The Team

Andre Kiwitz - CEO & Founder

Authentic travel & Entrepreneurship

Andre started the company during his studies in 2001 as viventura. He experienced tour operators offering boring trips throughout South America, without enabling the travelers to experience real South America. After founding the company in Germany, he moved to South America in late 2001 and lived for a total of 12 years in South America. Over the years, next to his passions for travel, South America and the Internet, a passion for Entrepreneurship and good leadership grew. As a consequence, he started Ventura TRAVEL in 2015 with a clear Vision: To empower talented tourism professionals with a strong passion for a travel niche and enable them to start their own brand within Ventura. This way the intrapreneurs could focus on what they are best in while getting the infrastructure from an established tour operator. In his private life, Andre enjoys spending time with his wife & son and loves to eat good ceviche.

Erick Feijóo- Integrator

Benno - Platforms Founder and Director

A true South America Enthusiast

Benno has traveled all over Latin America. While traveling seems built into his DNA, his love for Central and South America started during his university studies. For a research job for his master's thesis, Benno moved to Cuba and subsequently traveled all through Central America, before ending up in Colombia and Ecuador. During his time as marketing manager for viventura.de, he fell in love with the Galapagos Islands. Benno now works both from the Galapatours head office in Berlin and the beautiful archipelago in Ecuador.

Francesca - Head of New Brands-Business Development

Language freak in love with Japan

Francesca left her beloved hometown in Italy 10 years ago to explore the world and look for new adventures. Ever since, she has been living in many different cities, from Lisbon to Miami, from Kyoto to Berlin. Her great passion for people and cultures brought her to learn as many as 7 languages and to see almost 50 countries. While remaining strongly connected to her city in Tuscany, her heart beats for Japan, the place on earth she loves most. When not working on Japaventura, Francesca can be found in the best restaurants in town, practicing foreign languages and trying out some new food, possibly Japanese.

Emke Prakken - Africaventura Founder and Director  

A bush lover with ambition

Emke is an adventure-driven tourism professional, who will launch a new Ventura Travel brand for Africa. Born and bred in the Netherlands, with a passion for the African continent that runs deep! Her family’s love for Africa led to her dream to one day live ‘in the bush’. That dream came true when she started training as a Game Ranger in South Africa. Emke was then able to turn her passion into her profession and started working in the tourism industry. Doing what she loves most: sharing the beauty of the African continent with others! After living in Kenya and Malawi, she is now based in Cape Town where she can pursue another passion: eating well and drinking delicious wine - while surrounded by beautiful nature.

Gareth Hamilton - Marketing Director

A humble traveler, marketing leader, and cycling enthusiast.

Gareth leads our Marketing tribe of superheroes across paid, owned and earned channels in the fearless pursuit of our mission. Based in Berlin, Gareth hails from Ireland, where childhood curiosity quickly led to travel. 100 countries later, the impromptu smiles, exchanges, and moments shared with the peoples of our world continue to captivate his awe and fuel joy. Gareth has worked in adventure travel for 20 years, leading travel groups and marketing teams. Passionate about the power of travel as a force for good, Gareth joined Ventura Travel to further travel brands that change our world for the better. Gareth prefers even numbers, thinks coriander tastes like soap, and is most alive with the freedom of a road bike. He also has an extensive collection of airline safety cards (geek) but as they shouldn’t be removed from the aircraft that’s just between you and him.

Antonino Segreto aka Nino - SEO Specialist

Book-loving travel addict

Nino’s background is in Sustainable Tourism and Economics. A book-lover and travel addict, he has developed a great passion for the digital world in the past 6 years while working as a Digital Marketer for different Berlin start-ups. He now works at Ventura Travel as an SEO Specialist. His other interests include rock music, movies, and sociology.

Louis Poissant - SEA Specialist

Always open to novelty

Specialist of performance marketing, he is a big fan of sports and gastronomy. After an MBA in Paris and his first work experience in Berlin, he moved to Asia for several months and took Japanese classes to increase his immersion. In charge of performance marketing in the marketing department of Ventura Travel, he can combine two things he enjoys: numbers and writing.

