TORONTO — Intrepid Travel has restructured its North American leadership team.

Leigh Barnes, the company’s current Chief Customer Officer, is moving into the role of President of the Americas, while Christian Wolters has been appointed to the newly created position of President of Canada.

Barnes, who has been with the company for more than a decade, steps into his new role in January 2025, at which point he will be responsible for leading all aspects of the region, including operations, sales and marketing. He is currently based in Intrepid’s global head office in Melbourne Australia and will relocated to the Pacific Northwest in the United States.

Wolters returns to Intrepid in his new role on July 1, 2024. He most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer at TourRadar where he also led the North American team for the past nine years. Notably, Wolters was a founding team member of Intrepid in Canada from 2008 to 2015, before eventually becoming General Manager and VP of Sales.

“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.”

Other changes to the Americas management team include current President of Americas Matt Berna transitioning to the role of 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. He remains President of the Americas until January 2025. Meanwhile, Tom Smith will be taking over the role of General Manager, Central America & Mexico, reporting to Managing Director of Latin America Gary Cohen. 

“This structure will take Intrepid to the next level in the Americas,” adds Thornton. “We know that travel brings people together, opens hearts and minds and creates greater understanding … 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.”

Tom Smith (left) and Matt Berna (right)