Following her recent exit at Crystal Cruises, Ponant announced Edie Rodriguez will come onboard the French-owned cruise line in the role of Americas Brand Chairman and Corporate Special Advisor.
Jean Emmanuel Sauvée, CEO of Ponant and Navin Sawhney, CEO of Ponant Americas revealed the news.
"For the last several years now, PONANT has been building a solid strategy for the American market and has the means to achieve its objectives," said Sawhney, in a press release. "Given our strong ambitions and the real potential of this market, I am happy to see our team strengthened by the arrival of Edie Rodriguez."
"With two great seasoned Cruise Industry Experts like Navin and Edie in our team, I'm convinced that PONANT in the USA will achieve its full capability in terms of market share," added Sauvée, in the release. "PONANT should not only be known as a French luxury expedition cruise line, but for what we really are: The World Leader in Luxury Expeditions and the Best Cultural International Cruise line with that special French touch!"
In her new position, Rodriguez will be in charge of increasing the luxury expedition brand in the Americas among travel agencies, media, influencers and potential guests.
"I have known PONANT for the last 10 years as they have led the global expedition cruise industry expansion and I have always thought that their ships are perfectly appointed to deliver an unmatched cruise experience," said Rodriguez, in the release.
"I am proud to help the PONANT brand achieve recognition and realize its ambitions for growth in USA and the Americas at the level it deserves."
Le Laperouse and Le Champlain will launch in 2018, while Le Bougainville and Le Dumont-d'Urville will follow during 2019. The most exciting feature onboard is the highly anticipated Blue Eye underwater observation lounge.
With Rodriguez's muscle behind them now, Ponant will soon become a household name. She is without question a brand champion and will tirelessly promote every facet of its luxury expedition cruise product.
It's something the company will benefit from given the increasing competition in the market segment. Just as river cruising has been booming, next to ride the growth wave are expedition cruises-luxury ones in particular, from the likes of Rodriguez's former Crystal, Scenic and of course, Ponant, which are poised to make a very big splash.
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