Where the Wild Things Are

摘要

Unlike many bankers, when Jose Cortes craved blood he wasn't plotting how to poach a deal. Instead, he was watching a lion stalk a buffalo. Beginning in the mid-'90s, the Hong Kong-based JPMorgan Chase investment banker, now 45, visited Africa yearly. On one memorable trip, in 1997, he was transfixed by the sight of 14 lions hunting three buffalo in Botswana-and realized there was a business opportunity in introducing more Asian travelers to African safaris. In late 2002, Cortes and a friend, Victor Dizon, began laying groundwork for their new business. Working out of their apartments in off hours-Cortes in Hong Kong, Dizon in Manila-the bankers contacted African tourism boards in Asia, negotiated rates with safari lodges, began hiring staff, and pitched colleagues on custom safaris. Cortes took a four-month sabbatical to scout camps and reserves.