AIAC AT THE 122ND EXPLORERS CLUB ANNUAL DINNER WEEKEND: A CELEBRATION OF ODYSSEYS
For Immediate Release
New York, NY – April 17-21, 2026 The world’s largest gathering of explorers descended upon New York City for the 122nd Explorers Club Annual Dinner Weekend, themed “Odysseys,” as American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) and its affiliates — Bradford Space, Arnprior Aerospace, SuperAlloy Manufacturing Solutions, Canadian Kraft Paper Industries, Champlain Cable, and Umbilicals International — proudly served as co-sponsors of the storied celebration. The key event of the weekend’s festivities, the prestigious evening gala, took place on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at the Glasshouse, a sleek, modern, and expansive ballroom overlooking the Hudson River in Manhattan.
ECAD Friday: The Board of Trustees Meeting and Dinner
The ECAD weekend formally opened on Friday, April 17 with The Explorers Club Board of Trustees Meeting held in the Theodore Roosevelt–Leonard M. Levie Board Room at Club headquarters at 46 East 70th Street. L. M. Levie, Trustee and Poet Laureate of The Explorers Club and Chairman of AIAC, greeted the following Trustees and officers in attendance:
Benjamin E. Lamm
Trustee; Founder and CEO, Colossal Biosciences; Founder, Colossal Foundation and Hypergiant
A serial entrepreneur and Fellow of The Explorers Club, Ben Lamm founded Colossal Biosciences — the world’s first de-extinction company — applying CRISPR technology toward the restoration of extinct species including the woolly mammoth and the dire wolf. He has built and exited five companies, including Hypergiant (AI for defense and space) and Conversable (acquired by LivePerson), and chairs the Colossal Foundation, which has raised $100 million to advance biodiversity conservation globally.
Alba Tull
Trustee and Annual Dinner Co-Chair; Founder and Managing Director, First Light Capital Group
A leading investor, philanthropist, and accomplished photographer and film producer, Alba Tull founded First Light Capital Group, a technology-informed investment fund that also seeds female entrepreneurs in tech and biotech. She chairs Tull Investment Group and the Tull Family Foundation, whose philanthropic work spans medical research — including the Alba Tull Center for Medical Innovation at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine — and support for organizations including the Jackie Robinson Foundation and the Rett Syndrome Research Trust.
Dr. Frederik D.A. Paulsen
Trustee; Chairman Emeritus, Ferring Pharmaceuticals Group; Founding Sponsor, The Peptide Therapeutics Foundation
A Swedish businessman, explorer, and philanthropist, Dr. Paulsen grew Ferring Pharmaceuticals from a small family concern into a global biopharmaceuticals company operating in over 60 countries. A fearless explorer, he was the first person to stand at all eight of the Earth’s poles, descended to the floor of the Arctic Ocean in a Russian submersible, and co-founded the Swiss Polar Institute. He has donated approximately $40 million to the Museum Kunst der Westküste and supports fertility clinics, conservation, and exploration worldwide.
Jeff Willner
Trustee; Chairman, Navigatr Group (Kensington Tours, Travel Edge, TripArc, and Ensemble)
A Fellow of The Explorers Club and the Royal Geographical Society, Jeff Willner is the founder and CEO of Navigatr Group, a travel holding company that collectively transacts over $4 billion in leisure travel across North America. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School and previously consulted at McKinsey & Co. Raised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he has driven overland routes across Africa and Asia and brings a lifelong spirit of adventure to his work building some of the world’s leading travel enterprises.
Mark Walter
Trustee; CEO, Guggenheim Partners; Chairman, Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Lakers
One of the most influential sports owners of his generation, Mark Walter is CEO and co-founder of Guggenheim Partners, a global financial services firm managing over $345 billion in assets. He led the $2.15 billion acquisition of the Los Angeles Dodgers — who have won three World Series championships under his ownership — and became majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2025. He also co-owns Chelsea F.C. and founded the Professional Women’s Hockey League. A trustee of Northwestern University, Creighton University, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and the Field Museum, Walter is also a dedicated conservationist and philanthropist.
Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen
Trustee; Founder and CEO, Vestergaard, LifeStraw, and Sceye
A pioneering humanitarian entrepreneur, Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen has built companies whose products have saved millions of lives, including PermaNet insecticidal bed nets — which have benefited over 1.6 billion people and helped cut global malaria deaths by more than a third — and LifeStraw, named Best Invention of the Year by Time magazine. He also founded Sceye, a stratospheric aerospace company building high-altitude platforms for climate monitoring and global connectivity. He is honored by the Luhya tribe of Kenya as an elder in recognition of his transformative impact on Kenyan communities.
Mead Treadwell
Trustee; Former Lieutenant Governor of Alaska; Former Chair, U.S. Arctic Research Commission
A Yale and Harvard Business School graduate, Mead Treadwell served as Alaska’s 11th Lieutenant Governor and as Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, helping shape America’s Arctic policy. An explorer who led expeditions to the Russian Arctic and Wrangell Island, he is a Fellow National of The Explorers Club and chairs its North Pacific Alaska Chapter. He co-founded Digimarc (NASDAQ) and Immersive Media, which pioneered Google StreetView technology, and has dedicated his career to Arctic research, environmental stewardship, and international cooperation.
Richard Wiese
President of The Explorers Club; Emmy Award-Winning Explorer and Filmmaker
The longest-serving President of The Explorers Club, Richard Wiese is an Emmy Award-winning explorer, adventurer, and filmmaker who hosted and produced Born to Explore on ABC and PBS. He is the founder of the Global Exploration Summit (GLEX) and the EC-50 program, which recognizes fifty people changing the world through exploration. His passion for bringing the spirit of discovery to the widest possible audience has helped introduce The Explorers Club to a new generation of explorers and supporters around the world.
Barbara Doran
President-Elect of The Explorers Club
Barbara Doran is the incoming President of The Explorers Club, bringing to the role a distinguished record of leadership, intelligence, and unwavering commitment to the ideals of exploration and discovery. Her election represents a proud new chapter in the Club’s 122-year history.
Richard Garriott de Cayeux
President Emeritus of The Explorers Club, Astronaut, Video Game Pioneer
Creator of the Ultima Series and pioneer of the MMORPG genre, Richard is the first American second-generation astronaut and the first person to explore pole to pole, orbit the Earth, and reach the deepest point in the ocean.
Will Roseman
Executive Director, The Explorers Club
A Member and Fellow of The Explorers Club, Will Roseman serves as the Club’s Executive Director, providing operational leadership for one of the world’s most storied exploration institutions. A former bush pilot in the Congo and former Mayor of Carlstadt, New Jersey, he brings a rare combination of adventure, public service, and executive acumen to stewardship of The Explorers Club and its global community.
The Trustees, invited guests and Explorers Club Medalists Morad Tahbaz and Kristine Kristine McDivitt Tompkins then convened for the Annual Trustee’s Reception and Dinner at East Pole Restaurant.
ECAD Friday: Kick-Off at Headquarters
Later that evening, the famous kick-off party took place at The Explorers Club headquarters, with symposiums drawing members and guests from around the world. Members gathered in the Club’s historic rooms to reconnect with old friends, compare notes on recent expeditions, and set the tone for a weekend that would prove among the most memorable in the Club’s 122-year history.
The Annual Lunch
Saturday’s program included a VIP Luncheon drawing the weekend’s most distinguished attendees. Awardees, members, sponsors, and their guests gathered for a special midday meal at the iconic Union Club, the oldest city club in New York and the second oldest city club in the United States, located a block from The Explorers Club headquarters. The gathering offered an intimate setting in which this year’s honorees were able to mingle with fellow explorers and supporters before the grand formalities of the evening.
The 122nd Annual Dinner: Odysseys
The gala at the Glasshouse drew Explorers Club members and distinguished guests from six continents, including leaders from academia, business, finance, media, entertainment, and government. Attendees arrived in formal black or white tie, evening gowns, full military dress, kilts, and royal ceremonial dress, with civilian and military orders and medals on full display.
Entitled Odysseys, the evening was infused with references to Homer’s Odyssey, a tale of journey and longing. L.M. Levie, Poet Laureate of he Club, offered the following poetic tribute to the gala, prominently featured in the dinner program:
This poetic tribute was transformed into an orchestrated lyrical piece and video, found below:
A VIP cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m. gave guests early access to the Glasshouse for an exclusive start to the evening. At 6:00 p.m., the legendary cocktail reception opened to all ECAD ticket holders, featuring world-famous exotic hors d’oeuvres alongside a live auction offering trips of a lifetime from the world of exploration. The remarkable appetizers included grilled iguana, skewered cockroaches from Madagascar and Costa Rica, mealworms on rice crackers, crispy scorpions, and sea urchin.
