Return of former marketing leader to MD post after a company secondment sees travel operator with an all-female executive leadership team
Intrepid Travel is boasting of its first all-female regional leadership team following several executive changes announced this week.
The global tour operator confirmed Sarah Clark has returned as managing director for the A/NZ business, having completed a one-year secondment leading Intrepid’s global accommodation strategy. During this time, she oversaw a partnership with off-grid accommodation company, CABN, and will retain leadership of this business going forward.
Clark initially joined Intrepid in 2018 as general manager of marketing, and has built her career in general management, marketing, product and sales roles locally plus across the UK, Canada and US. At Intrepid, she has held core management team roles for the past two years. Clark is also on the board of Tourism Tasmania.
“I’m thrilled to be returning my focus to the Australian and New Zealand markets. We’ve seen domestic travel return in waves and we are finally seeing the uptick and return of international travel as well,” Clark said.
Intrepid also confirmed it’s promoted Yvette Thompson to general manager of sales and partnerships to lead all partner relationships and commercial agreements across the A/NZ region. Thompson replaces Cameron Elliott, who will head up global sales for Intrepid’s network of 25 destination management companies.
“I am looking forward to working even more closely with our partners to deliver new opportunities as we continue to grow. I’m also excited to be recruiting for a partnership manager, who will ensure we provide our agents and partners the support they need as travel rebounds,” Thompson said.
Intrepid’s now all-female A/NZ leadership team includes general manager of marketing, Louise Laing; general manager of inside sales and customer experience, Julie Risteveski; and general manager of commercial finance, Lauren McCormick.
“Intrepid has focused on increasing our number of female tour leaders and crew over the years and now I’m extremely proud to lead our first-ever all-female regional leadership team,” Clark commented. “We know that solo female travellers are among our largest customer groups and with this team, we have ambitious plans to grow rapidly with purpose and ensure even more people can again explore the world with us.”
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