As many of us begin to think about disconnecting from work over the summer to reconnect with our families and friends and spend some quality time together we would like to share with you the first in our upcoming series of Kearney Originals podcasts, which includes a remarkable story of team of adventurers taking on one of the most incredible challenges to support two charities close to their hearts.

Season 1 features Justin Houlton, a Kearney employee from our London office, and three of his friends who, 18 months ago, decided they needed a new challenge. In this podcast the team explain how, unlike most people, the challenge they decided on was not a 5 km sponsored run in the local park or a baking challenge. The team decided that they would rather raise the bar a little higher and embark on a two-year training regimen that would ultimately conclude with them spending 40 days in an 8.5-m rowing boat navigating the high seas of the Atlantic Ocean. And nothing, not even a global pandemic, would stop them. The ultimate goal for this team, named appropriately "On Shoulders of Giants," is to row the Atlantic as quickly as possible and win the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, while raising awareness and money for two infinitely important and under-resourced charities that support others in conquering their own challenges every day. Later this year, on December 12, this team of legends will take their place on the start line in the Canary Islands, Spain, and we will be following them every step of the way until they reach the finish line in Antigua.

We hope that you will find this story that embodies passion, solidarity, generosity, curiosity, and boldness as inspirational as we did. So sit back and enjoy in the summer sunshine.