and the Andes. He was a member of the APEX 2 Altitude Physiology Expedition to Bolivia in 2003, spending 3 months testing 100 volunteer students and medics at altitudes up to 5,200m on Mount Chacaltaya. He has completed additional research expeditions to the Pyramid Hut, Everest Base Camp, Nepal.

Climbing at high altitude sparked his interest in the physiological adaptation to hypoxia, a research area that he’s still active in; he has lectured extensively on pulmonary hypertension and hypoxia around the world including invited presentations at the American Heart Association, British Cardiovascular Society, and the British Thoracic Society.

Mags Clark - Non-Executive Director

Mags Clark is a CIPFA qualified senior finance professional with extensive experience within the public sector. She currently leads the Finance team at the UK’s national polar research organsiation and is a key member of the senior management team, and she has successfully led teams through periods of major change in multiple sectors.

She is an experienced Company Secretary and has audited annual accounts for various charities during her career. She has travelled extensively and is passionate about the arts.

Ricky Munday - Founder & Managing Director

Ricky is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and Polar Ambassador, who grew up on a council estate near Glasgow. From 2014-2018 he served as the youngest ever member of the executive team at the UK's national polar research organisation, where he led the key professional service teams in both Antarctica and Cambridge.

He overcame redundancy in 2003 by completing the toughest footrace on earth, the Marathon des Sables, a 150-mile ultramarathon in the Sahara desert. This totally changed his mindset, and gave him the confidence to follow his dreams. 

After qualifying as a CA, a four-month secondment to an orphanage in Kenya in 2008 inspired him to spend the next six years deployed in the aftermath of natural disasters leading support functions for the Red Cross and other aid organisations in Sudan, Bangladesh, Pakistan & Haiti. 

Over the last decade, he has completed twenty mountaineering expeditions to six continents. He attempted to climb Everest – the highest mountain on earth - in 2017, but turned back below 8,000m due to low energy levels. He returned last year for a second attempt, and on 18th May 2018 he reached the summit of Everest from the north side, before founding Inspire Alpine® as a social enterprise to help close the attainment gap faced by disadvantaged young people. He has since spoken at over 130 schools to over 20,000 young people to help raise their aspirations.

Ricky is a qualified Mountain Leader, a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and a Churchill Fellow. He is a full member of the Mountain Training Association and the British Mountaineering Council.

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