Royal Caribbean Group today announced a slight restructuring of corporate leadership, as Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, who has a long and illustrious tenure within the company, will be stepping down from her role as Celebrity Cruises’ CEO as of May 1. Instead, starting next month, she’ll assume the role of Vice Chair, External Affairs for Royal Caribbean Group.
In her new position, she’ll continue reporting to Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty. Laura Hodges Bethge, who currently serves as Executive Vice President, Shared Services Operations, will step up to become Celebrity Cruises’ next brand president.
"Lisa has been instrumental in transforming the Celebrity Cruises brand to what it is today," said Jason Liberty, President and CEO of 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 toward an even brighter future."
Laura Hodges Bethge becomes the next brand president of Celebrity Cruises (Source: Royal Caribbean Group)
Lutoff-Perlo's impressive career with Royal Caribbean Group began back in 1985, when she initially held a district sales manager position before going on to innovate a series of firsts for the company. She became Celebrity’s first female Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations in 2005, and broke through another glass ceiling in 2012 by becoming the first woman in the cruise industry to oversee both hotel and marine operations as Royal Caribbean International’s Executive Vice President of Operations. Just two years later, she was appointed President and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group's Celebrity Cruises brand.
While serving at Celebrity Cruises’ helm, she guided the brand to achieve record growth, revenues and profits; and she steered the cruise line’s development into the outstanding luxury brand it is today. Under her leadership, Celebrity Cruises rolled out four new award-winning ships and carried out the ‘Celebrity Revolution’—a $500 million, modernization initiative that represented one of the industry’s biggest fleetwide revitalization projects.
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