Founder and Guide - Oliver Rampley

Oliver Rampley created ‘Fishing in Florence’ – a guiding service focused on Florence’s Arno river – in 2013. This business expanded to offer fishing and birdwatching across Tuscany.

Altana Europe was founded in 2016 to give equal attention to fishing and birdwatching trips, and create scope for experiences more broadly based on wildlife watching or conservation management.

Feature-length articles on Oliver’s work as a fishing or birdwatching guide have been published in Financial Times Weekend, British GQ, How to Spend It, Country Life, Fieldsports, Shooting Times, FlyFishing & Fly-Tying and Flyfishers' Journal read more...

Partner - Mark Hix MBE

Mark Hix is an internationally renowned chef, restaurateur and food writer known for his unique take on British gastronomy. For 17 years as Chef Director of Caprice Holdings, Mark held culinary responsibility for iconic London restaurants, including The Ivy, Le Caprice, Scott's and J Sheekey.

In 2008, Mark opened his first London restaurant, HIX Oyster and Chop House, and this was followed by HIX Oyster and Fish House in Lyme Regis, Dorset, and then HIX Soho, and then a further four restaurants and a boutique hotel, HIX Townhouse. In 2012, Mark founded the annual Food Rocks Festival.

Mark is the author of 11 cookery books read more...

Advisory Board

Lauren Scott-Harris

Lauren studied politics before joining Freud Communications, where she worked for 3 years in their New York and London offices. In 2010, Lauren bartered bed and board in Kenya and lived in the bush learning a lot about wildlife. Returning home, Lauren founded Scott Ideas, a PR agency that specializes in brand development and transatlantic communications for clients including La Posta Vecchia, Villa Lario, onefinestay, Alex Eagle, Nomad Tanzania and Headspace.

Lauren advises Altana Europe on media strategy.

Tessa Packard

Tessa worked in the commercial art world for four years before turning her hand to jewellery design and launching her eponymous label, Tessa Packard London, in 2013.

A fervent lover of the outdoors and far-flung wildernesses, Tessa is passionate about wildlife (especially pine martens), conservation management and the rural landscape, both at home in Scotland and abroad.

Katrina Lawson Johnston

Katrina trained as a fashion stylist before transitioning to fashion photography and becoming studio manager for Jacob Sutton. Katrina is now a freelance photographer, shooting for clients ranging from Beefeater Gin to Stella McCartney and COS. Katrina has a keen interest in wildlife inherited from her mother, and particularly enjoys foraging for ingredients.