About us

Nick is responsible for overseeing the delivery of some of the world’s most ambitious trips. And, with 15 years’ experience, few are better tapped into the wider travel industry than him. After time working in private jets and as the general manager of a renowned luxury travel company, he has hosted everything from heli safaris in East Africa to wilderness retreats in Scotland for Cookson clients.

Having been born in Hong Kong and travelled widely across Southeast Asia during his formative years, travel has been a lifelong passion. However, it’s perhaps conservation that’s closest to his heart. He still speaks broken Swahili from his time working on a conservation project near Tsavo and, in 2021, he ran his first marathon for the Save the Rhino charity. He’s particularly interested in building relationships with grassroots organisations.

And, Nick always looks to build in some active adventure into his travels. He’s an advanced diver, having recently been scouting new dive sites in Panama for clients, and is an accomplished on- and off-piste skier. He’s currently learning to E-foil and enjoys paddle boarding in his spare time.

Harry is perfectly placed to help our guests access the world’s best-kept secrets, having lived in seven countries across Asia and Europe, hosted Cookson trips across the globe and worked in private travel for almost ten years.

He’s guided guests on multi-day cycling adventures through Europe, staying in camps set up just for them along the way, and chartered luxury trains to bring clients to privatised cultural performances at the foot of Machu Picchu.

It all stems from a childhood growing up in far-off lands, walking among Gurkhas in Nepal and hanging out with surfers in Bali. This has ignited a lifelong passion for travel, which has brought him on 4×4 overlanding adventures in Central Asia and island-hopping escapes in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides.

With qualifications in yacht retail, charter and brokerage, Neal has over 14 years’ experience in yachting, bringing him from working onboard as a chief officer to charter operations and delivering keynote speeches on explorer yachts.

Today, he draws on all of this experience in organising some of the industry’s most innovative experiences. Highlights include Arctic expeditions, cutting-edge research trips in the Galápagos and yacht-based heli-ski operations.

Liaising with government bodies and university-based scientists, he has secured permits for unique yacht operations around the world, including sub dives in the Tyrrhenian that resulted in the discovery of a Roman shipwreck and coral thought to be extinct.

His passion for adventure was born from summers spent exploring the bush in his homeland South Africa. It instilled a deep appreciation for the great outdoors and wildlife, which has seen him travel across the world. An advanced Scuba diver, he’s even swum with tiger sharks in the Bahamas.

A keen cold-water swimmer who’s toured Europe by bike and been a horse rider since he was tall enough to reach the stirrups, Archie is no stranger to adventure.

It’s a passion that’s seen him put together some of the world’s top events, for anything between 15 and 200 guests. That could be tracking bears in Alaska, chartering flights over Everest or taking Royal Enfield motorbikes through mountain foothills.

For example, he’s organised for guests to experience a private island with a difference. Think swimming with whale sharks, kayaking through the jungle and bespoke lunch setups on deserted beaches.

With his stuntman training and background working in traditional boatbuilding, Louis’ personal passions have seen him travel the world in pursuit of extreme adventure, from high-grade sports and ice climbing to competitive mountain biking and multi-day, unsupported canoe trips. In winter you might find him off-piste or skinning up on ski tours, while mountaineering, 100-mile gravel bike rides and his training in both 4×4 and motorcycle off-road have taken him across Europe, Africa, Asia and America. Practicing Muay Thai, he’s even fought competitively in Thailand.

Then, on the water, he’s sailed into the Arctic Circle and operated safety boats on film productions, while below the surface his Padi and snorkelling experience has culminated in marine salvage trips in the UK.

Throughout, he’s documented it all through his camera lens, with nearly a decade of professional videography and photography experience under his belt. Being among the first drone operators in the UK, Louis has a particular affinity for aerial photography, although he’s equally passionate about capturing everything from wildlife and human interests to epic activities and remote landscapes.