Following the reception, the gala included a full course dinner and dessert, an Awards Ceremony, a live auction, musical entertainment and dancing, followed by after-parties throughout Manhattan.
Mr. Levie’s distinguished guests including the following dignitaries:
Governor Asa Hutchinson
Former Governor of Arkansas and U.S. Presidential Candidate
The 46th Governor of Arkansas and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, Asa Hutchinson also served as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration under President George W. Bush, Undersecretary of Homeland Security, Member of Congress, and as the nation's youngest U.S. Attorney, appointed by President Reagan.
Christopher Landau
Deputy Secretary of State and former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico
The 23rd U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau is a Harvard-educated lawyer who clerked for Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, and previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, where he oversaw America's largest diplomatic mission.
Nicole Bitner
Ambassador of Luxembourg
Nicole Bitner serves as the Ambassador of Luxembourg, representing the Grand Duchy's interests and its longstanding commitment to multilateralism, European unity, and international diplomacy.
Dennis Flannery
Chairman, Stone Hill Advisors
Dennis Flannery is Chairman of Stone Hill Advisors and a former Senior Advisor to the World Bank, U.S. Treasury, and Inter-American Development Bank, bringing decades of expertise in international finance and development to global economic policy. He has served in senior executive roles at Kuhn Loeb, Lehman Brothers, First Boston, Bank of America, and Citibank.
Richard Wiese
President of The Explorers Club
The longest-serving President of The Explorers Club, Richard Wiese is an Emmy Award-winning explorer, host and producer of Born to Explore on ABC and PBS, and the founder of both the Global Exploration Summit and the EC-50 program recognizing fifty people changing the world.
General Charlie Duke
Apollo 16 Astronaut and Moonwalker
Brigadier General Charlie Duke is the 10th and youngest person to walk on the Moon, having served as Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 16 in 1972, and was also the voice of Mission Control as CAPCOM during the historic Apollo 11 landing.
Paul Tudor Jones
Hedge Fund Pioneer, Philanthropist, Explorers Club Medalist
Founder of Tudor Investment Corporation and a billionaire hedge fund pioneer, Paul Tudor Jones also founded the Robin Hood Foundation in 1988, which has invested over $3 billion to fight poverty in New York City, and co-founded the Everglades Foundation to protect Florida's natural ecosystems.
Jeff Willner
Trustee of The Explorers Club
A Trustee of The Explorers Club, Jeff Willner is Chairman of Navigatr Group and oversees a portfolio of leading travel companies including Kensington Tours, Travel Edge, T/E Network, and TripArc, shaping the future of premium global travel and exploration.
Kristine McDivitt Tompkins
Former CEO of Patagonia, Philanthropist, Explorers Club Medalist
Former CEO of Patagonia and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation, Kristine has helped protect over 14 million acres of national parkland in Chile and Argentina, and was the first conservationist ever awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.
Lyndsay Howard
Senior Advisor to Mike Bloomberg; former Senior Advisor to Henry Kissinger
A distinguished diplomat and strategist, Lyndsay Howard has served as Senior Advisor to both Mike Bloomberg and the late Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, bringing rare continuity and expertise across decades of global affairs and international policy.
Magzhan Ilyasov
Ambassador of Kazakhstan
Magzhan Ilyasov serves as the Ambassador of Kazakhstan, advancing his nation's diplomatic relationships and representing one of Central Asia's most strategically significant emerging economies on the world stage.
Luc Decker
Consul General of Luxembourg
Luc Decker serves as Consul General of Luxembourg, furthering the Grand Duchy's bilateral relations and supporting Luxembourg's citizens and business interests abroad.
In addition, Mr Levie personally greeted the following distinguished members of the Explorers Club and guests:
Ambassador Mike Waltz
United States Representative to the United Nations
The 32nd U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz is a decorated Green Beret Colonel, the first Special Forces soldier elected to Congress, and former National Security Advisor to President Trump.
Woody Harrelson
Award-Winning Actor
Emmy winner and three-time Oscar nominee, Woody Harrelson is one of Hollywood's most acclaimed actors, known for Cheers, True Detective, and the Hunger Games franchise.