Kim Feldesz – Commercial Services Lead

Adventurer at heart

Ever since she can remember, Kim was driven by a natural curiosity that brought her to new places and cultures. Always searching for the unknown, she has lived and worked in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Canary Islands, before she finally settled down in France. Despite her adventurous heart, Kim loves when things are in order. As part of the Ventura team she can live out her two sides: organization geek and passionate adventurer.

Johanna Schroeter - Account Management & Partnerships Lead   

Free range traveller pursuing sustainable adventures

With her camera and paintbrush at the ready, Johanna is always on the hunt for a special travel moment to capture. But it's not just about getting that perfect shot – for her, it's about uncovering the authentic experiences that truly immerse you in a culture. And she's doing it all while keeping sustainability top of mind. Johanna is part of the marketing team in Berlin, working her magic to bring the company's brands to life. With a keen eye for adventure, Johanna is dedicated to making sure Ventura's impact on the world is a positive one.

Kelly Dignan - Copywriter Specialist    

Perpetual wanderer

Originally from Toronto, Kelly’s passion for discovery has led her around the world, having visited more than 65 countries and experienced countless adventures, including spending five days on a boat floating down the Amazon, accidentally attending a Bedouin wedding, and being “trapped” in Bali during an active volcano. After seven years in Asia, she now lives in Berlin where she satisfies her curiosity with lake swims, gallery visits, and weekend markets. An avid reader and writer, Kelly hopes to share her love of exploration to inspire others to not just put more stamps in their passports but collect more stories to share.

Heather Thompson - CRM Specialist  

The wandering creative

Originally from a California goldrush town called Rough and Ready, Heather lives in Dublin, Ireland and is very passionate about authentic travel. She's visited more than 23 countries so far, always looking for places to get lost down side streets and find hidden gems off the beaten path. Heather's worked in travel-related CRM for more than a decade and thrives off the combination of creativity and analytics that it requires. She is an illustrator and has also been a singer in a rock band, a tribal fusion bellydancer and a radio show host at various points in her life. She loves animals and her first word was "doggie".

Gisella Duro - English and Dutch Market Coordinator  

A good communicator with a passion for people, environment and cultures

Gisella just joined the Marketing Department at Ventura Travel. She is soon finishing her studies in Communication. Over the years, she has been living in different countries across Europe learning new languages, getting new interests, and meeting a lot of people. Working for Ventura connects her interest in traveling and sustainability with her professional goals in Marketing and Communication.

Manon Gandolfi - French Market Coordinator 

Music lover looking for an escape.

Manon has just finished her studies and joined the Marketing team of Ventura Travel. She likes to discover new places, always with music, which allows her to escape while contemplating what surrounds her. Before leaving to conquer the world, she wants to discover Europe in all its forms and cultures, but especially to meet people. She already knows the first country she will visit outside Europe: Peru.

Sophie van der Meulen - Social Media Specialist 

Sustainable solo traveler with a taste for craft beer

Sophie works in the marketing team for Ventura Travel. She is originally from the Netherlands but settled in Berlin after a few years as a digital nomad. Sophie is passionate about sustainable tourism, solo travel, and is always looking for adventure. She especially loves trying local craft beer and street food on her travels. In the summer, you can find her hiking in nature or relaxing in a beer garden.

Gustavo  Cataño - IT Director 

IT geek with a contagious lust for life

Gustavo loves the world of software. Long before he finished his studies in System Engineering, he had participated in various projects related to process automatization in web environments. Gustavo has also occasionally lectured at Antioquia University in Colombia. Aside from all things IT-based, he likes sports and enjoys going to rock concerts. He spends much of his free time with his family.

Deyby Vasquez - Scrum Master

Family man with the entrepreneur vibe

Deyby is passionate about tech and entrepreneurship. He is always involved in projects combining the tech world, entrepreneurship, and teaching. He loves to spend time with his family. He tries to learn something new every day, with a bigger focus every 3 months. You’ll find him flying drones, reading, or dancing in his free time.

