Team Profiles
Ben Lyons
Ben has spent his entire life captivated by ships and travel. As a Captain, travel writer and MBA, his unique set of skills allows him to mix his passion for travel and work.
After graduating from Groton School in Massachusetts, Ben decided to follow his passion and attended the US Merchant Marine Academy. He served as an officer onboard a variety of vessels ranging from large cruise ships in Hawaii to cable ships installing undersea fiber optic systems. In 2003, Ben was asked to join Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2, then under construction in France, and consequently became the first (and still only) American officer the company had hired in its over 160 year history. Ben served for five years onboard, leaving as the liner’s Chief Officer.
An avid traveler to unusual, less developed regions, Ben has also been an active travel writer for over a decade, with his articles and reviews appearing in a wide range of guidebooks, magazines and newspapers. After several years specializing in writing about expedition cruising, he traveled to Antarctica in 2007 and immediately fell in love with the seventh continent. Soon thereafter, he left Cunard to join Lindblad Expeditions in order to explore more of the world’s wild, polar regions. Ben sailed on National Geographic Endeavour and National Geographic Explorer, first as Chief Officer and later as Captain.
In addition, Ben’s interest in the business of shipping and expedition travel spurred him to pursue his MBA, which he earned at Columbia Business School in his adopted hometown of New York City.
Tim Soper
Tim was raised on the Devon coast of Southwest England. Growing up constantly in and around boats, Tim developed a passion for the sea that led him to study at the University of Wales’ marine laboratories on the Isle of Anglesey, where he combined oceanography and marine biology to earn an honors degree in Ocean Sciences.
Since joining his first expedition ship in 1994, Tim has spent two decades immersed in the expedition travel business. Working year-round as Expedition Leader, diver, boatman and guide, he has migrated with the seasons between the Polar Regions and tropics, gaining an intimate knowledge of a multitude of cruising destinations.
In the far North, as well as leading frequent expeditions to Norway’s Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Tim has transited the North-East passage, visiting the islands of the Russian High Arctic; Franz Josef Land, Severnya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands, and reached the North Pole by icebreaker. He has led expeditions to the Canadian Arctic, Labrador and Greenland, as well as sub-Arctic Greenland, Canada, Norway, and Islands of the North Atlantic and Russian Far East.
In the tropics he has worked as Dive Guide or Expedition Leader on voyages across the Indian & Pacific Oceans, through Southeast Asia including the Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea & Vietnam, the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, East Africa, Central America, Caribbean, and the great rivers of South America.
In the Antarctic, as well as scores of voyages to the Peninsula region, Tim has led helicopter-equipped icebreaker expeditions deep into the Ross & Weddell Seas, and completely circumnavigated the continent, venturing to the far side of East Antarctica, and the seldom-visited Phantom Coast. Always keen to explore, he has pioneered many new landings and discovered a previously unknown Emperor Penguin rookery. This remarkable experience in the Antarctic has led Tim to be a representative to IAATO, where has sat on the Field Operations & Membership Committees.
Rob McCallum, FRGS
EYOS Founding Partner Rob McCallum is a professional expedition leader and consultant who has led expeditions for a wide variety of clients in remote locations throughout the world. With a diverse background ranging from helping guide a complete Antarctic circumnavigation by icebreaker to extensive deep-ocean searching, he has spent decades mounting complex logistical operations in remote regions.
Working first in the South Pacific as a New Zealand park ranger and a UN Technical Advisor, he gained extensive knowledge of this region and its culture. Living in Papua New Guinea for over 10 years, he became proficient in the neo-Melanesian languages of P.N.G., Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.
Later, he began leading expeditions to Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and French Polynesia as a divemaster. He also has spent two decades of guiding and leading expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctic, including extensive time in the Ross Sea.
An acknowledged expert in deep-water submersible operations, he has led multiple expeditions to the RMS Titanic (12,500ft) and battleship Bismarck (15,500ft). Since 2007 he has used his M.Sc (management) to help with design and management of many complex deep-water expeditions, including the search for Air France 447. In 2012 he was the coordinator for the P.N.G. test program for James Cameron’s record-setting dive to the Marianas Trench.
Combining his expertise in deep-ocean operations with expedition management, he managed the construction of the research vessel and yacht Alucia over four years. Today, the vessel is widely considered the world’s foremost deep-water expedition vessel.
In addition to working with exclusive clients interested in exploring beyond the beaten path, Rob has consulted for the National Geographic Society, Discovery Channel, the Norwegian Navy, BBC, NHK and CNN. He is a licensed aircraft pilot, a PADI Dive Master and an enthusiastic member of the Explorers Club (NY) and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London.
Peter Butz
Peter has spent over 35 years in the expedition industry, both leading expeditions onboard and organizing them from ashore. After receiving his BS degree in Development and Resource Economics from the University of California, he spent several years backpacking around the world to far-flung destinations. Inspired to continue traveling and exploring for a living, he joined the pioneering adventure travel company Lindblad Travel, driving Zodiacs and serving as Expedition Leader on the company’s expedition ship Lindblad Explorer on its voyages to the remotest parts of the globe including Antarctica, the Great Barrier Reef, the Arctic and the Amazon.
