Richard Bangs is the founding partner and long-time president of Mountain Travel-Sobek, America's oldest and largest adventure travel firm.

Bangs is an entrepreneur, world adventurer, international river explorer, web pioneer and award-winning author. He has led first descents of 35 rivers around the globe, including the Yangtze in China and the Zambezi in Southern Africa.

Bangs has published more than 500 magazine articles, 14 books, a score of documentaries and several CD-ROMs; and has lectured at the Smithsonian, the National Geographic Society, the Explorers Club and many other notable venues.

He was founder and editor-in-chief of Mungo Park, a pioneering Microsoft travel publishing effort. He also founded www.terra-quest.com. He was part of the founding executive team of Expedia.com, and served as its Editor-at-Large. He was creator and publisher of Expedia Travels Magazine (published in partnership with Ziff-Davis), and executive producer of Expedia Radio, and founder and executive director of Expedia Cafes.

He also served as president of Outward Bound; founded Well-Traveled.com for Slate, and was founding editor and executive producer of Great Escapes, another Microsoft Travel initiative. He co-directed the IMAX Film, Mystery of the Nile (February 05), and was involved in the March 07 IMAX release (http://www.alpsfilm.com/en/frame.cfm), The Alps, retracing American John Harlin III’s climb of the North Face of the Eiger, the very mountain that claimed Harlin’s father’s life.