Celebrity Cruises has named a new president, Laura Hodges Bethge, who will succeed Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, effective May 1.
Lutoff-Perlo, who serves as president and CEO at Celebrity, will shift to a position at parent company Royal Caribbean Group as vice chair of external affairs. Hodges Bethge is currently Royal Caribbean Group’s executive vice president of shared services operations.
Lutoff-Perlo has built a reputation for cultivating and encouraging a diverse culture at Celebrity Cruises, which included promoting women throughout its ranks. Under her leadership, Celebrity became home to the first American woman to be named captain of a major U.S. cruise ship and the fleet’s female bridge team members grew from 3% to at least 32%.
Lutoff-Perlo first began at Royal Caribbean Group in 1985 as a district sales manager. Throughout her career she zig-zagged across the company: she became Celebrity’s first female senior vice president of hotel operations in 2005, then became the first woman to oversee both hotel and marine operations as executive vice president of operations for Royal Caribbean International in 2012.
Two years later, Lutoff-Perlo became the first woman appointed president and CEO of one of Royal Caribbean Group’s brands.
Under her leadership, Celebrity welcomed four ships to the brand, introduced the Edge-class ships and underwent a fleet-revitalization project called Celebrity Revolution.
Hodges Bethge has been with Royal Caribbean Group and its brands for more than 23 years. She has held senior positions in several areas, including product development, hotel and marine operations, sales, marketing, product innovation, market development and investor relations.
Hodges Bethge has also served as senior vice president of product development for Royal Caribbean International, leading teams that conceptualized the brand’s ships, private island destinations and new experiences, including Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Correction: This report was updated on April 6 at 1:10 p.m. Eastern time to correct Hodges Bethge’s title. She is president, not president and CEO.
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