Carnival
Corporation Names John Padgett as President of Princess Cruises
MIAMI, Oct. 12, 2021 -- Carnival Corporation
& plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest
cruise company, today announced John
Padgett as president of Princess Cruises, effective
immediately.
Serving as president of one of Carnival Corporation's most
iconic cruise line brands, Padgett will oversee all
performance and operational functions of Princess Cruises and
its global fleet of 14 ships sailing cruise guests to nearly 400
destinations around the world annually. He will report directly to
Jan Swartz, group president of
Holland America Group, which includes the company's Princess
Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn and P&O Cruises
Australia brands. Swartz has served as president of Princess
Cruises since 2013, guiding the brand's strategic growth as the
world's leading international premium cruise line and its emergence
as a leader in innovating the total guest experience for cruise
vacations.
Since July 2014, Padgett has
served as chief experience and innovation officer for Carnival
Corporation, responsible for guest experience innovation,
development, creation and operations integration. In this role, he
helped transform the approach to creating differentiated guest
experiences based on personal interactions and tailored to the
interests and preferences of individual guests, further enhancing
one of the world's most popular vacations. Headlining the 2017 CES
show with Princess Cruises' innovation and creating an extensive
patent portfolio, Padgett and his innovation team also created
original TV and digital content programming highlighting the
extraordinary experiences guests enjoy while on a cruise vacation
for over 900 million viewers around the world, expanding awareness
and demand-generation for cruising. In his new role, Padgett will
also retain leadership of the corporation's innovation unit.
Specifically for the Princess Cruises brand, Padgett has been a
key player in the development and implementation of the Princess
MedallionClass® experience delivering a more personalized,
simplified and connected onboard experience for all guests and crew
that is now available on the entire Princess fleet. This includes
the creation and development of the award-winning Medallion®
wearable device and the enabling OCEAN® platform that enhances and
personalizes the overall cruise experience ranging from world-class
dining and beverages, entertainment and spas to on-shore
excursions, merchandise and hotel guest services. Throughout the
fleet transformation, Padgett became connected with thousands of
Princess guests, travel agents and destination partners spanning
the world.
"John is the mastermind behind our state-of-the-art OCEAN
platform and was a key player in our fleet transformation, working
closely with Princess team members in virtually every area of our
operation to enable the MedallionClass experience for all our
guests," said Swartz. "John's vision, drive and performance,
combined with his commitment to providing the best guest experience
in the industry, have helped position Princess for success well
into the future. We warmly welcome John to the role and look
forward to his stewardship as we navigate this fast-changing,
dynamic environment."
"Carnival Corporation's cruise brand portfolio, global fleets,
destinations and most importantly dedicated shipboard and shoreside
teams have provided an unmatched platform to drive guest-focused
innovation," said Padgett. "The opportunity to lead the iconic
Princess brand and to help take the cruise content -- including
hotel, food and beverage, entertainment, merchandise and
destination experiences -- to new levels is an absolute honor."
Prior to becoming chief experience and innovation officer for
Carnival Corporation, Padgett worked for 18 years with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts where
he spearheaded the invention, development and implementation
of guest engagement innovations that include the MagicBand,
FastPass+ and Disney's Magical Express, among others.
Padgett earned a master's degree in business administration
and a bachelor's degree in finance from Virginia
Tech and holds over two dozen patents
and multiple innovation awards.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc is one of the world's largest
leisure travel companies with a portfolio of nine of the world's
leading cruise lines sailing to all seven continents. With
operations in North America,
Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise
Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O
Cruises (Australia), Costa
Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.
Additional information can be found on
www.carnivalcorp.com,www.carnival.com,www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com,
www.seabourn.com,www.pocruises.com.au,www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de,
www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.
CONTACT: Carnival Corporation Media Contacts: Roger Frizzell, Carnival Corporation,
rfrizzell@carnival.com, (305) 406-7862; Mike Flanagan, LDWW, mike@ldww.co, (727)
452-4538