Christian Wolters Named President, Canada For Intrepid Travel

Intrepid Travel has big plans for growth in North America, and the company has unveiled a new-look North American leadership team and structure to deliver on its growth strategy. The changes include Christian Wolters being appointed to a newly created position of President, Canada. 

Other changes include current Chief Customer Officer Leigh Barnes moving into the role of President of the Americas. Barnes has been with the company for more than a decade. He will move into his new role from January 2025 and 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 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 focused on 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 marks other changes to the Americas management team. 

Intrepid Travel’s Matt Berna and Tom Smith. (Photo Credit: Intrepid Travel)

Current President of the Americas, Matt Berna, will transition to become Senior Vice President, U.S. Sales & 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.

Intrepid says Berna has been pivotal in Intrepid’s growth, including developing the company’s North American strategy. He remains President of the Americas until January 2025. 

The return of Wolters as President of Canada and General Manager, North America Marketing, effective July 1, is significant. He was a founding team member of Intrepid in Canada from 2008 to 2015 culminating as General Manager and VP of Sales. 

Wolters was most recently Chief Marketing Officer at TourRadar where he also led the North America team for the past nine years.

“This structure will help take Intrepid to the next level in the Americas,” says 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 USA and broader Americas region.”

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