You’ve probably seen the name popping up in business circles or maybe on the spine of a travel brochure. But there’s a bit of a mix-up online. When people search for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., they often find themselves at a crossroads between two very different, very successful men. One is a legendary "entrepreneur’s entrepreneur" from Toronto. The other—the actual Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. we’re talking about today—is the powerhouse behind Collette, one of the oldest and most successful travel companies in the world.
Let's get the record straight. While Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach has spent 50 years teaching people how to 10x their business, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has spent over 50 years physically moving people across the globe. He’s the Executive Chairman of Collette. He's a Pawtucket Hall of Famer. Honestly, his story is a masterclass in how you take a tiny, regional bus tour company and turn it into a global behemoth that survives world wars, economic crashes, and a global pandemic.
From Seventh Employee to Global Visionary
It wasn't a hand-off on a silver platter.
When Dan Sullivan Jr. started working at Collette in 1973, he was literally the seventh person on the payroll. Think about that. Seven people. Back then, they weren't doing safaris in South Africa or river cruises in Europe. They were doing regional coach tours. His father had bought the company when Dan was only 12, so the business was basically the dinner table conversation his entire life.
He didn't just walk into a corner office. He did the grit work. He was a tour guide. He worked in sales. He did marketing. By the time he became CEO in 1990, he knew the travel industry from the grease on the bus tires to the fine print on a traveler's insurance policy. This deep, granular knowledge is what allowed him to see shifts in the market before his competitors did.
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The Pivot That Changed Everything
Most people stay in their lane. If you do bus tours in New England, you keep doing bus tours in New England. But Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. had a different "Unique Ability"—to borrow a term from his Canadian namesake. He saw that the world was shrinking.
Under his leadership, Collette exploded. He pushed the company to all seven continents. Antarctica? Yeah, they go there. He didn't just add destinations; he pioneered industry standards. He created an outside sales force to connect with travel agents when others were just waiting for the phone to ring.
Then there's the "cancel for any reason" waiver.
This sounds like standard corporate jargon, but in the travel world, it was revolutionary. It gave travelers a full money-back refund. No vouchers. No "store credit" that expires in six months. Actual cash. When the COVID-19 crisis hit in 2020, while other operators were clutching their wallets, Collette issued over $135 million in refunds. That kind of integrity doesn't just happen; it’s a culture baked into the company by the guy at the top.
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Why the "Daniel J. Sullivan Jr." Name Causes Confusion
If you’re googling this name, you might see books like Who Not How or 10x Is Easier Than 2x. Those are by Dan Sullivan, the coach.
It’s an easy mistake. Both men:
- Have been in business for 50+ years.
- Are obsessed with "Unique Ability" (the travel Dan applies this to his staff's roles).
- Have built massive, international organizations.
- Are known for their longevity and refusal to "retire" in the traditional sense.
But if you’re looking for the man who transformed Pawtucket, Rhode Island into a hub for international travel, you're looking for the Collette Chairman. He's the one who stayed in Pawtucket, even when it would have been "smarter" or "sexier" to move the headquarters to a major metro like New York or Boston. He’s loyal to the soil.
Philanthropy Isn't Just a Tax Break Here
Kinda rare to see a CEO who actually cares about the community as much as the bottom line, but Dan Sullivan Jr. made it mandatory. Every employee gets four hours of paid volunteer time every single month. That’s thousands of hours a year where staff are out mentoring kids or serving meals instead of sitting behind a desk.
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In 2007, after a trip to Peru where he saw the reality of global poverty, he launched the Collette Foundation. It’s not a "feel-good" marketing wing. It’s a serious operation focused on hunger relief and education for children in the communities Collette visits. He basically turned travel into a vehicle for social change.
Actionable Takeaways from the Sullivan Playbook
If you're a business owner or a leader, there's a lot to steal from his career:
- Iterate, Don't Just Invent: He didn't invent travel; he took a regional model and scaled it globally by perfecting the customer experience.
- Integrity Is Your Best Marketing: Issuing $135 million in refunds during a crisis is expensive in the short term, but the brand loyalty it creates is priceless.
- Invest in "Unique Ability": Like the coaching Dan Sullivan, the travel Dan Sullivan believes in putting people where they shine. At Collette, this means letting employees lead with their passions, whether that’s product development or community service.
- Stay Rooted: You don't have to move to Silicon Valley to build a world-class company. Staying in Rhode Island gave Collette a stable, loyal culture that a high-churn city couldn't offer.
So, next time you're looking into Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., remember you're looking at a man who proved that you can be a "nice guy" in business and still dominate a global industry for half a century.
Next Steps for Leaders:
Audit your "trust assets." Look at your refund or cancellation policies—do they protect you, or do they serve the customer? Consider implementing a "Volunteer Time Off" policy like Collette’s to boost employee engagement and local impact. Finally, look at your regional "bus tour"—what is the one thing you do well locally that could actually work on all seven continents?