- Our Founder
Sharad Kumar Vats
Nature Safari India was built on field knowledge of more than 30 years, not desk research. Since 1999, Sharad Vats has shaped journeys across India’s wild landscapes with a simple belief: the finest wildlife safari is not the most hurried but the most deeply understood.
Our luxury wildlife journeys are designed around rhythm, habitat, seasonality, naturalist quality, lodge character, and the subtle art of being in the right place with the right people, at the right time.
Story of Sharad Kumar Vats
Born and brought up in New Delhi, it was Sharad’s childhood passion to play cricket for India. An ardent outdoor athlete, he excelled in every sport he set his mind to. At the time when his peers were preparing for Engineering and Medical entrance exams, he shifted his focus to pursue Hotel Management to build his professional career. After successfully completing his course, he was selected by Asia’s largest hotel group, the Taj Group of Hotels (a TATA Group Enterprise). At the turn of his first year with the Taj Group, accolades poured in as he was chosen as Employee of the Year.
It was soon after that he met his ‘Super Boss’ Mr. Divya Bhanu Sinh Chavda, who was a Wildlife Expert, and an acclaimed author of several books on Indian Wildlife. It was the meetings and interactions with him that inspired Sharad to visit a host of different national parks over the next few years.
From the year 1990 to 1999, Sharad traveled pan India, through the jungles of- Bandhavgarh, Corbett, Dudhwa, Kanha, Bharatpur, and Sariska. He saw his first tiger in the year 1990 at the mere age of 22, but little did he know that this one sighting would engulf him into a realm where forests were all that mattered. While Sharad did continue to grow in the corporate world, he aligned himself to the purpose of living in the wilderness of India and to save the Tiger.
With a renewed sense of passion, he quit the hotels and started his own venture, called ‘Nature Safari India Pvt Ltd’, with a motto of ‘Conservation through Tourism’. As he progressed through his journey, he developed and sharpened his skills in wildlife photography. In 2014, he captured an extraordinary natural history moment of an encounter between a tiger and two elephants. It is his ongoing effort and enthusiasm in such work, that has earned him recognition worldwide.
He is an avid reader with some of his all-time favorites being, ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’, ‘Bhagwat Gita’, ‘Jobs’, and ‘Built to Last’. Certain personalities which have left an indelible impression on him are; Paramahansa Yogananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Jack Welch.
Honing his love for wildlife and passion for teaching practical management skills, Sharad launched a book called “The Tiger CEO”. He says, “The tiger is an enigma that fascinates us all. There are so many coffee-table books on tigers by a variety of experts, but I felt a tremendous urge to pen down my own observations and interpretations of key tiger traits, that not only make the feline an apex predator, but also an exemplary leader.
At this time in history, when we feel the need for strong leadership to steer us through the crises we face, I found myself turning to the tiger for inspiration again and again. From Chattrapati Shivaji to Elon Musk, I have found several of the feline’s attributes in leaders throughout history, across the planet, spanning a variety of domains, and have shared them with you in the book. I hope that this book inspires you to draw on these invaluable lessons from the king of the jungle.
For those of you who are outside India, The Tiger CEO is available on a variety of international platforms worldwide – Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, iBooks, Google Play Store, NotionPress!
Founder’s Message
I didn’t sleep a wink on the night of January 25th, 1990. That evening, I saw my first wild tiger in Ranthambhore. It was a moment that changed me forever. As the majestic animal disappeared into the forest, it left behind a storm of thoughts in my mind. What will become of this magnificent species? Tiger numbers were at a terrifying low, and the silence of that night echoed with a single question, how could we let such beauty vanish from our world? That one encounter stayed with me, haunting and inspiring me through the years. It wasn’t until the late 1990s that clarity emerged. I had to act. I had to do something meaningful and something lasting.
And so, in the year 2000, at the age of 32, I founded Nature Safari India. It was not just a business, but a promise. A promise to the tiger, to the forests, and to myself. The mission was simple but profound: “Conservation through tourism”. By promoting responsible and immersive wildlife tourism, we aimed to generate livelihoods for communities living around tiger reserves, because when the local economy thrives, so does the wilderness. It is said that every tourist supports the employment of 11 people. For me, this was not just a number, it was a path. A way to give back to the land that had given me purpose.
Today, after 25 years of walking this path, I can say with quiet confidence and deep humility that we have done our bit. We’ve brought people from around the world face to face with the tiger, and with every sighting, we’ve sown a seed of love, respect, and protection.
And perhaps now, I will sleep a little easier, knowing that the tiger will roam free even after I’m gone.
The Tiger CEO, by Sharad Vats
Most of us travel to the jungle to see a tiger. Sharad Kumar Vats wrote The Tiger CEO to argue we should go there to learn from one.
Vats, a corporate professional whose tiger sighting in 1990 pulled him into a life of conservation, has spent 30 years tracking the big cat and translates its daily conduct into a leadership manual.
Across eleven sections, he maps the tiger’s instincts onto the traits of great leaders, from Gandhi to Elon Musk: walk alone when you must, stalk your goals with patience, strike with precision, waste no energy on noise. The tiger isn’t a photo opportunity—it’s a masterclass. The book’s promise: absorb its strategy and strength, and rule your own jungle.
Wildlife Expertise with 30+ Years of Experience
Sharad Vats has dedicated 30 years of his life to understanding animal behavior, admiring wildlife, and coexistence with nature. His immense experience and knowledge helped many naturalists and wildlife photographers.
You can view his guides and tips about wildlife on our YouTube channel.