Genesis Guerrero Martinez - IT Developer

Total geek

Genesis spent six years developing software for enterprises, even before finishing his studies in System Engineering at the University of Magdalena (Santa Marta, Colombia). He's an open-source enthusiast, python evangelist, and JavaScript lover. He also has experience as a lead developer, freelancer, and startup co-founder. Genesis loves to drink craft beer with friends, attend rock concerts, and discover new places to walk and eat.

Samuel Roellin- IT Developer

Adventurous Swiss Guy Living In Italy

Sam is an adventurous person from Switzerland who moved to Italy. He embraces the unknown and loves to spend time with like-minded people. He has experience in sales, marketing, and project management. His newest passion is computer programming. Sam likes to fix complex problems with easy solutions. In his free time, he likes to hike and spend time with his dog.

Juan Daniel Rios- IT Developer

Curious is my third name

Daniel is part of the amazing IT team, with an MBA degree, who decided to change his career for something that he really loves... Tech! He loves photography, playing guitar, travel on his motorcycle, and learning how things work.

Julio Mendez- IT Developer

Chess lover and life learner person

Julio is a web developer and electronic engineer, a continuously growing person that likes to learn and teach about interesting subjects. Right now, Julio is working at Ventura as a software developer. His hobbies are dancing salsa and playing chess, he also enjoys playing guitar. As of now, he is happy with the Ventura team and is looking forward to keeping learning and making meaningful connections.

Santiago Diaz- IT Developer

A balanced mix of curiosity, passion and adventure

Santiago is a mixed bag of a passion for technology, music, and travel. He has been working in IT since his twenties, and in the past years became a Web-oriented developer. With an endless hunger for new things, you can find him reading about the latest Tech, producing his own music, or traveling somewhere around the world. He loves to socialize, give his best, and debate new ideas or interesting concepts.

Sebastian Pinery -Site Reliability Engineer 

Music and travel lover

Sebastián is Argentinean, with 31 years. He was born in the city of Rosario but currently lives in Córdoba. He is passionate about discovering new bands, traveling to exotic destinations, and discovering new solutions through technology. He works for Ventura Travel as a Site Reliability Engineer.

Alejo Garcia- IT Developer  

Bookworm, programming addict, music lover

Alejo is an Argentinian full-stack web developer. Besides programming, he loves reading (mostly sci-fi), learning about the stock markets, and listening to pretty much any music genre. When hanging out with friends, he likes to play chess, video games, and card games, he also enjoys discussing life and politics

Roberto Spinelli- IT Developer  

Outdoors and computers

Roberto has a background as a professional mountain guide and Wilderness First Responder. He is based in El Chaltén, Patagonia. In the last few years, he decided to dedicate himself to studying IT, and building a professional career as a developer. He now works as a full stack developer on Ventura's IT team. When he's not programming, he loves to spend his time practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or being outdoors in the mountains.

Javier Salvador- QA Developer  

Tech-passionate, music lover, and travel addict

Javier is an engineer passionate about technology, during the last few years he found his path in the QA area and now, works at Ventura Travel, in the IT team. He calls himself a “music lover”, loves to listen to several types of music, and he’s a musician too. Javier plays the guitar and sings; he has even performed in several events and bars in Buenos Aires. Last but not least, he enjoys traveling. He says the Asian Southeast is one of the most beautiful places he visited, and he would like to visit again!

Camila Cañaveral- UX_UI Designer

Meditation and yoga nerd

Camila is our UX_UI designer. She describes herself as a real nomad (truly has moved around a bit too much), a huge empath, a total dork about all things design and art, likes to have deep conversations and make people smile. 

Juan Sepúlveda- Data Team Lead

All I need is a laptop and a swimming pool

Juan is an Aeronautical Engineer from Colombia, passionate about Data and Software Development. In 2018, he had the opportunity to live and study in Barcelona as an exchange student, and from that experience, he discovered his potential and passion for programming. Since then, he has been involved in software projects with high impact in local communities. Now he is a player of the IT Team of Ventura Travel as Data Engineer. When he is not coding, you can find him in the Church or in the swimming pool.

