ICMS Alumnus Company Featured in National Geographic

National Geographic put a spotlight recently on International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) alumnus Rory Loader’s boutique travel company, Unearth Experience.

Loader, a former joint Touraust Scholarship winner, is managing director and founder of Unearth Experience Pty Ltd and director of Unearth International Ltd and Disruption Capital Pty Ltd.

“We were invited to be included in the prestigious Africa Collection edition of the National Geographic Traveller UK Magazine. It showcases the best of Africa and those companies that create experiences to showcase its true essence,” Loader explained. The feature was published in June this year and speaks to a global audience.

“We were also invited as one of only two African Operators to attend the WE ARE AFRICA conference in Cape Town, held last May. WAA is the most prestigious travel show, showcasing the very best of African properties and only attended by owners, CEOs and Directors of Companies, ensuring that direct and influential relationships are created. It was absolutely epic,” he said.

Unearth Experience, a successful Africa-wide luxury travel business, creates and tailors bespoke experiences for clients from around the world. Unearth International is an empowerment and conservation company, centred around creating sustainable rural economies, while Disruption Capital is the finance arm of the company which funds rural businesses.

Loader, a South African national with Australian citizenship, is based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He founded Unearth Experience, and later Unearth International and Disruption Capital, after graduating with an ICMS Diploma in Hotel Management and an ICMS Bachelor of Hospitality Management in 2006, and completing an MBA from Rhodes University in South Africa in 2015.

He completed his ICMS industry training at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney and continued working at the hotel until his departure back to South Africa at the end of 2008.

“I had the privilege while at the hotel to be accepted into their prestigious Management In training program within the Rooms Division departments of the hotel. This gave me valuable experience throughout the room division departments which allowed me to fulfil my role as Guest Services Manager,” he said.

Loader’s past experience includes being co-general manager of Chief’s Camp, based in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, and being part of the redevelopment team which was instrumental in reshaping Londolozi Private Game Reserve.

He credits his studies and industry training at ICMS with providing him with the necessary tools and discipline to achieve his goals, as well as giving him access to international networks and credentials.

“The ICMS environment allowed for healthy competition and allowed students to strive for the best. The beauty of staying at an international college and having classmates from around the world is that this has allowed me to build a successful business network that has assisted in the development of our businesses and my career,” he said.

“I had an interest in the service industry and wanted to grow quickly within the industry. ICMS was regarded as the best and as such I wanted to attend the best. The college ensured discipline and simulated living within a hotel environment and ensured we understood the industry top to bottom, assisting not only in the hotel Industry but the business environment as a whole…. I am a great believer that your best friends and that your greatest growth is done during university and there is no better place to do that and become the person you want to be than at ICMS.”

For more information on Unearth Experience, click here: www.unearthexperience.com, or email [email protected].

Follow Unearth Experience on Facebook here: https://web.facebook.com/unearthexperience/; or on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/unearthexperience/

To view the National Geographic feature on Unearth Experience, click here: http://natgeotraveller.co.uk/thecollection/a-z/search-article/unearth-experience/

For more information on ICMS, click here: https://www.icms.edu.au/