Just like François Lévêque, Yannick Briand has had several professional careers.
In his first phase, he was instrumental in creating the Altaï group, which recently became Atalante and was acquired in April 2026 by the Australian company Intrepid. He led several brands under it, such as Huwans and 66° North.
Then, three years ago, he decided to rise to new heights.
He left the management, then the presidency of the group, selling his stake. He went, overnight, from a frenetic professional life to the silence of his phone and inbox.
But despite a rich career, retirement is not on the agenda.
He began teaching at the IAE of Savoie Mont Blanc, for students in the master’s program in sustainable tourism management, spoke at conferences for entrepreneurs and set aside time for himself and his travels.
Yet he realized that something was missing.
“After three years, my passion remains intact, both for entrepreneurship and for this world of adventure travel.
I am a traveler at heart. I started as a tour guide, and I’ve done that my whole life. To be honest, when I left Altaï, I spent three months in Norway.
I wanted to relaunch a project and journeys to territories that are dear to my heart“, confides Yannick Briand, cofounder of Horizon Boréal.
In his first phase, he was instrumental in creating the Altaï group, which recently became Atalante and was acquired in April 2026 by the Australian company Intrepid. He led several brands under it, such as Huwans and 66° North.
Then, three years ago, he decided to rise to new heights.
He left the management, then the presidency of the group, selling his stake. He went, overnight, from a frenetic professional life to the silence of his phone and inbox.
But despite a rich career, retirement is not on the agenda.
He began teaching at the IAE of Savoie Mont Blanc, for students in the master’s program in sustainable tourism management, spoke at conferences for entrepreneurs and set aside time for himself and his travels.
Yet he realized that something was missing.
“After three years, my passion remains intact, both for entrepreneurship and for this world of adventure travel.
I am a traveler at heart. I started as a tour guide, and I’ve done that my whole life. To be honest, when I left Altaï, I spent three months in Norway.
I wanted to relaunch a project and journeys to territories that are dear to my heart“, confides Yannick Briand, cofounder of Horizon Boréal.
Horizon Boréal: an intimate knowledge of the Far North territories
And that is how Horizon Boréal was born in the autumn of 2026.“I love teaching and revealing. Living only for myself is not enough“, he tells us.
The agency offers tailor-made adventure trips in small groups to Norway, Iceland, Finland, Greenland, Spitsbergen, and Sweden. Three people make up the project.
We meet Soizic Baldacchino at the commercial leadership and Olivier Nau at project management. Like the former head of the Altaï group, they are based in Savoie and have come through 66° North.
“All three of us live in the same place, we ski tour together, and we share the same passion.
The project emerged from discussions. Over time we realized we wanted to dive back in. And we felt it was time to do it all three.
We have more than 25 years of experience in the sector, so we bring the entire network we have built over time, from a small lodge in Finland to a guide in Greenland. We know every person individually.
This intimate knowledge of these territories allows us to guarantee our future clients proximity and the quality of service ensured by the people who will take over on site“, explains Yannick Briand when reflecting on the project’s genesis.
After a few months of maturation, Horizon Boréal took shape. Its website has been online since early October 2026.
On the platform, visitors will find two types of adventure trips exclusively focused on the Far North destinations, excluding North America.
On one side, tailor-made stays, and on the other, small groups of only 10 travelers maximum.
Horizon Boréal: “We are working on niche products and territories”
The first groups will depart in March, while requests for individual trips have already begun landing at the small team’s offices.
“We are working on niche products and territories. We chose to focus on more intimate stays, offering a more artisanal experience and also a bit more upscale.
We could have programmed Scandinavia and polar regions into mass-market trips. That’s not our choice, because others do it very well and it wouldn’t reflect who we are.
We are truly on a bespoke path. As enthusiasts, we want to share this passion with our clients“, the cofounder of the agency details.
Thus, no Santa Claus village discovery, but trips centered on hiking, snowshoeing, and alpine or Nordic skiing.
