Princess Cruises boss Alan Buckelew (pictured) is being promoted to the role of chief operations officer of Carnival Corporation as part of a senior level reshuffle at the cruise conglomerate.
He replaces long-standing Carnival Corporation vice chairman and chief operating officer Howard Frank who is stepping down to become special advisor to chief executive Arnold Donald.
Buckelew will be responsible for all maritime and port operations around the world as well as IT; group strategy and global operations; ship retrofits; new-builds; research and development; risk advisory; and quality assurance. He also takes charge of Carnival Asia, with responsibility for co-ordinating all activities in that region.
Donald said: “With his successful track record in both running a brand and as a functional lead, Alan is ideally suited to take on the tasks of this new role.”
Jan Swartz steps up to become president of Princess Cruises from her previous position as sales, marketing and customer service executive vice-president for the line.
Holland America Line president and chief executive Stein Kruse is being appointed chief executive of the newly created Holland America Group, adding Princess Cruises and HAL/Princess Alaska land operations to his current responsibilities which include Seabourn.
Kruse also will replace Carnival chairman Micky Arison as chairman of the board of MANCO, the UK-based entity which oversees operations of Carnival Australia including P&O Cruises Australia.
The Holland America Group will oversee 41 ships with more than 36,000 staff worldwide.
Frank, who teamed with Arison to grow Carnival into the largest leisure travel company in the world, will continue as chairman of industry body Clia.
Arison said: “For the last 25 years, Howard and I have worked side by side and I could not have asked for a better business partner. I am looking forward to his continued contributions in his new role.”
When Frank joined Carnival, the company had 785,000 passengers sailing on 14 ships, supported by fewer than 7,000 employees generating $1.1 billion in revenue and a market capitalisation of $2.7 billion.
Carnival’s 10 brands now handle more than 10 million passengers a year on over 100 ships with 90,000 employees generating more than $15 billion in revenue with a market capitalisation of $27 billion.
“Howard truly is a pioneer in our industry and he leaves an unequalled legacy at Carnival Corporation,” Donald said.