Intrepid Group aims to become a $1 billion adventure
travel company by 2020 and increase its give-back initiatives as revenues rise,
and has created two senior executive roles to help the company reach its goals.
Effective Jan. 1, Michael Edwards will move into the role of
chief growth officer. Leigh Barnes will become chief purpose officer on July 1.
Leigh Barnes
Edwards, currently Intrepid Group's regional director in
Europe, Middle East and Asia, will manage the company's regional directors and
marketing services team. For 2018, he aims to expand adventure cruising into
Asia and launch Intrepid's Antarctica charters in partnership with Chimu
Adventures.
Barnes, Intrepid's director of North America, will work with
the company's philanthropic arm, Intrepid Foundation, and external partners to
create more give-back projects. In 2018, Intrepid will commit 0.75% of global
revenue toward supporting community activities and will develop a dedicated
team for Intrepid Foundation.
Michael Edwards
"The new senior executive roles are a testament to the
rapid growth and innovation we are experiencing," Intrepid Group CEO James
Thornton said in a statement. "We created these roles so that we can
continue to fulfill our business' founding philosophy of helping people and the
planet through travel."
The move comes following two years of 20% growth since
Intrepid returned to independent ownership. In 2015, after the company had been
owned by TUI Group for four years, Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester reassumed
full ownership of the adventure travel company they co-founded in 1989.