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Carnival Corporation & plc Names Stein Kruse Chief Executive Officer of Its Holland America Line Unit; Kirk Lanterman to Stay as Chairman in a Non-Executive Role
MIAMI, Oct. 28, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stein Kruse has been named chiefexecutive officer for Holland America Line Inc., a wholly owned unit ofCarnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL; LSE)(NYSE: CUK). His appointment iseffective December 1, 2004. Kruse will report to Micky Arison, chairman & CEO,and Howard Frank, vice chairman & COO, Carnival Corporation & plc.
Kruse, who will serve as president and chief executive officer, succeedsA. Kirk Lanterman who led Holland America Line for more than 30 years.Lanterman, a cruise industry icon, will continue to serve as chairman ofHolland America Line Inc. in a non-executive role and as a member of the boardof directors of Carnival Corporation & plc.
"Kirk has been a guiding light in the cruise industry for more than 30years and, together with his team, positioned Holland America Line as thepremium cruise leader," said Arison. "Under his strong leadership HollandAmerica Line has exceeded the expectation of numerous stakeholders, includingemployees, guests, travel sellers and our shareholders. His contributions toour organization have truly been significant.
"Kirk has overseen the growth of Holland America Line from a relativelysmall, three-ship operation when it was acquired by Carnival in 1989, to oneof the most successful and innovative cruise companies in the world,"continued Arison. "The level of service Holland America Line delivers, theirindustry-leading repeat rates, the longevity of employees and rigorousfinancial controls are among Kirk's many accomplishments. I am very pleasedthat Kirk, while no longer performing executive duties, will remain at HollandAmerica to provide both Stein and me with his valued counsel."
Arison added, "Stein and Kirk have worked together for a number of yearsand Stein is uniquely qualified to continue Holland America Line's track-record of accomplishment. Stein's proven leadership ability will not onlyensure a smooth transition but also position Holland America Line forcontinued success as the company fully implements its important Signature ofExcellence initiatives and takes delivery of additional capacity."
Kruse brings more than 20 years' cruise industry experience to the role aschief executive officer. He was named president and chief operating officerin November 2003 after serving four years as senior vice president, fleetoperations.
Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise vacation group in theworld, with a portfolio of 12 cruise brands in North America, Europe andAustralia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, PrincessCruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Windstar Cruises, AIDA, Costa Cruises, CunardLine, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises, Swan Hellenic, and P&O Cruises Australia.
Together, these brands operate 77 ships totaling more than 128,000 lowerberths with 14 new ships scheduled for delivery between November 2004 andApril 2009. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates the leading tourcompanies in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon, Holland America Tours and PrincessTours. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, CarnivalCorporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both theS&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
SOURCE: Carnival Corporation
CONTACT: Media, Tim Gallagher, +1-305-599-2600, ext. 16000; or RoseAbello, Holland America Line, +1-206-286-3479; or Sophie Fitton or SarahTovey, both of Brunswick in the U.K., +011-44-20-7404-5959; or investorrelations, Beth Roberts, +1-305-406-4832, all of Carnival Corporation & plc
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