Phil Gardner joins Fred Olsen Cruise Lines as commercial chief
Company also recruits CFO from Hotelplan UK
Lynk
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has appointed former Ambassador Cruise Line commercial chief Phil Gardner as commercial and product director.
Gardner will start his new role on March 3 before a handover period with Clare Ward (pictured below), who is retiring at the end of April.
Gardner was most recently chief commercial officer at Ambassador before leaving in April last year after two years with ex-UK specialist. He has also held senior commercial roles at Fosun Tourism Group, Thomas Cook and Tui.
In his new role he will oversee commercial strategy, revenue management, product development and itinerary planning.
Fred Olsen has also bolstered its senior leadership team with the appointment of Colin Parselle (pictured below) as chief financial officer from April 7. Parselle was most recently CFO at Hotelplan UK.
Samantha Stimpson, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines chief executive, said: “I am delighted to announce these new appointments to our senior leadership team.
“Their knowledge, leadership and expertise will be instrumental as we continue to grow our business and evolve our brand and product.
“I’d like to thank Clare for all her hard work and innovation since she joined Fred Olsen Cruise Lines in 2012, and on a personal level for all the support she has given me over the past year since I took up the helm.”
Gardner said: “I am delighted to be joining Fred Olsen Cruise Lines at such an exciting time for the business. It’s a brand that has built a fantastic legacy over the last 175 years, and as a result has a very strong customer base to build on.
“There’s a significant growth opportunity and I look forward to being part of that journey.”
Parselle said: “I’ve had a fantastic four years with Hotelplan Group in the UK, helping to lead the businesses to significant evolution with CEO Joe Ponte, the UK board and my amazing team.
“I am very excited to be joining Fred Olsen Cruise Lines during this transformational period and look forward to joining Samantha and the rest of the team in early April.”
