Entrepreneur of the Year 2025: Sushant Trivedi’s bet on Fresh Tracks—and the future of Canadian travel

Any big career move is a gamble, but it’s hard to imagine a riskier choice than taking over an almost-bankrupt Canadian travel company in the height of COVID. So why did Sushant Trivedi do it? “The challenge,” he answers simply. Prior to accepting the CEO role at Fresh Tracks in December 2021, he’d spent over a decade at Procter and Gamble (“I did toilet paper, toothpaste and tampons, not travel,” he jokes), and he couldn’t resist the opportunity to transform a business that was in debt. “I thought, if I can help turn around this company, I’m helping the country and the overall economy,” he explains. “It’s a profound impact.” He took the wheel from original founder John Parker, and the 25-year-old business focused solely on customized Canadian itineraries was his to steer.

Trivedi assembled a strong, trustworthy leadership team and created a new data analytics and technology squad to develop a proprietary booking system to better support customer service. He ran the company in 13-week “sprints” to be flexible in unprecedented times and successfully navigated Fresh Tracks out of debt. Since then, customer service has remained an essential focus, making all the difference for the company’s target market of folks aged 60-plus. “I think industry in general right now is so obsessed with millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha,” the CEO says, “and I believe the older generation tends to be ignored.” By delivering customized travel plans that consider accessibility (is a hotel room wheelchair friendly? can a cross-country train accommodate a CPAP machine?) rather than focusing on online booking (every Fresh Tracks client talks to a human advisor to plan their journey), the business ensures each trip is bucket-list worthy.

Americans make up 75 percent of Fresh Tracks’ client base, but geopolitical tension hasn’t slowed the business down—it’s already hit its $50M revenue goal for 2025. Trivedi says that U.S. clients’ concerns (“will Canadians welcome us? is it safe for us?”) are alleviated by the company’s human-centric customer care. His goal is to make Canada the world’s top destination for witnessing the northern lights—showcasing not only the country’s natural beauty but also the rich culture of Northern Indigenous peoples. For Trivedi, education is the biggest enemy of ignorance, and “tourism has the ability to drive that.”

What’s the best leadership advice you’ve ever received?

Take great care of your employees and your customers and the business will take care of itself.

Your proudest moment in business?

Being the co-founder of Gillette Treo—the world’s first razor for caregivers to groom their loved ones. I have never felt more emotionally rewarded in my career.