Charlie Wittmack

Charlie Wittmack is the President of The Wittmack Group, a Charlotte-based holding company with three independent subsidiaries: Charity-Launch, a consulting group focused on developing non-profit organizations; Wild Hare Films, a documentary film production company; and Charles Witt, Exploration & Adventure, an adventure travel company.

Wittmack is also an internationally-renowned adventurer who has been organizing major expeditions for nearly 20 years. Charlie is best known for being the first person to complete "The World Triathlon," an 8,000-mile triathlon that stretches from rural England to Nepal. In 2010, Wittmack became the first and only American to complete the "Peak and Pond," a rare sports double composed of swimming the English Channel and climbing Mount Everest.

Wittmack has stood atop peaks on dozens of expeditions to six continents. He has trekked across East Africa with the Maasai tribesman, sailed the Indian Ocean in a handmade boat, and completed numerous ocean marathon swims around the world. Stories of Wittmack's expeditions have been featured in media outlets across the globe, including NBC, ESPN, AOL, the Huffington Post, Outside Magazine, Triathlete Magazine, Sports Illustrated and many more. A documentary about Wittmack's World Triathlon recently won two Eppy awards for journalism.

Wittmack has devoted his life to humanitarian causes through partnerships with large organizations including the American Cancer Society, LIVESTRONG, and Save The Children, and with small start-up charities such as Above + Beyond Cancer, Radiating Hope, and the Foundation for Cancer Care in Tanzania. He has received numerous awards for his work, ranging from local awards (including admission to his high school's "Hall of Fame") to national awards (such as an "Executive Proclamation" awarded by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsac). In 2010, Wittmack was elected as a Fellow National in the Explorers Club in Manhattan as recognition for his contributions to the field of exploration and adventure.

Wittmack is a practicing attorney who has been advocating for cancer issues since 2006. His wife, Cate, is a cancer survivor. The couple live together with their two sons, James and Jack, in Charlotte, NC.