Benjamin Mee
Inspirational Zoo Owner
Benjamin Mee is the Director of Dartmoor Zoo and the author of 'We Bought A Zoo', the bestselling book that inspired the Hollywood movie of the same name starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. In 2007 he reopened a dilapidated zoo under the new name of Dartmoor Zoological Park.
"All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, and I promise something great will come of it"
Add to my shortlistIn Detail
In 2006, the Mee family came across Dartmoor Wildlife Park, a dilapidated zoo with a poor reputation and in massive financial difficulty. Rather than running a mile, the family forged forwards, bought the zoo, saved the animals, and fought to get the zoo ready to re-open. Benjamin has unwavering passion for transforming lives through knowledge, collaboration and partnership, and encouraging sustainability through shared practice in the context of conservation. The Dartmoor Zoo story is still ongoing, and the latest chapter is, that after a crowdfund which took place at the end of 2014, the zoo has completed the conversion into a charity. This gives the zoo security for the future, and enables Benjamin's dream of turning the zoo into a centre of excellence for research, conservation, and education to come one step closer. The zoo is well on the way with incredible education and research departments, and ties with many universities.
WHAT he OFFERS YOU
Benjamin Mee's inspirational story is one of triumph over tragedy and the passion and perseverance it takes to succeed. He reminds his audience of the importance of striving to meet our goals - even in the face of adversity. Ben's speeches are renowned the world over and his unique story with many important business messages the audience will remember for a long time to come.