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Carnival Corporation & plc Restructures Cunard's North America Organization
MIAMI, Jul 16, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc(NYSE: CCL; LSE) (NYSE: CUK) has announced a restructuring of Cunard Line'sNorth American organization designed to position the company for continuedgrowth while streamlining operations and maximizing efficiencies. The linewill be relocated to Santa Clarita, California, home to sister companyPrincess Cruises, by December 2004. In addition to the recently announcedfleet operations reorganization, Cunard will share administrative, finance andIT functions with Princess.
This relocation follows the recent announcement in the United Kingdom,where Cunard's British operations were combined with those of the otherCarnival Corporation & plc U.K. brands.
"Cunard has one of the most time honored names in cruising, and with theintroduction of the Queen Mary 2 and the upcoming delivery of Queen Victoria,the brand is poised for growth," said Peter Ratcliffe, CEO of CarnivalCorporation's P&O Princess division, which includes Cunard. "This moveprovides Cunard the opportunity to utilize the significant resources of one ofits sister companies while retaining its unique identity."
The relocation is expected to reduce future overhead costs byapproximately $20 million on an annual basis. Non-recurring charges relatedto the cost of the relocation of between $10 million and $15 million areexpected to be recorded primarily over the remainder of 2004.
During the reorganization period Pamela Conover will remain as presidentof Cunard Line and will oversee the transition of the Cunard organization toSanta Clarita. Once the relocation is complete, Conover will assume the newposition of senior vice president, Carnival Shared Services, a corporateoffice function reporting directly to Howard Frank, vice chairman and chiefoperating officer of Carnival Corporation & plc.
"It has been an honor to lead Cunard for the past three years, but it isquite clear that this move will further strengthen Cunard Line and will laythe foundations for further growth and success," said Conover. "In Miami wehave an amazing team of dedicated staff who have been instrumental to Cunard'ssuccess over the years, and I would like to thank them for their support andmany contributions, and wish them well for the future."
The line's North American Sales and Customer Services department willreport to Lee Robinson, vice president of sales and customer service forCunard, and the North American Marketing and Revenue department will be led byDavid Gevanthor, Cunard's vice president of yield management and marketing.Gevanthor and Robinson, together with Carol Marlow and Jackie Foggitt, theheads of sales and marketing in the United Kingdom and Australia,respectively, will report to Peter Ratcliffe once the transition is complete.
The current Cunard field sales force remains intact, and will continue torepresent the Seabourn Cruise Line in addition to Cunard.
"We remain committed to continuing the proud tradition of Cunard and theunique values of its ocean liner product as the company moves forward," saidGevanthor. "Travel agents can be completely confident that they and theirclients will continue to experience Cunard's renowned White Star Service nowand into the future," said Robinson.
Seabourn Cruise Line will remain based in Miami and operate as anindependent brand within Carnival Corporation & plc led by Deborah Natansohn,who has been newly appointed its president. She had previously been seniorvice president, sales and marketing, for Cunard. Natansohn will report toCarnival's Howard Frank. In a related move, Richard D. Meadows, senior vicepresident of sales and marketing at Seabourn, has been named senior vicepresident of sales and marketing for Carnival's Holland America Line.
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 eight new ships scheduled for delivery between November 2004 andDecember 2006. 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 & plc
Media, US, Tim Gallagher, Carnival Corporation & plc
+1-305-599-2600, ext. 16000
or
Julie Benson for Peter Ratcliffe, P&OPrincess\Cunard
+1-661-753-1530
or
UK, Sophie Fitton or Sarah Tovey, both ofBrunswick
+011-44-20-7404-5959
or
Investor Relations, Beth Roberts, CarnivalCorporation & plc
+1-305-406-4832
or
UK mobile, +011-44-79-5643-6104
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