Alba Tull
Explorers Club Annual Dinner Co-Chair and Trustee
Alba Tull serves as Co-Chair of the Explorers Club Annual Dinner and Trustee, guiding the Club's philanthropic vision and its global community of explorers and scientists.
Morad Tahbaz
Freed Iranian Hostage, Artist, Activist, Explorers Club Medalist
Co-founder of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, Morad was wrongfully imprisoned in Iran's Evin Prison for nearly six years before his release in a landmark 2023 prisoner exchange, emerging as both a wildlife artist and advocate against hostage diplomacy.
Milbry Polk
Director of The Explorers Club, Author, Medalist
Harvard-educated explorer and co-founder of Wings WorldQuest, Milbry is an award-winning author, Sweeney Medalist, and champion of women at the forefront of global science and discovery.
Janet Walsh
Director Emeritus and Medalist of The Explorers Club
A distinguished Fellow and former Director of The Explorers Club, Janet is a Medalist honored for her decades of leadership connecting scientists and explorers worldwide.
Victor Vescovo
Explorers Club Medalist
Stanford, MIT, and Harvard-educated retired naval officer, Victor completed the Five Deeps Expedition in 2019, becoming the first person to reach the deepest point in all five oceans, and flew to space aboard Blue Origin in 2022.
Jamie Robinson
Explorers Club Annual Dinner Chairman
Jamie Robinson chairs the Explorers Club Annual Dinner, widely regarded as one of the most coveted invitations in the world, uniting explorers, scientists, and visionaries each year.
Ted Janulis
President Emeritus of The Explorers Club
Former CEO of CRT Capital and senior Lehman Brothers executive, Ted is Founder of Investable Oceans and a lifelong ocean advocate, sparked by his experience as the 1981 Rolex Scholar of the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society.
Adam Falkoff
VP & Global Managing Partner, Strategic Ventures, Microsoft
Adam Falkoff leads Microsoft’s new technology portfolio spanning advanced AI, quantum computing, biosecurity, and robotics. Previously Global Head of Executive and Government Relations for Amazon, he is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of The Explorers Club and The Trilateral Commission, and a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Cleo Abram
Video Journalist and Creator, Huge If True
Emmy-nominated video journalist Cleo Abram produces Huge If True, an optimistic YouTube series exploring emerging science and technology with over 7.5 million subscribers. A former producer at Vox and director for Explained on Netflix, she is one of the most influential science communicators of her generation.
Dr. Sylvia Earle
Oceanographer, Explorer, Founder of Mission Blue; “Her Deepness”
Called “Her Deepness” by the New Yorker and a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress, Dr. Earle was the first woman appointed Chief Scientist of NOAA, holds the record for the deepest untethered solo ocean walk, and has logged over 7,000 hours underwater. She is Founder of Mission Blue, which has established more than 200 marine protected areas worldwide. The Explorers Club’s prestigious exploration award was newly renamed in her honor this year.
Alexandra Climent
New Explorer Award; Founder, Endangered Rainforest Rescue
Rainforest conservationist, sculptural artist, and founder of Endangered Rainforest Rescue — a women and Indigenous-led nonprofit — Alexandra leads expeditions to restore biodiversity and protect critical jaguar habitat in the Darién Gap of Pana má, one of the most ecologically vital corridors connecting North and South America.
Dr. Elodie Freymann
New Explorer Award; Primatologist and Scientific Storyteller, University of Oxford
Oxford-trained primatologist Dr. Elodie Freymann spent nine months living off-grid among chimpanzees in Uganda’s Budongo Forest, producing groundbreaking research on how wild chimpanzees self-medicate with medicinal plants — knowledge that overlaps with local healers’ pharmacopeias. She is a Fellow of both The Explorers Club and The Linnean Society.
Dr. James Delgado
Sylvia A. Earle Award; Maritime Archaeologist and Author
One of the world’s most distinguished maritime archaeologists, Dr. Delgado has led shipwreck investigations across the globe, served as founding director of the National Park Service’s maritime preservation program and Director of Maritime Heritage at NOAA, and hosted six seasons of National Geographic’s The Sea Hunters. He has authored or edited more than 33 books on archaeology and history.
