Two of the world’s 12 Long Run Accredited Global Ecosphere Retreats have undertaken a leadership immersion between Kenya and Indonesia.
Cottar’s Safaris (Maasai Mara, Kenya) and Nikoi and Cempedak Islands (Indonesia) will undertake a cross-continental CEO Exchange in April, as Louise Cottar, CEO of Cottar’s Safaris, and Andrew Dixon, CEO of Nikoi and Cempedak Islands, embark on a one-month leadership immersion. The initiative is designed to bring fresh perspective to their own businesses, strengthen operational resilience, and identify opportunities to further improve their sustainable tourism practices.
Both organisations are among just 12 properties worldwide recognised and accredited as Long Run Global Ecosphere Retreats, reflecting their exceptional commitment to the highest sustainability standards across conservation, community, culture and commerce.
In an unusually open leadership exchange, each CEO will step directly into the other’s organisation and operating environment, with Cottar based across Nikoi and Cempedak Islands in Indonesia and Dixon working alongside the Cottar’s Safaris team in the Maasai Mara.
Day-to-day realities
By immersing themselves in each other’s day-to-day realities, from conservation and community partnerships to guest experience and operations, the initiative offers a rare opportunity for honest external perspective and shared learning at the highest level of sustainable tourism, with the aim of supporting continued improvement across conservation, community engagement and guest experience.
“When sustainability leaders collaborate openly, progress accelerates,” Cottar’s Safaris CEO Louise Cottar said. “This exchange gives us the opportunity to step back, learn from another exceptional ecosystem and return with insights that strengthen the long-term health of our business, the landscapes we operate in and the communities we work alongside, while continuing to evolve our guest experience.”
Andrew Dixon, CEO of Nikoi and Cempedak Islands, added that “while our environments couldn’t be more different, moving from small tropical islands to the vast plains of the Maasai Mara, our core challenges in regenerative tourism are remarkably similar”.
“I am eager to see how the Cottar’s Safaris team manages their community and conservation balance first-hand, and I believe this level of radical transparency will uncover new ways to strengthen our own ‘4C’ impact at Nikoi and Cempedak,” he said.
The exchange will place each CEO within very different ecological and operational contexts – from East Africa’s wildlife conservancies to Indonesia’s fragile marine ecosystems – offering a fresh perspective on how different environments shape responsible tourism.
Lessons from the experience are expected to inform future strategy across both organisations, with both Cottar and Dixon hoping the initiative also highlights the value of more open collaboration between conservation-led tourism businesses.
