The Interview


Richard Fain and Jason Liberty,


Royal Caribbean Group


The outgoing chief executive and his successor discussed what lies ahead for the cruise giant on a T


ravel Weekly webcast with editor Lucy Huxley. Harry Kemble reports


A 10


ƏWHU \HDUV LWŧV kind of hard to decide when is the right time [to leave],” says


Richard Fain of his recent announcement that he is to step down as chief executive of Royal Caribbean Group. “The stars just seem to align. We


are coming out of the pandemic. We’re not out of it but the pathway forward is clear. This is the right time.” Sitting beside chief financial


officer Jason Liberty, who will succeed him in the top role, Fain says the company’s plans to resume full- scale operations are well mapped out. “We’re about to start the next


phase of our growth,” he adds. “I’m very excited about that. But it


is time to turn it over to somebody to take us to the next level.” While he admits there have been


some low points, Fain says he is thrilled to have led an organisation where “the people really care about what they do”. Liberty has worked at Royal for


18 NOVEMBER 2021


nearly half the time Fain has been chief executive and was earmarked for the top role a good while before Fain decided to step down. Liberty describes himself as Fain’s


“right hand”, adding: “Richard, the board and my peers have done a lot to prepare me for this. We’ve had 16 wonderful years together.” He will oversee Royal Caribbean


Group’s three brands – Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises. The company also owns 50% of a joint venture behind Tui Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. After joining Royal in 2005,


Liberty served in strategic, planning and financial positions before becoming chief financial officer eight years later. “There has always been a lot of


focus on the chief financial officer externally,” Liberty says, adding: “I’ve had the opportunity to also manage many of our brands. “Many of our brands report to me


[and] a lot of our shared operations report to me today.”


Pandemic rebound Part of Fain’s rationale for his exit centres on how he believes the industry is beginning to emerge from the pandemic. Reflecting on the past 20 months,


Liberty says: “We were never prepared for an environment where we were generating no revenue. What really helped us is we look at all our stakeholders as partners. That really allowed us to raise the capital we needed during this period. We’re in a very strong financial position.” But he adds: “It’s been a journey.


We’re not totally out of it. But we’re certainly towards the tail end of it, in a world very excited about what the future brings.”


Fain says being Royal’s chief


executive is “the best job in the world”. He adds: “Jason will take that on, and I envy him in that respect looking forward.” He adds that he will be “shocked”


if Liberty does not “put his own stamp” on the group. “Jason will bring passion and


solidly based foundations of what makes the business great,” Fain says. “He works well with people and


will take it in new directions.” Asked about his vision for


the company, Liberty says he shares “similar passions” with Fain, explaining that new-builds, innovation and enhancing onboard experience are areas they both enjoy.


Jason will bring passion, solidly based on the foundation of what makes the business great. He works well with people and will take it in new directions


travelweekly.co.uk


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