Jamie Bock, Olivier Doré, and John Wisniewski
Sylvia A. Earle Award; NASA SPHEREx Mission Team
The NASA SPHEREx mission team — Jamie Bock (Principal Investigator, Caltech), Olivier Doré (Project Scientist, NASA JPL), and John Wisniewski (Program Scientist, NASA Headquarters) — completed the first infrared map of the entire sky in 102 colors, observing hundreds of millions of galaxies and tracing the chemical building blocks of life throughout the cosmos.
Mr. Levie issued the following statement:
"It is a profound honor and joy to welcome such remarkable men and women to The Explorers Club Annual Dinner. This extraordinary gathering — astronauts and oceanographers, statesmen, diplomats and conservationists, financiers, entrepreneurs, artists, adventurers, and philanthropists — embodies everything The Explorers Club stands for: the relentless pursuit of knowledge, the courage to venture into the unknown, and the conviction that exploration makes our world a better place.
I am especially moved this evening to celebrate our distinguished medalists. To Morad Tahbaz — artist, activist, and a man who has endured what few among us can imagine — your resilience and your refusal to let darkness extinguish the light of creativity is itself an act of exploration. To Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, whose vision transformed millions of acres of wilderness into protected lands for generations yet unborn — you have reminded us that the greatest expeditions are those undertaken in service of the Earth itself. To Paul Tudor Jones, whose generosity and commitment to those left behind by fortune has charted a course toward a more just world — your work is exploration of the highest order. To Victor Vescovo, who has stood upon the summit of Everest, plumbed the deepest trenches of every ocean, and touched the edge of space — you have traveled farther along the vertical axis of our planet than any human being in history, and in doing so, you have expanded what we believe is possible. To Janet Walsh, a portrait artist, musician, equestrian, archeologist, professor, and globe-trotting businesswoman - you define what it means to be a true Renaissance Woman in the 21st Century. To Charlie Duke, a man who literally walked on the Moon, I salute your boundless courage and indominable spirit.
I wish also to pay tribute this evening to the men and women who have carried the mantle of leadership of this extraordinary institution. To our past presidents — Richard Garriott de Cayeux, whose vast imagination carried the spirit of exploration beyond the atmosphere of our world; Richard Wiese, whose infectious passion for adventure and gift for bringing exploration to the widest possible audience has introduced The Explorers Club to a new generation; and to all who came before them — each has left an indelible mark upon this Club, shaping it with their unique vision, their singular talents, and their unshakeable devotion to the cause of discovery. This institution is what it is because of what they gave to it. I am extraordinarily grateful for their friendship and fellowship.
And it is with particular joy that I welcome our incoming President, Barbara Doran — a leader of rare intelligence, warmth, and resolve, whose commitment to this Club and to the ideals it represents is manifest in everything she does. Barbara, the torch passes to steady and capable hands, and we are all the more confident in the future of The Explorers Club for knowing that you will carry it forward.
I deeply appreciate each of our distinguished guests for gracing us with their presence this evening, and I extend my heartfelt thanks to my fellow Trustees of The Explorers Club for their vision, their dedication, and their unwavering commitment to the greatest mission there is — the exploration of our planet and our universe. I also wish to express my deep gratitude to our cherished longtime corporate partner, Rolex, whose steadfast support has been indispensable to the Club’s mission of advancing exploration across every frontier. And I extend a warm and enthusiastic welcome to Banana Republic and its dynamic CEO, Richard Dickson, as a distinguished new Partner of The Explorers Club — we are honored to have such a bold and storied American brand join our community of explorers and visionaries.”
The Members Dinner
Saturday evening also saw the gathering of The Explorers Club Members’ Dinner — known as “TECMD” — held at the Essex House overlooking Central Park. Organized by members as an alternative to ECAD, the dinner brought explorers together at a separate venue on the same evening. The 2026 Members Dinner Committee was led by Tom Dietz, Adam Francis, Tina Chiarelli, Rory Golden, David Collette, Lizzie Thome, and West Hansen.
The evening’s most memorable moment came when soprano Katherine Meckel performed Ode to Exploration, set to the melody and orchestration of Ludwig van Beethoven’s immortal Ode to Joy, with lyrics composed by L. M. Levie, Chairman of AIAC and Trustee and Poet Laureate of The Explorers Club. The performance brought the room to its feet, infusing the grandeur of one of classical music’s greatest works with a stirring tribute to the spirit of exploration. The dinner was followed by an afterparty at The Explorers Club headquarters, where the festivities continued well into the night.
