NEW YORK, March 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lindblad
Expeditions Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIND; the "Company" or
"Lindblad Expeditions"), a global provider of expedition cruises
and adventure travel experiences, today announced that its
Board of Directors has appointed Dolf
Berle as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of
its Board, effective May 10, 2021.
Mr. Berle succeeds Sven-Olof Lindblad, who will become
Co-Chair of the Board, together with Mark
Ein, current Board Chair.
In his role as Co-Chair, Mr. Lindblad will work with his fellow
Directors to advise the Company's leadership team on business
strategy and growth opportunities, including reaching new
audiences, innovating new products and developing new geographies,
as well as focus on energizing new and existent social programs.
Mr. Ein will partner with Mr. Lindblad to help guide the Board and
the Company's organic growth, acquisition and financial
strategy.
Mr. Berle currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Topgolf
Entertainment Group where he has led the company's overall vision,
global growth strategies and P&L, since 2018. Previously, Mr.
Berle served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Dave &
Buster's Entertainment, Inc.
"It has been a tremendous honor to serve as the CEO of Lindblad
Expeditions since founding the Company in 1979, and I am proud of
all that we have accomplished over the last 40 years. We've built a
business based on the respect and understanding of geography and
connecting our more than hundreds of thousands of loyal guests and
new audiences worldwide with nature, culture and an opportunity to
explore the world. Today, Lindblad Expeditions has the most
talented employees in the industry, a best-in class platform of
high-quality and authentic experiential offerings, a passionate
customer base eager to see the world's most exceptional
destinations with us, and a balanced growth strategy to take us
into the future. We are thrilled for our guests to return to the
same exhilarating expedition experience they have come to know and
love when we resume voyages in two iconic destinations early this
summer," said Mr. Lindblad.
Mr. Lindblad continued, "I am very pleased to hand the baton to
Dolf, who I have gotten to know well and for whom I have great
respect and admiration. I am confident that his outstanding
leadership, integrity and character make him the right choice to
serve as our next leader. I look forward to my continuing
involvement with the Company in my new role as Co-Chair and working
closely with Mark, Dolf and the rest of the team to keep driving
the business forward."
"The Board and Sven have been working for some time to attract
additional leadership talent and identify our next leader, and we
believe that Dolf is the ideal candidate to serve as Lindblad
Expeditions' new CEO," said Mr. Ein. "Dolf brings a track
record of quickly expanding multi-unit businesses and championing
technology innovations and understands the importance of delivering
unmatched guest experiences and creating communities where guests
want to return time and again – all of which is integral to our
robust growth plans to create value for our stakeholders."
Mr. Ein continued, "Over the past 40 years, Sven has built one
of the world's greatest expedition and adventure travel companies
by pioneering innovative ways to connect people and places. It is
because of his leadership that Lindblad Expeditions is synonymous
with life-changing adventures for so many people. Today, the
cornerstones of our business are extremely strong with significant
pent-up customer demand, a growing portfolio of newly acquired
exceptional travel businesses, and considerable financial
flexibility to fuel additional future acquisitions and organic
expansion opportunities as the travel industry begins to reopen. We
are thrilled to have attracted Dolf to Lindblad and are grateful
that the Company will continue to benefit from Sven's wealth of
experience and knowledge as we collectively execute on our growth
strategy."
Mr. Berle said, "I am honored to have the opportunity to lead
such an iconic and vibrant Company. Lindblad Expeditions has an
impressive four-decade track record delivering immersive and
authentic experiences and a large, devoted customer base that looks
to Lindblad and its brands for the highest-quality expedition and
adventure travel experiences whether by ship, land or bike. The
Company is well positioned to capitalize on what it does best –
inspiring loyal guests to explore and promote both conservation and
environmental sustainability around the world. Sven has reimagined
travel throughout his tenure, and, alongside the Lindblad
Expeditions team, I am energized to build on his legacy and capture
the vast and expanding market opportunities ahead."
Separately in an 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission today, Lindblad Expeditions announced that Sarah Farrell, an independent member of the
Board of Directors, will be stepping down from the Board, effective
immediately. With Ms. Farrell's departure and upon Mr. Berle's
appointment, the Lindblad Expeditions Board will have 10
members.
"On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Sarah for her
contributions to Lindblad Expeditions over the past year, and
wish her the best in her future endeavors," said Mr. Ein.
In a separate press release issued today, Lindblad Expeditions
announced that it will resume small ship expeditions cruises and
adventure travel experience operations for the 2021 season in
Alaska and Galapagos, beginning in
the first week of June. In keeping with Lindblad Expeditions' focus
on exploring remote places, the Company will return to nature in
the pristine wildness of these two iconic destinations, and will do
so consistent with its health and safety protocols. Lindblad
Expeditions intends to announce plans for activating additional
geographies for the summer as logistics are finalized. The press
release can be found on the Lindblad Expeditions Investor Relations
website at investors.expeditions.com.
