Carnival Corporation has named John Padgett as president of Princess Cruises effective immediately.
Padgett will oversee all performance and operational functions of Princess Cruises and its global fleet of 14 ships sailing to nearly 400 destinations. He will report directly to Jan Swartz, group president of Holland America Group, which includes the company's Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn and P&O Cruises Australia brands.
Since JUL 2014, Padgett has served as chief experience and innovation officer for Carnival Corporation, responsible for guest experience innovation, development, creation and operations integration. In this role, he helped transform the approach to creating differentiated guest experiences based on personal interactions and tailored to the interests and preferences of individual guests. In his new role, Padgett will also retain leadership of the corporation's innovation unit.
Specifically for the Princess Cruises brand, Carnival Corp. notes Padgett has been key in the development and implementation of the Princess MedallionClass experience that is now available on the entire Princess fleet. This includes the creation and development of the Medallion wearable device and the enabling OCEAN platform that personalizes the overall cruise experience.
"John is the mastermind behind our state-of-the-art OCEAN platform and was a key player in our fleet transformation, working closely with Princess team members in virtually every area of our operation to enable the MedallionClass experience for all our guests," said Swartz.
"John's vision, drive and performance, combined with his commitment to providing the best guest experience in the industry, have helped position Princess for success well into the future. We warmly welcome John to the role and look forward to his stewardship as we navigate this fast-changing, dynamic environment."
"The opportunity to lead the iconic Princess brand and to help take the cruise content -- including hotel, food and beverage, entertainment, merchandise and destination experiences -- to new levels is an absolute honor," said Padgett.
Prior to becoming chief experience and innovation officer for Carnival Corporation, Padgett worked for 18 years with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts where he led the invention, development and implementation of guest engagement innovations that include the MagicBand, FastPass+ and Disney's Magical Express, among others.
For more information on Princess Cruises, visit its web site.