All members in attendance received copies of four of Mr. Levie’s poems: Chorus of the Cosmos — A Tribute to Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell, An Elegy for Captain Fred McLaren, A Tribute to Her Deepness, and There Walks a Breed— a collection that reflected the full breadth of his role as Poet Laureate and his dedication to honoring the Club’s legends through verse.
ECAD Sunday: The Fifth Annual David Press Explorers Club Dinner
Sunday’s program began at Club headquarters, where The Explorers Club Annual Meeting anchored the morning, with reports from Vice Presidents and the announcement of new Board Members. The afternoon brought the return of Club Flags from the field, a beloved ceremony open to all, before the day continued with a Closing Reception.
The day culminated in one of the weekend’s most anticipated satellite events: the Fifth Annual David Press Explorers Club Dinner, hosted by David Press on Sunday evening. Some 135 guests gathered at the Orsay French Bistro in New York City, with world-renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle — known the world over as “Her Deepness” — serving as guest of honor. Dr. Earle is one of the world’s most celebrated marine biologists and oceanographers, having dedicated over five decades to exploring and protecting marine environments.
The highlight of the dinner itself was the recitation of A Tribute to Her Deepness, also composed by Mr. Levie. The poem was delivered by Rory Golden, Chairman of The Explorers Club’s UK and Ireland Chapter, to a deeply moved audience. The poem, which Mr. Levie had previously recited at the United Nations during Oceans Week, is found below:
Insert the poem A Tribute to Her Deepness here. This poem is embedded in this release:
https://www.aiac.com/news/aiac-chairman-honors-ocean-explorer-dr-sylvia-earle-at-the-united-nations
Mr. Levie noted that he chose to honor Dr. Earle in verse because poetry, like the ocean itself, speaks to the depths of the human soul, and that for over five decades, Sylvia has been the ocean’s most eloquent voice, its most passionate defender, and its most dedicated guardian.
Monday – The All-Day Brunch
The weekend’s festivities extended into Monday, as L. M. Levie and AIAC served as co-hosts of the Ann Passer All-Day Brunch, held at 200 Central Park South. The gathering brought together explorers from across the full sweep of the weekend’s events for a relaxed and convivial day in which each guest introduced themselves and shared news of their current projects and expeditions — a tradition that transformed the brunch into an informal symposium of discovery, as only a gathering of explorers could produce.
Mr. Levie also shared a selection of his music videos with the assembled guests, including A Tribute to Her Deepness, Odysseys, The Ballad of Jane Goodall, and To Those Who Carry Delta Through the Skies — works that embodied his role as Poet Laureate of The Explorers Club and his enduring commitment to celebrating the indomitable spirit of exploration through art. The brunch brought the extraordinary ECAD 2026 weekend to a warm and fitting close, sending explorers back to the far corners of the world inspired, reconnected, and ready for their next odyssey.
About The Explorers Club
Founded in 1904, The Explorers Club is a prestigious international multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore. Based at its historic headquarters in New York City, the Club has served as a meeting point and unifying force for explorers and scientists worldwide for over a century.
The Club's membership includes many of history's most renowned explorers and scientists, from polar explorers Robert Peary and Roald Amundsen to oceanic pioneers Jacques Cousteau and Robert Ballard, from aviation legends Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart to space pioneers like Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Jim Lovell. The Club continues to support cutting-edge exploration in every realm—from the deepest ocean trenches to the highest peaks, from archaeological discoveries to space missions.
The Explorers Club is renowned for its rigorous standards of membership, requiring nominees to have made significant contributions to exploration or the sciences that advance our understanding of the world. The Club's Board of Trustees, Legacy Society, and various committees work to preserve the Club's mission while fostering new generations of explorers through grants, expeditions, and educational programs.
The Club's famous annual dinner, featuring exotic cuisine and presentations by leading explorers, has become legendary in New York society. More importantly, The Explorers Club continues to fund and support expeditions that push the boundaries of human knowledge, from climate research in Antarctica to biodiversity studies in remote rainforests to preparations for future Mars missions.
AIAC Chairman L. M. Levie serves as Member of its Board of Trustees and as Poet Laureate and Member of its Legacy Society. As Poet Laureate, Mr. Levie contributes to the Club's cultural mission by capturing the spirit of exploration through verse, honoring both historical achievements and contemporary discoveries that continue to expand the frontiers of human knowledge and experience.
