Todd Sotkiewicz

President

Lonely Planet Americas

Traveling like that gave me the opportunity to see what was in my heart, and so I started pursuing it all differently at that point.

About Todd

He originally worked in accounting because he "grew up in the Midwest, where it was the right thing to do."
Explains his feelings at that time with a quote by Marshall Glickman: "I had the heart of a wanderer but the head of an accountant."
He took a leave of absence to travel; his employer, accounting firm Arthur Andersen, told him he was making a huge mistake.
Ignoring that advice, he took off and explored Southeast Asia and Japan.
Says traveling gave him the opportunity he'd needed to see what was truly in his heart.
While in Thailand, a friend suggested that they get beers at a place he'd found in a Lonely Planet guidebook.
That was his first introduction to the travel company; says while he's been an employee for four years, he's been a devotee for 20 years.
Says that looking back, before he took his leave of absence, he was living his parents' dream; now he's living his own dream.