The Board of Directors of Wilderness Holdings Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of Keith Vincent as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Keith has been acting CEO for the last five months, having previously served for six years as Chief Operating Officer.
After 20 years’ commitment and dedication to the Wilderness Group, Keith brings to the position a wealth of knowledge of both the company’s operations and the safari industry in general. Growing up in Zimbabwe, Keith knew at the age of nine that he wanted to contribute to the conservation of his country’s wildlife and the protection of its wilderness areas. He is humbled and grateful for the support and confidence that he has received from the Board and the company’s 2 500-plus staff members.
“With good people, you can achieve anything and I am extremely proud of the remarkable people who have grown the company to where it is today. It is now time to have some fun and to continue making a difference. I have one major goal for our business and that is to make sure that our unique, financially viable model of non-consumptive ecotourism land use continues to generate benefits for the people and wildlife in the areas that we already look after and those in which we might be present in the future. I’ve been enormously humbled by what we have achieved over the last 30 years and want to ensure that we continue to build on this”, said Keith.
Over the next two months, Keith, together with a wide group of senior staff, will develop a broad-based strategic vision in order to drive the business forwards. Together with the Board, he remains committed to the company’s vision and 4Cs philosophy (Commerce, Conservation, Community and Culture) and will be looking at further ways to support the sustainability of the business. With exciting plans to build a new camp in the Hoanib area adjacent to the Skeleton Coast in north-west Namibia, the Group will continue to develop new camps and other assets to expand its positive ecotourism footprint in Africa.
Keith will be based at the Group’s Gaborone office to place the company’s locus firmly in Botswana – the country in which it was founded in 1983 and where it listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange in 2010. According to Parks Tafa, Chairman of the Board, also based in Gaborone, “We know that Keith will pursue this position with his customary enthusiasm and vigour. The Board congratulates him on his appointment and we look forward to the positive impact that this will have on the Group’s operations and results.”
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