For further information, please see: https://www.explorers.org
About The Explorers Club Annual Dinner
Held annually since the club's inception in 1904, The Explorers Club Annual Dinner has served as a celebration of the world's greatest achievements in exploration. Known as the most coveted invitation in the world, the formal, black tie event traditionally was held at New York's Waldorf Astoria, and in recent years has migrated to the Glasshouse, a sleek, modern ballroom astride the Hudson River in Manhattan.
While The Explorers Club Annual Dinner's original menu at the Waldorf Astoria was famous for serving exotic animals, the Club has long since departed from this tradition and now embraces conventional cuisine, as the club's conservationist credentials have taken precedence. Nevertheless, tempting insect hors d'oeuvres are still available for adventurous connoisseurs during the cocktail reception prior to the formal dinner.
Attendees of the iconic Explorers Club Annual Dinner have included the most prominent figures from the worlds of exploration, business, finance, government, media, and entertainment.
For further information, please see:
https://www.felixkunze.com/explorers-club-annual-dinner-2025
About American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) is a diversified industrial group with manufacturing and distribution sites in 24 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia-New Zealand. AIAC has acquired and grown non-core subsidiaries and divisions of Boeing, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Johnson Controls, Merck, Pfizer, Astellas, Visteon, Carlyle, Ahlstrom, Tolko, Groupe Suez, Groupe Rexel, and many other leading multinational corporations.
AIAC companies serve companies and governmental entities worldwide in all major sectors, including aviation, space, defense, automotive, truck, rail, marine, petrochemical, solar, nuclear, food, confectionary, beverage, civil engineering and infrastructure, commercial construction, mining, dredging, disaster relief, education, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, AIAC companies are exclusive, authorized distributors of leading branded industrial and consumer products and serve as critical suppliers for the construction of major airports, schools, hospitals, performing arts and sports centers, offices and hotels throughout Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. AIAC is a leading manufacturer of building, street, and highway signage in Europe, and a distributor of electrical products throughout France.
Of note, AIAC purchased Boeing Canada in 2005 and has produced over 10,000 unique components for every Boeing jet plane ever since, reliably serving Boeing from manufacturing facilities in North America. A leader in ultra-high precision jet engine component manufacturing, AIAC companies produce 2,200 fan blades for each jet engine produced by GE, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, and Honeywell.
AIAC companies actively support exploration into outer space, manufacturing critical components for launching and propelling spacecraft and satellites. AIAC customers in this sector include NASA, the European Space Agency, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Boeing. AIAC affiliate, Champlain Cable Corporation, supported the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space missions with high performance wire and cable. AIAC companies also lead in the design and manufacture of undersea umbilical cables for worldwide oceanographic research.
AIAC companies produce the critical automotive wire and cable for Tesla, GM, Ford, Chrysler-Fiat, Toyota, and Nissan. In connection with its kraft paper manufacturing interests in Canada and the US, AIAC controls and sustainably manages 22 million acres of Manitoba, Canada forestland, an area equivalent in size to the nation of Hungary.
AIAC affiliate, Metallwarenfabrik Gemmingen GmbH, located in Germany, designs, manufactures and distributes high performance, emergency portable power generators utilized in global conflict zones and during natural disasters.
For further information, please see: www.aiac.com
About AIAC Philanthropy
AIAC and the AIAC Foundation support a wide range of nonprofit, nonsectarian, bipartisan organizations which promote international conflict resolution, disaster relief, economic development, environmental sustainability, exploration, and the performing arts.
The exploration-focused nonprofit organizations which they actively support include The Explorers Club, the National Geographic Society, the Royal Geographical Society, the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Space Society, and the United States Space Foundation.
AIAC's other beneficiaries include the Appeal of the Nobel Peace Laureates Foundation Inc., the Asia Society, the Atlantic Council, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Gates Philanthropy Partners, the Bretton Woods Committee, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carter Center, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Foreign Policy Association, the Institut Française des Relations Internationales, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Crisis Group, the International Rescue Committee, the Japan Society, the JFK School of Government of Harvard University, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), the Sierra Club, the Trilateral Commission, and the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute.
For further information, please see: https://www.aiac.com/our-values
Media Contact:
Isabel Carro-Toro, Vice President
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
+34 689 295 827 (Spain)
+1 787 244 3175 (USA)
icarro-toro@aiac.com