Micky Arison vs Richard Fain

[HCE]

I'm sure everyone is aware that Micky Arison stepped down as CEO of Carnival. What surprised me was the reaction on the various Carival Corp-related message boards. Looks like the man was uniformly disliked - the most common reaction seemed to be "about time!" He seemed to get blamed for everything that is going wrong with the company today. Not just for the incidents that have been in the news but also for what many thought was a decline in the quality of service over the past decade or so.

 

This got me wondering whether the CEOs of other cruise lines are held in similar disdain. What would you guys think if Richard Fain stepped down as CEO of RCCL? Do you think he has done a good job running the company? Do you see any decline in the company from, say, 10 years ago?

 

- HCE

[TEXASMUNK]

Harry Truman has a sign on his desk....the buck stops here.

Although today's society, no one seems responsible for anything....in the corporate world....It does still apply!

Fain has steered his compnay through difficult times. I have no ax to grind either way.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

The common thought is that he (Micky) seems to put a majority of his energy toward the Miami Heat and not enough attention to CCL.

[wwcruisers]

Thanks for the info -- I had not yet seen the news blurb on CruiseCritic about Arison being replaced as CEO. Anyone interested in cruise line history might find Kristoffer Garin's Devils on the Deep Blue Sea an interesting read. There's a lot of information in it on how Carnival Corp. was built by Mickey's Dad, Ted Arison -- and how Mickey ultimately became involved in the business. You can also learn about Richard Fain and Adam Goldstein's rise to power in RCCL. These guys are all major players in the big league! :cool:

[SherriZ366]

Harry Truman has a sign on his desk....the buck stops here.

Although today's society, no one seems responsible for anything....in the corporate world....It does still apply!

Fain has steered his compnay through difficult times. I have no ax to grind either way.

Agree. I remember the post-9/11 hit on the industry and when the stock went down to $8. Richard Fain and his crew repositioned the ships so that they could make money. And from reading the books referenced here and watching some of the videos, I think that he brings a lot of creativity to the company. This is important when RCCL makes it WOW ships so central to their business plan. Cruise buddies who have met him have very nice things to say about him.

[DEIx15x8]

Micky Arison checked out long ago. I remember the night of the Costa Concordia incident while the whole world was watching to see how he handles it he was tweeting pictures from a Miami Heat game and couldn't care less. You would think he would learn but when the Carnival Triumph had her incident he was at it again trying to sell tickets to Miami Heat games and ignoring the situation. I'm shocked he wasn't given the boot long ago.

 

In contrast both Richard Fain and Adam Goldstein seem to have playing incredibly integral roles in shaping Royal Caribbean in the past and into the future. When things happen you see them stepping right up front to take action. It is incredibly obvious that they are primarily focused on the company and if anything is not correct they are ready to accept the blame. If either of them were to step down it would be a big hit to the company. IMO the third member of that vital team seems to be Harri Kulovaara who made the Voyager, Freedom, and Oasis class ships what they are, defining the modern Royal Caribbean, and to a lesser degree Lisa Bauer who has also played a major role in sculpting the onboard experiences and marketing aspects of the recents ships.

[SherriZ366]

Micky Arison checked out long ago. I remember the night of the Costa Concordia incident while the whole world was watching to see how he handles it he was tweeting pictures from a Miami Heat game and couldn't care less. You would think he would learn but when the Carnival Triumph had her incident he was at it again trying to sell tickets to Miami Heat games and ignoring the situation. I'm shocked he wasn't given the boot long ago.

 

In contrast both Richard Fain and Adam Goldstein seem to have playing incredibly integral roles in shaping Royal Caribbean in the past and into the future. When things happen you see them stepping right up front to take action. It is incredibly obvious that they are primarily focused on the company and if anything is not correct they are ready to accept the blame. If either of them were to step down it would be a big hit to the company. IMO the third member of that vital team seems to be Harri Kulovaara who made the Voyager, Freedom, and Oasis class ships what they are, defining the modern Royal Caribbean, and to a lesser degree Lisa Bauer who has also played a major role in sculpting the onboard experiences and marketing aspects of the recents ships.

Agree with you about the RCCL team including Harri Kulovaara and Lisa Bauer. Contrast the response to the Grandeur fire with the Triumph -- Adam Goldstein flew in with a team to handle the incident. Their focus on the company really shows.

[cjknox]

Both Micky and Richard have done a pretty good job with their respective brands. Although it is clear both of them have two very different philosophies regarding how to run their cruise companies I think both have had good success for a variety of differing reasons.

 

I believe that today's development is a precursor to his retirement. Look for Micky to retire withing the next three to five years.

[macruisefan]

I'm sure everyone is aware that Micky Arison stepped down as CEO of Carnival. What surprised me was the reaction on the various Carival Corp-related message boards. Looks like the man was uniformly disliked - the most common reaction seemed to be "about time!" He seemed to get blamed for everything that is going wrong with the company today. Not just for the incidents that have been in the news but also for what many thought was a decline in the quality of service over the past decade or so.

 

This got me wondering whether the CEOs of other cruise lines are held in similar disdain. What would you guys think if Richard Fain stepped down as CEO of RCCL? Do you think he has done a good job running the company? Do you see any decline in the company from, say, 10 years ago?

 

- HCE

 

Wow. Hold a gun to my had and ask me to care about the CEO of the parent company of a cruise line, and I'm likely to take a bullet. Talk about things not worth caring about, unless you're a MAJOR stockholder. Man these boards crack me up!

