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New CEO of Celebrity Interesting but happy they stay within for promotions.

bikerunner

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Celebrity Cruises’ President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo Transitions to Vice Chair, External Affairs; Laura Hodges Bethge Named to Succeed Her

MIAMI – April 6, 2023 – Today, Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) announced that after an illustrious tenure at the helm of Celebrity Cruises, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo will transition to Vice Chair, External Affairs for Royal Caribbean Group, effective May 1. In her new role, Lutoff-Perlo will continue reporting to Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty. Laura Hodges Bethge, currently executive vice president, shared services operations, will become the next brand president of Celebrity Cruises.

“Lisa has been instrumental in transforming the Celebrity Cruises brand to what it is today,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group. “From helping us introduce the revolutionary Edge Series of ships to advancing the role of women in maritime careers, Lisa has had an incredible career during her time leading Celebrity Cruises, and multiple parts of our Royal Caribbean International brand. I have had the pleasure of working with Lisa for almost 18 years, and I know her expertise will be invaluable as she transitions to serve as my Vice Chair, External Affairs.”

“It has always been difficult for me to imagine leaving the incredible Celebrity brand, but the time is right for me to start an exciting new chapter and turn the helm over to a new leader,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo. “It has been my great honor to lead this brand and work alongside the phenomenal Celebrity shoreside team and crew. Together, our accomplishments have been extraordinary. I’m excited to now work closely with Jason on broader initiatives as we sail towards an even brighter future.”

Lutoff-Perlo’s remarkable career with Royal Caribbean Group began in 1985 with her first role as a district sales manager and she went on to trailblaze a legacy of firsts. Along the way, she also led Celebrity Cruises to record growth, revenue, and profit, and she championed the brand’s evolution into the incredible cruise line it is today. Under her leadership, Celebrity Cruises welcomed four new award-winning ships, and underwent the Celebrity Revolution, one of the largest fleet revitalization projects in the industry.

In 2005, Lutoff-Perlo became Celebrity’s first female senior vice president of hotel operations. In 2012, she was named executive vice president of operations for Royal Caribbean International, the first woman in the industry to oversee both hotel and marine operations. Two short years later, she was the first woman appointed to president and CEO of one of Royal Caribbean Group’s brands.

“I would also like to congratulate Laura for her appointment as the next brand president of Celebrity Cruises,” Liberty added. “With her operational experience, business acumen and deep understanding of our company and the cruise industry, I know Laura is the right person to lead Celebrity Cruises to its next phases of growth.”

Most recently serving as executive vice president, shared services operations, Laura Hodges Bethge has been with the company more than 23 years and has held senior positions in many different areas including product development, hotel and marine operations, sales, marketing, product innovation, market development and investor relations.

Hodges Bethge is an exemplary leader with a long history of success at the company. Previously, she was senior vice president of product development for Royal Caribbean International, and led the teams conceptualizing their groundbreaking ships, private island destinations, and new experiences introduced throughout the award-winning fleet, including the first island in Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day Island Collection – Perfect Day at CocoCay. 

“Now 15 ships strong, this is an exciting time for Celebrity Cruises,” said Laura Hodges Bethge. “This year alone, we’ll be welcoming Celebrity Ascent, and reaching key construction milestones in the yet-to-be-named fifth ship in the revolutionary Edge Series. I look forward to building on the incredible achievements of Lisa and this world class team, as we continue to break boundaries and chart new courses in the industry.”

Edited by bikerunner
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  • bikerunner changed the title to New CEO of Celebrity Interesting but happy they stay within for promotions.
Honolulu Blue Great Review Rare

Honolulu Blue

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54 minutes ago, bikerunner said:
Celebrity Cruises’ President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo Transitions to Vice Chair, External Affairs; Laura Hodges Bethge Named to Succeed Her

MIAMI – April 6, 2023 – Today, Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) announced that after an illustrious tenure at the helm of Celebrity Cruises, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo will transition to Vice Chair, External Affairs for Royal Caribbean Group, effective May 1. In her new role, Lutoff-Perlo will continue reporting to Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty. Laura Hodges Bethge, currently executive vice president, shared services operations, will become the next brand president of Celebrity Cruises.