Pablo von Vacano- Data Analyst

Curiosity and Data

Pablo is our Data Analyst, he describes himself as curious and enthusiastic, loves to learn new things. One of his passions is cooking, he particularly enjoys making homemade pasta from scratch. He has a strong interest in using data to support businesses and improve their performance. Pablo resides in La Paz, and loves to travel throughout South America to explore new cultures and experiences.

Juan Sebastian Arias- Data Engineer

Reading enthusiast, road trip lover, geek by nature

JuanSe is a System and Computer Engineer from Colombia. He loves everything related to the world of technology (mainly video games). His main hobbies are spending his time listening to music, driving without any destination, and getting into fantastic worlds through books. He discovered his passion for programming when he was a student, and since then he never stops trying to learn something new every day.

Marcia Sánchez - Human Relations Director

Passion for travelling and discovering new cultures

Marcia loves working with people and found her passion working in Human Resources. In her spare time, she loves to travel and feels the happiest when she can get to know a new country, a new culture and new people.

Ana Maria Caceres - Human Relations Specialist

Family, friends and chocolate

Born in Medellin, raised in Bogota and Santa Marta. Ana is the HR coordinator for our office in Medellin. She has been an entrepreneur for most of her working life. She has a communication degree and her passion is to help others. She enjoys traveling to tropical places and loves the Caribbean. She is very family orientated and enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends. She enjoys cooking all kinds of food and watching movies. Dark chocolate, wine, and coffee are always welcome.

Areli Callisaya - Human Relations Specialist

Always looking forward to meeting new people and their cultures

Originally from Bolivia, Areli has spent almost half of her life in Germany for various reasons. She developed a fondness for Berlin due to its diverse cultures and the warmth of its people. Areli's academic achievements include a Bachelor's degree in Business Management, with a focus on the hospitality industry. Her passion for promoting an inclusive work environment inspired her to pursue a career in the HR department. She strives to make every individual feel valued and supported in their professional development. In her leisure time, Areli enjoys various activities such as dancing, singing, and socializing with friends. Traveling is also one of her favorite pastimes. 

Patricio Grez - Finance Director

Enthusiastic, curious by nature, opening new paths

Patricio joins our Ventura Team as Head of Finance, bringing a vast experience with him. Not only in pure finance topics, but also in its relation across different areas of an organization. Passionate traveler, but slow travel. Spending time and living in different countries and cultures has always given him good experiences. He is open to new challenges and willing to share with others.

Gabriela Palma - Accountant Expert, South America

Responsible and punctual

Gabriela lives in Cuzco, Peru. She graduated from a private university in Australia 3 years ago. After graduation, Gabriela worked in an accounting firm and is now an accounting assistant at Ventura TRAVEL. Active and responsible, Gabriela loves teamwork and cooperation! When it comes to her, one thing is certain: the job will be well done. She hopes to contribute to the smooth running of Ventura TRAVEL.

Santiago Piedrahita - Finance Specialist

Friendly and always willing to know new people and cultures.

Santiago is a financial administrator with around 5 years of experience in accounting and finance-related areas. He joined Ventura TRAVEL as a finance specialist and is happy to put his experience in the service of the company and acquire new knowledge. He enjoys hanging out with friends, and traveling is the activity he likes the most. He's been to over 5 different countries but hopes to know much more in the future.

Luz Riveros - Finance Specialist

Hard-working woman with a passion for life, dancing, books, and learning

Luz has been enrolled in the great finance department in order to keep the fast pace and the motivation going. She is located in Bogotá, Colombia but has experience in different countries, thus contributing to Ventura's international background.

Marie Witzel - VSocial Director

Travel addiction and curiosity

Discoveries and great encounters while traveling are the reason for Marie's involvement and passion for tourism. Marie has traveled almost all of South America and lost her heart to Argentina. Taking a different perspective for a while traveling is especially educational and inspiring for her. Her involvement with VSocial and a master's degree in non-profit management have changed her perspective professionally. Previously, Marie worked for Viventura in product and sales management. She is happy to now be able to support the communities in the destinations with VSocial.