He takes the time to get to know our clients and their preferences, meaning they leave with the memories that matter most, whether that’s an intimate moment among family or never-before-seen footage of a world first. With his global network of contacts, he’ll also often build out a media team as required, from underwater specialists to wildlife documentarians.

Louis is particularly passionate about delivering the very best media to our clients. That could be epic sizzle reels of your trip, daily edits for you to share on social media, or specific mini-documentaries on the conservation work you’ve been involved in. Each is fully tailored to you, documenting the narrative and story behind your adventure. And, all edits are overseen and conducted by Louis to naturally bring out the best in them, ensuring you’re left with truly world-class media. There’s a reason no other travel company produces such leading photography and videography.

While Lee’s Scandinavian childhood instilled a lifelong passion for nature and the outdoors, a degree in environmental ecology and economics cemented a belief in our responsibility to research and protect the world’s wildlife, wildernesses and people.

Working across community-based programmes, world-wide expeditions and conservation projects made possible by remote camps, Lee has translated this passion into a career in operations management that spans over 15 years.

Throughout, he’s just as comfortable in the duty office managing risks in remote areas as he is on the ground, always eager to bring a scientific element to his projects. He’s consulted and brought in everyone from astronomers and archaeologists to geologists and marine biologists to bring his trips to life.

An early life surrounded by polar bears and the Northern Lights in Russia’s far northern reaches inspired Anna to launch a career in planning private experiences in remote territories.

And, whether organising European cycle tours, bespoke camps in the Atacama Desert or charter expeditions in Alaska and Antarctica, she always looks to think outside the box. Expect everything from conservationist-led whale tracking to glacier cocktail setups made with ice from a freshly calved iceberg.

Multilingual and having lived across the globe, she finds nothing more rewarding than bonding with locals and supporting small communities through the adventures she plans.

With that in mind, she speaks five languages – English, Russian and French fluently, alongside German and Spanish proficiently.

From creating a self-sufficient submersible diving operation onboard a superyacht from scratch to organising heli operations in remote Africa for fleets of seven, Will is one of Cookson Adventure’s greatest assets.

And, he’s just as comfortable organising conservation-focused yachting adventures in British Columbia as he is putting together intimate proposals atop Kenyan mountains.

Having run the London Marathon for Tusk charity, Will is particularly passionate about conservation and connecting clients with unique environments in a sustainable way.

Lastly, between time spent living in South Africa and organising survival experiences as part of the Bear Grylls team, his own travels have seen him skydiving, living among shamans in the Amazon, and – as an advanced diver – swimming with whale sharks.

From summers spent hosting in her family’s hacienda in the Andes to her day-skipper qualification taking her from island-hopping charters in Greece out to the Indian Ocean, it’s fair to say that Rita has a lifelong love of travel.

It’s something she draws on when organising journeys for her clients. Think special, private performances from Taino Indians, canyoning through waterfall-dotted gorges and buyouts of Caribbean resorts alike and British country estates.

While her Ecuadorian heritage has ensured that South America has stayed close to her heart, Rita’s work on sailing yachts has brought her across Europe, while Belize and Thailand remain personal favourites.

Over a decade and a half managing a private aircraft and a 78-metre expedition ship, Duncan has been among the first to organise private yacht travel in some of world’s most remote locations. As such, he’s an expert in gaining unique access to exciting destinations, whether island hopping in the South Pacific or enabling one of the original explorer yachts to visit Antarctica in 2003, back when private travel there was largely unprecedented.

Along the way, Duncan has picked up a whole host of expertise. He has a commercial helicopter licence with over 500 hours as pilot in command and – with countless sea crossings under his belt – he has his Yachtmaster Ocean Licence. He’s just as comfortable at the helm of both power and sail boats. And, with 3,500 hours logged below water, Duncan is also a rebreather, nitrox and trimix instructor certified by both PADI and IANTD, having dived in every ocean in the world and advised on the BBC’s Great Barrier Reef.

