Nathan Philpot new CEO at Excursions Ltd, Rupert Woodard moves to Board of Trustees

Rupert Woodard, who co-founded Excursions Ltd in 1999 with his wife Anna, is to move onto the Board of the Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).  They created the Trust in 2021 to ensure that the carefully cultivated ethos of Excursions Ltd will continue far into the future for the benefit of its customers and employees.

National Geographic, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines

Philpot has spent the last seven years running National Geographic’s licensed travel businesses which included working with Ponant and Lindblad within the expedition cruise segment as well as launching National Geographic Day Tours, a new brand in shore excursions.

His previous cruise experience includes five years with Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, launching a new luxury retail business while at WEXAS and starting his own online cruise comparison business. He was also on the board of CLIA UK.

Employee owners

Woodard commented: ‘25 years have gone by very swiftly and it is now time to hand over the reins. Nathan’s broad industry experience will be a great asset and we are confident he will be the perfect fit for our brand.  We are extremely proud of our loyal and dedicated staff, who are now all Employee Owners, and we look forward to watching them thrive under Nathan’s guidance.’

Philpot added, ‘Great experiences are increasingly important in the consumer’s decision making process. Excursions Ltd has a great team and Rupert and Anna should be so proud of what they have achieved - especially giving all employees a vested interest by setting up an EOT.’

Excursions Ltd specialises in shore excursions, turnaround services and pre and post cruise tours for the small, luxury and expedition cruise sector throughout the UK.