Ifigenia Garita aka Ifi - Coordinator Central America

 Traveling, Understanding, Helping Others

Ifgenia inherited her passion for the natural sciences from her mother and dedicated her studies to discovering the delicate and fascinating world of tropical biology. She combines her knowledge of natural science with a belief in the power of education to help preserve the natural wealth found in tropical forests.

Camilo Alvarado - Coordinator South America

Addicted to theater and to discovering new places

Camilo also enjoys sharing a good meal with good wine. He is the coordinator of vSocial's social projects for South America. He worked for several years in the field of human rights and for local development projects in different regions of Colombia and Latin America. He is convinced that the combining of processes, networked work, and collaborative work can strengthen local processes and territorial autonomy. He has been part of vSocial since August 2017.

Gabriela Cascione - Operations Director

Travel Enthusiast

Gabriela always had a passion for travelling and knowledge. Born in Brazil, she chose Berlin for her home. Having worked before in a travel agency, she realizes that it is in the Tourism Industry that her passion lies. Working at Ventura Travel as Ground Operations Manager, she can put this passion into practice.

Ericka Ammurio - Flights Director

Passion for Flights

Ericka has a university degree in Tourism Management and an education in hotel Management and Gastronomy. She is a friendly, fun and open-minded person who enjoys learning new things. One of her great passions is traveling, she loves to get to know new people and cultures. She is especially enthusiastic when people come to Bolivia to discover it because she loves her country, her culture and the Bolivian way of life. Ericka is responsible for the Flights department at Ventura TRAVEL.

Stefan Kühn- Flights Specialist

Committed to each occurrence

Stefan has been responsible for flights at Viventura since May 2005.
His last trip to Peru was in 2014. Especially the diversity of the country and the unique nature inspired him.

Cintia Frias - Flights Specialist

Cake and Sweets Lover

Cintia likes to read historical books or biographies of great people. She appreciates the peace and quiet at work, because at home with her children it is often noisy. She loves challenges and is usually a perfectionist in her job.

Isabel Sánchez - Flights Specialist

Loves to Dance

Maria Isabel is a cheerful person who loves to travel, learn from different cultures and explore new places, especially when activities in the water are involved. She also enjoys volunteering and works once a month with a group of friends who are fans of the local football team Bolívar, visiting places such as retirement homes and public schools outside La Paz. They help with repairs and wherever help is needed. Although she enjoys these activities a lot, she loves dancing the most. She has been following this passion for almost 15 years and not only dances hip hop, jazz, and contemporary dances but is also a Zumba teacher.

Ana Llerena - Flights Specialist

Passionate Cook and Traveler

Ana works as a Flights Specialist in La Paz, Bolivia. She is very calm, hard-working and loves to help others. Life in harmony is very important to her. She is looking forward to learning at Ventura TRAVEL because for her every day is a great opportunity to learn from people, places, and experiences.

Adrian Uc - Flights Specialist

Music and Football Lover

Adrian is our Mexican with a great passion for football. With his headphones, he loves to walk around without a destination and he loves cinema and chocolate! During his 7 months in Europe he discovered his passion for new cultures. Helping people and being empathetic are his two pillars. For him, there is nothing more stable than movement. Adrian supports Ventura TRAVEL as a Flight Specialist and looks forward to learning new skills and developing existing ones.

Sandy Durán - Flights Specialist

Love for Travel and Food Tasting

Sandy works in the field of tourism for more than 12 years, it is truly her vocation. She really loves to travel and meet new people, tasting delicious food and trying different tourism activities in new places. Also, she loves listening to music while she takes a walk, reading novels and especially spending time with her friends.

Rushda Saliem - Flights Specialist

Chocolates taste and texture can really take you to the most sensual places on earth

Rushda worked in the airline industry for more than 12 years she is a warm and bubbly person who has an absolute passion for diverse cultures and seeing new and different places. She loves swimming and any water sports during winter or summer. As a proud Capetonian, Rugby is the only sport she watches. 

