Jan Swartz Named Group President of Holland America Group

Jan Swartz, the head of Princess Cruises, has been named group president of Holland America Group, overseeing Holland America Line and Seabourn, as well as Princess, P&O Australia, Holland America Princess Alaska Tours and inter-group operations.

Stein Kruse, who was Group CEO of Holland America Group and Carnival UK, is taking on a new role as senior advisor to Carnival Chairman Micky Arison and CEO Arnold Donald.

“Jan is a highly respected executive and a role model,” Donald said in the Dec. 1 announcement. “Jan is a champion of innovation and a proven leader.”

In 2016, Swartz was named as group president of Princess Cruises and Carnival Australia, and also had executive oversight of the P&O Cruises Australia brand.

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She was appointed president of Princess Cruises in 2013 after more than 12 years with the cruise line. Before that, she was executive vice president, overseeing the line's sales, marketing and customer service operations, a position held since 2009. In 2004, Swartz served as senior vice president of sales and customer service for both Princess and sister brand Cunard.

In 2001, she was appointed vice president of strategy and business development and worked on Carnival’s acquisition of P&O Princess. Swartz holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Kruse was named CEO of Holland America Group in 2013, responsible for Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn and Holland America Princess Alaska Tours.

“Stein’s knowledge and experience have been invaluable to the corporation during the course of his career,” Donald said. "This new role provides us an opportunity to further leverage his expertise and skills, providing widespread benefits to the company.”

Kruse served as president and CEO of Holland America Line from 2004 to 2013. He joined Holland America Line in 1999 as senior vice president-fleet operations, and previously served as senior vice president and chief financial officer at “K” Line America. He also oversaw financial activities in seven U.S. subsidiary companies for the global Japanese shipping company and served on the company's board of directors.

Before that, Kruse held several executive positions in the cruise industry, including executive vice president and COO for what was then named Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, and president and CEO of Seven Seas Cruise Line.

Kruse is a former vice chairman of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and presently serves as a director on the board of the U.S. Coast Guard Foundation and the board of governors of the World Trade Center Seattle.

A native of Oslo, Norway, Kruse holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.