About Dolf Berle
Under
Mr. Berle's leadership at Topgolf Entertainment Group, total
revenue nearly doubled in three years and eclipsed the $1.0 billion mark, and worldwide audience fan
touchpoints also nearly doubled en route to passing 90 million.
During his tenure, Mr. Berle expanded the company's venue-based
core business from 37 to 66 locations around the globe while also
diversifying the company's business model from venue-based
entertainment to include a range of technology enabled
businesses.
In over 25 years of experience prior to joining Topgolf in 2018,
Mr. Berle served in a variety of executive leadership roles in the
public sector as well as private growth-oriented companies
dedicated to joyful guest experiences. These include tenures
as President and Chief Operating Officer of Dave and Buster's
Entertainment, Inc.; Executive Vice President of Hospitality and
Division Head for ClubCorp USA,
Inc.; President of Lucky Strike Entertainment; and Chief
Operating Officer of House of Blues Entertainment, Inc. He
currently serves on the national boards of directors of the
Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and USA Track & Field, as well as the Norman
Rockwell Museum. Mr. Berle earned his undergraduate and MBA
degrees from Harvard University, and a
Master of Arts degree in African History from the University of
Zimbabwe.
About Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc.
Lindblad
Expeditions Holdings, Inc. is an expedition travel company that
focuses on ship-based voyages through its Lindblad Expeditions
brand and on land-based travel through its subsidiaries, Natural
Habitat Adventures, Off the Beaten Path and DuVine Cycling and
Adventure.
Lindblad Expeditions works in partnership with National
Geographic to inspire people to explore and care about the planet.
The organizations work in tandem to produce innovative marine
expedition programs and to promote conservation and sustainable
tourism around the world. The partnership's educationally oriented
voyages allow guests to interact with and learn from leading
scientists, naturalists and researchers while discovering stunning
natural environments, above and below the sea, through
state-of-the-art exploration tools.
Natural Habitat partners with the World Wildlife Fund to offer
and promote conservation and sustainable travel that directly
protects nature. Natural Habitat's adventures include polar bear
tours in Churchill, Canada,
Alaskan grizzly bear adventures and African safaris.
DuVine Cycling + Adventure Co. designs and leads luxury bike
tours in the world's most amazing destinations, from Italy's sun-bleached villages and the medieval
towns of Provence to Portugal's
Douro Valley and the vineyards of Napa,
California. Guests bike, eat, drink, and sleep their way
through these regions and many more while sampling the finest
cuisine, hotels, and wine.
Off the Beaten Path is an outdoor, active travel company
offering guided small group adventures and private custom journeys
that connect travelers with the wild nature and authentic culture
of their destinations. Off the Beaten Path's trips extend
across the globe, with a focus on exceptional national park
experiences in the Rocky Mountains, Desert Southwest, and
Alaska.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain matters discussed
in this press release are "forward-looking statements" intended to
qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements include the Company's financial
projections and may also generally be identified as such because
the context of such statements will include words such as
"anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend,"
"may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will,"
"would" or words of similar import. Similarly, statements that
describe the Company's financial guidance or future plans,
objectives or goals are also forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from
those expected. Many of these risks and uncertainties are currently
amplified by, and will continue to be amplified by, or in the
future may be amplified by, the COVID-19 outbreak. It is not
possible to predict or identify all such risks. There may be
additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown.
These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: (i)
suspended operations and disruptions to our business and operations
related to COVID-19; (ii) the impacts of COVID-19 on our financial
condition, liquidity, results of operations, cash flows, employees,
plans and growth; (iii) the impacts of COVID-19 on future travel
and the cruise and airline industries in general; (iv) unscheduled
disruptions in our business due to travel restrictions, weather
events, mechanical failures, pandemics or other events; (v)
changes adversely affecting the business in which we are engaged;
(vi) management of our growth and our ability to execute on our
planned growth; (vii) our business strategy and plans; (viii) our
ability to maintain our relationship with National Geographic; (ix)
compliance with new and existing laws and regulations, including
environmental regulations and travel advisories and restrictions;
(x) compliance with the financial and/or operating covenants in our
debt arrangements; (xi) adverse publicity regarding the cruise and
travel industry in general; (xii) loss of business due to
competition; (xiii) the result of future financing
efforts; (xiv) delays and costs overruns with respect to
the construction and delivery of newly constructed vessels; (xv)
changes in management or the impact of changes in management; and
(xvi) those risks described in the Company's filings with the SEC.
Stockholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to
consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking
statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such
forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made
herein are made only as of the date of this press release and the
Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. More detailed information about factors
that may affect the Company's performance may be found in its
filings with the SEC, which are available
at http://www.sec.gov or
at http://www.expeditions.com in the Investor Relations
section of the Company's website.
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SOURCE Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc.