In 2001 McNeill founded Ice Warrior Project, an organisation which gave "ordinary" people the opportunity to become modern-day polar explorers and achieve extraordinary feats of endurance and endeavour on purposeful, worthwhile expeditions of a citizen science nature.

McNeill attended Queen Elizabeth's Boys’ School in Barnet where he was not interested in matters academic and, instead, he concentrated on sporting prowess and disruptive practical jokes.

Here, despite his youth (aged 16 years), he was put in charge of Young Patrol where he excelled in every aspect of outdoor pursuits, being described as a “bold and fearless climber, he proved to be very tenacious when faced with difficulties and persevered until they were overcome”.

A week later he was employed by The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Berkshire where he worked in soil science identifying agricultural practices effecting ammonia volatilization from urea, groundwater pollution and ozone depletion over Antarctica as a result of ammonium nitrate fertilisers.

With a career spanning environmental science, the British Army, marketing communications and fire & rescue services (where he specialised in road traffic accidents and spent 10 years as a fire officer for the Royal Household) McNeill has selected, trained and led highly successful teams from top-level corporations, through high risk polar expeditions, to critical lifesaving situations where effective leadership and hands-on teamwork are paramount.

He spent over 170 days during the course of three separate expeditions on Ellesmere Island; (i) to the Geomagnetic North Pole via Sverdrup Pass from Eureka up the eastern coast to the Darling Peninsula (ii) following a pack of eight wolves and (iii) following three adults and six cubs on both occasions with a BBC film crew.

He was the expedition leader for BBC Scotland - The Last Explorers series following in the footsteps of William Spiers Bruce which involved a crossing of the infamous Southern Ocean via Drake's Passage with Neil Oliver in a yacht called Pelagic skippered by Skip Novak He has delivered performance development to clients such as National Police Improvement Agency, PwC, BT Openreach and the Irish Rugby Football Union (national team).