Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo is stepping down, reports Cruise Week 06APR. The high-profile Lutoff-Perlo is apparently moving to Vice Chair, External Affairs; Royal Caribbean Group.
Laura Hodges Bethge, who most recently has been serving as EVP, shared services operations, has been named to take over from Lutoff-Perlo.
As Open Jaw reported in a feature about women leading cruise lines on International Women's Day:
Lisa took the helm of Celebrity Cruises in 2014 – making waves in a new era of women in top leadership positions at cruise lines. Over nearly a decade, she has steered the transformation of Celebrity Cruises towards redefining the ‘modern luxury’ cruise experience, epitomized by the introduction of the distinctive and acclaimed Edge Series of new ships that stand out in any port in the world.
For Lisa, shepherding the success of Celebrity Cruises as a business includes ‘walking the walk’ of helping lift other women and minorities. In 2015, she appointed the first American woman to the position of Captain in Celebrity’s fleet. In an industry where an average of only 2% of bridge officers are women, under Lisa’s leadership, Celebrity’s percentage of women on the bridge jumped from 3% to 27% in five years.
Under her leadership, Celebrity Cruises has used the platform of new ship godmothers to promote diversity, human and women’s rights and excellence, including with the appointment of godmothers Nobel Peace Prize winner and advocate for female education and empowerment Malala Yousafzai, and Black American Olympian Simone Biles.
