WHO WE ARE
Galavante is a luxury travel and lifestyle company. We are your resource for the inside track on the best hotels, restaurants, experiences and destinations around the world. When you’re not traveling, we bring the world home to you through our cooking show, In the Kitchen With Galavante, and our travel series, The 195, which takes you from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, and every country in between. We introduce you to history, food, culture, fascinating individuals changing the world, philanthropies and give you an inside look at some of the most extraordinary places to stay. We are hotel experts – with over 800+ luxury hotels reviews, we are passionate about bringing you the very best of what to experience when you travel.
Our Global Tastemakers who are made up of travel junkies in the world of finance, fashion, philanthropy and the arts who share their recommendations for those that seek not only high end, but authentic, stand out experiences whenever and wherever they travel. That may be a Michelin star restaurant but also includes the perfect homey Italian trattoria.
what we do
Christine Drinan is an entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Galavante, the travel, lifestyle, and entertainment media company based in New York City. Christine founded Galavante in 2011 as she graduated from Columbia Business School, after spending most of her career in finance at private equity firm Blackstone. As the CEO of Galavante, Christine leads her talented team of writers, media experts, designers, website developers and travel professionals. Chris-tine directs the strategic vision, business development and man-ages the operations of the company. In her time at Galavante, she has published a cookbook, The Art of International Entertaining and is the Executive Producer and Host of the travel and lifestyle series, The 195.
Travel is Christine’s expertise. Christine is on track to be one of the less than 30 individuals of our 7.1 billion global population to visit every country in the world. She has visited over 125 countries and stayed in over 800 luxury hotels and counting, which range from conventional luxury hotel experiences, to gorilla trekking in Rwanda and summiting Kilimanjaro. Christine is a global leader in travel and philanthropy. Her motivation is to tell the stories of the fascinating people she meets, and to do her part to change the world. She mentors women leaders, children and families while meeting political leaders and learning culture around the world. Christine is a guest lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul on Entrepreneurship, works with Pour un Sourire d’Enfant in Cambodia and teaches art classes on behalf of the Christopher Foundation for the Arts to children in schools around the world.
Travel has been Christine’s passion since her college study abroad as an exchange student at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. While her accommodations have greatly changed since her backpacking days in Europe, her philosophy to maximize her experiences in every city has not.
Before launching Galavante in 2011, Christine worked for the private equity firm the Blackstone Group. Christine’s love of travel and her busy work schedule at the Blackstone Group gave her the inspiration to start Galavante. Christine herself was a committed professional with limited time off and a high standard of travel. She wanted to make the most out of long weekends by knowing exactly where to stay and what to do in some of the most beautiful destinations in the world. Until Galavante, she couldn’t find an adequate travel site that gave her recommendations for quick high-end trips.
When Christine isn’t trekking around the world, she can be found in New York City. As a philanthropist, Christine has focused on women’s initiatives from at her time at the Blackstone Group, to serving on the Board of the New York Junior League, a women’s organization which serves families and children in NYC. In addition, Christine is an Ambassador for the Christopher Foundation for the Arts, fundraises for the American Ballet Theater and is one of the US founding members of Pour un Sourire d’Enfant, (PSE) an NGO based in Cambodia. Previously, Christine has been a Founding Member of IvyConnect, a Young Associate at the Metropolitan Opera, and a member of Creative Time. Christine has an MBA from Columbia University, where she frequently guest lectures to students on entrepreneurship.
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