Omar Samra, Our Chief Guanabana

I was born in London and raised in Cairo. Ever since I was a little boy I dreamed of traveling the world. My parents travelled a lot and took me with them yet destinations were always the same; London or Paris mostly. I remember thinking how incredible it would be to go to less trodden destinations where one could truly explore and discover something beyond their wildest imagination. As I grew up, that dream grew with me.

After graduating with a degree in Economics from the American University in Cairo, I moved to London then Hong Kong to pursue an investment banking career with HSBC. It was interesting and challenging work but quickly I began to realize there is more to life than sitting behind a desk for 15 hours each day. Talks with a dear friend inspired me to purchase a bicycle and travel around Spanish Andalusia alone for 2 weeks. The experience made me realize how passionate I am about travel, exploring the world and my own personal boundaries. My life was never the same again.

Adamant to repeat the experience, I began planning for a longer, more involving trip and in December of 2002 I embarked on a 370-day journey across Asia and Latin America, visiting 14 countries. It was undoubtedly the most incredible year of my life and sparked many future trips and expeditions, especially mountaineering ones which has been one of my greatest passions since the age of 16. After returning to investment banking for a couple of years and earning my MBA from London Business School, I set out to fulfill another of my childhood dreams and on the 17th of May 2007, I became the first Egyptian and youngest Arab to summit 8,850m Mount Everest. Post Everest and until early 2009, I worked for Actis, a leading emerging markets Private Equity fund learning first hand from top CEOs what it takes to run an extraordinary service business.

I have spent 3 years on the road, visiting over 50 countries and countless destinations. My curiosity still knows no bounds and that makes traveling something I cannot live without. I have always been passionate about sharing those experiences through my writing, photography and speaking. However, what better way to do so than facilitate the means for people to embark on fascinating, truly unique journey’s of their own. I find this a true joy and that is why WILD GUANABANA was born.

Learn more about Omar Samra at his website www.omarsamra.com.