Intrepid Group expands global executive team

0a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a-2
0a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a-2

The Intrepid Group internally recruits Chief Growth Officer and Chief Purpose Officer to lead the company’s growth and purpose beyond profit vision

The Intrepid Group, the world’s largest adventure travel company, announced the addition of two new senior executive roles on its global leadership team. Effective January 1, 2018, Michael Edwards will move into the role of Chief Growth Officer and Leigh Barnes will formally move into the newly created role of Chief Purpose Officer on July 1, 2018.

It has been two years since the Intrepid Group returned to independent ownership, since then it has seen record growth of 20 per cent per year across all of its brands. Aligned with the company’s long term vision, CEO James Thornton created the roles to focus on sustained growth in both purpose and profit. Thornton believes the Chief Growth Officer (CGO) and Chief Purpose Officer (CPO) will help Intrepid Group become the first billion-dollar adventure travel company, while donating $3 million into local communities through the Intrepid Foundation by 2020.

“The new senior executive roles are a testament to the rapid growth and innovation we are experiencing as a global leader in the tourism industry,” said Intrepid Group CEO James Thornton. “We created these roles so that we can continue to fulfill our business’s founding philosophy of helping people and the planet through travel – while creating a new industry standard where purpose and profit are not mutually exclusive.”

In his role as CGO, Michael Edwards, formally Intrepid Group’s regional director in Europe, Middle East and Asia, will manage Intrepid Group’s Regional Directors and Marketing Services team. In 2018, Michael Edwards will help Intrepid Group expand its Adventure Cruising programme into Asia and launch its first Antarctica charters in partnership with Chimu Adventures.

The new CPO, Leigh Barnes, formally director of North America, will work closely with The Intrepid Foundation and external partners as Intrepid Group seeks to create more shared value projects and operate a business with a purpose beyond profit. In 2018, it will be committing 0.75% of global revenue towards purpose activities, creating a team of dedicated employees to lead The Intrepid Foundation, and attaining B-Corp status.

“The board and the leadership team are confident that Leigh Barnes and Michael Edwards are the best people for their respective roles and ensure the company is both profitable and sustainable,” said Thornt¬¬on.

About the author

Avatar of Chief Assignment Editor

Chief Assignment Editor

Chief Assignment editor is Oleg Siziakov

Share to...