Tour operator Intrepid Group has named 35-year-old James
Thornton to serve as the company's next CEO.
Thornton, previously managing director of the
Australia-based company, succeeds Intrepid co-founder Darrell Wade and will be
the first non-founding CEO of the Intrepid Group, which employs 1,600 people in
27 offices worldwide. Intrepid's U.S. headquarters is in Petaluma, Calif.
James Thornton
Wade is handing over the day-to-day management to Thornton and
will serve as executive chairman of the company he helped launched as Intrepid
Travel in 1989. Intrepid Group now includes the brands Intrepid Travel, Geckos
Adventures, Peregrine Adventures, Adventure Tours Australia, and Urban
Adventures, as well as 19 destination management companies and the nonprofit Intrepid
Foundation.
The Intrepid Group brings more than 300,000 travelers to
some 100 countries each year, a volume of travel that offers an opportunity for
the company to evoke positive change in the world, according to Thornton.
"We have a strategic intention to try to change the way
that people see the world," Thornton told Travel Weekly. "We do
strongly believe that our style of travel makes a difference."
He added that as a millennial, he hopes to connect with
Intrepid's target demographic as well as its youthful base of employees to
innovate and adapt the business well into the future. Thornton plans on
launching new products and new brands, including more niche and themed styles
of travel, all with an emphasis on expanding its sustainable travel agenda to
better address issues of climate change, biodiversity and more ethical travel,
among others -- "having a purpose beyond profit," as Thornton
described it.
Driven by ethical and sustainable business decisions, such
as eliminating elephant rides from its offerings, Thornton said that Intrepid
has grown from a $40-million business to a $300-million one in 10 years.
The appointment comes 20 months after Wade and co-founder
Geoff Manchester bought Intrepid Group back from European tour conglomerate
TUI. The company reported that is has enjoyed "record sales" since
the split, and has also moved to new offices in Melbourne and London, offered
company-wide bonuses, and has raised more than $760,000 for charities.
Originally from the U.K., Thornton worked in investment
management before joining Intrepid Travel's U.K. office as sales and marketing
coordinator in 2005. Over the past 12 years, he has risen through the ranks,
including having the dual roles as U.K. and Europe regional director and
general manager of global sales. He helped establish day tour company Urban
Adventures, and was then appointed to Intrepid's global leadership team before
becoming managing director of Intrepid Travel, and then managing director of Intrepid
Group.
Intrepid co-founder and owner Geoff Manchester remains as
chairman of Intrepid Foundation. Wade will be focusing on several new
opportunities, including developing the Chinese market and further expanding
the company's new small-ship adventure cruises.