In 1981 he joined Sven-Olof Lindblad’s newly formed company, Special Expeditions (now Lindblad Expeditions). Peter was Expedition Leader on various Lindblad Expeditions vessels in Alaska, Baja California, Papua New Guinea, the Arctic and the Amazon. In 1989, he transitioned ashore to manage vessel operations for the company. For the next twenty-five years, initially as Vice President of Fleet Operations, and later as Chief Operations Officer, he managed the growth of Lindblad Expeditions’ fleet to six vessels deployed in global operations, including Antarctica, Galapagos, the Arctic, and Alaska.
Today, Peter is EVC’s Chief Operations Officer, where he has responsibility for the company’s day-to-day operations and resources as well as contribute to the company’s consulting projects. Peter’s background is instrumental to EVC offering the finest expedition advice in the industry, whether in ship design, operations, itinerary development or market analysis.
Kelvin Murray FRGS
Kelvin has explored, dived and guided on every continent, every ocean and many seas. His clients have included expedition companies and scientific researchers, wildlife charities, National Geographic photographers and the BBC Natural History Unit and he has worked on a variety of vessels from sailing yachts and schooners to Ice Class 1A Super expedition ships.
Over-wintering with the British Antarctic Survey, he managed the UK scientific diving program throughout the extreme environment of the Antarctic winter. Kelvin has led exploratory diving expeditions throughout Svalbard, to the worldís largest fjord system in East Greenland and the Antarctic wildlife paradise of South Georgia. As Expedition Leader, Kelvin has led numerous logistically complex trips involving diving, mountaineering, kayaking, camping, hiking, photography, filmmaking, endurance racing and helicopter operations.
Whether hiking with reindeer, watching killer whales, lecturing on walrus or lounging with penguins, his enthusiasm for nature in all its forms is infectious. Kelvin is a specialist in marine mammals including polar bears, with which he has had some memorable encounters. Previously, Kelvin was Education Officer for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation and has spent twenty years studying these animals. He collaborates with Dr. Sylvia Earle’s SEAlliance Foundation to contribute images to the Ocean layer of Google Earth in a drive to secure Marine Protected Areas worldwide.
A former Survival & Marine Instructor with personal knowledge of extreme environments, plus extensive educational and outreach experience, Kelvin now acts as Special Consultant to Blue Abyss. This project is creating the world’s largest and deepest research, training and development pool, with a particular interests in ocean research, human spaceflight and space exploration.
Werner Stambach
Werner has been involved in the cruise industry in various management positions for over 30 years. He has also been lecturing and leading natural history tours for the world’s premier cruise companies and over the years developed a special dedication for ecotourism to some of the most remote regions of this Earth.
Werner’s career as Cruise Director and Expedition Leader aboard renowned expedition cruise ships has taken him to the Antarctic, the Arctic, the Amazon, the Indian Ocean, South-East Asia and the South Pacific. He directed more than one hundred voyages to the Antarctic Peninsula, the Ross and Weddell Sea, and the Sub-Antarctic Islands, as well as expeditions to Greenland, Spitsbergen, Alaska, the Russian and Canadian High Arctic, the North Pole, and through the historic Northwest and Northeast Passages.
He also played an important role in developing the concept of adventurous journeys on polar icebreakers, and holds a record of organizing and leading two full circumnavigations both of the Arctic and the entire Antarctic continent.
Werner’s intimate working knowledge of environmental management in the Polar Regions made him interact and work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Australian Antarctic Division, the British Antarctic Survey, Antarctica New Zealand, and the German Environmental Protection Agency, to name a few. He was also honoured for his valuable contribution he made to the conservation of New Zealand’s natural and historic heritage.
Werner was Chairman of IAATO’s Executive Committee, and a member of the prestigious Explorers Club and the British Royal Geographical Society. As Senior Advisor he still takes an active role in IAATO and is well versed with the inner workings of the Association.
Today he specializes in preparing and organizing new expedition voyages, while at the same time carefully studying aspects of the natural world and the important environmental issues we all face when traveling to the distant corners of the Earth.
Karen Horlick
With over 20 years experience in expedition travel, Karen has found a home as the Operations Manager for EYOS Expeditions. Growing up in the wilds of suburban Philadelphia, Karen developed a love for exploration on early family road trips. This lead to the University of Colorado and a continued migration westward.
Ending up in Seattle armed with an underutilized degree in Psychology and a growing wanderlust, Karen found a natural fit in the travel industry. From Guest Services at an Alaskan lodge to developing and managing countless expeditions around the world, the varied and exciting work has fed her curiosity and added many places to her bucket list. Karen has been fortunate enough to step foot on all seven continents and here at home she relishes all that the beautiful Northwest has to offer with impromptu road trips and hikes.
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