“Lisa has been instrumental in transforming the Celebrity Cruises brand to what it is today,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group. 

Thanks for sharing.  I wonder if LHB will take charge of LLP's highly responsive staff.

 

I also wonder if all the backlash for X's numerous dining changes starting a few months ago caused her to accept this new position.  We'll probably never know.

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NutsAboutGolf Holiday Sharing Rare

NutsAboutGolf

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26 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Thanks for sharing.  I wonder if LHB will take charge of LLP's highly responsive staff.

 

I also wonder if all the backlash for X's numerous dining changes starting a few months ago caused her to accept this new position.  We'll probably never know.

 

My WAG (Wild A$$ Guess) is the dining changes were only a drop in the bucket compared to the massive increase with cruise fares

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paulh84

paulh84

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43 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Thanks for sharing.  I wonder if LHB will take charge of LLP's highly responsive staff.

 

I also wonder if all the backlash for X's numerous dining changes starting a few months ago caused her to accept this new position.  We'll probably never know.


My guess is that a huge corporation didn’t change CEO’s in a months time over a prime rib shortage. These things don’t happen quickly. 
 

Best of luck to the new CEO! 

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bikerunner

bikerunner

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12 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Any predictions to whether she'll make noticeable changes?

My guess it will stay as is while things get evaluated.  Any major changes will have to go to the board and or CEO of RCG anyways.  I would hope there is always evaluation going on, and they know their shortcomings, ie staffing, food quality etc and they will continue to look for ways to improve while also satisfying stake holders.  

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hcat "Live from...." Rare

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The new leader is also a Royal C  person .so that culture will most likely prevail.

 

Wish  they' d bring back folks that made CELEBRITY an Outstanding cruise line pre LLP!

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Orator

Orator

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1 hour ago, cruising teacher said:

I wonder how this change will affect the Loyalty Program. Good or not good?

Hope that I'm wrong, but don't see significant changes. They both report to Liberty and the Board. They set the policies. I wish the new CEO well!

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NutsAboutGolf

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48 minutes ago, MarKay525 said:

Should we take bets on whether the IT department will improve!

 

No-no, keep it the way it is...We love the pricing errors such as the $10 wifi upgrade for the entire sailing and 7 nights in skysuite for around $5000 all in per couple on their newest ship the Ascent

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icemountain561

icemountain561

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Being around long enough to see various CEO's come and go from the RCL takeover of Chandris to now, one thing seems to be constant. The new CEO always tries to show corporate that they are increasing profits. So I don't see this being any different. I'm awaiting what new fees or cutbacks are coming down the pike. 

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NutsAboutGolf

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5 minutes ago, icemountain561 said:

Being around long enough to see various CEO's come and go from the RCL takeover of Chandris to now, one thing seems to be constant. The new CEO always tries to show corporate that they are increasing profits. So I don't see this being any different. I'm awaiting what new fees or cutbacks are coming down the pike. 

 

With X, in 2023, we got some new fees, cutbacks, fare increases and zero benefits for the passengers.  That was just outright lazy by X as the creative ones sprinkle in some benefits for the cruise passengers along with the cutbacks.  For example, up until recently CCL, RCI and X all were offering multiple SPINY lobster tails for free, then all three lines changed by starting to charge a roughly $17 fee for additional tails.  RCI/CCL at least changed the tails to the more desirable MAINE lobster tail but X being X, kept the Spiny

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Mr. Click

Mr. Click

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55 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

No-no, keep it the way it is...We love the pricing errors such as the $10 wifi upgrade for the entire sailing and 7 nights in skysuite for around $5000 all in per couple on their newest ship the Ascent

Sure, you get $10 wifi and I get overcharged by $3600.....

 

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