FORMER Royal Marine commando Major Phil Ashby has been named

as the final speaker at the 2008 Yorkshire International

Business Convention (YIBC).

Mr Ashby will join a host of other celebrities at the Gemtec

Arena on June 6 to deliver a motivational speech to

delegates.

He will talk about his experiences as a UN peacekeeper in

Sierra Leone, where he narrowly escaped being caught by rebel

soldiers.

Mr Ashby was caught up in an ambush and, along with other UN

colleagues, was trapped in a small compound surrounded by the

rebels.

Realising there was no hope of rescue, he devised a plan to

get out of the situation and was awarded the Queen's Gallantry

Medal for his actions.

On returning to England, he was rushed to hospital after a

virus in his spine contracted in West Africa left him paralysed

from the waist down.

He wrote about his experiences in his autobiography,

Unscathed, now being made into a Hollywood film, in which Mr

Ashby will be played by actor Colin Farrell.

Mr Ashby completes an impressive line-up of speakers for the

YIBC, which includes musician and campaigner Sir Bob Geldof,

supermodel Elle Macpherson, former world heavyweight boxing

champion George Foreman and Innocents Drinks' founder Richard

Reed.

Businessman Paul Sewell, who established Business Week,

said: “As a speaker, Phil can really reach, move and entertain

his audience.

“He is a natural storyteller who can adapt to suit any

occasion.”