Carnival Corporation has unveiled a restructuring plan aimed at simplifying the company's cruise line divisions, removing senior layers, and aligning around six operating units.
On 01JUN, Josh Weinstein, President, CEO and Chief Climate Officer at Carnival Corporation, issued a memo regarding the announcement to Carnival employees.
The new operating units include three stand-alone brands and three with a large brand supporting smaller brands, as follows:
- Carnival Cruise Line, Headed up by CCL President Christine Duffy, with the president of Carnival Australia and P&O Australia brands, reporting to Duffy.
- Princess Cruises, led by John Padgett, President Princess Cruises.
- Holland America Line, led by Gus Antorcha, President Holland America Line, with Natalya Leahy, brand president Seabourn Cruises reporting to Antorcha. The previous ‘Holland America Group’ no longer exists.
- Costa Cruises, led by Mario Zanetti, President Costa Cruises.
- Carnival UK, comprised of P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard, led by Paul Ludlow, president Carnival UK and P&O Cruises (UK). Newly appointed Katie McAlister, brand president Cunard, will report to Ludlow.
- AIDA, led by Felix Eichhorn, President, AIDA.
Weinstein's memo explains the thinking that led to these changes: "Since stepping into the CEO role 10 months ago, I've spent a good amount of time asking questions, listening to team members ship and shore, gathering input and perspectives from people inside and outside of the company, and observing what we do and how we do it. This learning period has given me insight into how our organizational and leadership structure can be further optimized to support the business more effectively and efficiently. To that end, I am making certain changes to organize the company in the best way possible to expedite the achievement of our long-term goals."
Carnival Corp. also announced it is unwinding Holland America Group. As Weinstein wrote: "Over the past year, the Holland America Group team has been systematically shifting more responsibilities from shared services back to its larger brands to drive improved performance, and as of today is completely unwound."
Jan Swartz, the former President of Holland America Group, will become EVP Strategic Operations, Carnival Corporation & pls.
Weinstein said that the structure means he will have a direct reporting line from CCL's six large brands, representing 93 per cent of its business, "putting me much closer to our operations."
