Issue 2 2009 > Crown Executive Plants Flag at the North Pole
Crown Executive Plants Flag at the North Pole
CEO of EMEA, David Muir, trekked to the most northern point on earth and proudly planted a Crown Worldwide flag at the North Pole.
David Muir at the North Pole proudly holding a Crown Worldwide flag
featuring his home country flag of Scotland!
Muir, a British national currently living in Prague, Czech Republic, and his wife Audrey attended an event for a charity called Broken Silence, which helps children who are hearing and speech impaired. They participated in a live auction and wound up winning a trip for two to the North Pole. The trip was donated by a Russian company called Vicaar and the six figure sum will pay for an audio therapist for a full year. Muir commented, "It was only the next morning that I realised exactly what I had let myself in for! I tried to justify the cost on the basis that this was a celebration of my sixtieth year!"
On April 6, 2009, father and fifteen year old son Fraser, departed from Prague, Czech Republic and began their journey. After a stop in Svalbard, which is officially part of Norway, but a place with no immigration or visa requirements, they traveled on an old Russian Antanov aircraft to Barneo, along with 10 passengers and 20 Husky dogs.
Following 2.5 hours of flight time, they landed on an ice runway, 1.5 meters thick, which exists for only one month a year. The next morning, they took off in a helicopter and 30 minutes later, arrived at the North Pole. Muir said, "It was a beautiful day with the clearest air I have ever breathed."
David Muir with son Fraser
Muir and son Fraser may have landed on "thin ice," but were proud when they firmly planted Crown's flag at the top of the world. "I believe this to be an absolute industry first," added Muir.
Father and son also had an opportunity to study the effects of climate change, support a charitable cause, celebrate David Muir's 60 years of life and take Crown where no other industry player has gone before. "It was without doubt the trip of a lifetime, and certainly raises awareness of how fragile our world is. I'm now tempted to start researching the South Pole, and take Crown to the other end of the world," added Muir.