Active Adventures Announces Employee of the Year 2025 — winner of USD$10,000 travel
QUEENSTOWN, NZ., – May 27, 2025
Active Adventures has named Chris Williams, of Billings, Montana, as its Global Employee of the Year for 2024/2025. Chris now has an exciting adventure ahead with up to USD$10,000 worth of travel of his choice across any of Active Adventures’ trips in 32 countries.
The title caps an international shortlist that stretched from Montana and Rhode Island in the USA to Hawkes Bay, Christchurch and Queenstown, where local finalist Nicole McLean flew the Southern Lakes flag.
CEO Wendy van Lieshout says the global spread of the finalists reflects the international growth and reach of the business now:
“Thanks to our incredible team, what began as a local love for adventure in New Zealand 30 years ago now spans the world – proof that big journeys can start small,” says van Lieshout.
"Our inaugural annual award celebrates team members not just for their hard work, but for living our values every day – with all finalists nominated by their teammates."
“It’s about the way the team show up: with heart, consistency, and a real commitment to the customer experience and doing all they can to help the team around them,” says van Lieshout.
Rhet Eikleberry, director of North America Operations, says Chris is the type of person who would do anything for you and never ask for anything in return:
“He tirelessly works behind the scenes to allow our guests to have a wonderful, seamless vacation. I am so excited that, for once, he gets to have the kind of stress-free vacation that our guests enjoy,” says Eikleberry.
Now Chris has the exciting (and slightly daunting!) task of choosing where to travel from the more than 150 international itineraries - the hardest part might be picking one! Options include:
An international bucket-list trip with Active Adventures such as New Zealand, Everest Base Camp, Tour de Mont Blanc (Europe), Mt Kilimanjaro (Africa), Machu Picchu (Peru), the W Trek (Patagonia), and the Galapagos Islands in South America.
A fun activity-filled multi-day adventure with Austin Adventures in North America’s National Parks like Kenai Fjords and Denali in Alaska, Banff and Jasper in Canada, or Death Valley in California.
An immersive travel experience with Discovery Bicycle Tours designed to get closer to local people and places, in North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia, South America and New Zealand.
From an HQ in Queenstown New Zealand, US operations based in Montana and Vermont, local bases in South America and Europe, and a spread of remote workers globally too, the Active Adventures ‘family’ has a global team of 40 full-time staff and over 150 dedicated guides and tour leaders around the world.
“While we boosted our operations in recent years with the acquisition of Austin Adventures in 2021 and then Discovery Bicycle Tours in 2024, we’re firmly still anchored here to Aotearoa, with our shareholders ‘down-under’ also,” says van Lieshout.
As well as the Employee of the Year, Active Adventures will announce their Global Guide of the Year at the North America season launch in Billings, Montana on 29/30 May (US mountain daylight time/NZ time)
Ends
##
Media Contacts:
Carol Soundy
Brand and Communications Lead, Active Adventures & Austin Adventures
carol.soundy@activeadventures.com
Wendy van Lieshout
CEO
QUEENSTOWN, NZ., – May 27, 2025
Active Adventures has named Chris Williams, of Billings, Montana, as its Global Employee of the Year for 2024/2025. Chris now has an exciting adventure ahead with up to USD$10,000 worth of travel of his choice across any of Active Adventures’ trips in 32 countries.
The title caps an international shortlist that stretched from Montana and Rhode Island in the USA to Hawkes Bay, Christchurch and Queenstown, where local finalist Nicole McLean flew the Southern Lakes flag.
CEO Wendy van Lieshout says the global spread of the finalists reflects the international growth and reach of the business now:
“Thanks to our incredible team, what began as a local love for adventure in New Zealand 30 years ago now spans the world – proof that big journeys can start small,” says van Lieshout.
"Our inaugural annual award celebrates team members not just for their hard work, but for living our values every day – with all finalists nominated by their teammates."
“It’s about the way the team show up: with heart, consistency, and a real commitment to the customer experience and doing all they can to help the team around them,” says van Lieshout.
Rhet Eikleberry, director of North America Operations, says Chris is the type of person who would do anything for you and never ask for anything in return:
“He tirelessly works behind the scenes to allow our guests to have a wonderful, seamless vacation. I am so excited that, for once, he gets to have the kind of stress-free vacation that our guests enjoy,” says Eikleberry.
Now Chris has the exciting (and slightly daunting!) task of choosing where to travel from the more than 150 international itineraries - the hardest part might be picking one! Options include:
An international bucket-list trip with Active Adventures such as New Zealand, Everest Base Camp, Tour de Mont Blanc (Europe), Mt Kilimanjaro (Africa), Machu Picchu (Peru), the W Trek (Patagonia), and the Galapagos Islands in South America.
A fun activity-filled multi-day adventure with Austin Adventures in North America’s National Parks like Kenai Fjords and Denali in Alaska, Banff and Jasper in Canada, or Death Valley in California.
An immersive travel experience with Discovery Bicycle Tours designed to get closer to local people and places, in North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia, South America and New Zealand.
From an HQ in Queenstown New Zealand, US operations based in Montana and Vermont, local bases in South America and Europe, and a spread of remote workers globally too, the Active Adventures ‘family’ has a global team of 40 full-time staff and over 150 dedicated guides and tour leaders around the world.
“While we boosted our operations in recent years with the acquisition of Austin Adventures in 2021 and then Discovery Bicycle Tours in 2024, we’re firmly still anchored here to Aotearoa, with our shareholders ‘down-under’ also,” says van Lieshout.
As well as the Employee of the Year, Active Adventures will announce their Global Guide of the Year at the North America season launch in Billings, Montana on 29/30 May (US mountain daylight time/NZ time)
Ends
##
Media Contacts:
Carol Soundy
Brand and Communications Lead, Active Adventures & Austin Adventures
carol.soundy@activeadventures.com
Wendy van Lieshout
CEO
