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Intrepid Travel chief executive James Thornton came away with the coveted overall CEO of the Year award at The CEO Magazine’s 2024 Executive of the Year Awards on Thursday, 14th November.
The title is given to chief executives who made the most significant contributions to their respective organisations and industries, but have also made an impact on the wider Australian or even global corporate communities.
Aside from the biggest award of the evening, Thornton was also hailed CEO of the Year in the awards’ Consumer & Lifestyle category.
Intrepid Travel itself was named runner-up for the 100% Human at Work Award at the same event.
Thornton said of the accolades: “It’s a little bit surreal and an absolute honour to have been named CEO of the Year at the 2024 Executive of the Year Awards in Sydney last night. This truly is a team recognition and reflects the incredible work that our Intrepid people do every day to create positive change through the joy of travel.”
He also cited fellow awardee, cricketer and philanthropist Glenn McGrath, who declared that anyone with great people and a great team can achieve great things.
An impactful story of a man of impact
Thornton originally joined Intrepid Travel in 2005 when he came aboard the company’s UK team as an industry sales manager.
At the time, he recently turned his back on a position at a private asset management firm in London in search of a more fulfilling career.
Since he took on the top post at Intrepid in 2017, he has not looked back and continues to help clients experience the transformative power of travel.
Thornton is big on the aspects of connectivity and community-building involved in travel, particularly after the way the pandemic forced the world into isolation and a higher reliance on remote technologies to communicate.
As he puts it: “In an increasingly isolated, artificial and disconnected world, it’s this sense of community and connectedness that our industry is in a unique position to provide. ‘The World Needs More Intrepid People’ is our strategic aspiration and our goal is to become a US$1 billion purpose-led brand.”
Greater opportunities for change
For Thornton, the long-term goal for Intrepid Travel is to create more opportunities for connection, impact and positive change.
This is in keeping with the company’s overarching mission to create positive change through the joy of travel, and to balance purpose and profit.
That said, Thornton’s unique ethos plays into all aspects of how the company conducts business.
He said: “That makes us a little different, because everything is about having a purpose. We are about offering amazing experiences and that is core to everything we do; but we also have the opportunity to support positive change in the world and communities. This strong purpose was embedded by our founders 35 years ago and it’s been our north star through some of the toughest times.”
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