experience
From concept to operating reality
Kevin began his career in agriculture and agribusiness in KwaZulu-Natal after completing a BSc Agriculture in 1978. Alongside managing his family’s cattle and game farm, he established several agricultural businesses spanning farm sales, irrigation, agricultural market forecasting and publishing.
That grounding in land, agriculture and commercial operations would ultimately lead to a very different kind of opportunity.
In 1986, Kevin’s agricultural property business was approached to sell a large commercial game ranch in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The opportunity became the starting point for the concept that would ultimately become Phinda Game Reserve.
Twelve farms were acquired and consolidated, with Phinda formally established in 1990. Kevin was a founding director of its parent company, Conservation Corporation Africa, later known as CC Africa and today as &Beyond. Based at Phinda, he was responsible for development and operations until 1996.
The project required considerably more than the development of a safari lodge. It involved land consolidation, conservation, wildlife reintroduction, infrastructure, hospitality, operations and the creation of a commercially viable safari business.
That experience continues to inform Kevin’s view that safari investments cannot be understood as conventional hospitality or property assets in isolation.
BUILDING SAFARI BUSINESSES
Experience across markets and models
In 1997, Kevin moved to Maun, Botswana, where he established Kwando Safaris with a local partner.
The business grew to encompass five luxury safari camps in the Okavango region, operating across more than 400,000 hectares of private concession, together with a cultural village in Zambia and an air charter operation with seven aircraft.
By 2006, Kwando Safaris was achieving annual bed occupancies of more than 80%.
The experience reinforced an important principle that continues to shape Kevin’s advisory work today: successful safari businesses depend on the alignment of far more than financial performance alone. Access, wildlife, people, positioning, guest experience, operations and capital decisions continuously influence one another.
BEYOND SAFARI TOURISM
Conservation and commercial value
In 2006, Kevin co-founded SFM Africa with Alan Bernstein, working on large-scale sustainable development projects in countries including Gabon, Guinea and Rwanda.
These projects brought together safari tourism, forestry, agriculture, conservation and sustainable development, extending Kevin’s experience beyond individual safari businesses into complex land-use and conservation-based enterprises.
His broader work has continued to centre on the relationship between biodiversity, natural resources and sustainable commercial value.
SAFARI INVESTMENT ADVISORY
Experience that informs judgement
Kevin co-founded Safari Investment Advisory to bring practical safari-sector experience into investment and strategic decision-making.
His perspective is informed not simply by advising safari businesses, but by having helped conceive, build, operate and develop them.
Within Safari Investment Advisory, Kevin’s expertise supports investors and owners considering acquisitions, development, restructuring, expansion and other strategic decisions involving safari-linked assets and conservation-based businesses.
His role is to help clients understand the operational and commercial realities behind the numbers, test assumptions and consider how decisions made today may influence the long-term performance and value of an asset.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Where Kevin advises
- Safari development and investment strategy
- Acquisition and commercial assessment
- Operational and strategic review
- Conservation-based businesses
- Growth and expansion strategy
- Land use and sustainable development
- Safari business restructuring
- Long-term value creation
PERSPECTIVE
Seeing the whole system
Kevin co-founded Safari Investment Advisory to bring practical safari-sector experience into investment and strategic decision-making. His perspective is informed not simply by advising safari businesses, but by having helped conceive, build, operate and develop them.
Within Safari Investment Advisory, Kevin’s expertise supports investors and owners considering acquisitions, development, restructuring, expansion and other strategic decisions involving safari-linked assets and conservation-based businesses.
His role is to help clients understand the operational and commercial realities behind the numbers, test assumptions and consider how decisions made today may influence the long-term performance and value of an asset.
Thought leadership
engage with us
Independent advice informed by practical experience
If you are assessing an acquisition, development, restructuring or strategic decision involving a safari-linked asset, speak to Safari Investment Advisory before significant commitments are made.