Norwegian Cruise Line president Drew Madsen resigned suddenly after only a few months in that position. Madsen was previously the COO of Darden Restaurants, in which he managed to increase sales from $4.8 billion to $8.6 billion. Madsen reason for leaving was due to restructuring changes in the company. Frank Del Rio CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, has implemented a new structure that plays a strong focus on marketing and sales.
Del Rio said in his statement, “Given the recent restructuring of the role and job responsibilities, Drew has decided to step down,” “We thank him for his contributions and wish him well.”
Madsen has been replaced with Andy Stuart (Photo on the right) a sales veteran at Norwegian Cruise line. Stuart has been with the company since 1988, thus has an extensive history with the company procedures. Del Rio added, “Andy and Norwegian are virtually synonymous. He is very well known and respected by our guests, travel partners, officers, crew, and team members. I am extremely confident that he is the perfect leader for the next phase of Norwegian’s growth”.
Stuart has also been a crucial role of the Freestyle implementation, giving cruisers a more relax feel aboard Norwegian’s vessels. “Having seen Norwegian Cruise Line grow significantly during the course of my career, I am thrilled and proud to lead this incredible company as we continue to enhance and build the brand,” Stuart said.
I will be interested in seeing how everything develops with all these changes. Ever since Kevin Sheehan left, Norwegian seems to be at odds trying to get their structure right. I hope that it all works for the better, and the changes make Norwegian a paradigm of excellence in the industry.
All that aside, I can’t wait to try out Norwegian Escape 🙂
