Arison steps down as CEO of Carnival Corp.; remains chairman
Micky Arison will give up the job as CEO of Carnival Corp., but remain chairman of the cruise company his father founded 40 years ago.
Carnival said Arnold Donald, a board member for the past 12 years, will become CEO effective July 3.
“I have been discussing this with the board for sometime now and feel the timing is right to align our company with corporate governance best practices and turn over the reins after 34 years as CEO,” Arison said. “Arnold is an exceptional professional with extensive experience in organizational leadership who will bring a fresh perspective to the company.”
Arnold has been an senior executive at Monsanto Corp., and founded and led Merisant, a company whose products include tabletop sweetener brands Equal and Canderel.
He also is former president and CEO of the Executive Leadership Council, a professional network and leadership forum for African-American executives of Fortune 500 companies.
Carnival Corp.’s Frank talks recovery period for Carnival brand
A full recovery at the Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) brand will take two to three years, Carnival Corp. Vice Chairman Howard Frank said in a call with Wall Street analysts.
In discussing Q2 results, Frank presented an analysis of yields both including CCL and excluding CCL, the way Carnival had previously done for Costa Cruises after the Costa Concordia accident. In answering a later question, however, Frank said the two were different situations and markets.
He said the two- to three-year full recovery period was based on consultants who looked at two negative events outside the cruise industry as models. “Their view is that although we’re a very different industry, it’s likely we will follow the same pattern.”
The impact of the Carnival Triumph and subsequent incidents tied to CCL ships will reduce Carnival Corp.’s 2013 results by about $388 million, Frank said, including $124 million for canceled sailings, $210 million in lower revenue yields, and about $54 million in vessel enhancements and extra marketing.
Frank said the extra marketing would come in three areas: funds directed at travel agents, including cooperative advertising; social media; and possibly more TV ads. In the fall, Carnival will look at marketing for particular brands, he said.
Frank explicitly thanked travel agents during the call. “Many of our travel agent partners have been very supportive during this challenging period, and for that we are very grateful,” he said.
Originally, this work had been scheduled to take place at the BAE Shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. However, the ship ran into further problems here, undergoing extensive exterior damage after a freak storm caused the vessel to break free of its moorings and drift into a dredger.
Carnival Cruise Lines confirmed that passengers have been bumped from a sailing of the Carnival Sunshine so that their cabins can be used by contractors finishing the ship.
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