Together, this breadth of expertise makes Duncan invaluable when planning complex itineraries, enabling him to seamlessly knit together heli, yacht and land-based logistics. Lastly, although growing up in northern Australia, he’s lived across America, Canada and Europe, and speaks B2-level Spanish.

As a British Army captain, James completed tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, serving as both a mentor to the Iraqi police and a reconnaissance and operations officer.

Since then, he’s come to relish a physical challenge. He’s an advanced PADI diver, a qualified personal trainer and project manager, and has run the Marathon du Medoc in France.

However, it’s perhaps his world first and Guinness World Record that stands out most, rowing 3,300 miles in a team of six across the Atlantic from Morocco to Barbados to raise money for Help For Heroes.

He brings the same high standards to Cookson Adventures, whether organising family expeditions to Iceland, the ultimate Caribbean honeymoon or charter operations across Norway in seaplanes and helicopters.

Tim left his past life as a geography teacher behind to work for for both the British and American Antarctic programmes, having begun his polar career with ski expeditions to Greenland and Svalbard.

And, there are few more knowledgeable on all things polar, with nearly 30 seasons spread between the Arctic and Antarctic, many of them on expeditions he’s organised at Cookson Adventures. In fact, between 2003 and 2017, there was just one summer he didn’t spend in Antarctica.

Over the years, his highlights include hosting a trip to the South Pole (pictured) with Cookson clients and what was perhaps the most complex multi-yacht expedition to Antarctica of modern time. Three yachts, two helicopters, a pair of submersibles and a 30-strong team of experts came together to deliver simply the ultimate Antarctic experience.

With over a decade’s experience, Tamsin has led the PR and communications for leading names in luxury travel across the world. Hosting and organising press trips for the likes of the Financial Times, Robb Report and Boat International, she’s taken journalists everywhere from summit-to-sea heli-skiing in Iceland to submersible diving on historic shipwrecks in Malta.

It was perhaps volunteering in Kenya that her love of travel began, before an overland trip from Nairobi to Cape Town instilled a wider appreciation for Africa and the preservation of its wildlife. Since then, she’s spent time studying art history in Florence and is an experienced skier from her time working in the Alps.

Now, after overseeing international launch campaigns for everything from off-grid safaris and transformative retreat to some of the world’s leading hotels, Tamsin brings to Cookson Adventures her passion for finding the latest trends and transformative experiences to excite and disrupt the travel industry.

Growing up in his native South Africa, Sam went on to get his guiding qualifications early, which has seen him lead trips everywhere from Zambia to Zimbabwe over a seven-year period. Highlights include getting up close to the wildlife in Botswana, a part qualification in paragliding thanks to a dozen solo flights, and – as an advanced Scuba diver – swimming with ragged-tooth sharks.

Since then, he’s come to write extensively on his travels, including for the Sunday Times,  Sunseeker Yachts and Tempus Magazine. He’s even gone on to co-found a travel website aimed at providing resources to editors and travel brands. As such, Sam is consistently invited to write on destinations around the world, heading off on press trips to the likes of Mauritius, Reunion Island and Utah.

And, it’s this same enthusiasm he brings to Cookson Adventures, having headed up the company’s finance department since joining in August 2018.

After a yearlong stint working in South Korea, Simon took the opportunity to travel widely across Asia, Africa and South America.

His highlights range from high-altitude trekking in the Andes and sleeping in hides in Malaysian rainforests to kayaking with otters in Rwanda and tracking gorillas in Uganda.

Putting a degree in English literature to good use, he’s written extensively on his travels, including winning Best Brochure twice at the UK’s Travel Marketing Awards. Since then, he’s been asked to appear as keynote speaker for the Association of British Travel Agents, giving seminars on digital marketing.

At Cookson, he’s responsible for the output of the marketing team, from trip videos and photography to client websites and supporting literature. Although, having recently returned from a surf trip to Ghana, he’s always looking forward to the next big trip.