Rosa Pacheco - Ground Operations Manager

Passionate traveler and lover of weaving silver and wool threads.

Rosa has always been passionate about work in tourism, it allows her to know, experience, and appreciate everything around her, also inspires people to travel to share an experience. She enjoys looking for improvements to create awesome travel experiences, she feels that working in tourism is doing what she was meant to do. She feels very lucky of working in the tourism industry and, furthermore, in a company that develops sustainable tourism. 

Maria Cristina Egüez- Ground Operations Specialist

Lover of nature, animals and daily learning

Ecuadorian, passionate about traveling, and a lover of football and reading. She has been working in tourism since 2010 and knows that Ecuador is the perfect country to discover the diversity of cultures, landscapes, gastronomy, and wildlife of a small part of South America. She likes to offer the world the wonders that can be found in every corner of her beautiful country. Not only that, but she works every day with the purpose, that our customers are happy and satisfied with the products and quality we offer. For this and more, she invites you to enjoy the best and most unforgettable experiences in Ecuador and many destinations around the world with Ventura Travel

Pablo Calla- Ground Operations Specialist

Living life intensely, traveling where adventure calls

Operations Specialist in the Latin American region and consultant for other countries, the work on the site reflects the passion we have for our diverse cultures and scenarios, the objective is to be able to share beautiful experiences that make each of the people who visit us feel they are received like home.

Cristina Castillo - Ground Operations Specialist

Passionate Ecuadorian in love of the beautiful colors of Ecuador.

Cristina is a proud Ecuadorian who was inspired by the opportunity to get to know this diverse country and therefore make tourism her passion and profession. She likes to work in tourism to offer sustainable activities to travelers all over the world. With her work at Ventura, she wants to contribute with her professional and personal experience so that our travelers can take the best memories from colorful Ecuador.

Maria Soledad Cruz - Ground Operations Specialist

Always with a smile.

15 years ago Soledad finished her career in Business Administration and by chance went to do her internship at a travel agency, since then she has lived her passion for Tourism every day. It has been 3 years in ground Operations, coordinating and negotiating with suppliers to provide the best experience to our clients. She puts her heart into everything she does.

Neida Montoya - Ground Operations Specialist

The path is made by walking

Neida describes herself as an enthusiastic, empathetic, collaborative, and kind person. She is always willing to offer help and give a smile. Neida is determined in the projects she works on. She understands that life is made up of both good and challenging moments. She believes that it is essential to recognize who we are in order to move forward in every situation, even when we are vulnerable

Asja Gevorgyan - Ground Operations Specialist

Outdoors & Tea Enthusiast

Asja is our point of contact for hotels, tour guides, and experiential events in Japan and will make sure your trip goes smoothly. Originally from Armenia, she was born and raised in Germany and holds a Master's degree in Asian Studies and Japanese Studies. Asja especially loves Japanese green tea and loves to spend her free time in the green: hiking, climbing, or snorkeling.

Derek Hollenbaugh - Ground Operations Specialist

Adventurer Looking for the Best Food

Derek was born in Yokohama, Japan, and grew up there until he was 6 years old. Then he moved to the United States, where he moved around a bit until his graduation from the University of Houston in 2022. He moved back to Japan after university and plans to stay here for the unforeseeable future. Another thing about him is that he really loves traveling, and he has visited about 10 countries so far! His love for discovering brand-new foods and learning about different cultures really broadens his mind and improves his taste palate!

Precious Ramukhadi - Ground Operations Specialist

Horror movie fanatic

Precious is the Southern Africa Tour Operations Specialist for Africaventura. She is based in Cape Town, but has plenty of experience all around the country and in different parts of industry.

Passionate Globetrotter

Alberto Wirz is a highly enthusiastic Peruvian-Swiss team player with a passion for traveling and learning. He has traveled to 60 countries (and counting). He is fluent in English, Spanish & French and he is learning Italian. A former luxury TC himself, he has more than 15 years of worldwide working experience in the Travel industry, and he is our Tour Guide Operations Manager. He loves to enjoy Life.