In my experience, it does not usually
make much difference who is the CEO of a large corporation. Most of
the time, the corporation just proceeds along much as it did in the
past despite changes in the CEO. Perhaps there is some change in the
corporate slogans or some acquisitions or spin offs but no meaningful
changes.
This general rule, however, has not
been true in the cruise industry. The three major lines have all had
leaders who not only made a visible mark but who became synonymous
with their companies. This has certainly been true at Norwegian
Cruise Line.
Since coming to Norwegian Cruise Line
seven years ago, Kevin Sheehan has turned things around. Prior to
his arrival, the line had some quite creative ideas but you only had
to go on its ships to see that there were execution problems and poor
morale. When Sheehan arrived, he gave the line new direction and
released the talent of its executives and employees.
Just about a year ago, I was on a
press cruise on Norwegian Getaway. Mr. Sheehan made a short
presentation to the assembled journalists. The charts and Powerpoint
slides that he presented told a good story of growth and
profitability. But what was interesting was the charismatic style of
leadership. Sheehan was not the stereotypical MBA executive but
rather delighted in playing the street-wise New Yorker, energetic,
fun to listen to and likable.
He told us to talk to the crew about
how they felt about the company, confident that we would find them
solidly behind him. At that time, Getaway had just come into service
and the cruise lines usually use their best people to bring a ship
into service. Naturally, they were going to support the boss. But
the next week, I was sailing on Norwegian Sky, one of the line's
older ships. How did its crew feel about Norwegian? I found that
not only did those people enthusiastically support Norwegian but that
they loved the CEO. To hear them talk, you'd think that Sheehan was
a popular athlete or television personality.
As a result, it was disappointing to
learn that Mr. Sheehan has now left Norwegian. When a person has
done so much to change a company (or any organization for that
matter), you have to wonder how it will fare without him. Hopefully,
the corporate culture he created will endure but without his dynamic
leadership, the future is clouded in mystery.
Mr. Sheehan's successor is Frank Del
Rio from Prestige Holdings, the luxury cruise company (Oceania and
Regent Seven Seas) that was recently acquired by Norwegian. We wish
Mr. Del Rio success in his new job.
This week on Beyondships, we have part
two of our profile of Princess Cruises' latest ship, Regal Princess.
This includes interviews with the captain,
http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-captain.html
the hotel general manager
http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-hotel-general-manager.html
and the cruise director
http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-cruise-director.html.
We also have a review of the Crown Grill specialty restaurant.
http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-crown-grill.html
Finally, we present a collection of menus from the main dining rooms
and specialty restaurants on Regal Princess.
http://www.beyondships2.com/regal-princess-menus.html
