Intrepid Travel’s Natalie Kidd has just been named one of AFR’s top women in leadership for 2025. For the travel trade, it’s a rare spotlight on someone who usually flies under the radar—but makes entire networks soar. From opening Intrepid’s first office in Vietnam to now overseeing operations across 29 countries, Kidd’s career proves that quiet consistency can build a global movement.
Before she was a leader, Kidd was a traveller. Her first-ever Intrepid trip (the South-East Asia Loop – her first ever Intrepid trip taken years before she joined the company) sparked something bigger than wanderlust. Armed with a Master of Asian Studies, a BA in Asian Studies, and later an MBA, she joined the company in 2005 as the founding GM of Vietnam. One office soon became a network, and Kidd found herself at the helm of a fast-growing region.
From first trip to front line
Today, Kidd leads all operations across Asia, including Intrepid’s largest office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and oversees global operations for the business. Her journey, nearly two decades in the making, has been marked by scale, substance and steadfast commitment to purpose.
“It’s an honour to be named alongside so many inspiring, purpose-driven women who are reshaping the future of business in Australia,” Kidd said.
Navigating upheaval, grounding growth
Kidd’s rise coincided with some of the travel industry’s most volatile moments. From the Arab Spring and Nepal’s 2015 earthquake to a pandemic that ground global movement to a halt, Kidd has helped steer teams through turbulence with a focus on people, not panic.
“Natalie has helped shape Intrepid into the purpose-driven business it is today,” James Thornton, CEO of Intrepid Travel said.
“She’s an exceptional leader with the rare ability to navigate complexity, lift others, scale teams, and stay true to our values no matter the challenge.”
That focus on values isn’t just philosophy, it’s personnel (sorry). According to Intrepid, Kidd has played a central role in backing talent from within, helping shape the careers of leaders like Zina Bencheikh (now Managing Director of EMEA) and Anu Karunatilaka (Chief Technology Officer). Spotting promise early and giving it room to grow has become a defining trait of her leadership.
Values that scale
Intrepid’s rise has often been viewed through the lens of sustainability and adventure travel, but its growth also rests on leaders like Kidd, who have embedded local knowledge and long-term thinking into every layer of the business. Today, the company operates more than 900 trips in over 100 countries and runs its own operations in 31 of them.
Certified as a B Corporation since 2018, Intrepid was the first global tour operator to set near-term, science-based climate targets validated through the Science Based Targets Initiative. Its not-for-profit arm, The Intrepid Foundation, has raised more than $18 million for over 160 community-based partners.
A recognition that reflects more than one career
Kidd’s ranking in AFR’s 2025 Women in Leadership list may be an individual accolade, but it lands as something more collective. For travel professionals, it signals the increasing influence of purpose-led leadership and the quiet power of people who build from within.
KARRYON UNPACKS: Kidd’s AFR recognition is proof that values and vision can power serious growth. For agents, it’s a case study in what happens when purpose isn’t just a brand value, but a business model.
