Intrepid announces senior leadership changes

Intrepid Travel has announced changes to its senior leadership team and structure.

These moves include current Chief Customer Officer Leigh Barnes moving into the role of president of the Americas and Christian Wolters being appointed to the newly created position of president of Canada.

Barnes has been with the company for more than a decade and currently leads the company’s customer strategy to deliver revenue growth.

He will move into his new role in Jan. 2025 and will be responsible for leading all aspects of the region, including operations, sales and marketing.

Barnes is currently based in Intrepid’s global head office in Melbourne, Australia, and will relocate his family to the Pacific Northwest U.S.

Barnes previously led Intrepid’s North American team during a record period of growth between 2015 and 2018, before going on to be appointed Intrepid’s first chief purpose officer in 2019.

In this role, he embedded impact further into the company’s model and its approach of balancing purpose and profit.

“Intrepid’s brand has grown exponentially in North America, from our first tiny office in California over 20 years ago to our fastest growing region globally,” said CEO James Thornton. “Under this new structure, the Americas will play a key role in our ambitious growth strategy for 2030.”

The announcement also marks other changes to the Americas management team.

Current President of Americas Matt Berna will transition to become senior vice-president, U.S. sales and operations and global B2B external sales.

He will focus on the development of Intrepid’s domestic operations, including Intrepid-owned Wildland Trekking, U.S. B2B sales and global business development for Intrepid’s DMC network.

Berna has been pivotal in Intrepid’s growth, including developing the company’s North American strategy.

He remains president of the Americas until Jan. 2025.

Meanwhile, Christian Wolters returns to Intrepid in the newly established role as president of Canada and general manager, North America marketing, effective July 1, 2024.

Wolters is an established leader, most recently as chief marketing officer at TourRadar, where he also led the North America team for the past nine years.

Wolters was a founding team member of Intrepid in Canada from 2008 to 2015 and was general manager and vice-president of sales.

The move marks a new opportunity for Tom Smith, who will be taking over the role of general manager, Central America and Mexico.

Smith will report to Managing Director of Latin America Gary Cohen, who is a member of Americas leadership team, alongside Berna and Wolters, and other key functional leaders who will all report to Barnes effective Jan. 1, 2025.

“This structure will help take Intrepid to the next level in the Americas,” said Thornton. “We know that travel brings people together, opens hearts and minds and creates greater understanding. There has never been a greater need for this. The world needs more Intrepid people and I believe this is the moment to double down on our opportunity in the U.S. and broader Americas region.”

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