Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) announced that its board of directors had named cruise industry veteran Frank Del Rio as president and CEO. He will succeed Kevin Sheehan, who NCLH said "has decided to leave the company."
"I am excited to begin this new chapter in my long career in the cruise industry," said Del Rio. "I am blessed with a great team at Norwegian, and I am confident that together we can help our company continue to realize great things."
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| Frank Del Rio, the new president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings |
Del Rio, a highly experienced cruise executive, is well-known to agents as Oceania Cruises' founder. Most recently he served as CEO of Prestige Cruises International, the parent of Oceania and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Prestige was purchased by NCLH in November.
In a statement, Steve Martinez, a member of the NCLH board, said, "Frank Del Rio has established himself as a leader and innovator in our industry. Norwegian is poised for continued growth and we are delighted to have Frank lead our team during the next phase of the company's evolution."
Martinez also thanked Sheehan for his service to the company. "Kevin has built Norwegian into the highly successful company it is today - a company that has reported 25 consecutive quarters of growth in trailing 12-month Adjusted EBITDA coupled with consistent margin improvement. Most recently, Kevin was integral to the Prestige acquisition, assembling a diversified portfolio of brands that spans all market segments in the cruise industry, which we believe puts the company in a strong position for the future."
Sheehan said: "It has been a privilege to lead Norwegian over the last seven years. I am proud of what we have accomplished, and take comfort in the knowledge that I am leaving the company much healthier and stronger than when I joined. With the company set for success, I hand the baton off to Frank, a proven leader in the cruise industry."
Del Rio, who holds a B.S. in accounting from the University of Florida, has served as CEO of Prestige or its predecessor since April 2007. Prestige is a subsidiary of NCLH. Together, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas call at 300 ports across the globe annually.