Singita announced the appointment this week of Tom Fels as Chief Executive Officer: Hospitality, effective from January 1.

Luke Bailes, Singita’s Founder, will continue to serve as the Group’s Executive Chairman.

“As we restructure Singita and position it for growth, Tom is ideally qualified to take our hospitality offering to the next level. His ability to understand branding and long-term, purpose-driven business, his passion for conservation, and his authentic motivation in developing people and guest experiences, make him an extraordinary fit Singita,” said Bailes. 

Fels graduated from the University of Cape Town with a Bachelor of Business Science (Hons), Marketing/Marketing Management.

He has worked at Fitch as a Senior Project Manager, at 34 – an advertising agency – as a Business Unit Director, Publicis Machine as Group Managing Director and, most recently CEO at Nurun.

Singita has 12 lodges and camps across South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Singita also partially funds the protection and preservation of almost 400 000 hectares of land and existing wildlife populations, as well as creating economic independence within local communities surrounding the reserves.