Intrepid Travel is seeking a Chief Marketing Officer – a newly created role for a global marketing wunderkind – as current Chief Customer Officer Leigh Barnes takes up his new position in the USA as President of the Americas.
The person filling the brand-new C-suite role will report directly to CEO James Thornton and focus on leading and driving commercial strategies across brand, product, marketing and PR globally.
It’s a pivotal position to help drive Intrepid Travel’s ambitious 2030 strategy to double revenue to $1.3 billion and expand its customer base to 600,000, building on a record net profit of $21.8 million in 2023.
Thornton said: “Intrepid’s Chief Marketing Officer is a senior leadership role with the responsibility of bringing our 2030 strategic aspiration of ‘the world needs more Intrepid people’ to life.”
“It’s a super exciting time in Intrepid Travel’s growth trajectory and this role has a huge opportunity to make an impact across brand, product (experiences), marketing and PR and deliver our customer experience and sales on a global scale.”
As Chief Customer Officer, Barnes was responsible for leading Intrepid’s global marketing, CX and digital functions, embedding a customer-focused culture across the business.
He moves into his new role as President of the Americas in January 2025 and will lead all aspects of the region, including operations, sales and marketing.
He previously led Intrepid’s North American team during a record period of growth between 2015 and 2018 before he was appointed Intrepid’s first Chief Purpose Officer in 2019. Christian Wolters will take on the newly created position of President of Canada.
Thornton outlined his hopes for the region: “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. Under this new structure, the Americas will play a key role in our ambitious growth strategy for 2030.”
For more info, head to intrepidtravel.com/au
