What a CEO Exchange Really Feels Like

Earlier this year, Louise Cottar of Cottar’s Safaris undertook a CEO exchange with Andrew Dixon, CEO of Nikoi and Cempedak Islands in Indonesia - shared learning at the highest level between two Global Ecosphere Retreat® (GER) accredited members of The Long Run. These are her reflections on what the experience taught her, both about the businesses involved and about the nature of the exchange itself.

A CEO exchange is one of those ideas that sounds straightforward on paper - two leaders swap places for a period of time, each running the other’s business, each returning home with a fresh perspective. Simple enough. The reality, as Louise discovered, is something altogether more layered.

‍Reflections from Louise Cottar on her exchange with Andrew Dixon CEO of Nikoi and Cempedak Islands

Entrusting the “Child”

The closest analogy I can draw for a CEO exchange is entrusting your child to someone you deeply respect - someone capable, thoughtful, and aligned in values - and asking them to nurture, challenge, and broaden that child’s horizons. As founders of organisations that are decades old, and deeply personal, Andrew and I feel this acutely. Our businesses are very much our “children,” and stepping into this exchange carried with it a real sense of responsibility - emotional, moral, and professional - as we temporarily placed something deeply personal into another’s care.

The Gift of Fresh Eyes

‍While decades of proximity bring depth, they can also narrow perspective - the familiar becomes invisible. One of the greatest benefits of this exchange has been the clarity that comes from fresh eyes. I have valued Andrew’s perspective on Cottar’s Safaris enormously, and I hope to have offered the same at Nikoi and Cempedak - whether through identifying blind spots, affirming what already works, or suggesting what might come next.

‍There is a particular kind of insight that only an outsider with insider-level access can offer. To truly walk in someone else's shoes is one of the most underappreciated forms of leadership development I have come across.

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Universal Principles, Local Nuance

Culturally, the experience has been equally powerful. Leadership, I’ve found, sits at the intersection of universal principles and local nuance. Clarity, consistency, and empathy translate across borders; approaches to change, communication, and team engagement are far more context-specific.

One moment that stayed with me was observing the team at Nikoi and Cempedak close their morning meetings with a simple phrase: “Happy working.” With a team of over 250 people, that small ritual speaks volumes. It reflects a culture that is positive, open, and collaborative - something that is never accidental, but carefully built and consistently nurtured. It is the kind of detail you cannot read about in a management book; you have to be there, in the room, to feel its weight.

Affirmation as Insight

Sometimes the greatest value is not in new ideas, but in clarity. Both Nikoi and Cempedak have developed a compelling, proven model that fosters a strong and loyal guest base. My role has been as much about affirming that vision as it has been about offering suggestions for incremental evolution.

‍In the same way, I return with renewed conviction in what we are building at Cottar’s Safaris - and with the belief that this exchange has added real depth, breadth, and value to both our businesses. It has created that extra spark in our respective journeys of continuous improvement.

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Returning Home Changed

As I leave Indonesia, I return the “child” more open, adaptable, and hopefully enriched. What’s more, I look forward to continuing this exchange at a team level - something Andrew and I have already begun discussing. The conversation does not end when the exchange does; in many ways, it is only beginning.

For Cottar’s Safaris, this experience reaffirms our place within The Long Run community of like-minded businesses committed to conservation, community, culture, and commerce. It reminds us that the work of building something meaningful is never done in isolation - and that the best ideas often arrive through the generosity of others willing