Peter Fearnhead is the CEO and co-founder of African Parks, a non-profit conservation organisation that takes on direct responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of protected areas in Africa, in partnership with governments and local communities.

Peter graduated with a BSc in Agric Economics from the University of Natal and an MSc in Agric and Resource Economics from the University of Oxford. He started his career at Deloitte Consulting and later joined South African National Parks (SANParks) where he was responsible for the conceptualisation and execution of its commercial strategy.

Under his leadership, African Parks has pioneered the public-private partnership model for protected area management in Africa, establishing itself as a global leader in conservation. Since initiating partnerships with the Governments of Malawi and Zambia to manage Majete and Liuwa Plains national parks in 2003, African Parks has experienced substantial growth. Today, the organisation employs over 5,000 staff members to manage 22 protected areas across 12 African countries, spanning 20 million hectares.