[Germancruiser]

Dear me macruisefan- just in case it escaped you- THESE ARE THE CRUISE CRITIC BOARDS - were stuff concerning CRUISING is beeing discused- when some CEO´s of the biggest company´s change- so I would consider that CRUISE related. I suppose you have just had a grazy day and you are bit " over the top- so to speak!

[HCE]

Micky Arison checked out long ago. I remember the night of the Costa Concordia incident while the whole world was watching to see how he handles it he was tweeting pictures from a Miami Heat game and couldn't care less. You would think he would learn but when the Carnival Triumph had her incident he was at it again trying to sell tickets to Miami Heat games and ignoring the situation. I'm shocked he wasn't given the boot long ago.

 

In contrast both Richard Fain and Adam Goldstein seem to have playing incredibly integral roles in shaping Royal Caribbean in the past and into the future. When things happen you see them stepping right up front to take action. It is incredibly obvious that they are primarily focused on the company and if anything is not correct they are ready to accept the blame. If either of them were to step down it would be a big hit to the company. IMO the third member of that vital team seems to be Harri Kulovaara who made the Voyager, Freedom, and Oasis class ships what they are, defining the modern Royal Caribbean, and to a lesser degree Lisa Bauer who has also played a major role in sculpting the onboard experiences and marketing aspects of the recents ships.

 

 

Thanks a lot for the information. That is very interesting. I did not realize that Micky Arison was this indifferent to the major disasters that have happened over the past couple of years. No wonder there is such animosity towards him on the Carnival message boards.

 

- HCE

[gstewart]

Agree with you about the RCCL team including Harri Kulovaara and Lisa Bauer. Contrast the response to the Grandeur fire with the Triumph -- Adam Goldstein flew in with a team to handle the incident. Their focus on the company really shows.

 

 

RCCL did have the benefit of hindsight with that one though.

[BillB48]

RCCL did have the benefit of hindsight with that one though.

 

Precisely.... they had an excellent blue print on what not to do!!

 

Thanks for the info -- I had not yet seen the news blurb on CruiseCritic about Arison being replaced as CEO. Anyone interested in cruise line history might find Kristoffer Garin's Devils on the Deep Blue Sea an interesting read. There's a lot of information in it on how Carnival Corp. was built by Mickey's Dad, Ted Arison -- and how Mickey ultimately became involved in the business. You can also learn about Richard Fain and Adam Goldstein's rise to power in RCCL. These guys are all major players in the big league! :cool:

 

Another thumbs up for that book.... really an interesting read on what and how the cruise industry was and became.

[paul929207]

The stock market voted heavily against Micky yesterday. Carnival Corp. was up $1.66 or 5% on the news.

[alaska_planner]

micky arison isn't half the man his father was - not in any way....

(and neither is his sister for that matter)..

 

had he not been an arison, no way would he ever have attained the position in carnival that he did...

unfortunately, he remains chairman, just not CEO any longer....

 

i vowed years ago that i would never sail a ship in a company run by him....which rules out a whole lot of ships.....hopefully, he won't remain chairman forever....

[booze brothers]

In my book, Richard Fain is one of the best !!

[ehfl]

Arison was also disliked by travel agents, and part of their new plan is to turn this around. Travel agents have generally steered passengers away from Carnival, and they realize now, that's not the best way to do business.

[Julesben]

Wow. Hold a gun to my had and ask me to care about the CEO of the parent company of a cruise line, and I'm likely to take a bullet. Talk about things not worth caring about, unless you're a MAJOR stockholder. Man these boards crack me up!

 

Agree!

[Janet524]

i vowed years ago that i would never sail a ship in a company run by him....which rules out a whole lot of ships.....hopefully, he won't remain chairman forever....

 

As the largest shareholder of CCL stock, I'd say he's pretty much a shoe-in for chairman for as long as he wants it.

[cjknox]

The stock market voted heavily against Micky yesterday. Carnival Corp. was up $1.66 or 5% on the news.

 

I wouldn't say so, that's actually a good one day stock increase.

[diligaf51]

As someone who has known Micky fairly well for a long time, it is crazy to think he doesn't care or has checked out on Carnival. His stepping down has nothing to do with performance in the job. Had that been true, Howard Frank....the company COO for many years would have been asked to vacate his position as well. Which was not the case.

[Clarea]

I wouldn't say so, that's actually a good one day stock increase.

I believe that's what Paul was saying, that the stock went up because people are more optimistic now that Micky is leaving.

[macruisefan]

My CEO can beat up your CEO!!!

[LuvBNatC]

When I heard the news about Arison yesterday, my jaw dropped, although I can't say it wasn't good news, after his seeming indifference to the company's various PR disasters lately.

 

Apparently, the stockholders agree. :)

 

But the founder's son abandoning ship?... (Someone else mentioned Devils on the Deep Blue Sea -- read it if you're interested in how Ted Arison split the sheets with Knut Kloster at NCL to form Carnival. If the story's true at all, Arison was a real piece of work.)

 

I'm not too familiar with Rick Fain, but I think Adam Goldstein at RCI is the poster boy for what a cruise line president should be. I remember watching him sit through an interview (on Oprah, perhaps?) with that hardly-grieving bride/widow, Jennifer Hagel-Smith, after George Smith disappeared from Brilliance, and handling her with just the right amount of respect, yet firmness, refusing to be put on the defensive.

 

And then after the Grandeur fire, appearing on-site almost immediately. The guy seems to totally get his role, not to mention having innate class.

 

Arnold Donald should aspire to be a similar type of leader.

[SherriZ366]

Precisely.... they had an excellent blue print on what not to do!!

 

 

 

.

And they were smart enough to follow it.