A senior vice president at one of the world’s top financial firms is set to swap the skyscrapers and bistros of Canary Wharf for minus 20 degrees on frozen Arctic lakes and five days of travelling by husky dog.

Wade McDonald, from State Street Global Services, has signed up to take on the extreme conditions of Greenland by dog sled starting on Friday.

He treks 200 miles from Kulusuk to the shores of the Tasiilaqfjord with five other colleagues from the financial sector, battling over glaciers, hunting and fishing for their food and of course keeping an eye out for hungry polar bears.

“I’m very much a tropical person,” Wade admits. “The last place I would usually expect to go is the Arctic tundra.

“But it will be interesting to see just what life is like in that kind of frozen environment.”

Wade is raising money for east London’s Richard House Children’s Hospice at Beckton, which supports 270 families caring for children and young people with life-threatening conditions. Services it offers include end-of-life care, therapy and respite care for parents.

Wade intends bringing presents back from the Arctic for the hospice children and talking to them about his adventure.