To deliver these trips, it was necessary to find guides and local teams capable of sharing and transmitting the passion that aligns with Horizon Boréal’s founders.
“Our experienced guides are the cornerstone of our travel’s success. We do not rely on a single receptive partner.
We work with a network of lodging providers we know. Depending on what we want to offer, we seek out people and professionals“, he explains.
For each trip, It must enable the kind of disconnection travelers often seek.
It must be acknowledged that, for several years now, adventure travel has left its niche to claim a significant place in the tourism industry.
“We are working on niche products and territories. We chose to focus on more intimate stays, offering a more artisanal experience and also a bit more upscale.
We could have programmed Scandinavia and polar regions into mass-market trips. That’s not our choice, because others do it very well and it wouldn’t reflect who we are.
We are truly on a bespoke path. As enthusiasts, we want to share this passion with our clients“, the cofounder of the agency details.
Thus, no Santa Claus village discovery, but trips centered on hiking, snowshoeing, and alpine or Nordic skiing.
To deliver these trips, it was necessary to find guides and local teams capable of sharing and transmitting the passion that aligns with Horizon Boréal’s founders.
“Our experienced guides are the cornerstone of our travel’s success. We do not rely on a single receptive partner.
We work with a network of lodging providers we know. Depending on what we want to offer, we seek out people and professionals“, he explains.
For each trip,
It must be acknowledged that, for several years now, adventure travel has left its niche to claim a significant place in the tourism industry.
Trips that meet “the deep needs of our urban societies”
“I lecture at the university and students think this is a new trend, whereas the appeal of this form of travel is relatively ancient.
However, its rise dates from the 2010-2015 period. Since then, this market has matured. There isn’t strong growth because these are expensive products.
Nevertheless, I remain convinced that this form of travel increasingly matches the deep needs of our urban societies.
These vast North territories are sparsely populated. They offer a reconnection with nature and allow you to experience something you can’t live anywhere else“, he estimates.
And to distribute its small production, Horizon Boréal will thus rely on its own channel, namely its website.
It also plans, perhaps later, and if demand exists, to form partnerships with travel agencies.
Those agencies would then need to learn about the products and clearly understand travelers’ expectations and capabilities, so as not to misroute them to these distinctive destinations that require a minimum level of physical condition.
And after turning Altaï into the success story we know, is this scaling up too difficult to accept?
“You don’t have to take pleasure only in what is grand. At Altaï, we had nearly 500 people, including guides abroad. At that scale, the CEO is more like a corporate politician. I managed strategy and ensured everything ran, but I was no longer in the operational realm.
There is no ego about size; we are starting from zero, and it is a real challenge. My goals are to put this project on track and to give those who succeed me the means to continue the adventure.“, Briand shares with a smile.
However, its rise dates from the 2010-2015 period. Since then, this market has matured. There isn’t strong growth because these are expensive products.
Nevertheless, I remain convinced that this form of travel increasingly matches the deep needs of our urban societies.
These vast North territories are sparsely populated. They offer a reconnection with nature and allow you to experience something you can’t live anywhere else“, he estimates.
And to distribute its small production, Horizon Boréal will thus rely on its own channel, namely its website.
It also plans, perhaps later, and if demand exists, to form partnerships with travel agencies.
Those agencies would then need to learn about the products and clearly understand travelers’ expectations and capabilities, so as not to misroute them to these distinctive destinations that require a minimum level of physical condition.
And after turning Altaï into the success story we know, is this scaling up too difficult to accept?
“You don’t have to take pleasure only in what is grand. At Altaï, we had nearly 500 people, including guides abroad. At that scale, the CEO is more like a corporate politician. I managed strategy and ensured everything ran, but I was no longer in the operational realm.
There is no ego about size; we are starting from zero, and it is a real challenge. My goals are to put this project on track and to give those who succeed me the means to continue the adventure.“, Briand shares with a smile.
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