The summer of 1966 was quickly approaching, and recent graduate George Butterfield wasn’t keen on starting his professional life quite yet. With fond memories of the charms of Europe in his head, George, together with his wife Martha, and her brother, Sidney Robinson (both of whom shared a reluctance to rush into adult life) organized a student biking trip in Europe. Their idea was to spend each day biking to places they’d discovered on earlier travels, chat up locals, then go out for a great dinner and a bottle of wine. “It was a lark for the summer,” recalls Martha. It must have been an exceptionally fun lark, because today Butterfield & Robinson offers hundreds of exhilarating itineraries all over the world.

Robin Wark | Director, Human Resources

This Francophile’s love of travel was first sparked while studying history and translation in rural Quebec and France. Since then, Robin has covered all corners of the globe, from Scotland to Africa and every nook and cranny of North America. She’s a pro when it comes to the great Canadian road trip—ask about crossing the country five times by van with her band!

Paul Christopher | Chief Financial Officer

This is a man of food, music and nature. Paul is always on a quest for his next great meal—preferably authentic, hard-to-find dishes that have some heat. In him, you’ll always find a conversation on Toronto’s thriving restaurant scene. His idea of a musical education for his daughters was more Van Halen and Gordon Lightfoot than practicing scales. An avid outdoorsman, he is happier on the lake than on his computer.

Geoff Sandquist | Director, European Operations

First employed by B&R in 1987, Geoff worked his way up through the ranks after he made the leap, planting his Canadian roots into French soil. Now, as Director of European Operations, he spends his time in our Beaune office making sure things flow perfectly from start to finish on trip. Geoff is also known as B&R’s resident wine expert (with a particular love for French varietals)—a hard job, we know, but someone has to do it!

Brad Crockett | Director, Sales

At 17, Brad’s travel bug (no doubt instilled by his grandmother who travelled the world as a missionary) sent him to visit every nook and cranny of Europe: Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Turkey…the list goes on! As B&R’s Director of Expedition trips, Brad keeps his finger on the pulse of the world while planning amazing experiences in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Jonathan Lansdell | Manager, Planning

John has always been creative when it comes to travel itineraries. When he won a travel grant at the age of 16 to research the wines of the Medoc region, he spent a month hitchhiking throughout France with a friend. These days he researches trips in North and Central America. The latest stamp on his passport? Bermuda, where he had the hardship of experiencing the America’s Cup sailing competition.

Kathy Stewart | Director, Product & Marketing

With parents in the Foreign Service, travel has been a fundamental part of Kathy’s life from the start—by age 18, she’d already been to more than 30 countries. Since joining B&R in 1994 Kathy has sold, designed and guided trips all over the world. Nowadays, she channels her abundant energy and expertise into overseeing the design of trips throughout France & Western Europe for B&R.

Yannick Pichler | Director, Business Operations

Yannick is a Swiss-born Canadian, making him exceptionally neutral. He lived in the mountains of Western Canada for four years using engineering work as an excuse to ski, golf, bike and hike. He continues to spend as much time in the outdoors as possible and is willing to give pretty much any activity a chance. Yannick is a sports fanatic but came by it honestly: his Dad was an Olympic bobsledder. Feel free to chat to him about any player on any team in any sport…except the Boston Bruins. Don’t talk to him about the Bruins.

Lyle Wood | Director, IT

Lyle is what some would call a “natural-born geek”. He has always loved buttons and levers and started disassembling toys to make them more interesting with his Dad’s tools in the garage when he was four. At five, his parents got their first computer and by the time he was seven, his Dad handed him a programming manual to keep him busy. When he’s not working on tech-related projects he enjoys hiking, swimming, and Krav Maga.