Leadership changes at Carnival Corporation

Howard Frank

NOVEMBER 4, 2013 — In a welter of leadership changes at Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) that all become effective December 1, 2013, Howard Frank (left) will be stepping down from his current roles as vice chairman and chief operating officer to take on the role of special advisor to the CEO and to the chairman, while continuing to represent the industry in his leadership role as chairman of CLIA.

“We are greatly appreciative of Howard’s commitment to provide ongoing counsel, advice and industry leadership, as he enters this next stage,” said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc.

Mr. Frank teamed with Chairman Micky Arison to grow Carnival into the largest leisure travel company in the world. When Frank joined Carnival, the company had 785,000 guests sailing on 14 cruise ships, supported by fewer than 7,000 employees generating $1.1 billion in revenue and a market capitalization of $2.7 billion.

Today, Carnival’s 10 brands annually welcome over 10 million guests on more than 100 ships supported by over 90,000 employees generating more than $15 billion in revenue with a market capitalization of $27 billion.

“Howard truly is a pioneer in our industry and he leaves an unequaled legacy at Carnival Corporation & plc,” Mr.Donald said.

Micky Arison, chairman of Carnival Corporation & plc, added, “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.”

Stein Kruse becomes CEO of expanded Holland America Group

Other moves will see Stein Kruse, currently president and CEO of Carnival’s Holland America Line, appointed CEO of the Holland America Group, adding Princess Cruises and Holland America Princess Alaska land operations to his current responsibilities of Holland America Line and Seabourn. He will report to Mr. Donald.

In his expanded role, Mr. Kruse also will replace Mr. Arison as chairman of the board of MANCO, the U.K.-based entity that oversees operations of Carnival Australia including P&O Cruises, the number one cruise line in the Australian market.

The newly created Holland America Group operates 41 cruise ships with over 36,000 employees worldwide who annually deliver 25 million passenger cruise days.

“This is an exciting expanded opportunity for Stein and the experience and track record of effective leadership he brings to it bodes well for our future,” said Mr. Donald.

Mr. Kruse joined Holland America Line in Seattle in 1999 as senior vice president, fleet operations with overall responsibility for operations and newbuilding. In 2003, he was named president and chief operating officer, and on December 1, 2004, chief executive officer. In January 2011, he was named chairman of Seabourn and the corporate headquarters transitioned from Miami to Seattle.

Before he joined Holland America Line, Mr. Stein was senior vice president and chief financial officer of the North American operations for “K” Line, where he also oversaw financial activities in seven U.S. subsidiary companies and served on the company’s board of directors. Prior to that, he was executive vice president and chief operating officer for Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, and president and chief executive officer for Seven Seas Cruise Line.

Mr. Kruse currently serves on the boards of the U.S. Coast Guard Foundation, World Trade Center Seattle, Saltchuk Resources, Inc., and the University of Washington Foster School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board.

A native of Oslo, Norway, he holds a bachelor of science degree from Purdue University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. Stein, his wife and two children reside in Bellevue, Wash.

New corporate role for Alan Buckelew

Current Princess Cruises president and CEO Alan Buckelew is being appointed to the newly created role of chief operations officer of Carnival Corporation & plc, reporting to Mr. Donald.

“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,” said Mr. Donald.

Mr. Buckelew will have oversight of all maritime and port operations around the world and the group’s collaborative functions, including information technology; group strategy and global operations; ship retrofits; newbuilds; research and development; risk advisory; and quality assurance. Additionally, Mr. Buckelew will have oversight of Carnival Asia, with responsibility for coordinating all brand and related activities in that part of the world.

With more than 36 years in the cruise industry, Mr. Buckelew has served as chief executive officer of Princess Cruises since June 2007 and as the line’s president since February 2004. In addition he also served as chief operating officer for Cunard Line from 2004 to 2007.

His breadth of experience across cruise operations includes having served as executive vice president responsible for Princess’s strategic planning, marketing and yield management services. Before that, Mr. Buckelew held various other high-level executive positions in customer service, shared services and yield management. He has also served as chief information officer and chief financial officer of Princess.

Mr. Buckelew served in the U.S. Army in 1969 and 1970 in Vietnam and was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Air Medal, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and two Bronze Stars.

Born in Long Beach, CA, Mr. Buckelew holds an MBA and bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Christine, and two daughters.

Jan Swartz to be Princess Cruises president

The new president of Princess Cruises will be Jan Swartz.

Reporting to Mr. Kruse, Ms.Swartz will oversee the Princess line’s worldwide operations which include 17 ships and 22,000 employees serving more than 1.4 million passengers annually. “Jan has been at the forefront of industry innovation for a number of years and is highly regarded amongst her peers,” Mr. Kruse said.

Mr. Donald added, “I met Jan a number of years ago when she first presented to the board and I knew right then she was destined to do great work at Princess. She has my full support as she embarks on her new role.”

Ms. Swartz was appointed to her prior role of executive vice president, sales, marketing and customer service in January 2009, having previously served as senior vice president of customer service and sales for both the Princess and Cunard brands since 2004.

In 2001, she was appointed the company’s vice president of strategy and business development, and worked on the P&O Princess/Carnival corporate acquisition. Before joining Princess, Ms. Swartz worked as a management consultant with Bain & Company, where for five years she worked with leading consumer and service companies on growth strategies. Also while at Bain, she led a team to evaluate and enhance Princess’ call center programs and distribution initiatives prior to Princess’ dramatic expansion.

Directly prior to joining Princess, Ms. Swartz served as chief executive officer of MXG Media, an interactive entertainment company, where she oversaw online, catalog, magazine and television ventures.

Ms. Swartz holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics and English from the University of Virginia. She and her husband live in the Los Angeles area with their two children.