Intrepid Travel’s President of the Americas, Leigh Barnes, has been ranked 14th on Mi3’s inaugural CMOs of the Year list, recognising his transformative leadership in brand marketing, sustainability, and business growth.
The annual list, published by leading marketing and digital trade publication Mi3, honours 25 of Australia’s most innovative and strategic marketing leaders.
Leigh was celebrated for his role in driving commercial success, embedding purpose into brand strategy, and setting new standards in ethical and sustainable marketing during his time as Intrepid’s Chief Customer Officer.
Highlights of Leigh’ tenure include:
-
Delivering Intrepid’s best-ever performance in 2024, with a record revenue of $625 million and a world-class Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 81.5.
-
Increasing aided brand awareness by 21% through a shift to brand-led marketing and two global brand campaigns – Good Trips Only and Only Intrepid – which collectively reached over 100 million people.
-
Driving record D2C bookings via intrepidtravel.com, acquiring 10,000 customers in January 2025 alone, and achieving an $80.3 million sales month in November 2024.
-
Helping shape the future of responsible marketing as a member of the UN Global Compact’s Marketing Think Lab, where he designed principles for sustainable marketing and growth.
-
Launching the industry’s first-ever Ethical Marketing Guidelines to support greater diversity, equity and inclusion in the profession.
-
Amplifying Intrepid’s brand reach through strengthened partnerships across trade, tourism boards, and media – generating more than 9,000 pieces of global coverage in 2024.
-
Advocating for the ‘business for good’ movement as an active member of the global B Corp community.
Leigh stepped into his current role as President of the Americas in November 2024 and is now based in Seattle, leading Intrepid’s growth across its fastest-growing market.
Leigh says: “I’m humbled to be named on the CMOs of the Year list and in the company of such influential and impactful Australian marketing leaders.
“Marketing isn’t just about fluffy campaigns – done strategically, it can play a transformative role and drive business growth and impact. We’ve seen this at Intrepid and continue to double down our approach to values-led brand marketing.
“Accountability and transparency, staying agile in response to customer feedback, building high performing teams that believe in your vision – all of these things directly contribute to company success.”
