Who is on the Atta Board ?

Name: Nigel Vere Nicoll FRGS
Chief Executive

Email: info@atta.travel
Phone:+44 (0)20 7937 4408

Nigel Vere Nicoll appointed to the Board 1994. Atta Director & Company Secretary 1997

Chief Executive from 2000 , Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society (1972)

As a former MD of Abercrombie and Kent's Hotel & Lodge Division in Kenya, CEO of Wild Africa Safaris UK, Head of Marketing Mount Charlotte Thistle Hotels UK, MD of Universal Travel and On Safari, and proprietor of two hotels in Scotland he has extensive experience in hotel management, tour operating & marketing in UK and Africa. Nigel sits on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Consular Stakeholder Panel and the Travel Advice Review Group (TARG) and is a member of the United Nations WTO Tourism Emergency Response network (TERN) working on crisis management in the tourism sector.

Chairman: Anita Powell
Company: Small World Marketing

Chairman From May 2011

Chairman 2011/12. Appointed to the Board in October 2006 Anita is the Director of Small World Marketing, a representation company established in January 2006. Anita has worked 'on the ground' running luxury tented camps and lodges in Kenya; worked for Travel Africa magazine and spent 2 years as the UK sales and marketing manager for the Kenya Tourist Board before she set up Small World Marketing.

After training as an chartered accountant and a short stint in the City, Marc headed to Africa where his passion lay for a 2 year “walk about” in 1995. On his return to the UK in 1997 he founded Africa Archipelago. In the 2000 he spent a considerable length of time researching the new Cadogan guide to Tanzania, and in 2001 he set up a London based tour operator - Tanzania Odyssey. He has previously served as a director of ATTA and remains Managing Director of Tanzania Odyssey. He is married with 2 young children

Natalia Thomson until  recently was at Africa’s largest travel trade publisher, Now Media, as managing editor of Travel News Weekly, Business Travel Now and Southern African Tourism Update. She is the head of the Travel Publications division and is heavily involved in online media and B2B initiatives as a co-driver of the TABPI chapter in South Africa. Thomson completed a MSC in publishing studies cum laude through the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, United Kingdom. Her specialisation was online media adoption by the South African business-to-business sector.

Zimbabwe born and educated, holding a hospitality degree attained in UK, Ross is now CEO of Zimbabwe based tourism group, AFRICA ALBIDA TOURISM. A privately owned company, of which Ross is a founder shareholder the group has expanded operations beyond it’s Victoria Falls base, with flagship Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, The Boma Restaurant and Lokuthula Lodges, to include a management and marketing division that has won contracts on several other well known properties in Zimbabwe, and is about to expand into neighbouring Botswana with a new build lodge. Ross is heavily involved in industry affairs in Zimbabwe, and is a founder member,(and current chair) of Gotovictoriafalls.com, Victoria Falls Anti Poaching unit.

UK Director (Tour Operator): John Berry
Company: Zambezi Safari & Travel Co
Email: john.berry@zambezi.com

With African roots stretching back to 1820, John Berry grew up in KZN, South Africa. After qualifying as a Mechanical Engineer with a successful first career in South Africa’s corporate world, collar-and-tie routines were replaced by rolled up sleeves as founder of a fledgling safari company in Zimbabwe in 1995. John has since been directly involved in the safari industry as MD of Zambezi Safari & Travel Company, based in the UK since 2000. His various roles have covered every aspect of the tour operating business including marketing, sales, strategy, accounts, finance, staffing, systems and technology. With extensive experience serving British, North American, European and African markets and a respectably deep knowledge of safari products throughout East, Central and Southern Africa, John believes he can bring fresh energy and well rounded insights to the ATTA board. John and his wife Trish live in Devon with two undergraduate children in London.

UK Director (Representation): Tim Henshall
Company: Kamili

Email: tim@kamilisafaris.com
Phone: +44 (0)115 937 7475
Mobile: +44 (0)7810 508791

Tim runs Kamili, a UK-based marketing agency launched in 2006. Kamili markets a wide portfolio of independent lodges, camps and safari operators across Africa. It is the first agency to focus on the upper mid-market, specialising in partners that offer “five-star experiences, four-star prices”. Tim, who describes himself as a “serial safari-er”, is a lifelong marketer, with over 25 years experience in the industry. He has held senior posts at a number of international brands in various categories including clothing, sports goods, toys & games and retailing, as well as leading roles within marketing and advertising agencies. His history with the safari industry, is as a paying customer for over 15 years, before starting Kamili. Tim is also a keen wildlife snapper (not quite photographer).

Southern Africa Director : Ingram Casey
Company: To Escape To

Email: ingramc@toescapeto.com
Tel UK: +44 20 7060 6747
Tel SA: +27 21 791 0333
Mobile: +27 725 176 682

Ingram Casey Co Founder in 2003 of To Escape To and Sports Escapes two tour operating brands at the forefront of innovative travel to Africa. Following his love for Africa he left London on a 2 month ‘site inspection’ across Africa finally arriving in Cape Town never to leave again. Graduating from Nottingham University in 1992 Ingram has been in travel ever since including working for villa specialists Simply Travel in sales and marketing before becoming TUI’s ‘Specialist Holiday Groups’ Business Development and Commercial Manager. Switching his attention from Europe to Africa Ingram spent 3 years at Tropical Places and Thomson Worldwide as their Africa and Indian Ocean Product Manager. A proud supporter of the Bobs For Good Foundation, Uthando and Pebbles Project Ingram is always looking for like minding individuals to join him on his fun!(d) raising activities be it cycling the Cape Argus dressed as a banana, selling rubber ducks or running in the Lesotho Mountains.  

East African Director: Dr Mohanjeet Brar Ph.D
Company: Gamewatchers Safaris

Email: Mohanjeet@gamewatchers.co.ke
Phone: +254 (0) 20712 3129

Mohanjeet is a 4th generation Kenyan who is a keen naturalist and conservationist. Having lived and grown up in the rich forests of the Kenyan highlands, he has a close-tie to wildlife and the local people. He has a Doctorate degree in Plant Science from the US and currently also serves on the Board of Ecotourism Kenya, Board of St Lazarus School in the Kibera Slum and on the Kenya Association of Tour Operators Marketing Advisory Committee. He is the Commercial Director and a shareholder of Gamewatchers Safaris and Porini Safari Camps. These 4 award-winning Camps are pioneers of sustainable community-owned conservancies and have been recognized globally for their positive contribution to conservation, the local communities and to providing guests with an authentic safari experience.

European Director: Ico Inanc
Company: II Viaggio

Educated between Italy, Switzerland, Australia and the UK Ico has a multiethnic background, is fluent in several languages, is an avid reader and craves for anything related to Southern Africa from politics to literature; since an early age only spoke of Africa driving people around him insane. He first read African Politics and Gender Studies (Ba) at Richmond College London, then Development Studies and Vietnamese (Ba) at prestigious SOAS, eventually earned a MSC in Tourism Planning and Development at University of Surrey; whilst studying sustained himself through working for a renowned art dealer in London. He has two passions: Byzantine history and Africa, his choice was between becoming an academic or travelling, Ico chose the latter.

Managing Director of Nomad Tanzania one of East Africa’s original safari companies who for the past 20 years have owned and operated a number of small safari camps in the Serengeti ecosystem and three of the remotest corners of Tanzania.

Director: Nomad Tanzania from July 2000
Chairman: Aids Business Coalition Tanzania 2004-2006
General Manager: Tanzania Tea Packers Ltd August 2001 - December 2006
John has Ba (Hons) in Economics/Agricultural Economics from Exeter University