TORONTO — Intrepid has appointed Matt Berna as its new Managing Director of North America.

Berna, who started his travel career 25 years ago as a tour leader, will oversee the company’s Toronto headquarters and employees based throughout Canada and the United States.

With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting international travel, Intrepid plans to expand the North American team’s remit beyond sales and marketing, focusing on increasing its operational capabilities to build more product in-house for its customers throughout the continent.

In his new role, Berna will oversee Intrepid’s direct and industry sales strategies in North America and help continue to grow the region’s B2B white-label sales. He will also have oversight of the development and operations of Intrepid’s North American-based trips, which will include domestic travel options as well as traditional tours for international visitors.

Prior to this new appointment, Berna held several roles within the Intrepid Group family of brands since 2008, most recently as General Manager of Global Sales for PEAK DMC, the destination management arm of Intrepid Group.

On welcoming Berna to the team, Intrepid’s Chief Sales Officer, Brett Mitchell, said: “As we solidify our strategic plan for the next several years, taking into account the impacts COVID has had on both the travel industry and our business, it’s important that we have the right structure in place. The operational expertise Matt possesses, along with his tenure within the tourism sector and our business, allows him to lead our North American team with clear direction and bring even more sustainable and responsible trip offerings to our American and Canadian customers.”