Maninder Kohli
Motivating through World of Adventure
“There is no better way to deal with the stress of modern corporate life than by spending time outdoors on an adventure. By overcoming challenges we become ‘comfortable in being uncomfortable’, a state of mind which we can carry away from the trek to both our professional and personal lives.”
A avid trekker and nature lover, outdoor is a way of life for Maninder. He believes in overcoming challenges by getting comfortable in being uncomfortable; a state of mind he brings to life through nature & adventure.
Maninder is the son of legendary Himalayan mountaineer, Capt. Manmohan Singh Kohli, member of India’s first expedition to the summit of Everest (and the first man to introduce trekking in the Himalayas). He founded Juniper Outdoor Pursuits which focuses on Building the ‘Spirit of Adventure’ in the team, where trekking serves as an ultimate tool to get teams to bond and get to know each other well. Nature presents the most interesting platform for learning and introspection and confidence building leading to all round motivation and team empowerment.
Maninder has worked with Citibank for 20 years. In addition to acting as the Managing Trustee of the Himalayan Environment Trust, and Honorary Local Secretary of the Himalayan Club, he is closely associated with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation.
Accreditations | Affiliations | Memberships
The Himalayan Environment Trust (HET) was formed in 1989 during a period where adventure tourism had just begun and signs of environment damage had started to surface. HET released a Code of Conduct for trekkers and mountaineers. The Founder Trustees were Sir Edmund Hillary – Patron, Sir Chris Bonington, Maurice Herzog, Reinhold Messner, Junko Tabai, Richard Blum and Captain MS Kohli – Chairman. Maninder is currently the Managing Trustee of the HET and the current focus is on Version 2 of the Code of Conduct and engaging in micro projects with focus on the spread of Clean Cooking Stovesleadership
Member of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) which is the apex body for Mountaineering in India. For the IMF he supports multiple initiatives, he is the Founder and Director of the IMF Mountain Film Festival where annually best adventure films focused on the Indian Himalaya are screened. Maninder is also the Head of the IMF Risk Management Initiative where the responsibility is to analyse all accidents in the Indian Himalaya and issue advisories and Chairman of the Board handling the IMF Newsletter – Apex.
The Himalayan Club is India’s oldest Mountaineering Club, formed in 1928. Maninder has officiated as the Honorary Secretary of the Delhi Section since 2012. During this period he has invited leading climbers & adventures from around the world to deliver talks and run several editions of the Banff Mountain Film Festival. Notable speakers include Capt. M.S. Kohli, Sir Chris Bonington, Peter Hillary, Conrad Anker, Col. Narendra Kumar, Stephen Alter, Martin Moran, Brig Ashok Abbey, Harish Kapadia, Suman Dubey, Bill Aitken, Bernadette McDonald, Mick Fowler & Marc Batard.