Azamara‘s President Carol Cabezas has departed the cruise line she has led since its acquisition by Sycamore Partners in March 2021.Dondra Ritzenthaler, formerly of Celebrity Cruises, has been named as Azamara’s new Chief Executive Officer, effective May 2024.A 40-year veteran of the travel industry, Ritzenthaler was most recently the Senior Vice President of Sales, Trade Support and Services for the Americas for Celebrity Cruises. Prior to her 20 years with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, Ritzenthaler spent nearly 20 years with American Airlines in a variety of sales and marketing leadership roles.
Until that time, Chair of Azamara, Dan Hanrahan, will provide day-to-day leadership and oversight of the team.“Azamara provides a unique and exciting offering within the luxury cruise space, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the company into its next chapter,” Ritzenthaler said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the talented team and their travel partners to better serve the customer base and grow the Azamara brand.”Alain Ferzli joins Azamara as Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Ferzli has more than 20 years of experience driving profitable growth in the cruise industry. He served as the acting Chief Financial Officer for Virgin Voyages and held various financial leadership roles with Royal Caribbean.
“Our team has worked diligently to maintain a solid foundation for Azamara amid unique industry-wide challenges over the last several years. Dondra and Alain’s deep knowledge of and experience leading cruise lines will support the shift of our focus to expanding our business and realising Azamara’s full potential,” Hanrahan said.Cabezas, who has been with Azamara since 2017, will be leaving her role effective immediately.“Carol has been a great steward of the brand, getting us through COVID and then getting us up and running again,” Hanrahan said.Hanrahan will provide day-to-day leadership until Ritzenthaler joins the executive team.
