Colin Bell is a pioneering conservation entrepreneur and ecotourism leader whose career has helped shape the modern safari industry in Africa. Beginning as a safari guide in Botswana in 1977, Colin has spent nearly five decades advancing conservation through sustainable tourism and community engagement.

He is the co-founder of Wilderness Safaris (1983), Great Plains Conservation (2006), and Natural Selection Safaris (2013). Over the decades these companies have grown to manage camps and lodges across nine African countries and sustainably creating and managing millions of hectares of prime wildlife reserves throughout east, central and southern Africa. Through years of collaboration and partnership with local communities, Colin has developed a deep understanding of what works—and what does not—in creating sustainable conservation and tourism models.

A passionate advocate for species conservation, Colin has been instrumental in the successful reintroduction of both black and white rhinos to Botswana’s Okavango Delta. He has co-authored three books on wildlife, the environment and sustainable tourism – Africa’s Finest, The Last Elephants? – and more recently The Last Lions?, the latter two with Smithsonian.

Colin earned a B.com in Economics, from Witwatersrand University, South Africa