Intrepid has today announced the appointment of Zina Bencheikh as Managing Director EMEA, based in the tour operator’s European headquarters of London.
Moroccan-born Bencheikh has worked at Intrepid for more than a decade, most recently as Regional General Manager of Europe, Middle East, and North Africa of PEAK DMC, the adventure travel company’s operations arm.
The largest certified B Corp in the travel industry, Intrepid is a vertically integrated business that includes 25 destination management companies, three tour operator brands and a not-for-profit, The Intrepid Foundation.
The new role will see Bencheikh leading more than 70 Brixton-based staff to grow sales from the region, which is core to Intrepid’s 2025 strategy, says Chief Commercial Officer Brett Mitchell.
“I’m absolutely delighted that Zina will be leading the team in Europe. Not only does she have valuable experience managing our largest and most complex operations region, she’s an outstanding example of Intrepid’s values and a role model to many in the industry”, says Mitchell.
Educated in France and the UK, Bencheikh started her career in finance in Paris before returning to Morocco to join Intrepid as Finance Manager in 2010. She has progressed rapidly through a number of financial and operational leadership roles with the company, while championing gender equality initiatives, particularly for women in North Africa.
Last year Bencheikh took on the role of Regional General Manager of EMENA, Intrepid’s largest operations region, which saw her manage 100 staff and 350 tour leaders working for five destination management companies operating across 44 countries.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to lead Intrepid’s growth in the UK & Europe, because the region is absolutely key to our plan of Growing with Purpose, “says Bencheikh
“I’ve seen for myself the difference that tourism can make to a community, when it’s done well. Brits and Europeans are some of the most adventurous, eco-conscious, and informed travellers in the world. We have fantastic opportunity to better draw on our local knowledge and operational strength to connect with our customers and increase our positive impact on the ground.”
The appointment comes off the back of a record financial year for Intrepid Group globally, including 16 per cent growth in total transactional value (TTV) for the EMEA sales region. The multi-brand group achieved 21 per cent growth in group Total Transactional Value (TTV) at $488.4 million (from $402 million).
Robyn Nixon, who was appointed as Interim Managing Director EMEA in December, will remain in Intrepid’s Brixton office until September to support the Bencheikh and the team during the transition.
“Robyn has done an incredible job of leading the European office over the past few months” says Mitchell. “We’re thrilled that she has agreed to stay on to support Zina and the team as we continue to grow the adventure travel sector.”
